May 1, 2006

SCOTTS VALLEY, CA--After weeks of editing and sound design, Tam Communications has shipped its one-hour special "Coast Guard at War" off to Discovery's Military Channel. The program, commissioned by the Military Channel, chronicles the unknown story of the U. S. Coast Guard in the Vietnam War. While 8000 Coast Guardsmen served in Southeast Asia, few people know of their widespread involvement. For Executive Producer, Tam O'Connor Fraser, this project is the culmination of a life-long affection for the Coast Guard and specifically for their involvement in the Vietnam War. "When I was a young boy, I used to dream about being on a Coast Guard patrol boat in Vietnam. I was fascinated with the duality of the Coast Guard--an organization known for saving lives but also part of the military. Very few people realize they were there before the Swift Boats." The special began its journey to the screen about a year ago but it wasn't until the first of November 2005 that pre-production began in earnest when the agreement was signed with Discovery. Tam and his partner, Executive Producer/Writer Susan O'Connor Fraser, dove head-first into research and story development including contacting some of the true heroes of the Coast Guard in Vietnam.

Susan's team, including Associate Producer Regan Eymann and Production Manager Julie Easley, went to work scheduling interviews with Coasties who served in the War on ships (cutters), in the Coast Guard/Air Force Pilot Exchange Program where they flew with the Jolly Greens as rescue pilots, and in port security and explosive loading. Susan flew to Washington DC and began sorting through archival photos stored at the Coast Guard's Historian's Office. Tam and Gaffer/Sound Recordist Paul Stapleton-Smith met up with her there to shoot interviews and then they all flew to Tampa, Florida for two additional days of production at the Coast Guard's Station St. Pete and Air Station Clearwater. The team then flew home for another day of production at Coast Guard Island in Alameda, California. Meanwhile, Regan was scouring the National Archives for film relating to the Coast Guard's involvement, hitting the jackpot on a number of occasions with footage that has likely never been seen (or if it has, it hasn't been seen since television news reports in the 60s). Additionally, the Coasties that were interviewed provided 'home movies' and stills that have been edited into the finished program.

The bulk of the work occurred in post-production. Scripting was done following production, taking 14 hours of interviews and volumes of written research and then crafting all of it into a 48-minute script. Moving into an editorial assisting role, Regan logged and digitized hours of archival film while dozens of photos were scanned and prepped by Tam's Digital Media Specialist, David Trounstine. Harry Pritchett provided the narration, Michael Baxter of Makai Design the opening title animation, Aaron Dingman 3D map animations, and Pat Mosca the original music. And then Tam went to work in the editing suite. His job was to blend all of these elements into a cohesive piece of compelling television. Part of the challenge was that much of the film was shot without sound. That meant sound design became critical--for example, to make fire fights more intense with post-produced ambient audio.

Originally scheduled for a June premiere, the air date for the special was moved up to coincide with Armed Forces Day. It's currently scheduled for May 20th at 10 p.m. on the Military Channel.

Tam Communications is a leading digital media company, servicing corporate and entertainment clients by combining technical, creative, and communications expertise in the realms of video, interactive multimedia, and web. The company's expanding spectrum of original entertainment programming—developed for broadcast, cable, syndication, and other venues—airs worldwide. Tam Communications is a privately held company located in Scotts Valley, CA. Please visit our web site at www.tamcom.com.