Tamgram

When we embark on a new web project, everything is possible. Well, everything within the schedule and budget! But beyond the nuts and bolts, there are still innumerable possibilities, so where do we start? How do we bring a field of possibilities into fine focus, allowing the most important and most interesting possibilities to emerge?

Ideally, we get together in-person, and whenever possible, we try to setup an initial brainstorming meeting and working sessions, armed with analytic data and customer profiles. However, for many good reasons, that’s not always possible. In fact, more than half of our projects happen without physically meeting, and so we use collaboration systems to assist us.

One staple is the project questionnaire. This is a list of five questions that you can ask yourself and your team before we even start, to help us bring the universe of possibilities down to Earth, without losing creative potential.

What do you think your visitors are looking for?
Perhaps you have analytic data that helps you to see where your visitors are going, or perhaps you know your audience well enough, or have some market research to assist you in determining their interest. This information is helpful, but not always definitive. For instance, perhaps there are things that your visitors are looking for that they are not finding because that information isn’t there. So while you can see what they are interested in, it’s also good to consider what they might be looking for that’s not there.

What are the three most important things the web site should feature?
This is a great question for organizations of any size because it challenges the organization to really look at itself and its mission to make sure it is presenting itself in a clear and concise way. And, just because you feature three things, doesn’t mean that the site won’t have everything else. It’s just a way to make sure you communicate clearly to the audience what you are about, and what they can do on the site.

What’s the most important thing for a user to do on your site?
After you narrow the focus on three things, zoom in on the one thing that is most important. Knowing this, we can design a site that meets your core objectives.

What feeling or impression do you want them to have after visiting the site?
The first and sometimes the last impression someone has of your organization may be because of the web site. Think about that. You definitely want that first impression to be a positive one, but in what way? Thinking in terms of emotions and feeling brings up images, design, quality of experience. Do you want them to feel excited? Do you want them to feel curious to know more? Do you want them to feel like their needs are going to be met? What’s the feeling?

What makes your organization unique that you want to make sure comes through clearly on the web site?
And finally, look at your organization and consider what makes you who you are. How do you express the strengths of your organization through the web site? What are those strengths? This is a way of reaching out to your visitors so they know who you are, and it is potentially the start or continuation of an ongoing relationship.

With these five questions, we’re ready to start work on building a great site that truly reflects your organization and brings forth your most important objectives. And sure, it’s probably a good idea to take a look around, to see what your competitors are doing, to consider features that will make the site interactive and smart, but we tend to do that anyway!

Timothy O’Connor Fraser is a web developer and owner of Dewdrop Media, which partners with Tam Communications to build web sites and mobile apps.

One of my favorite clients Peachwood’s has been very busy lately with launching a new company and rebranding their restaurant and weddings/special events. We have been working hard for them and we’ve still got more to do, launching a new website and creating a new section to their current one. If you’ve never had a meal at Peachwood’s Steakhouse then you are missing out! The lunch is delicious and the dinner amazing. The dinner features a five-course meal, with generous portions at a really great price. The other arm of Peachwood’s is the weddings & special events and it is where I got married, my brother got married and we have had all of our big events from birthday parties to anniversaries throughout the years. And the Peachwood’s is branching away from their home at Pasatiempo with the creation of PeachGirl Catering & Events, a off-site way to enjoy Peachwood’s cuisine and the experience of their event specialists in a location of your choice.

Our main work with Peachwood’s and PeachGirl is executing their marketing plan, working closely with Jenifer Smith Ringel and Shannon Finney-Candelario, we have assisted them with redesigning the restaurant menus, catering menus, wedding brochures, social media outreach, advertising plan and ad creation, palettes at Costco, e-newsletters and so much more. It’s a chance to be creative in ways that is not limited to video and really take our experience beyond the television.

Check out Peachwood’s current site here.

There aren’t many companies that can boast about being in business for over 100 years. To reach that milestone, you have to be doing something right. For our client, Graniterock, they do a lot of things right including treating their vendors as well as they treat their employees and having a whole lot of happy customers. Their commitment to individual respect and customer service is evident at every turn so it was a little surprising when they approach us to do a customer service video. How do you improve when you’re already the best in the business? That’s exactly what they wanted to do: to show employees the little things they could do to turn a good customer experience into a great one.

Our job started in April and finished in November. We were part of a team that met several times to discuss examples of customer service excellence both inside and outside of Graniterock. I then went to work to fold all of this into a script that made sense. We wanted to show both positive and negative scenarios…the negative being customer service nightmares – at a fictional company called Acme Rock. The initial thought was to have Graniterock employees play all the roles but as we got closer to production in August, we realized that it wasn’t a good idea to have real Graniterock employees depicting bad service so we hired actors to fill those roles. The good customer service scenarios and all the customer roles were handled by Graniterock employees from throughout the company.

Often the thought of having non-professionals read lines and “act” could result in the producer having a major panic attack. But after rehearsals and some rewrites on the script, I felt a little more at ease that we might just pull this off.

Five days of production under the direction of Tam O’Connor Fraser, all over Monterey, Santa Cruz, and San Benito Counties including a day at Graniterock’s quarry in Aromas and days (and nights) of editing and we had our first cut. It was really well received but, of course, not perfect. When you’re dealing with one of the best companies in the business, your video needs to be practically perfect in every way. Tam was all in for a few more rounds of editing and review until we had a Graniterock-worthy DVD ready to roll out the door.

The Roaring Camp Holiday Lights Train was such a whirlwind of a shoot but such a great night at the Santa Cruz Beach Boardwalk and the train. Production kicked off at the Boardwalk with our cast getting a special ride aboard the merry-go-round with Santa Claus. After that it was time to board the train to capture some late evening into dusk shots with all those aboard the train. We made our way down Beach Street and over to the depot where we “picked” up Santa. The Santa that we were working with was so awesome with the camera and the kids. He had a great energy and really knew how to play up the crowd and play to the camera in such a fun way. It got dark really quick and it was time to capture some nighttime shots. I personally had a lot of fun shooting with the GoPro as Tam shouldered the bigger HD Camera. In the end we had two great spots packaged for Roaring Camp, Holiday Lights Train and Thomas Holiday Train.

Check out the Holiday Lights Train spot:

Teaming up with our friends at Yellow Bus Advertising is always fun and often a little adventurous and this time was no exception. As the new agency of record for Roaring Camp Railroads in Felton, the team at YB contacted us to bring “The Magic of Trains” to the screen. The first two spots to roll down the tracks feature the Mountain Steam Train and the Beach Train. In order to capitalize on the busy season, we had but four weeks to go from concept to air.

It was key to bring the magic and mystery of the trains to the spots and to appeal to both a young audience and their parents and grandparents as well. This wasn’t difficult as the trains are so amazing on their own. Add in a great cast of characters, mix in a little mystical music, some aerial shots, and unique angles, and out comes two great spots that our client and their client were ecstatic about.

Casting is always a little bit of a challenge. Getting the right mix of ages and gender, while ensuring ethnic diversity representative of Roaring Camp Railroads’ target audience and park visitors. We set up our desired cast listings on SF Casting, followed by a day of auditions at Peachwood’s Steakhouse in Santa Cruz. But by the end of the day, we had a great group of kids, parents, and grandparents.

With two HDV cameras and two GoPros, we were prepared to capture all angles of our day. We spent the morning shooting with our families in the photo booth area and the general store. Then it was time to head out on the first train ride of our day, the Mountain Train, which would take cast and crew to the summit of Bear Mountain. We shot most of the way up, allowing our cast to just enjoy the ride they were taking. There wasn’t much direction needed for the talent as their experience alone was giving Tam just what he needed. Once we reached the top of Bear Mountain, we departed the train to capture the kids checking out the train engine and taking photos with the conductor.

We enjoyed a leisurely ride back to the Camp and it was time for lunch. After lunch, we were right back in it to obtain shots around the camp with our kids. I remember one of the parents coming up to me and saying, “Is he really getting paid to do this all day?” I thought this was so great that these kids were having a wonderful time while still “working”.

After our last shots at the Camp, it was time to climb aboard the Beach Train down to the Santa Cruz Beach Boardwalk. Another relaxing and enjoyable ride where the kids spent the entire time looking over the side of the train at what was coming by. When we arrived at the Boardwalk it was time for some last few shots of the day, capturing our cast coming off the train and again, more shots with the conductors at the front of the train.

This was such a fun day and I ask myself the same question that parent asked me, “Do I really get paid to do this?”

Mountain Train:

Beach Train:

While shooting footage for next years commercial spot, Tam put together a fun video of his day on the wharf with these spectacular mobiles.

What a blast!!! We just posted the video for the “flash mob” we produced at the Santa Cruz Beach Boardwalk on YouTube, check it out!

The idea of the flash mob came from Creative Director/Executive Producer (and lover of musicals) Susan O’Connor Fraser, she was inspired by the dance sequence at the end of Slumdog Millionaire and some other videos on YouTube and wanted to do something at the Boardwalk that would be fun and entertaining. The first challenge: the song. The Maids of Honor, a Santa Cruz alternative rock band had created such a great version of the “California Sun” jingle for the Boardwalk radio and television commercials, but had never had the full-song version of the featured (other than on closing credits of the Boardwalk’s summer entertainment preview). We felt that this would be the perfect song and a great way for it to be featured in its entirety and so that it could get some real play. Challenge met.

The second challenge: Get the Boardwalk on board. We approached the Boardwalk about the idea in March and were given the greenlight in early April. We were on our way and by the end of the month we were working hard to pull it together in time for our performance date of June 11th.

But how to get our dancers? We reached out on Facebook, Craig’s List, local dance studios, high schools, colleges, cheerleading organizations, etc. to see if we could get a great mix of age, color and dance experience. It was important to us that we have it feel like real visitors at the Boardwalk who spontaneously broke out in dance and then returned to their time at the park. Interest was slow at first and then it started picking up speed as word of mouth took off through social media. We understood we were asking a lot of our participants—learn the dance, hopefully attend four practices plus the performance day but by the first practice we had a committed group of dancers that were beyond excited about the project.

Photo by Donaven Staab

We brought on Quelddy Angelina, a local dancer and dance teacher, to choreograph the moves. We recorded the dance and then posted it on YouTube so the dancers could practice between our collective practices. For me, it was so fun to be able to assist with the moves that we wanted to see in the dance and to work closely with Quelddy to bring our visions together. In the end, it was a fun dance that was easy to learn. This was an important aspect of the dance because we wanted people to be able to see what we were doing and join in if they wanted to during the duration of the dance.

Once we had the dance choreographed and everyone practicing, we went into pre-production mode. Where were we going to place cameras? How many cameras? Who was going to shoot what? Where would the dancers enter from and when? We decided on three roving HD cameras and five stationary GoPros.

Tam checks cameras. Photo by Donaven Staab

Two days before performance day, we had a dress rehearsal at the Boardwalk by the carousel, the spot for the mob. It was early in the evening, the Boardwalk was closed, but there were still patrons milling about. We started practicing the dance and the patrons all stopped and watched, we even had some join in and start learning the dance with us as we practiced over and over again. We finalized our entries, got the dance dialed and called it a night. The Boardwalk was so happy with the final product, we decided to add a third performance to our already planned two.

The day of the flash mob was electric, the dancers were excited, we were ready to do our first live performance. The first dance was perfect, everyone nailed it, and the patrons that were present had a great time. In between performances, we took the time to shoot some little scenes with our dancers so we could show them enjoying different parts of the Boardwalk prior to the dance starting. The other two performances were just as great and by the end of the day, we were still buzzing from the performances.

After the weekend ended, we went straight into post-production to create the second aspect of the flash mob, the edited dance. The final product delivers a highly entertaining two and a half minutes of good fun. It’s definitely an experience I will never forget and am excited at the thought of producing more of these in the future.

Great concept for a trade show attract video, a corporate morale booster, or sales meeting video, don’t you think?

The Flash Mob Crew

When you think of blood and derby, you’re probably thinking someone took a nasty fall and banged up some part of their body (or worse). This would not be the connection to make in our initial video produced for the Santa Cruz Derby Girls Community First Committee. The American Red Cross, Santa Cruz Chapter, was the featured non-profit chosen for March. The head of the Committee, Tall Can, felt it was important to do more to promote the work that the league is doing for their chosen non-profits. She asked us to create videos around the events that the league members participate in and the first of these events was a blood drive.

From our standpoint, it’s a win-win-win-win. A win for the skaters who spent their afternoon giving blood and are featured in the short video; a win for the League and the great work that they do for the Community; a win for the American Red Cross who had their work in Santa Cruz promoted, which will hopefully encourage even more people to give blood; and a win for Tam Communications, allowing us to give back to the Community as well by producing the video.

The short video will play at future bouts and can also be seen on the Tam Communications YouTube Channel. And if you think that voice sounds familiar, you’re right, it’s me aka Shamrock N. Roller.

Tam and I wrapped the 2010 Santa Cruz Derby Girls Highlight Reel over the weekend and it was viewed by about 150 members of the league on Saturday night.  We spent this last season (3rd season as a sponsor) shooting all of the home games, which are used for various needs in the league. The referee crew, or the Track Pack, study the game tape to learn how to function better as individual refs and together as a team. The coaches utilize the tape to review with the players to see where they can improve their game and strategy.  We also take the video we shoot and create music videos that we release on YouTube and put on the league’s website for fans to view; they have become very well-known as being some of the best videos in derby. Occasionally, when Tam feels like torturing himself he will edit each jam with multi-camera angles to give viewers the full effect of being there.

Our mission for the 2010 Highlight Reel was to take the hours of tape we shot with the help of John Barrett and edit it into one kick-ass video with inspiring shots, great effects and emotional music.  Tam spent most of the week finding the right music, grabbing the best action shots and starting to build the general feel and look to it.  My job started on Friday when I sat down with him to check out the first cut and give him direction on my ideas.  He was up early Saturday morning putting his finishing touches on it, transitions, effects and checking music levels.  My final job was to do my best to make sure everyone was being featured, scouring hours and hours of video to find shots of league members.  As a league member of the Santa Cruz Derby Girls, I am able to identify all of the league members who have not been represented and have a vested interest that we do our best to make sure that everyone is recognized.  It’s important to me as not only a sponsor but a leaguemate that not just the super stars are recognized for the hard work they put into the league.  I think we accomplished our goals and I am very happy with the end result. We gave the league a great end product that I know the members will be able to cherish for years to come.

We have wrapped editing and voice over on the Shopper’s Corner commercial. Once again we teamed up with Austin Sherwood of Yellow Bus Advertising to bring new life to the Shopper’s current spots. Shopper’s just went under a small remodel of all their refrigerated areas in the store and the commercial shows off the new areas, while also highlighting all the great aspects to Shopper’s, the butcher, wine selection and organic produce. We added some fantastic voice over by Stuart Kennon, whom gave us a kind of Guy Fieri impersonation to bring to life the provided footage. The spot sounds great and looks great and as a frequent visitor of Shopper’s, it was fun to be able to create a commercial for an awesome local business.