Shooting the Sonoma-Marin Train Service— A Testament to Logistical Excellence

Mar 25, 2025

A Slow Clap Case Study

Background

Who remembers what life was like during COVID? Stay-at-home orders, deserted streets, and empty public transport. That’s why Sonoma-Marin Area Rail Transit or SMART, in collaboration with communications agency Civic Edge, turned to Slow Clap to create a short video.

SMART is a rail line connecting Marin and Sonoma counties, located north of San Francisco across the Golden Gate Bridge. Its green and gold carriages transport passengers through picturesque farmland and charming California towns, bringing them closer to the cities of the Bay Area. As a key transit system, SMART helps reduce traffic congestion by decreasing the number of cars on the road and also includes a dedicated bike and pedestrian path along its corridor. However, ridership and overall usage saw a significant decline during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Petaluma train station—one of the stops along SMART'S route.

As a result, SMART aimed to re-establish its presence, and highlight its many benefits—including its positive environmental impact. SMART wanted this video to be broadcast on TV and streaming channels all throughout Sonoma and Marin, so the initial scope was a 30-second broadcast ad spot. Civic Edge managed the larger campaign, while our role centered on visualizing the video with storyboard, planning the shots, and coordinating the logistics of filming the trains—a task that proved more challenging than it might seem at first.

"I knew from when we proposed making a video to the client that Slow Clap would be the right partners. I ride SMART and knew the corridor fairly well, and had a clear image of how I wanted to showcase it. Slow Clap has always been amazing about adding value to a project, not taking it over. So they were perfect for realizing what we'd drawn up in the script."

Peter Lauterborn, Vice President, Civic Engagement and Planning

Approach

This shoot required precise coordination—we had to film the trains at specific times of day to capture the best light and key moments along their route, such as trains moving alongside car traffic. For instance, we aimed to film a train speeding past a line of slow-moving cars, but with trains running only once an hour and rush hour lasting for a short window, our chances to get this shot were limited. To make it happen, we carefully cross-referenced the train schedule with ideal lighting conditions and expected traffic patterns to pinpoint the best times and locations. Even with this planning, capturing the perfect shots with the right lighting took multiple attempts and a lot of effort!

Defying the odds to get the best shot!

Additionally, we conducted multiple scouting trips to identify the best locations for these shots and secured the necessary permissions to film from those spots. It was a logistical challenge to create a schedule that balanced all these factors, but in the end, we successfully captured everything.

"SMART owns the rail and the immediate surrounding land around it, but to get to the tracks we had to go through private property, and so for those areas we needed to get permissions. There was one shot in particular that we had to get right up against the tracks to capture... I think we made the operator a bit nervous that morning!"

Dan Lichtenberg, Creative Director, Slow Clap

One of the more complex shots. See how close we are to the train track!

Train and transit = tough shot to get.

In addition to logistical and access challenges, COVID itself posed another hurdle. While vaccines had just been rolled out, many people had yet to receive them. Our crew planned to film while wearing masks, but we also needed to ensure our talent did the same and remained diligent in following safety protocols throughout the shoot, especially when filming inside the trains.
Another challenge we encountered was sourcing visuals that helped convey the full journey of the train, since we didn't shoot the entirety of the train's route from beginning to end. To get around this we tried to replicate what commuters would see if we had been able to shoot the entire route.

"While we captured stunning visuals of the farmland, we also sourced archival footage to complement them. To ensure authenticity, we selected visuals from real locations along the train’s route in California, showcasing sights like vineyards and farms. These shots allowed us to step 'outside' the train momentarily, offering a passenger’s perspective and enhancing the sense of a complete journey."

Alexander Flores, Editor

All talent had to wear masks to adhere to COVID protocols.

Result

The video highlights the beauty of the train and its scenic route, featuring sweeping shots of the landscapes it passes through and emphasizing its tranquility compared to the traffic congestion of a car commute. SMART’s ridership has now returned to pre-pandemic levels, and while we can’t claim full credit, we like to think our video played a role in that success.

"The video was part of an information campaign. For years, opponents had made false claims about the system's environmental and economic impacts. The video was an opening salvo and anchored a multi-month sprint of content setting the record straight. And an amazing thing happened - SMART's social media channels, which had previously been dominated by naysayers, began to see supporters of transit find their voice and amplify the facts we were putting out there. The video was the keystone to an awesome change in dialogue."

Peter Lauterborn, Vice President, Civic Engagement and Planning

Need to wow your audience? Reach out to Slow Clap for your next video project.

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