Blur Studio has created a new CGI spot promoting Hasbro Interactive's new CD-Rom game PAC-MAN: ADVENTURES IN TIME. In the spot, Pac-Man is pursued through a maze by a quartet of ravenous ghosts and once cornered he turns toward the camera and leaps through the screen. The ghosts follow Pac-Man into the real world but are stymied when he swallows a "Magic Power Pill." "We went for a styling that was not quite photo-real," said Blur Studio CG supervisor Aaron Powell.

Class-Key Chew-Po Commercials has created two "Election" spots for General Mills' Cocoa Puffs cereal. "Election: Part I" has Sonny the cuckoo bird campaigning against two other candidates and promising to put real chocolate money in specially packaged Cocoa Puffs cereal boxes. In the second spot, Sonny wins the election and announces that for a limited time chocolate coins will be in all Cocoa Puffs Cereal boxes.

TOPIX/Mad Dog has completed the digital compositing and clean-up, character animation and synchronization of elements for six 15-second spots and one regional 30-second spot for Thrifty Car Rental. Set against a clean, white background, each of the spots features a different twist or gag, like a duck swimming in a convertible during a rain storm and a car being swallowed by a giant hole. T/MD inferno* artist Marco Polsinelli said, "For "Rainy Day," we proposed to line the interior of the car with a water-resistant foam core and fill it with water.

Rhinoceros Visual Effects and Design has created photo-realistic scissors and performed the compositing for 3M's Scotch Tear-by-Hand Packaging Tape. In the 15-second "No More Scissors," a fleet of scissors float from their worldly bonds and head into deep space to form a ring around a distant planet, their former users now free to tear fresh tape without them. Rhinoceros project leader/animation director Arman Matin said, "The sheer number of scissors and the data involved made the 3M project a tremendous task to pull off. There were literally millions of scissors to render out.

Spontaneous Combustion, a digital studio specializing in the creation of visual effects and design for the advertising, broadcast and film industries, has created and composited a photo-realistic 3D spot for a new Circuit City campaign. "Digital Santa" opens in a world where elves act as caddies and Santa Claus spends his time golfing. The Spontaneous Combustion team needed to make the effects seamless by replacing one of the backgrounds in the first spot with a blue sky.

Click 3X has created effects for the new Disney Store spots highlighting merchandise for the live-action feature 102 DALMATIANS. The 30-second "Pool" has Dalmatians shaking their spots onto a rack of white coats. A series of real Dalmatians were shot on green screen, as well as a still plate for the far wall. The Click 3X CGI department then created a photo-realistic floor with reflecting puddles matching the movement of the camera.

ViewPoint Studios has completed the re-design of CNBC’s RIVERA LIVE with a set of new IDs. The total program package included a new show logo, opening title, bumpers and support graphics for live interviews. "CNBC wanted an energetic open to showcase the best of Geraldo as RIVERA LIVE," said Michael Frederick, ViewPoint Studios design director. "The open portrays his active involvement, covering the day’s top stories from wherever the action is.

Rhinoceros Visual Effects and Design has created the design and imagery for a new series of Victoria's Secret commercials for the company's "Satin" line. Each of the three 30-second spots: "Rubies," "Diamonds" and "Emeralds" called for intricate design work in inferno* that highlights both the Victoria's Secret models and the "nine jewel-tone colors" of the new line. "The interesting challenge of the Victoria's Secret spots was to use Inferno to marry extreme close-up shots of these tiny gems with the live footage of the models," said Rhinoceros inferno* artist Vico Sharabani.

hey!, a New York multi-disciplinary design and production studio, has wrapped on "Nick Arithmetic," a 40-second global network image spot for Nick's international markets. hey! took still photographs of kids in various poses. The images were composited, along with graphic elements built in Illustrator and Photoshop, with animated backgrounds that string together the entire spot.

Will Vinton Studios has finished two live-action/CGI spots highlighting Midway Games' NFL BLITZ 2000 and READY 2 RUMBLE BOXING ROUND 2. The humorous spots were directed by Mike Wellins, who in the past has directed spots for Almond Joy, Chili's, Kikkoman, Mirinda, Pringles and ABC. In "Good Clean Fight," highlighting READY 2 RUMBLE BOXING ROUND 2, a 3D animated afro style boxer warms up by punching a disco ball and by the end we know that he isn't going to give a good clean fight.