DMA has completed new IDs for Hearst-Argyle stations featuring Salty the Parrot. Tony Caio of DMA Animation directed the animated shorts, which promote local broadcasts from sports to holiday greetings. DMA's design approach is a mix of CGI and traditional Warner Bros. style of animation. The Salty character is owned by King Features. DMA has worked with clients such as Nickelodeon, The Food Network, Noggin, Grey Advertising, Kidvertisers, Sesame Workshop, ABC, CBS and WGBH/Boston. To view the Salty spots, go to http://www.dma-animation.com.

Paris-based Mac Guff Ligne, a part of the Ron Soodalter Associates International consortium of post-production studios, has finished two 3D dinosaurs for a new Lego commercial. The 30-second "Dino's Dinner" spot combines walking and talking dinosaurs in live-action settings juxtaposed against kids playing with their Lego sets. Mac Guff Ligne, which produced the spot for New York ad agency Lowe, Lintas, used the Web as a means to deliver the images to the client. "I think this arrangement worked brilliantly," said spot producer Eve Frumkin of Lowe, Lintas.

Spontaneous Combustion, a digital studio specializing in the creation of visual effects and design, has completed the CGI effects and compositing for three 30-second spots for AT&T's "Boundless" campaign. The campaign plays on AT&T's logo as it touts its broadband technology and ends with typography that transitions from either "broadband" or "wireless" into "boundless," followed by "att.com." In "Push Pin," blue pushpins fly, hitting a white wall – forming the AT&T globe logo.

iXL, a New York Internet consulting firm offering end-to-end strategic, creative and technology solutions, has wrapped on two new promos for Comedy Central's new series STRIP MALL, starring comedian Julie Brown. Produced by New York-based Fowler Media's David Fowler and edited by iXL's Rob Ortiz, the 30-second "Brown and Dirty" and "Headlines" highlights the antics of the new series. The spot mixes quotes from various reviews intertwined with clips from the series. "The key to the STRIP MALL spots was to synchronize the graphics showing the reviews with show content," said Ortiz.

Black Logic has created a new spot for Ben Gay and New York ad agency Cline, Davis & Mann. Making his directorial debut on the spot was Black Logic's Patrick Ferguson. "The idea was to take individual parts of the human body affected by the soothing relief of Ben Gay, and integrate them into a 3D environment, where the body could interact with medical graphics, charts, and, ultimately, the product itself," said Ferguson. Floyd Gillis of Black Logic's creative partner, AFCG, created all of the CGI.

Blur Studio recently provided motion graphics design and production services for a new 60-second spot for the U.S. Army Reserve. The spot entitled "Dot You" promotes opportunities in the Army Reserve and highlights the service's Website, goarmyreserve.com. Typography animates over the live-action, echoing values such as "leadership," "dedication" and "adventure." The spot culminates with a series of hero shots over which appears the Army Reserve's Website address.

Quiet Man searches for "Intelligent Life" in two new 15 and 30-second spots for K'nex toy company. In the commercial, two animated aliens are sent to Earth to search for "signs of intelligent life." When they arrive, they ignore human beings and concentrate instead on a robotic toy built with high-tech plastic blocks called K'nex. The robotic toy has a Cyber Key device used to program it to perform different types of behavior such as that of a guard dog or a battle robot.

Black Logic has completed its second spot for Lexmark Printers. The first Lexmark spot was directed by famed fashion photographer Herb Ritts and created by BlackLogic, NYC and Warwick Baker O'Neill, NYC. "This is the second spot we've done for Lexmark," said Black Logic designer/director Patrick Ferguson. "For the Z52, they wanted to maintain the Ritts' style, but point out that this printer is much faster. Essentially, the Z52 is the best of both worlds." The spot opens to the telltale sounds of a jet aircraft preparing for take-off. The camera slowly pans along the Z52.

Director Peter Nydrle of NYDRLE, West Hollywood, California, has transformed Cadillacs into Olympic swimmers for a new commercial. "One of the challenges of the project was to give the cars the personality of an Olympic swimmer," explained Nydrle. "It's an attempt to blur reality in a way you rarely see, particularly in a car spot." "Desert Storm" begins with a fleet of Cadillac cars all bearing the names of Olympic Gold Medal swimmers, such as Weissmuller and Spitz, on their license plates. In front of the cars are Olympic styled swimming lanes.

ViewPoint Studios has created an on-air identity package for Animal Planet Network. The creative team spent a week at the Chapman Leonard Studio in Orlando Florida filming 34 different species of animals for blue screen compositing. Filming the animals on blue screen allowed the ViewPoint Studio’s design team to incorporate the footage within the environmental backgrounds. In some cases the animals interact with graphic elements in the scene, as with the prairie dog pushing up the Animal Planet logo as he pops up and down out of his burrow.