London-based collective, CURIOUS PICTURES and TOMATO, created the blend of

type graphics and stock footage for an RCA spot entitled "Static." Graphics

weave together images of static, distortion and color bars, until finally a

crisp picture of the two RCA Dalmatian mascots appear to illustrate the

growth of television from its early days to HDTV. The spot ends with the

tag "RCA. Changing entertainment. Again." Graham Wood directed for Curious

Pictures/Tomato and Quiche Campbell produced.

yU + CO, in collaboration with Digital Domain, provided the motion graphics

design for seven new American Express "Blue" commercials. The titles appear

at the close of the spots as a grouping of light and dark squares, as in a

highly pixilated image, before coming into focus as letters. The titles

where designed to comment on the physical flexibility and the holographic

blue box center of the new card. Garson Yu was designer and director for yU

RENEGADE ANIMATION created their third in a series of 30-second Trix Yogurt

spots for New York-based ad agency Saatchi & Saatchi. The spot starts out

with a group of sad kids in a black & white colored world until they taste

Trix Yogurt. They use their spoons as magic wands to paint the world in

bright colors. The cel animated spot was directed by Darrell Van Citters

and produced by Jeff Poehlmann of Johnson Burnett Productions.

RADIUM's Inferno artist Alaina Goetz created effects for two Mervyn's

California commercials. In "Yo-yo," Goetz takes live-action footage of a

dancer and puts them into a yo-yo that spins and jerks off the screen. In

"Kung-fu," Goetz creates the transitions between scenes by creating

rice-paper doors that slide in front of the camera. Radium's Andrea Mansour

produced the project for Minneapolis ad agency Martin/Williams.

DIGITAL DOMAIN helped Plum Productions create a virtual jungle/city for the

new Fiat Punto spots. Plum Productions' director Eric Saarinen worked with

Digital Domain's visual effects supervisor Paul Kirsch to create a city

full of people riding around on lion, tigers, and bears. The Punto drives

in showing how different it is compared to the other animals on the street.

Digital Domain had the complex job of combining five-days of greenscreen

shooting on the Paramount backlot into a coherent flow. "We made the

Kellogg's Froot Loops spokesman Toucan Sam comes to life with help from

Santa Monica-based SIMEX STUDIOS for a new spot entitled "Time Flies." The

spot highlights the new 2000 Marshmallow Blasted Froot Loops by blasting

Toucan Sam through the air with an explosion of marshmallow "2s". SimEx

produced the spot for ad agency Leo Burnett of Chicago. The SimEx team on

the commercial was animation producer Christina Cox, animation director

Jean Perramon, live-action producer Bob McGinness and live-action director

New York-based SPONTANEOUS COMBUSTION produced the 3D animation and visual

FXs for the newest Proctor & Gamble's Millstone Coffee spots. The 30 second

and two 15 second commercials entitled "Own the Mug" features a ceramic

coffee cup morphing into a boat. The spots were produced for New York ad

agency D'Arcy, Masius, Benton & Bowles. Tony Robins directed and Simone

Pillinger produced the commercials for Spontaneous Combustion. The spots

will continue to air through April 2000.

Toronto-based TOPIX/MAD DOG provided the CG images for "Flying Ball" for

Sears' new Poke-Mart. The 30 and 20 spots were produced for Young &

Rubicam. POKEMON hero, Ash, throws the famous Poke-ball which leads

children like lemmings to Sears' Poke-Mart section to catch all the new

Pokemon products. Diana D'Amelio produced and Patrick Coffey animated the

tags for TOPIX/Mad Dog.

RING OF FIRE provided the fx for the newest Ericsson T-28 mobile phone ad

entitled "Aliens." Ring of Fire produced the spot for Stockholm ad agency

Hall & Cederquist. The international 30 second spot beams down aliens to a

man deserted on an island. The aliens mistake the phone for intelligent

life (like most humans do in Los Angeles) and wonder whether or not the

device will taste like chicken. Jerry Spivack was Creative Director for

Ring of Fire and Kevin Prendiville served as Visual Effects Supervisor.

New York-based EYEBALL created 10 second ID tags for seven USA Network

shows including: BAYWATCH, LA FEMME NIKITA, XENA: WARRIOR PRINCESS and LAW

AND ORDER: SPECIAL VICTIMS UNIT. A circular frame opens around footage from

the USA program as the tag line "You Are Here" appears amidst flag stripes

and flashes. Brighter colors were used for the more light-hearted shows,

while a grittier mood was created for the more serious dramas. Daniel Fries

was the Creative Director at Eyeball.