Copenhagen, Denmark-based A.FILM has finished a :40 spot for Daloon Spring
Rolls, Denmark's largest Chinese frozen food manufacturer. In the spot,
which unveils a new product called Funsters, a dragon, called "daloon" in
Danish, presents the product like a wise and distinguished old man, but the
children's crazy antics off-screen cause him to lose his cool. The CGI spot
was animated using 3D Studio Max with a few live-action props. Craig Frank
directed. The word from Denmark is that after the spot aired for three
weeks, the product sold out.

Hollywood, California-based ACME FILMWORKS has completed two :30 spots. In
"The Challenge," a live-action commercial for commemorative Pepsi cans that
promote the return of the Cleveland Browns to competition, images of
football plays appear in the stormy sky above Cleveland Browns player Chris
Spielman who asks the viewer, "So are you ready to be a Browns fan?" The
visual effects were composed, layered and rendered using Adobe Photoshop
and After Effects. Scott Ingalls directed the spot for Dallas, Texas-based

West Hollywood, California-based RING OF FIRE completed the visual effects
for two spots for the new Infiniti I30 luxury sedan and agency TBWA
Chiat/Day. For "Rain" Ring of Fire added time-lapse clouds, individually
rotoscoped each raindrop and added visual enhancements to the car and its
environment. For "Aspens" they created the mirror's reflection, composited
clouds and birds in trees, and added shadows to the trees.

Copenhagen, Denmark-based A.FILM has completed "Jumbo Book," a :30 for
Disney Scandinavia. The spot touts JUMBO, a collection of Donald Duck
comics. The spot mixes 2D animation and live-action. In the spot, a
live-action maid stumbles across all sorts of 2D animated figures including
Donald Duck's beak, Uncle Scrooge's hat, etc. The figures tease and provoke
the maid into opening a closet from which spill hundreds of Donald Duck
comic books, burying the maid. Live-action was directed by Michael Hegner
and animation was directed by Craig Frank.

Santa Monica, California-based SIMEX DIGITAL STUDIOS has completed the
computer animation for "Glitch," a spot for Repairnow.com, an Internet
resource site. West Los Angeles-based Rhythm & Hues produced the spot for
ad agency Millenium Communications, and Richard Taylor directed it. The
spot depicts the impact of a mini whirlwind of destruction, which is named
"Glitch," as it passes through VCRs, CD players, and other household items.

Chicago, Illinois-based TRICKY PICTURES has completed "Hello Kitty," a :30
spot for Target Stores and Minneapolis, Minnesota-based agency Peterson
Milla Hooks. Tricky Pictures used After Effects to composite the
live-action footage and the animated characters. Bruce Alcock directed the
spot.

New York City-based THE ATTIK created the visual style and animation for
"Sailing the Globe" and "Getting Ready," two :30 spots designed to showcase
the John Player Goldleaf Voyage of Discovery, during which a sailboat
traveled to 17 countries in 170 days. The Attik added animated nautical
imagery to live-action footage, shot by Los Angeles-based Robert Steadman,
of the real John Player Goldleaf cigarettes sailboat.

Orlando, Florida-based AARGH! ANIMATION, INC. (not related to the above
company) is co-producing a series of :10 and :30 spots for Cold-Eeze cold
medicine that combines live-action with cel animation. Mark Simon and Dave
Kallaher directed the animation. The three :10 spots consist of a cel
animated plane that swoops into frame over a six layer multi-plane of
moving clouds. The computer generated product packages fly out of the plane
and are presented close to camera. In the :30 spots, live-action passengers

New York City-based THE ATTIK has completed two :30 spots for Sol Beer and
agency Amster Yard. In "Disco" a beer acts as a disco ball, emitting
strobing lights. In "Rock N Roll" the can emits electrical charges,
creating a pulsing energy field. James Sommerville directed, and both spots
were created with After Effects, Infinity, Studio Pro and Media 100. Julie
Watkins of New York City-based Manhattan Transfer completed the composite
in Inferno.

New York-based SPONTANEOUS COMBUSTION has completed "Cold Start," a spot
for Prestone antifreeze, for agency Grey Advertising. Spontaneous used 3D
Studio MAX to create the engine and antifreeze. Live-action footage was
produced by New York-based Zero 2 Sixty.

Santa Monica, California-based SIMEX DIGITAL STUDIOS has completed "Ice
Cliff," a spot for Dunlop Tires and agency Dentsu, Inc. of Tokyo, Japan. In
the spot, five luxury sport cars race on rapidly eroding, digitally
generated, ice covered cliffs. The camera moves back to reveal that the
cliffs are created by a giant digitally created Dunlop tire. CGI Artist
Jeff Chung used Alias Power Animator and Maya Media Illusion to create the
effects.

Mumbai, India-based GRAPHITI MULTIMEDIA has completed two :15 spots for
Limca soft drink. In one of the spots, an animated version of Indian movie
star Shah Rukh Khan is chased by a dog while on a date with his girlfriend.
In the other spot, a cricket player is taunted by a duck. In both spots,
the characters are encouraged to "take it easy" with a Limca soft drink.
Graphiti used Cambridge Animation Systems' Animo software to composite the
hand-drawn characters with the backgrounds, which were created using Adobe
Photoshop.

London, UK-based RICHARD PURDUM PRODUCTIONS has completed three spots for
Nestle Polo mints. In "Aliens," which was designed by Robin Heighway Bury,
the mint is chased by aliens. In "Cement," which was designed by John Paul
Early, the Polo mint is hounded by a mob, and in "Beach," which was
designed by Adrian Johnson, the mint is chased by muscle men into a ladies'
changing room. The three designers brought their individual styles to each
of the spots, which were all directed by Richard Purdum for agency J.
Walter Thompson.

New York City-based THE ATTIK has created the new visual style for United
Paramount Network (UPN), the sixth largest network in the US, to help brand
its new identity for its fall season. This includes promos, opens,
transitions, and ids. To create the package, The Attik developed a series
of models formed from translucent plastic and glass, and photographed them
on an animation bed. The elements were edited to generate a sense of
fluctuation in the energy of the UPN logo, which was then combined with a

San Francisco-based CURIOUS PICTURES has finished "Decide & Conquer," a :30
spot for Lugz athletic shoes. Directed by Jerry van de Beek, the spot
resembles a video game and features Fantm Sklz, a hip male character, who
maneuvers through the obstacles of New York City, scoring points as he
makes his way to his final destination. Curious used 3D Studio MAX, Adobe
After Effects and Discreet Paint for this project. New York-based Amster
Yard was the agency.

New York City-based QUIET MAN has completed "Giant Boy," a :30 spot for
Fritos Racerz, a race-car shaped snack food. In the spot, a NASCAR race car
driver wakens from a dream just before he and his car are eaten by a boy.
Johnnie Semerad directed the visual effects, and Philana Dias was the
Flame/Effects artist. Richard Sears directed the spot for New York and
Hollywood-based production company HKM Productions for New York-based
agency BBDO.

New York City-based CYCLOTRON has completed a photo-real, CGI end tag for a
series of Heineken spots for creative company Vidal, Reynardus & Moya. The
commercials are targeted for the US Hispanic market. The 10-second end tag
features a frosty cold bottle of Heineken. Cyclotron used Side Effects
Houdini software and wrote proprietary shaders for Renderman. Bruce Gionet
was the CGI supervisor.

Mumbai, India-based GRAPHITI MULTIMEDIA PVT. LTD. has completed a :20 spot
for ThumsUp soft drink, a Coca-Cola product. In the spot, a mosquito holds
a straw like a microphone and sings a 1970s Hindi love song until the
ThumsUp hero, played by a live model, squashes the insect. Graphiti used
Cambridge Animation Systems' Animo software to composite the three matte
layers -- a highlight layer, a mid-tone layer, and a body shadow layer --
making up the mosquito. The 3D environment was created with 3D Studio Max.
Sunil Shetty directed the spot.

London-based BERMUDA SHORTS has completed "Rear Window," a spot for Natwest
bank. The spot explores the things you can do in the privacy of your home
once you own the property. The spot includes 2D animated people who sit by
a stream, feeding fish, as well as a stop-motion animated man working on
his car. Phil Dale did the stop-motion animation. Run Wrake directed the
spot for Agency TBWA.

SIMON GOODCHILD, recently signed by London-based SHERBERT, has completed
his first commercial, "Colour Screams," a :40 spot for Procter and Gamble's
new washing powder, Vibrant. The agency was Grey Advertising. The spot,
which uses abstract shapes and pure color to create a mood of vibrant,
non-bleeding color, was designed with Truespace and Adobe Photoshop.