October 20, 2005 – Los Angeles: Director Clark Anderson and the creative team at Rhythm + Hues Commercial Studios have pushed conventional boundaries and expectations by creating both a unique live action setting and an original cast of animated and live characters to introduce a truly revolutionary product. Collaborating closely with ad agency Ackerman McQueen, Rhythm + Hues and Clark Anderson have created a visually compelling campaign for LeapFrog’s new Fly Pentop Computer. This remarkable computer pen interacts with special paper to help with math, create music, translate, schedule, play games, etc. Its cutting edge technology makes it useful not only as an educational tool, but it also has a lot of other amazing functions and extra software that promise tons of interactive fun.

The campaign combines live action sets and kids, cel and CGI animated faces and heads, composite visual effects, and consists of two :30 spots, “Math” and “Group”, and one :15 spot, “Doodle Dude Teaser”. The spots put live action kids with animated heads into a “paper world”, a practical set with thousands of sheets of hanging paper. The “Doodle Dude Teaser” was recognized by IAG Research in Advertising Age as the #1 most-liked new TV ad by viewers when it initially aired. The campaign began airing in late September and will continue to air throughout the fall.

Clark was thrilled about the project the moment he saw the agency boards. “The agency came up with a very original idea and then gave us total freedom to run with it, which was an exciting opportunity for the whole studio. Working at R+H, I was able to orchestrate the whole project under one roof: design, character development, live/set pre-visualization, shooting the live action,
editing, animating, and compositing….all in-house. I think the campaign really stands out, not only for its fun and energy, but because it’s truly a different look and style. Our whole team was gratified by the Ad Age recognition.”

“The LeapFrog campaign was a perfect arena for Clark,” says Paul Babb, Executive Producer of R+H Commercial Studios. “His creative magic made this unique and completely new creative concept come to life. Clark was instrumental not only in the physical design, animation and creative execution but directed all of the live action as well. For me, it was a real kick being able to observe Clark and our team at R+H Commercial Studios bring this extremely challenging project to the screen.“

“Among the challenges for the Fly campaign was keeping the energy of the spots upbeat, the animation and editing stylized and fun to watch, and also defining what the product actually does and how it works,” says Josh Moss, acting Head of Production, Commercial Digital. “Clark really had a sense of place and style that he wanted to bring to this world, and following his creative direction helped us to come up with a consistent environment for our ‘doodleheads’ to live in and play in. With a new product like this, it's always a challenge between creating an entertaining commercial and a product sale, but Clark and Ackerman McQueen both seemed willing to push the envelope and let the product literally ‘fly’.”

ABOUT RHYTHM + HUES COMMERCIAL STUDIOS

A complete digital studio, with live action, CGI animation and vfx, design and post production services, Rhythm + Hues Commercial Studios draws upon the talent and technical firepower of one of the world’s premiere effects and animation facilities, Rhythm & Hues Studios. Adjacent to the 70,000 sq. ft. facility which houses hundreds of digital artists and staff, the 7,000 sq foot boutique facility of Rhythm + Hues Commercial Studios is dedicated to the highest quality of commercial production while committed to providing outstanding client support.

Recent commercial productions include campaigns for Target, SeaWorld, The Hartford Financial Services Group, Activision, Jack in the Box, Cox Communications and EA Games, and spots for Sudafed and Mercedes-Benz. Recent Film Division credits include the eagerly anticipated The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe along with The Longest Yard, The Ring 2, The Chronicles of Riddick, X-Men 2, Daredevil and Sum of All Fears. Currently in production are Superman Returns, Garfield II and Charlotte’s Web.