August 11, 2006 - Los Angeles: Director Steve Beck of Rhythm + Hues Commercial Studios has completed a magical and inventive new spot for Crayola and ad agency McGarryBowen. "The Growing Tree" is a mix of live action, green screen, matte paintings, 3D and 2D visual effects. In this spot, kids play and study with Crayola crayons, markers and colored pencils in a fantastical gigantic colorful tree. As the camera moves up the tree, it reveals various groups of children drawing, writing and working on school projects. And as their age group increases, their environment becomes increasingly more complex and sophisticated.

"I enjoyed the opportunity to collaborate with Ann, Floh and Martin of McGarryBowen in creating this astonishing world of color and imagination," says Beck.

"This was a fun but demanding project that allowed us to fully utilize all of our studios' resources in realizing this wonderful painterly world of creativity," comments Executive Producer Paul Babb. "Steve Beck worked closely with McGarryBowen's creative team in designing the entire environment and directed our cast to interact within the tree and its color palette."

The spot was lensed by Peter Hartmann in Vancouver. Steve Wellington edited the spot at R+H and John Heller was the Visual Effects Supervisor at R+H. Sound Lounge (New York) created the music. The spot began airing in July '06.

ABOUT RHYTHM + HUES COMMERCIAL STUDIOS

A complete digital studio, with live action, CG 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 premier 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 and outstanding client support.

Recent commercial projects include Nasonex, Ubisoft, Microsoft, Volkswagen, Glade, The Hartford Financial Services Group, Chevrolet, McDonald's, Wal-Mart, SeaWorld, Activision and LeapFrog. Recent Film Division credits include Superman Returns, The Fast and The Furious 3: Tokyo Drift, Garfield 2 and The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe. Films currently in production include Charlotte's Web, Night at the Museum, Evan Almighty, Happy Feet, The Golden Compass and Kingdom.