CHRLX (formerly known as Charlex until 2014) is an American animation studio based in

New York City New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...

that produces

animation Animation is a filmmaking technique whereby still images are manipulated to create moving images. In traditional animation, images are drawn or painted by hand on transparent celluloid sheets to be photographed and exhibited on film. Animati ...

primarily for

commercials A television advertisement (also called a commercial, spot, break, advert, or ad) is a span of television programming produced and paid for by an organization. It conveys a message promoting, and aiming to market, a product, service or idea. ...

History

Charlie Levi and Alex Weil founded Charlex (with the name being a portmanteau of their first names) in 1979 "with $1,600 and a phone" to support their rock band and to work on commercials. When the band folded, Levi and Weil began working at Charlex full-time. In 1981, Charlex began producing an innovative weekly TV-ad campaign for the

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, and in 1984, they created The Cars' " You Might Think" music video, for which they were awarded the "Video of the Year" –the very first winner– at the 1984 MTV Video Music Awards. Both projects helped Charlex get more work throughout the 1980s, including network IDs for the Fred/Alan agency, commercials, and opening titles for various programs. In 1986 Charlex produced the groundbreaking Cherry Coke ad that featured multiple composited layers of digital video which was a technical tour de force at the time. In 1998, Charlex started using CHRLX as an alternative name for the company (removing the vowels from their name); the Charlex name was slowly phased out until 2014, although it is still CHRLX's legal name. In 2006, Charlex's short film '' One Rat Short'' received a Best of Show award at the SIGGRAPH 2006 Computer Animation Festival. CHRLX's co-founder Alex Weil died in 2019, but CHRLX continues to operate under the leadership of Chris Byrnes.

Filmography

Short films

*''Inner Tube'' (backgrounds and electronic effects; 1987) *'' One Rat Short'' (2006) *''Amarelinha'' (associate producer; 2007) *''ShapeShifter'' (2010)

Music videos

* The Cars – "You Might Think" (1984) * The Cars – "Heartbreak City" (transitional links; 1984) * Yes – '' 9012Live'' (1985)

Television/film

*''

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'' (opening titles; 1984) *'' Mr. Wizard's World'' (opening titles; 1985) *''

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'' (opening titles; 1990) *''

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'' (show opening; 1990) *'' The Honeymooners Anniversary Special'' (video restoration; 1990) *''Real Mature'' (opening sequence; 1991) *'' TNT 100% Weird'' (opening sequence; 1992) *''

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Home Video'' (opening titles; 1993) *''

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: Magic Man'' (opening graphics; 1998) *'' On the Run'' (credit sequence design; 1999) *''

: Frozen in Time'' (opening graphics; 2000) *'' Capturing the Friedmans'' (visual effects; 2003) *'' Maniac'' ("Windmills" animation; 2018)

Commercials

* American Express * American International Group * AOL *

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* Avis * Bass Weejuns * Bausch & Lomb * Blue Bonnet Butter Blend *

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* Bubble Yum *

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* Capella University * Centrum *

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* Cinemax * Cingular * Clairol *

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* Crest * Dannon * David Yurman * Diet Pepsi *

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* Dole Food Company * Dr. Scholl's *

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* E-Trade * Fidelity Investments * Fila *

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* Georgia Lottery * Gillette * Grey Goose * HA! TV Comedy Network * Häagen-Dazs * Hanna-Barbera * Hannaford *

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href="http://totallyjem.jemmagic.com/jemhasbrolicensing.html" TotallyJem! * HealthCare.gov *

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* HTC *

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* Jarritos * JCPenney * Jell-O * JEM * Ken's Foods * Kodak * Kohl's * Kotex * Krylon * Lifetime * Lucent * M&M's * Maryland Lottery * Maxell * Milk-Bone * The Movie Channel *

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* Myers Rum Video Network *

* Nexium * Nextel Communications * NFL *

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* Nickelodeon Studios * Nike, Inc. *North Texas Municipal Water District * Ocean Spray * Pizza Hut * Polaroid *

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* Ralph Lauren Corporation * Revlon * Ribena * Rite Aid * The Ritz-Carlton Hotel Company *Seagram's Escapes * Seton Healthcare Family *

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* Sour Patch Kids * Subway *

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REGZA *

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* Valvoline * Verizon Communications * VH1 * Visa Inc. * White Mountain Cooler * WCVB-TV * WTTG-TV * Zale Corporation * Ziploc

External links

References

American animation studios Mass media companies established in 1979 Privately held companies based in New York City 1979 establishments in New York City {{animation-studio-stub