AN Oscar-nominated special effects producer from Hollywood has just spent a month in Hong Kong - making a one-minute television commercial with Centro Digital Pictures. Clint Goldman's work on The Mask won him the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences nomination for film editing and visual effects. The award last night went to the team that worked on Forrest Gump. The visit by Mr Goldman and visual effects director Mark Dippe, whose credits include Jurassic Park, The Flintstones and Terminator 2: Judgment Day, marked the first creative collaboration between Centro and Industrial Light and Magic (ILM). John Chu, founder, president and sole owner of Centro, said the 'working alliance' came about in January. 'In effect, Centro has been appointed as the Asian representative and production partner of ILM,' he said. 'We provide production support, local experience and the graphics facilities, while ILM contributes the producers and directors. 'This agreement is the confirmation of our abilities and the opportunity for us to learn from these top people is thrilling.' Details of the commercial, which is due to be screened from mid-April, remain secret but Mr Chu said it was for a company in the communications field and the agency involved was Bozell. Mr Goldman said he jumped at the chance to work in Hong Kong, where he had never been. 'The timing was perfect. Both Mark an I are waiting on confirmation of new movie projects and this meant we could experience a new environment while working on an important commercial,' he said. 'I have been tremendously impressed with the creativity and skills of the people here and I can't believe the energy of this place. It also helped that their technology is just as good as ours.' Nine people came to Hong Kong from San Rafael, California, where ILM is based, including a director of photography, production designer and a technical director. The commercial was shot in Hong Kong over three days and post-production took place at Centro's new 14,000-square-foot site in the Industrial Technology Centre in Kowloon Tong. The budget for the commercial, described only as 'substantial' by Mr Chu, also ensured no corners would be cut. 'I would be pleased to work in Hong Kong again and I think it should be possible to arrange return visits for some of the Centro people,' Mr Goldman said. Mr Dippe said he came to Hong Kong because 'the spot was interesting to direct and they're really 'pushing the envelope' here in Asia. I think Hong Kong is set to be the region's major media centre'. The inclusion of computer-graphic imagery and elements of three-dimensional animation, alongside standard film sequences, also appealed. He said working on commercials was radically different from movies. 'Here we aim for perfection, in sound and picture, in every single frame. That's why it takes three weeks or so to make 90 seconds of commercial - a 60-second version and a 30-second cut-down. We call it frame obsession,' he said. The alliance was developed after Centro and ILM representatives found themselves seated at the same dinner table for an awards ceremony in Washington, D. C., last July. The International Monitor Awards honour excellence in the synthesis of creativity and electronic post-production skills. Centro received the award for best television commercial for Hongkong Electric's The Next Ten Years, produced for Bozell, and also best electronic special effects for the J. Walter Thompson Swank Shop Gallery advertisement. Kevin Townsend, head of ILM's commercials division, was impressed with Centro's work and initiated informal talks, which led to the open-ended creative contract.