Have trouble separating fantasy from reality? Well there's medication for that. But if what you're after is a crib sheet on how some of the year's most interesting visual effects were pulled off then look no further. Here we uncover what's real, what's not - from in-camera effects to 3D - and what's just plain cool in the animated world of commercials and videos.

ANIMATION & VFX

What do you do when the creative brief calls for a robot, outrageous comic book antics or a charming singing water boy? Why, you animate it. Whether the goal is to mesmerize with believability or create an entirely alternate reality, these projects display skilful animation and effects.

Diet Coke "Tingle", "Bounce"

Agency: FCB, New York; VFX: Psyop, New York.

Synopsis: Bubbles and tingles emanate from the pop cans of the young and beautiful.

Why it's cool: If you could see sound, it would look something like this.

What's real? Kate Beckinsale in a bikini (we assume). Also, real plastic bubbles were used as a visual reference and emulated by their CG equivalents to keep a random quality to the movement. "It was challenging making it photoreal while retaining a graphic quality," says Kylie Matulick, CD at Psyop, explaining why the bouncing "bubbles" and floating "tingles" weren't to appear too real in the spots. "Coke felt the effect would be more brandable and ownable - they might continue using it."

What's not? The bubbles and tingles were created using a combination of Photoshop, Soft Image XSI and flame.

BBC "Euro 2004"

Agency: DFGW, London;

Director: Darren Groucutt/James Thompson; VFX: Bermuda Shorts, London.

Synopsis: Soccer stars are painted over in the style of the artistic movement of their country.

Why it's cool: Picasso shoots, Modigliani saves.

What's real? The actual football players.

What's not? Gaugin, Blake, Van Gogh, etc.

Synopsis: It's rare to get art on telly but that's what was created to promote the European Cup of soccer for the BBC. Martyn Pick, director at Bermuda Shorts, credits an amazing assortment of artists who gave David Beckham the Lucian Freud impasto brushwork treatment and star Italian goalie Buffon the elongated look of a Modigliani. "Though there was a digital element, 75% of the work was hand-painted," he says. "Unusual in this day and age of generic style with computers."

United Airlines "Rose"

Agency: Fallon Worldwide, Minneapolis; Director and artist:

Aleksandr Petrov; VFX: Pascal Blais, Montreal.

Synopsis: A businessman cuts a rose from his garden and

delivers it to his mother in another city.

Why it's cool: Cleverly combines flow and interruption.

How it was done: Petrov employs a unique process in which he paints a scene by applying transparent oils to glass with his bare hands and brushes. Afterwards, he takes multiple back-lit photographs of the image using a camera mounted over his workspace. He then moves on to the next scene by painting directly over the old image before it has dried. This job was rare in that Petrov was allowed a free hand to see his vision through, "rather than going in at the same time [as the creatives]".

Mini "Robot", "Engineer"

Agency: Crispin Porter + Bogusky, Miami; Director: Loni Peristere; VFX: Zoic Studios, LA.

Synopsis: An engineer tests his robot built from MINI parts.

Why it's cool: So authentic-looking, this viral fooled millions.

What's real? The scientist - well, sort of; he was played by Jon Samuels, a non-actor but a retired electric car engineer. Samuels is also the real-life dad of CP+B producer Rupert.

What's not? "The robot is entirely CG; however, the logic behind it is entirely based in reality," says Loni Peristere, co-creative director at Zoic. In order for the hoax to stand a chance, "we needed to make the thing believable... we took the parts book and reconfigured it as a biped robot." The amateurish shots juxtaposed with the fantastic robot enable us to imagine a genius engineer with little camera sense.

Nike "Magnet"

Agency: W+K, Portland; Director: Jake Scott, RSA, LA; VFX: A52, New York.

Synopsis: The world and all that's in it is attracted to Lance Armstrong as he rides.

Why it's cool: The FX are nice and subtle - some aren't spotted on first viewing.

What's real? Armstrong, but only in two shots.

What's not? Although A52 spent much time animating various animals - including dolphins, a flock of geese, buffalo, fireflies and bats, many of which took a ton of research to get the movements right - the toughest part of the job was recreating Armstrong when he wasn't actually there. "We replaced either his head and/or helmet and sometimes the entire body through lighting changes and crazy camera moves," says Scott Boyajan, VFX supervisor at A52. That was done without motion control.

Mountain Dew "Helicopter", "Hallway"

Agency: BBDO, New York; Director: Traktor, Partizan; VFX: Method, Santa Monica.

Synopsis: The original Spies from Mad magazine battle it out over a can of 'Dew.

Why it's cool: It animates the spirit of the original still cartoon perfectly.

What's real? As much as possible, says Method VFX supervisor Alex Frisch - a tall order considering the Spies must brutally assault each other in the most convoluted of ways. Spy masks were created by famed model-maker Stan Winston and dummies were used whenever the insurance would be too high to use real actors. The helicopter was a combo of a real-sized helicopter, and a mini one with the blades