In his homey office in Buford, Walter Biscardi Jr., better known as "Wally," watches the Cartoon Network regularly. It's a tough job, but somebody's gotta do it.

"I love watching cartoons and, you know, it's paying off for me," Biscardi says.

If you've seen Alton Brown's "Good Eats" on the Food Network, then you're familiar with Biscardi's work. He is the computer whiz who creates the "Monty Python" style animation that adds a bit of whimsy to the show, which is filmed in Atlanta.

Using photographs of Brown and other cast members and combining them with computer graphics, Biscardi can put them into unusual situations, such as in a jungle wearing metal pans as helmets and sprouting leeks for camouflage.

"He's really put a fun twist on everything and opened up a lot of avenues for story lines that Alton didn't have before," says Dana Popoff, line producer for "Good Eats."

In addition to the animation, Biscardi recently began doing the High Definition TV (HDTV) post production for the program. That means he uses powerful computers and software programs to re-cut the standard definition tapes of "Good Eats" into high- definition tapes.

"In the cable world, everything is moving over to high definition pretty quickly," Biscardi explains. "It's like when we went from black-and-white television to color. It's the same kind of transition. But with high definition, you've got three different formats and three different frame rates that you've got to work with."

Biscardi is one of the digital pioneers helping media companies smooth the transition to HDTV. "There's no standardized work flow and we're all figuring it out as we go," he explains.

"It's fairly new technology, but Walter's been doing it for a while and he really knows and understands it," Popoff says. "You need the equipment, but it's also knowing the technical specs, making sure everything is to legal standards and is of the right quality before it goes out."

He describes his company, Biscardi Creative Media (www.biscardi creative.com), as a script-to-screen multi-media production company. Drawing on a network of freelance production professionals, the company has created commercials, corporate videos and commemorative DVDs for clients such as Home Depot, Lamborghini and many Gwinnett-based companies.

"You don't have to go to downtown Atlanta to get high-end, corporate media production," Biscardi says. "We've brought the quality of Los Angeles and New York production to Gwinnett County."

A native of Poughkeepsie, New York, Biscardi came to Georgia to take a job with CNN, where he worked in various facets of film and video production. He founded Biscardi Creative Media in 2001 and says he loves living and working amid the small-town atmosphere of Buford.

"Being in Buford automatically relaxes you; there's no pressure here," he says. "People in all the little places in the downtown strip know you. I can go into Cardamoro's, probably the best Italian food in all of metro Atlanta, and the owner will always say hello to me."

Biscardi strives to create a similar hominess at his office. He calls one of his editing suites "Wally's World" and has filled it with toys from his childhood, along with high-powered digital editing equipment.

"Even though we do very high-end work, I want to keep the atmosphere light and fun," he explains. "When you're having fun, you do better work."

Clients who come to his office can amuse themselves with a huge set of Tinkertoys that Biscardi's mom gave him when he was 3 years old, or a Super Jock Football Player from his adolescent years.

"You punch down on his head and he kicks the ball over the goal posts," Biscardi says. "If a client and I are having an argument over an edit, I say, ‘Let's go out in the hall and kick the football to see who wins.'"