Sky Forms 3D Production Company – Colossus Productions

Atlantic Productions, the company behind the BAFTA Award winning David Attenborough-fronted doc Flying Monsters 3D, has inked a deal with Sky to develop original 3D programming for the Sky 3D channel and international distribution, creating a new 3D production company – Colossus Productions

There are already several productions in the pipeline between the producer and broadcaster including another two Attenborough narrated documentaries.  The Bachelor King 3D features a penguin colony on South Georgia and will get a terrestrial transmission in December as well as a cinema release. A project exploring the plant life at Kew Gardens including some apparently spectacular macro photography is also in post-production and will be broadcast sometime in 2012.

Both of those will be outputted under Atlantic’s brand. Going forward, future commissions between the two will be developed under the name Colossus Productions.

The co-investment with Atlantic Productions follows on from Sky's commitment to increase the amount it invests each year in original UK programming by 50% to £600 million a year by 2014, a portion of which is earmarked for 3D. 

Sky 3D director John Cassy said that the deal would “help the UK become a global leader in 3D TV, and this deal demonstrates the depth of our commitment”.

Atlantic Productions CEO Anthony Geffen, said there was “a real opportunity for the UK production sector to take a world-leading position in 3D”. He said: “The formation of Colossus Productions will engender the creation of exciting 3D content to entertain audiences worldwide, and the pedigree of the company will attract top talent from across the industry to work on these projects…we now have a framework for development and a continued commitment to 3D".

 Sky 3D to Broadcast MTV 3D Content 

Sky has signed exclusive 3D output deals with MTV, and Discovery 3D (3Net in the US).  And in continuing its 3D relationship with Disney, Sky has secured rights to an expanded range of 3D film titles including Toy Story 3, Tron:Legacy and Pirates of the Caribbean 4. 

The MTV deal will cover episodes from the channel's World Stage 3D series, the Asian leg of which was filmed last week by MTV Productions and Prestigene Charter. 

The Discovery pact covers 3D content from a number of channels from the Discovery Network, including natural history, engineering and extreme sports.  It will include 3D Safari, a ten-part series being filmed at Woburn Abbey by Can Communicate, and Beautiful Freaks, a natural history special filmed in Namibia.

 EXCLUSIVE INTERVIEW WITH ANTHONY GEFFEN 

Click here to read an exclusive interview with Atlantic Productions CEO Anthony Geffen who speaks about a critical time for 3D. He also shares information about two forthcoming David Attenborough 3D documentaries – Kew 3D (which features revolutionary macro 3D filming techniques) and The Bachelor King 3D. Continue…

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