SAN JOSE — As the Internet becomes the people's stage and online video takes off, AtomFilms today will launch what could be one of the first of many new studios dedicated to the production of video for the Web.
The Internet video pioneer, which already runs a website for preproduced video shorts or clips from independent creators, said it would continue to bank on what it calls "atomized" pieces. But with AtomFilms Studio, it will finance select projects, investing upfront in the production of original content designed for Internet-based delivery.
The development house has six projects that are under production already -- due for release in the spring -- and as many as three dozen others planned for the studio's first year. The initial round ranges from a Craigslist-inspired online dating reality series to a short film about a man who finds himself fighting for his life after a successful date.
Parent company Atom Entertainment Inc. plans to invest "hundreds of thousands of dollars" in the initiative in 2006, with budgets per project expected to vary widely, said AtomFilms founder and Chief Executive Mika Salmi, declining to be more specific.
