Atom.com (formerly AtomFilms) was a broadband entertainment network offering original

short subject A short film is any motion picture that is short enough in running time not to be considered a feature film. The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences defines a short film as "an original motion picture that has a running time of 40 minutes ...

movie A film also called a movie, motion picture, moving picture, picture, photoplay or (slang) flick is a work of visual art that simulates experiences and otherwise communicates ideas, stories, perceptions, feelings, beauty, or atmosphere ...

animation Animation is a method by which image, still figures are manipulated to appear as Motion picture, moving images. In traditional animation, images are drawn or painted by hand on transparent cel, celluloid sheets to be photographed and exhibited ...

s, and series by independent creators. The company was founded in 1998 in

Seattle Seattle ( ) is a seaport city on the West Coast of the United States. It is the seat of King County, Washington. With a 2020 population of 737,015, it is the largest city in both the state of Washington and the Pacific Northwest regio ...

Mika Salmi Mika Salmi (born 16 November 1965) is a Finnish-American entrepreneur in technology and media. Biography Mika Salmi is a pioneer in the creative and technology industries, founding AtomFilms – a forerunner in short-form, user-created content � ...

Sequoia Capital Sequoia Capital is an American venture capital firm. The firm is headquartered in Menlo Park, California, and specializes in seed stage, early stage, and growth stage investments in private companies across technology sectors. , Sequoia's total a ...

, led by

Michael Moritz Sir Michael Jonathan Moritz (born 12 September 1954) is a Welsh billionaire venture capitalist, philanthropist, author, and former journalist. Moritz works for Sequoia Capital, wrote the first history of Apple Inc., ''The Little Kingdom'', an ...

, was the lead investor in Atom Films.

Overview

Atom Films was the first online video platform for Oscar winners Jason Reitman,

Aardman Animations Aardman Animations Limited (also known as Aardman Studios, simply Aardman or Aardman Animation and stylised as AARDMAN as of 2022) is a British animation studio based in Bristol, England. It is known for films made using stop-motion and clay an ...

, and

David Lynch David Keith Lynch (born January 20, 1946) is an American filmmaker, visual artist and actor. A recipient of an Academy Honorary Award in 2019, Lynch has received three Academy Award nominations for Best Director, and the César Award for Be ...

. It was the first site to work with a major intellectual property rights owner to allow derivative works by the general public when it created a partnership with

George Lucas George Walton Lucas Jr. (born May 14, 1944) is an American filmmaker. Lucas is best known for creating the ''Star Wars'' and ''Indiana Jones'' franchises and founding Lucasfilm, LucasArts, Industrial Light & Magic and THX. He served as chairm ...

and

LucasFilm Lucasfilm Ltd. LLC is an American film and television production company and a subsidiary of Walt Disney Studios, which is a business segment of The Walt Disney Company. The studio is best known for creating and producing the ''Star Wars'' and ' ...

for

The Official Star Wars Fan Film Awards The Official ''Star Wars'' Fan Film Awards was an annual contest put forth by Lucasfilm and AtomFilms to showcase and acknowledge the growing genre of fan films made by, for, and about fans of the ''Star Wars'' saga. The inaugural contest in 200 ...

in November 2000.

Buyout

On August 10, 2006, Atom Entertainment was bought by MTV Networks (now called

Paramount Media Networks Paramount Media Networks (formerly known as Warner Cable Communications, Warner-Amex Satellite Entertainment, MTV Networks, Viacom Media Networks, and ViacomCBS Domestic Media Networks) is an American mass media division of Paramount Global tha ...

) with all its properties, including AtomFilms, Addicting Games, Addicting Clips (renamed AtomUploads) and Shockwave.com. The buyout occurred shortly after negotiations against and subsequently with

Google Google LLC () is an American multinational technology company focusing on search engine technology, online advertising, cloud computing, computer software, quantum computing, e-commerce, artificial intelligence, and consumer electronics. ...

to purchase

YouTube YouTube is a global online video platform, online video sharing and social media, social media platform headquartered in San Bruno, California. It was launched on February 14, 2005, by Steve Chen, Chad Hurley, and Jawed Karim. It is owned by ...

. In 2012, Atom.com was absorbed into

Comedy Central Comedy Central is an American basic cable channel owned by Paramount Global through its network division's MTV Entertainment Group unit, based in Manhattan. The channel is geared towards young adults aged 18–34 and carries comedy programming ...

, and was renamed CC Studios.

References

{{reflist

External links

Official WebsiteMovies & EntertainmentHottest Movies & TV SeriesXappie Entertainment Portal
American film websites Home video companies of the United States Internet properties established in 1998 Internet properties disestablished in 2012 Former Viacom subsidiaries