What COLOSSALVISION offers today as one of the finest HDTV facilities in the world can be attributed to almost thirty years of broadcast television experience, fifteen years of HDTV experience, and twenty five years of communications design and production management experience.
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In 1972, David Niles moved to France from his home in New York and built Europe's first independent mobile broadcast television production vehicle. This was followed by the design and creation of several other mobile units and by the late 70s, every major European sporting and entertainment event broadcast in the United States (for CBS, ABC, NBC, HBO) came from one of Niles' units. This led to the creation of VOIR and Captain Video, a production and post-production facility in Paris that was dedicated to offering the most advanced production equipment available. Clients included every major advertising agency in Europe as well as European television networks. Among the projects was a complete re-design of the on-air look - graphics, music and set-design of TF1, Antenne 2 and France 3 - the three French networks.
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Because of his facility's reputation for its use of cutting-edge technology, in 1984 Niles was shown the prototype of HDTV's first production equipment. He saw that this was the dawn of a new technology -- even a new medium -- and lobbied to be the first commercial facility in the world to offer HDTV production. In 1985, Niles purchased the first Sony HD cameras and recorders ever sold outside of Japan. The first productions were for a variety of advertising agencies producing commercials that were transferred to 35mm film for cinema distribution. Due to the success of these projects from the studios in Paris, he decided to expand to New York. 1125 Productions was founded and catered to a broad range of corporate and network clients. Notably at this time, 1125 Productions shot and edited the landmark HDTV production, "Littlest Victims", the first CBS movie-of-the-week to be produced in HDTV.
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In 1990, Niles leased and renovated the world-famous Ed Sullivan
Theater, and installed HDTV production and post-production facilities.
From the Sullivan stage came programs such as the MTV "Unplugged"
(Crosby, Stills, Nash and Aerosmith), a series of specials with
comedian Jackie Mason, and major large-screen corporate presentations
for IBM, Phillips, Compaq and Bell Labs, all produced in HDTV.
Niles directed and produced the Broadway show "Dreamtime".
The show played for 140 performances at the Sullivan Theater and
combined giant screen images on HD with live actors, music and
laser lighting effects that completely captivated its audiences.
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After selling the Sullivan theater lease to CBS for David Letterman's Late Night, Niles met up with Scott Worthington, a former Macy's vice president of communications. They formed an alliance to produce large-scale HD productions for corporate and theatrical presentations.
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During the next year Niles and Worthington turned their attention to developing the multimedia production "Show Me New York" a tourist attraction extravaganza which gave visitors a total sensory experience of the sights and sounds of New York City. The production, hosted by Law and Order star Jerry Ohrbach, combined HDTV on a 40 foot wide screen with a transforming sound and light show and perhaps the ultimate technical wizardry of all when the audience itself became the live-action star of a Grand Finale, fireworks included!
Last year COLOSSALVISION moved into newly designed studios at 26 Broadway in the Silicon Alley section of lower Manhattan. These studios were created to be the finest HDTV facilities in the world. They offer a full complement of HDTV creative, production and post production facilities that specialize in the creation of programs that take advantage of the power and impact of High Definition imagery.
