Created in 1993, the independent audiovisual production company Beta Prod has to date produced more than 320 hours of documentaries. Since its inception , Beta Prod has focused on social issues, discovery, science, history and wildlife documentaries shot in Europe, America, Africa, the Indian Ocean and South Pacific.
Beta Production has received numerous awards between 1996 and 2000. In November of 1999 and 2001, it opened the EMMY AWARDS in New York with 3D credits created by Denis Pontonnier from a Michel Granger Painting of the city.
In 2000, LIFE UPSIDE DOWN, the first 52 minute film dedicated to European bats, was bought by National Geographic Channels Worldwide and by Discovery USA.
In 2001, IMPACTS became the first documentary about the fall of asteroids and comets on Earth, showing the descent of the NEAR probe on EROS, a big rock that occasionally travels through our solar system (pictures from NASA ; computer graphics by Denis Pontonnier). Co-produced by France 5 and ODYSSEE, the film had been bought prior to realization by the RTBF, TSR and TVO channels, as well as by National Geographic Channels Worldwide (the most important documentary network in the world - their third pre-purchase from Beta Prod).
The June 6, 2003 broadcast of BOUNTY SURVIVORS (the first 52’ film about the descendants of the most famous mutineers in the history of world navy), reached a prime time audience rating of 20.8%, or 22% above the average rating for THALASSA, which was showing the film for the first time.
The broadcast of CLIPPERTON, THE MYSTERIOUS ISLAND, on January 16, 2004, obtained a 19.2% audience rating, with over 4.425 million viewers on FRANCE 3/THALASSA. The first week of that same month, the broadcast of one of our animal movies in the EUROPEAN FAUNA series had the best audience rating ever on France 5, in any category.
In 2005, the production of the docu-fiction (1 x 90’) JUSTIN CATAYEE, A POLITICAL AMBITION, led to our encounter with theater actor, writer and director Luc Saint Eloi.
In 2006, the broadcasting on ARTE of NAURU, THE LOST ISLAND obtained a 5.2% audience rating, which is the best score for the programme REPORTAGE this current year. At the same time, in Italy, two of our nature films, THE BEAVER, TEETH OF THE RIVER and THE HARE, NATURE’S SPRINTER, broke the audiance records (11,5%) for the programme GEO & GEO broadcast on RAI 3.
It is since their creation in 1993 that our ARTISANS TODAY and ARTISANS OF THE WORLD collections, composed of 223 TV programs lasting 13 minutes each, have been broadcasted. In 2007, they are still broadcasted in Marocco, in Belgium, in Germany, in the Netherlands and in Luxembourg...
Since mid-2007, Beta Prod has resumed the investigation of the greatest criminal case France knew in the XXth century : THE STORY OF MARIE BESNARD. It will be the first documentary ever produced about this story, whiwh divised the French public opinion for 12 years ! Release in Spring 2008, in coproduction with France 3 and Planète.
At the beginning of 2008, Beta Prod realizes its first sale of one of its documentaries in the NHK, the most important Japanese public TV group.
No Popcorn on the floor releases on April 29th 2009.
