Gazprom-Media, a leading diversified media holding in Russia and Eastern Europe, has announced the establishment of its own studio, 1-2-3 Production, at TV-3 channel.
Having this studio will make it possible to increase the production of series for TV-3 and expand the library of the holding’s premium serial content. Moreover, 1-2-3 Production plants to produce web series and content for digital platforms.
1-2-3 Production will complete the full production cycle: from script development to remastering. The studio has its own resources for post-production, including audio and video editing, and colour correction. There are plans to create a computer graphics studio at the facility in the near future.
Ivan Golomovzyuk will manage 1-2-3 Production. He is the executive producer of the series Chernobyl. Zona Otchuzhdeniya (Chernobyl. Estranged Zone), Izmeny (Cheating), Krizis Nezhnogo Vozrasta (Crisis of the Tender Age), Zakon Kamennyh Djunglei (Rules of the Stone Jungle) and Ostrov (The Island). The studio will have about50 specialists on staff. Its office is based in Moscow.
At the moment, there are 10 projects in production at the studio. In the fall of 2018, TV-3 channel plans to release three new series Obychnaya Zhenshina (An Ordinary Woman, director Boris Khlebnikov), Mertvoe Ozero (The Dead Lake, director Roman Prygunov), and Uchitelya (Teachers, author and director Ilya Kulikov).
“The main competitive advantage of Gazprom-Media is its ability to create high-quality content, which we are monetizing in all environments and on all markets. The creation of our own studios on the TV channels is a logical step in our content strategy. All of TNT’s high-rating projects are produced in the channel’s own studios. The TV channels Friday!, 2x2 and Super also have studios. I am confident that the holding will expand its library of in-demand premium content thanks to the new products of the studio 1-2-3 Production,” said Dmitry Chernyshenko, CEO of Gazprom-Media Holding.
“The creation of 1-2-3 Production is another stage of transforming TV-3 into a center for the production of the best Russian drama series, which will become a synonym for a high-quality breakthrough. We want to show the whole world that filming is done professionally in Russia, that we are competitive and open to international collaboration. The series that 1-2-3 Production is working on now are distinguished by the highest possible quality of production available today. To carry out all our projects we are attracting the most talented and creative Russian authors and artists that all of our colleagues dream of working with,” said Valery Fyodorovich, general manager of TV-3.
“The projects that we are emphasising now in our production are universal, international stories that are not tied to the national mentality. There is mystery, mysticism, fantasy - this is international content. We know perfectly well that it is specifically these stories that are sold across the whole world and we expect that our projects will be attractive to the foreign viewer as well. We presented them at several foreign markets and festivals this year, and found a lively response from foreign colleagues. For example, the series Obychnaya Zhenshina (An Ordinary Woman) became the first Russian TV series in history that made it into the main competition of the prestigious festival Series Mania,” said Evgeny Nikishov, general producer of TV-3.
The famous screenwriter and director Ilya Kulikov will be a strategic partner of 1-2-3 Production. He has created several series for Gazprom-Media’s television channels: Moimi Glazami (Through my Eyes), Chernobyl. Zona Otchuzhdeniya, Zakon Kamennyh Djunglei, and Politseysky s Rublyovki (The Policeman from Rublyovka).
1-2-3 Production is currently preparing for the filming of several more projects, including a society comedy that talks about the struggles of people with impairments Tolya-Robot (Tolya is a Robot, director Aleksey Nuzhny), large-scale post-apocalypse films Avanpost and Vongozero (directors Egor Baranov and Pavel Kostomarov, respectively), and the action series Karamora about the Russian Revolution with Danila Kozlovsky in the lead role (director Ilya Naishuller).
Additional information about the TV series to be released in 2018:
Obychnaya Zhenshina is a TV series by the famous director of indie film Boris Khlebnikov (Aritmia). Anna Mikhalkova plays the lead role. Other actors involved in the series include Evgeny Grishkovets, Tatyana Dogileva, Aleksandra Bortich and Aglaya Tarasova. The series is in the drama genre with detective and humorous elements. At the center of the plot is a story about 39-year-old Muscovite Marina who, in her free time from work and family, secretly runs a brothel. The pilot episode of the series will be shown at Series Mania, an international festival of television content, in Lille, France. The series is a joint project of 1-2-3 Production and Studio Lukfilm.
Mertvoe Ozero is a project from the creators of the Dukhless franchise, producer Pyotr Anurov and director Roman Prygunov. The famous Russian actor Yevgeni Tsyganov plays in the series. The detective story combines elements of Slavic noir - the folklore of Russia’s northern people. It is a story of an investigator from Moscow, who comes to a lost city in the Siberian taiga to investigate the mysterious murder of a tycoon’s daughter. Over time he digs deeper into the city’s secret life, which was concealed from prying eyes. This is a joint project between 1-2-3 Production and Mediaslovo.
Uchitelya is a drama series by the author and director Ilya Kulikov. The lead roles in the series are played by Vladimir Vdovichenkov, Irina Starshenbaum and Anna Kotova. Uchitelya is an honest story about the most in-demand profession in Russia, but not through rose-coloured glasses. It is a joint project between 1-2-3 Production and Legio Felix.