ATOM PRESS

NEW WALLACE & GROMIT SERIES PREMIERES ON ATOMFILMS

Aardman's Oscar®-Winning Inventors Return October 15 in Cracking Contraptions

SAN FRANCISCO, OCTOBER 14, 2002 -- AtomFilms today announced the premiere of Wallace & Gromit's Cracking Contraptions, a new series of ten short films from Aardman featuring two of the world's best-loved animated characters. The first episode, titled Soccamatic, will debut for free at noon PST on October 15. One week later, AtomFilms will present the world premiere of the entire Cracking Contraptions series exclusively to online subscribers.

"The debut of Wallace & Gromit's Cracking Contraptions is a major milestone for AtomFilms and online entertainment in general," said AtomFilms CEO and founder Mika Salmi. "Never before has an entertainment property of this magnitude premiered on the Internet. We are thrilled to be able to bring Wallace and Gromit back to their fans."

Cracking Contraptions marks the first new appearances from Wallace and Gromit in seven years. Each of the ten episodes showcases one of Wallace's ingenious mechanical inventions in storylines that range from one to three minutes apiece. Aardman's clay-animated pals were last seen in the Oscar®-winning short films A Close Shave (1995) and The Wrong Trousers (1993), after making their debut in the Oscar®-nominated short, A Grand Day Out (1989).

Like the earlier Wallace & Gromit films, Cracking Contraptions was produced by master animator Nick Park. This time, Park asked past collaborators Chris Sadler and Loyd Price to direct the project. "Wallace and Gromit are like family to me," said Park. "I couldn't be prouder of Cracking Contraptions, which provides new insights into the unique relationship of my characters. And considering their love of advanced technology, the Internet is the perfect place for these guys."

AtomFilms has made it very easy for novices and techies alike to own Cracking Contraptions. After paying a one-time fee of $9.95, subscribers will gain instant access to all ten episodes and a special "making of" feature. The episodes can be downloaded to a subscriber's computer for unlimited high-quality playback, or streamed for online viewing. The series will be delivered exclusively in the Windows Media video format, with digital-rights-management services provided by SyncCast.

Besides the debut episode, Soccamatic, other installments in the series include The Snoozatron, The Bully Proof Vest, The Tellyscope, and Shopper 13.

About AtomFilms
AtomFilms pioneered the distribution of short-form film and animation via the Internet and other media channels. Today, millions of consumers visit the award-winning AtomFilms Web site (www.atom.com) every month to discover new talent and the best in short-form entertainment. Headquartered in San Francisco, AtomFilms is a division of AtomShockwave Corp. For more information, please visit www.atom.com.

About Aardman Animations
Nick Park co-directed Chicken Run with Aardman co-founder Peter Lord. The company is known as Aardman, Nick Park joined Aardman in 1986 and is now a director of the company along with co-founders Peter Lord and David Sproxton. For more information, please visit www.aardman.com.

About SyncCast
SyncCast develops technical solutions for delivering digital content and related data via the Internet and other media. Clients include the Motion Picture Association of America, Lions Gate Films, Microsoft, and EMI Music Group. For more information, please visit www.synccast.com.