SOMA has a long and distinguished career in creating award-winning programs that inspire, inform, entertain, motivate, educate; in short, programs that sizzle. They have made 22 television documentary series and over a hundred programs for a wide variety of clients – educational institutions, professional groups, non-profit agencies, government, and corporations.
“They are the best indie producers in Canada,” says Les Harris, president of Canamedia Distributors. (acquired by Distribution Access in 2010). SOMA's programs have won over 60 international awards. , garnered critical acclaim, have had excellent audience ratings, and have sold all over the world. And, they're always on time and on budget.
Over 25 years, partners Deepak Sahasrabudhe and Susan Millar, along with the many renowned filmmakers that have worked with them – top notch directors, writers, field producers, cinematographers, art directors and crews – have carved a special niche in the world of programs that educate in fresh, captivating ways.
Many of their innovations led the way in new approaches to producing. For example, their programs for Canada's educational networks, for PBS, and for Life Network were among the first to take videos crews and top flight subject matter experts out into the field at affordable budgets so viewers could vicariously learn in “real situations”. In the series, “Set Your Sails” produced in the mid-eighties, viewers had a seat in the cockpit of large sailboats plying cruising waters from the Gulf Islands to the Caribbean Sea – and that was in the mid-eighties with the first mobile video (BetaCam) cameras.
They also created many efficiencies in production through processes that made the best use of technology. Deepak introduced ways to reduce editing times by a factor of 10, he brought video captions for the hearing impaired to Canada, he has continually optimized computer technology throughout the company, and he keeps pace with the ever changing world of the internet – its demands and uses – and has created complex websites and semantic computing systems.
As partners, they are an unbeatable combination. Susan is the creative producer who ensures that programs are rich in content and imagery and structured to do their job well, and Deepak makes sure that the financing, management, and infrastructure are solid and up-to-date. Together they develop and create the markets and the strategic direction of the company.