Following its purchase of Vancouver-based Mainframe Entertainment last year, U.S. animation producer IDT has added another Canadian property to its growing stable with the acquisition of DKP Effects.

John Morch, DKP’s VP of business development, says business will go on as usual for the Toronto-based CG effects company, but he is definitely excited about future collaborations with IDT.

‘The deal brings a whole new level of opportunities,’ he says. ‘It gives us the opportunity to pursue projects, to combine our resources’

New Jersey-based IDT develops, acquires, produces and distributes computer-generated and traditionally animated productions for film, broadcast and direct-to-consumer markets. It has been expanding since May 2003, when it acquired controlling interest of Film Roman. Since then, it has also acquired Anchor Bay Entertainment Group from Handleman Company and a minority equity interest in Vanguard Animation.

With the purchase of DKP, which produces effects for UPN’s 3D series Game Over, IDT becomes one of the only facilities in the world to produce 2D and 3D primetime broadcast programming.

Morch says the sale of DKP had nothing to do with a drop in business. In fact, it was quite the contrary.

‘We’ve been on fire for the past five years,’ he says. ‘We’ve produced the first-ever interactive DVD [the interactive movie Scourge of Worlds, A Dungeons & Dragons Adventure]; we just finished Game Over. We’ve been growing.

‘This is just for the ability to work with a whole new group. It’s a pretty exciting deal.’

With the addition of DKP, IDT now has production facilities in Newark, NJ, Los Angeles, Vancouver, Bet Shemesh, Israel and Toronto.

Dan Krech and Jackie Lynette established DKP in 1985. The company, with proprietary production tools, has produced CG effects for television, video features, over 3,000 commercials, and films for the likes of 20th Century Fox, Paramount Pictures and New Line.

-www.digitalproductionsolutions.com (IDT)

-www.dkp.com