The new venture, called The Third Floor – London, will see the two companies sharing staff, tools, skills and – at least initially – headquarters at Framestore’s Wells Street office.
The Third Floor has a reputation in Hollywood for delivering highly-creative, digital preproduction services for A-list directors like J.J. Abrams, James Cameron, Tim Burton, Robert Zemeckis and Steven Spielberg; with a list of blockbuster credits including Thor, Tim Burton’s Alice in Wonderland, Avatar, Star Trek and Iron Man 2. The company’s name was coined while it’s founders were previsualizing Star Wars Episode III: Revenge of the Sith on the third floor of George Lucas’ creative HQ, the Skywalker Ranch.
“This is a genuinely exciting venture that will be a serious boost to the burgeoning European film market,” said Framestore CEO William Sargent. “I have long been an admirer of The Third Floor team and was extremely impressed by their previs work on Spielberg’s War Horse.”