--
Artists at international visualization studio THE THIRD FLOOR, Inc. have received this year's Visual Effects Society (VES) Award for Outstanding Virtual Cinematography in a Photoreal Project for Marvel's Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 - Groot Dance/Opening Fight. The award was presented to nominees James Baker (previs/postvis supervisor) and Steven Lo (previs lead) of THE THIRD FLOOR and nominees Alvise Avati (animator) and Robert Stipp (lighting technical director) of Framestore, representing the companies' extensive digital cinematography work.
James Baker (L), visualization supervisor from The Third Floor, and Robert Stipp (R), lighting technical director from Framestore, represented the Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 teams in a win in the VES Awards Virtual Cinematography category.
While it features the smallest character, the Groot Dance/Opening Fight presented some of the film's biggest challenges. This included a largely virtual, two-and-a-half-minute one'r shot of Baby Groot dancing his way through a battle scene. THE THIRD FLOOR team visualized the sequence, blocking action, camera moves, visual gags and music timing to meet the vision of director James Gunn. THE THIRD FLOOR also worked with departments from visual effects to editing to stunts to create techvis and postvis.
Visual effects and animation were done end to end at Framestore, with artists led by Framestore visual effects supervisor Jonathan Fawkner, working with production visual effects supervisor Christopher Townsend and the filmmakers. The visual effects team approached the Groot Dance sequence by creating a seamless series long visual effects takes, each also featuring multiple digital characters set into custom virtual environments with interactive lighting and simulation effects.
The sheer fun and creativity of the sequence motivated everyone to bring out their best, said James Baker, THE THIRD FLOOR. It's amazing to be recognized among the year's outstanding work and thanks go out to Marvel, the filmmakers, our many colleagues, and, of course, the artists within the teams who put much time and love into realizing a technically complex scene with literally so much character!
We are so proud of the awardees for Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2! said Chris Edwards, CEO, THE THIRD FLOOR, Inc. It's great to see visualization and virtual cinematography continue to be recognized in the industry and a privilege to be able to contribute to projects that elevate the bar through collaborative virtual techniques.
THE THIRD FLOOR also received VES Award nominations in Outstanding Virtual Cinematography for Disney's Beauty and the Beast (Be Our Guest), Star Wars Episode VIII: The Last Jedi (Crait Surface Battle) and Thor: Ragnarok (Valkyrie's Flashback). Nominees Shannon Justison and Casey Schatz represented THE THIRD FLOOR's creative and on-set technical visualization for Beauty and the Beast with the Framestore animation, lighting and visual effects teams represented by CG supervisor Neil Weatherley and lighting technical director Claire Michaud. THE THIRD FLOOR previs supervisor Albert Cheng joined Virtual Cinematography nominees from Industrial Light forStar Wars: The Last Jedi while Casey Schatz, virtual production supervisor at THE THIRD FLOOR, received a nomination alongside nominees from visual effects company Rising Sun Pictures.
THE THIRD FLOOR was recipient of the VES Virtual Cinematography award in 2015 forX-Men: Days of Future Past.
# # #
About THE THIRD FLOOR
THE THIRD FLOOR is a visualization studio dedicated to designing and producing next-generation media for feature films, television, video games, virtual reality and theme park attractions. Working hand in hand with directors, producers and key crew, the company's artists use specialized skills in storytelling and computer animation to create digital versions of shots and scenes that streamline physical production and post. Since its founding in 2004, THE THIRD FLOOR has contributed to breakthrough projects such asAvatar and Gravity. Recent credits include Star Wars: The Last Jedi, Thor: Ragnarok, Guardians of the Galaxy: Vol. 2, Beauty and the Beast, Wonder Woman andSeasons 4 through 8 of Game of Thrones. THE THIRD FLOOR has won three Emmy Awards, as well as numerous awards from the Visual Effects Society, the Themed Entertainment Society, Hollywood Post Alliance and SIGGRAPH. For further information and credits, visit www.thethirdfloorinc.com.
###
Most recent headlines
05/01/2027
Worlds first 802.15.4ab-UWB chip verified by Calterah and Rohde & Schwarz to be ...
04/08/2026
Dalet, a leading technology and service provider for media-rich organizations, t...
04/07/2026
April 7 2026, 19:00 (PDT) Detective Conan: Fallen Angel of the Highway Opens in...
01/06/2026
January 6 2026, 05:30 (PST) Dolby Sets the New Standard for Premium Entertainment at CES 2026
Throughout the week, Dolby brings to life the latest innovatio...
08/05/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
08/05/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
08/05/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
08/05/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
08/05/2026
Liberty University on why broadcast technology isn't just a technical invest...
08/05/2026
COW Jobs: UGC, On-Camera Video Content
Brie Clayton May 7, 2026
0 Comments
UGC, On-Camera Video Content
April 17, 2026Documentary Editor - US,......
07/05/2026
Journalists reporting on Sudan are working in one of the most complex and fast-m...
07/05/2026
Multi-year partnership positions Victory+ as a free home for Dallas Cowboys orig...
07/05/2026
From sideline reporting to directing and producing, the talented sophomore is building a well-rounded foundation for a career in live sports production
In the ...
07/05/2026
Cobalt Digital has received two Future Best of Show awards at NAB Show 2026. The COBALT blueCORE platform was recognized by TV Tech, and the COBALT PACIFIC ULL-...
07/05/2026
ESPN analyst Mina Kimes will host the televised semifinals and finals of the 202...
07/05/2026
Bitmovin has announced that MUBI, the global film streaming platform, has selected Bitmovin as its cloud VOD encoding partner. Bitmovin's encoding infrastru...
07/05/2026
NBCUniversal Telemundo Enterprises and the U.S. Soccer Federation have announced...
07/05/2026
Angel City Football Club (ACFC) and Victory have announced a regional broadcast partnership bringing live match coverage to fans across the greater Los Angeles...
07/05/2026
Spiideo has announced the launch of AI Highlights inside Spiideo Play, its automated sports production platform. AI Highlights combines video, event data, audio...
07/05/2026
Leostream Corporation has announced a unified remote access ecosystem for high-p...
07/05/2026
The Atlanta Dream has partnered with Victory to stream all locally broadcast Dream games for free, expanding the team's digital distribution strategy and g...
07/05/2026
Riedel Communications has announced the appointment of Marc Engroff as Chief Fin...
07/05/2026
SES and ARD, Germany's largest public broadcasting network, have announced a long-term extension of their satellite distribution partnership through 2039. U...
07/05/2026
UpLight Technologies delivers a flexible video and lighting system for a new televised sportLaunching the Pro Cheer League required more than creating a compell...
07/05/2026
Full Day Productions and GSE Worldwide have announced Spikes Under the Lights, a...
07/05/2026
Seit dem Start im Jahr 2023 hat DJ (Beta) das personalisierte H rerlebnis von 94...
07/05/2026
Da quando stata presentata nel 2023, DJ (beta) ha aiutato a definire un'esperienza d'ascolto pi personalizzata per 94 milioni di utenti Spotify Premi...
07/05/2026
Since launching in 2023, DJ (beta) has helped shape a more personalized listenin...
07/05/2026
Desde o lan amento em 2023, o DJ (beta) j ajudou a deixar a experi ncia de ouvi...
07/05/2026
From our earliest days, Spotify has been built on a simple principle: Great audio should be easy to reach. It's what's driven us to expand from music to...
07/05/2026
Asian and Pacific Islander artists continue to shape the global soundscape, pushing creative boundaries and connecting with fans worldwide. This Asian & Pacific...
07/05/2026
Company announce long-requested choir instrument
In the latest expansion of their Symphonic Elements series, UJAM have introduced an all-new vocal instrumen...
07/05/2026
Modular-inspired sound generation with digital control
Buchla have introduced Ziggy, a new compact synthesizer built around the company's complex oscill...
07/05/2026
Combines analogue voices with digital synthesis and sequencing
Polyend have announced Drums, a new hybrid analogue and digital drum machine that combines sy...
07/05/2026
Control surface now officially supports four DAWs
When Nektar launched the Panorama CS12 control surface, it worked exclusively with Apple's Logic Pro, ...
07/05/2026
In the first quarter 2026, SGL Carbon generated consolidated sales of 184.5 million, which was 49.8 million, or 21.3%, lower than in the prior year (Q1 2025: ...
07/05/2026
Rohde & Schwarz and Greenerwave achieve precise and fast ESA antenna characteriz...
07/05/2026
Two multi-role L3Harris products - the Red Wolf launched effects vehicle and SK...
07/05/2026
L3Harris will be developing key features of a secure and resilient digital infra...
07/05/2026
Alysa Liu and Shohei Ohtani Help Drive Viewership as 91 of the Top 100 Broadcast...
07/05/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
07/05/2026
Cobalt Digital Wins Two Future Best of Show Awards at 2026 NAB Show
Manufacturer Recognized by TV Tech and TVBEurope for Innovation in signal processing
Cobal...
07/05/2026
Software and hardware platforms, AI power and user-friendliness on show...
07/05/2026
Intinor will demonstrate its latest technical enhancements for the Direkt series at BroadcastAsia 2026. With a continued focus on reliable contribution and remo...
07/05/2026
Bitmovin has announced that MUBI has chosen Bitmovin as its cloud VOD encoding partner, replacing MUBI's legacy on premises encoding setup to improve scalab...
07/05/2026
Meet Graduates from Berklees Class of 2026 Members of this years graduating class reflect on their proudest moments at Berklee and look ahead to whats next.
...
07/05/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
07/05/2026
At BroadcastAsia 2026, Interra Systems will demonstrate its latest innovations in automated quality control (QC), real-time monitoring, and captioning. The comp...
07/05/2026
At this year's Broadcast Asia, PlayBox Neo is set to unveil recent innovations across its PlayBox Neo Suite and integrated range of broadcast media solution...
-- 
