3rd Films

3rd Films is a Los Angeles-area visual effects, virtual production, motion graphics, and independent film-production studio founded in 2008 by director and VFX supervisor Don Bitters III. The boutique company combines live-action development with digital imagery, supporting productions ranging from independent features to television and streaming work.

Its visual-effects work spans CGI, compositing, green-screen integration, creature effects, graphics, and title design. The studio also provides VFX supervision from previsualization through final delivery, alongside motion-graphics and commercial-animation design. For narrative projects, its services extend to screenplay development, directing, and production.

Virtual production

3rd Films has developed a virtual-production practice centered on LED volume stages, Unreal Engine real-time environments, and in-camera visual effects. In 2020, the company used a hybrid Level 2 virtual-production workflow for the sci-fi action project Escape Velocity, pairing real-time LED backdrops with conventional production methods.

Screen and production work

The studio produced and handled visual effects for Terrordactyl, a feature-length action-comedy monster film released in 2016 after global distribution was acquired by MarVista Entertainment. It later partnered with Brain Academy on visual effects and motion graphics for the television series Home Invasion.

3rd Films has also contributed VFX, graphics, and supervision work to screen productions including House of Cards, Supergirl, Quantico, The Maze Runner, Perception, The Last Ship, Terra Nova, The Cloverfield Paradox, and Other Space. Its work brings together genre-film production, television visual effects, and real-time production techniques for theatrical, streaming, broadcast, advertising, and digital-content clients.