Second Floor Studios was accepted into UTT’s Business Accelerator Programme, uSTART, in June 2015. Since then, this company has continued to make us proud, from collaborating with Neptune Blue Energy (also owned by a uSTART entrepreneur)  to develop visuals for its clean technology;  to web design authoring for UTT’s own The Learning Centre (TLC); to creating a nation-wide TV ad for Ultra Pharm Marketing Ltd.’s Jamieson.

Jamieson’s 30 seconds TV AD

Founded in 2011, entrepreneur and founder Kyle Stephens partnered with a few former UTT animation students and formed the company Second Floor Studios, which is a post-production studio that offers services such as visual effects (VFX), animation, editing, matte painting, graphic design and motion graphics.

Second Floor Studios is among the largest Animation Studios in Trinidad and Tobago and is housed at uSTART, located in Frederick Settlement, Caroni. The company is also one of the few VFX houses based in this country. Second Floor Studios considers their service a hybrid of traditional 3D and VFX for film and digital media, therefore satisfying the two complementary markets of Animation and VFX. They create their own motion, animated and live action content where their efforts can be seen to boost output from the Animation/Film Sector.

Second Floor Studios boasts ten employees, nine of whom are past animation students from UTT. The company also provides internship opportunities for animation students who have graduated from UTT, as well as individuals who are pursuing a passion in that career path. Interns are able to work alongside the artists on projects, as well as individually.

Second Floor Studios’ rates are deemed affordable, taking into consideration the international standard of costing within the sector. Their hours of operation are from 9 a.m. – 5 p.m., however they boast availability as well as accessibility and are therefore able to accommodate by offering 24-hour support for entities such as marketing agencies and producers.

Kyle, who holds a UTT Diploma in Digital Media Studies and Animation, along with formal online training for visual effects for film, was approached by Caribbean Ideas, the advertising agency for Ultra Pharm Marketing Ltd. Second Floor Studios was concise and strategic in their planning, as there was a 9-day deadline to complete the Jamieson TV ad during the Christmas Season. Kyle highlighted that meeting the deadline would not have been possible, were it not for the 24-hour opening of the uSTART facility - the pilot of which commenced mid-December 2015.

 uSTART is proud of the achievements of Second Floor Studios and is excited to see what is in store for the company.