Industry vet Doug Kent has joined sound design and audio postproduction facility Westwind Media as partner and president. Westwind also welcomes re-recording mixers Joe Earle, CAS, and Gabriel J. Serrano, CAS, to its talent roster, which includes recent addition Christian P. Minkler, CAS.
โThis is a remarkable opportunity to shape a lasting legacy in the industry,โ said Kent. โItโs also an opportunity to foster a business that reflects the expansive culture of Los Angeles, one that better represents the city I live in and grew up in. A person can always affect change, but Iโm excited to contribute to and influence the future of our company from this leadership position.โ
Kentโs experience includes a 15-year stint at Technicolor where he last held the title of sr. VP. Kent most recently served as SVP of Formosa Group.
On his move to Westwind, Kent noted, โThis facility is a home for creatives. Westwind is a boutique studio, which enhances our ability to connect with our clients and support our talent.โ
Joining Kent at Westwind is the sound mixing team of Earle and Serrano. Earle was the 2024 recipient of the CAS Career Achievement Award. With four Emmy Awards (most recently for American Crime Story and Glee) and 24 nominations, in addition to two Golden Reel Awards and 14 nominations, he has amassed credits which include Six Feet Under, Dexter, Meet Joe Black and Reservation Dogs. Before joining Westwind, Earle worked at Formosa Group, Technicolor, Soundelux Vine Street and Todd A-O/Glenn. Earle is a graduate of the USC Film School and serves as a Governor of the TV Academy Sound Peer Group Committee.
โThis is a very exciting time for Westwind, and Iโm happy to be a part of it,โ Earle said. โDoug and I started out in the business together, weโve worked with each other on and off over the years, and Iโm glad we get to do it again. He has a vision, a group of incredibly talented people around him, and a desire to make an impact.โ
Serrano joins the Westwind team following a stint at the Formosa Group. After receiving an MFA in film production from the University of Southern California, Serrano began working as a sound engineer and mix technician, then advanced his career to become a re-recording mixer. His credits include John Wick: Chapter 2, Fire Country, Reservation Dogs, Snowfall and Expendables 1, 2 and 3.
โJoe and I became a team in 2021 during the pandemic,โ noted Serrano. โI was honored to work with him, and weโve been on this ride together ever since. Itโs great to be working with Doug again and to really dig in on some exciting projects.โ
After working on several projects at Westwind, Minkler formally joined the team under the leadership of founding partner John Bidasio. Recent projects have included Bridgerton, Big Sky and The White Lotus.
โWestwind has been a great place to work, and the vision for the road forward is very exciting,โ Minkler said. โI look at Westwind as an opportunity to be a part of something, to help build something, and I think there is a lot of success ahead.โ
Minkler is the fourth generation in his family to work in motion picture sound. He began his career with Skywalker Sound, Los Angeles, working on The Crow and shortly thereafter, Oliver Stoneโs Natural Born Killers. Minkler received an Oscar nomination for his work on Once Upon a Timeโฆ in Hollywood, BAFTA nominations for Babel and Greyhound, and CAS nominations for all three films. Minkler is an active member of the AMPAS, CAS and ATAS.
In addition to the expanding talent roster, Westwindโs executive team has grown with the appointment of Nicole Zabala as VP of strategy and business development. Zabala brings extensive experience to the company, including tenures with both Technicolor and Formosa Group. Her career includes an Emmy nomination for her work in VFX.
Josh C. Kline joins Scripto as CEO
Josh C. Kline has been named the new CEO of Scripto, the innovative real-time, cloud-native platform designed for remote collaborative scriptwriting and production. Kline will steer Scripto into its next phase of growth. Plans call for Scripto to further transform collaboration throughout the writing and production stages, enabling creative teams to accelerate their workflow and enhance teamwork.
Emmyยฎ-winning programs such as โLate Night with Stephen Colbert,โ โLast Week Tonight with John Oliver,โ โThe Daily Show,โ and the Weekend Update on โSaturday Night Liveโ rely on Scriptoโs advanced workflow tools to allow show writers and production teams to work together seamlessly from any location.
โLate Nightโ host Colbert, co-founder of Scripto, said of Kline, โHis deep background in entertainment technology will help take our groundbreaking platform to new heights, and also ensure we are on the winning side when the AIs finally make their move, which we all know is coming. I canโt wait to see what weโll achieve together.
Kline brings a wealth of experience in technology and media. He previously served as head of media & entertainment at Box. Kline co-founded Sample Digital, where he developed Digital Dailiesโข, revolutionizing the review and approval process for film and TV production and earning him a Primetime Engineering Emmy Award. His entrepreneurial spirit continued with the launch of Secure Path Technology, a cloud-based content ID and metadata services company. Kline was chief strategy officer at Final Draft before joining Box as head of media & entertainment, and has consulted for major global clients including Microsoft, Avid, and Motion Picture Domain Registry.
โWhile more media is being... Read More