Issue link: https://digital.copcomm.com/i/1529890
22 W I N T E R 2 0 2 5 I C A S Q U A R T E R L Y Joe brought his idea to Bill Lawrence, creator of Scrubs and Doozer Productions. It wasn't easy, but with Bill's blessing, and producers Randall Winston and Liz Newman's persistence, the higher-ups at ABC finally acquiesced. Being a Floridian himself, Joe wanted to pull someone from Full Sail University, an audio and film school in Winter Park, Florida. Kevin Santy happened to be in their very first graduating class. Joe contacted Sherri Tantleff, head of Student Outreach, who was thrilled with the opportunity for her students and helped assure the producers and ABC that Full Sail would handle all the insurance requirements. Approval in hand, it was time to select a student. Sherri sent Joe a stack of resumes from all those who were interested. And it was a lot. From the pile, he carefully chose three candidates and phoned them up for interviews. Though he'd originally set out to bring in a production sound major, the clear winner was a not-so-young man named Brent Findley. 32 years old, married, and a native of Michigan; not your typical intern. Brent was dead set on a career in post-production sound after falling in love with it at Full Sail. I asked Joe why he went that route. "After the phone calls, it wasn't even close. Brent had by far the most enthusiasm out of the three. He was willing to drop everything to come out to California and make it happen." Not surprisingly, Brent was already a student member of the Cinema Audio Society and the Motion Picture Sound Editors, having learned about both organizations at Full Sail, sharing, "I immediately realized they were a great way for someone just starting out to gain exposure to people and ideas well beyond what I could find in Florida." As we know, this is exactly the kind of drive it takes to make it in this business, and it wouldn't be long before Brent was a full-fledged member of both associations. Joe wasn't a stranger to post sound either. He had built a small Pro Tools-based ADR studio in the basement of the abandoned hospital in Sherman Oaks where we shot Scrubs. It was there we recorded Zach Braff's iconic voice-over that narrated the entire series. Not to mention, our entire film editorial team was also on site (with a smart, young post PA named Kip Kroeger, whom we'll get to in just a bit). Plus, I had just come out of seven years in post-production myself with a decent depth of knowledge to share with our newbie. We had a totally self-contained mini-production studio in that funky old hospital. From writers' rooms, to production offices, film sets, editing suites, actors' dressing rooms, costume shop, a mill, even doggy day care, we churned out one the best TV shows of the early 2000's. This was an unprecedented opportunity for Brent to learn about the entire process. We were all excited. Brent fast-tracked the plans he and his wife Kelly had to one day move out to California. "One day" was now next week! Thankfully, a friend in Los Angeles had a couch to lend while Kelly tied up loose ends back in Florida. Brent was well aware that this was the chance of a lifetime. "I had an opportunity to learn this business under the wings of professionals, in an internship capacity, with no expectation other than to be a good person with a great work ethic, because I really had nothing else to bring!" I have to say that is not entirely true. Brent also had a four-year computer science degree and a L-R: Steve Blazwick, Gary Raymond, Becca Borawski, Joe Foglia, Kevin Santy, Anna Wilborn, and Brent Findley Joe Foglia, Anna Wilborn, and Kevin Santy in 2006