Burbank-based Modern VideoFilm announced major changes to its executive management team. Joining the executive team are Scott Avila as CEO, Cooper Crouse as president and Roxanna Sassanian as CFO. Long-time executives Bill Watt, president of digital media services; Mark Smirnoff, president of creative services and Jon Johnson, executive vice president/sales will take on added managerial and operational responsibilities. Departing the company are Moshe Barkat and Hugh Miller, previously CEO and CFO, respectively.
Under the new leadership, Modern VideoFilm will seek to broaden its ties to studio clients, independent producers and content distributors, and work more closely with them to implement new workflows, production technologies and modes of media distribution. “We want to partner with our clients to better meet their needs today and in the future,” said Avila. “With the media landscape changing rapidly, we need to be a nimble, forward-thinking company. We are excited about our future.”
Avila, Crouse and Sassanian arrive from similar positions with The Culver Studios where they oversaw a major expansion of studio operations.
Avila noted that Watt, Smirnoff and Johnson provide continuity in management and have strong relationships throughout the film and television industry. “Modern VideoFilm has always had a remarkably talented and committed staff,” Avila said. “Bill, Mark and Jon each have been in leadership positions with the company for more than 20 years, as have many other people on our team. They remain the backbone of the company.”
Modern VideoFilm’s headquarters in Burbank feature a fully file-based infrastructure encompassing both its postproduction and content management divisions. Its postproduction division, which includes operations in Burbank and a state-of-the-art facility in Santa Monica, provides editorial, color grading, visual effects, restoration and dailies services. Its content management division handles digital and physical content distribution, including encoding, transcoding, meta data, quality control, content access, storage and delivery. It currently maintains over 200,000 physical elements.
The company has recently expanded its 4K infrastructure for supporting motion picture and television postproduction projects. In addition, it has added 4K VOD platforms for ultra HD content distribution. The company is developing workflows to support high dynamic range (HDR) imagery.
“Modern has also stood for quality and outstanding service,” said John Pollak, president of Electus International. “They have been a valued partner for years, we have great confidence in their team and look forward to continuing our collaboration.” Modern provides a variety of distribution services for Electus shows including Dating Naked, The Coolest Places on Earth, Years of Living Dangerously, Duck Commander, Food Fighters, Southern Justice, Mob Wives and Running Wild with Bear Grylls.
