MEDIA ROOM INSIDER: HOLLYWOOD COMES HOME

How a sound editor turned custom installation pro transformed his former home studio into a home theater.

- BOB ANKOSKO

KENT OBERLIN had a great gig working in the post-production department at the sprawling Sony Pictures Studios complex in Culver City, CA, former home of the legendary MetroGoldwyn-Mayer (MGM) lot where The Wizard of Oz and many beloved films from Hollywood's golden era were made and where contemporary films such as Spider-Man: No Way Home are made today. Working out of an office next door to the world-class Barbra Streisand Scoring Stage, he assembled and maintained the workstations sound editors used to build soundtracks for films in production.

Oberlin loved his job, especially the opportunity to meet and work with sound engineers and audio professionals at companies like JBL and Dolby, which piqued his interest in home theater or, as he put it, "the possibilities of bringing the cinematic experience to the home." He would frequent the Sony Electronics store on studio property to check out the latest and greatest consumer A/V technology and take full advantage of his employee discount.

Growing tired of his grueling schedule and the stress that came with it, Oberlin left Sony and began offering boutique post-production sound editing services in the San Diego area, eventually transforming his garage into an office/editing studio with the help of designer/acoustician Bill Dohn. And then the home theater bug returned. "My continued interest in films, coupled with many of my customers recognizing my technical prowess, led me to ultimately switch gears and leave the TV and film post-production world for the A/V world," Oberlin recalls.