About Windsong Productions

Nice To Meet You

Windsong Productions is a creative team of directors, writers, producers, editors, colorists and animators — and we come to work with a purpose: tell great stories, and tell them well. “Idea people” and “technical people” don’t have to be separate. The people with the best ideas are sometimes best equipped to execute them. That’s what makes us a full-service team and drives our growth. In 2019, Windsong Productions was named one of the Inc. 5000, a list of the fastest growing private companies in the nation.

Our team has more than 200 years of combined relevant experience, and it shows in our work as well as the partnerships established with our clients. Because it takes each of us caring about the entire process to make the final product great.

The Studio

Welcome To Our Home

Our headquarters in downtown Fresno, California includes more than 10,000 square feet of studio space, 7 edit bays, a well equipped coloring suite, an audio booth, and a fully stocked bar. It’s our home away from home. Stop by and you might find us shooting a commercial, brainstorming a new TV show, building a set, or partaking of a hand-crafted cocktail.

Byron Watkins

Byron Watkins

Partner, Executive Creative Director

Byron is the creative force behind everything we do at Windsong. He sees things that others don’t. His vision isn’t limited to the shots he sees; it includes the ability to see an entire story as it will unfold, and then find the most compelling way to tell it. His ad agency background means he knows how to think on the fly and deliver great video for all of Windsong’s projects. Byron served as post-production supervisor for the documentary ``The Art of Organized Noize``. Byron is also the founder of I Bike Fresno, a campaign that encourages people to ride their bikes in Fresno by focusing on the joy of biking.
Sara Bourbeau

Sara Bourbeau

Partner, Head of Production

Sara is Windsong’s brain, keeping all the vital functions going and letting us know exactly what we’re supposed to be doing at any given time. As head of production, Sara acts as both our lead producer and operations manager. Her degree in business/marketing with a certificate in logistics enables her to see the big picture and make sure all the moving parts are indeed moving and accounted for. Sara has a unique skill set that makes her an administrative savant, a producing genius, and an incredibly effective manager. She served as post-production manager on the documentary ``The Art of Organized Noize``. And her collection of pink Dia de los Muertos skulls is second to none.
Joshua Krause

Joshua Krause

Partner, Head of Development

Joshua (or “Krause” as we refer to him) spent nearly 10 years working in LA on documentary film & web content before making his way to the Central Valley. Why, you ask? Long story short, he met a girl from Hanford. Krause wears many hats around the office, but primarily works as a producer, editor, writer and occasionally he’ll thrown on the director’s hat. He is also the head of Windsong’s development department. With 18 years in the industry — working his way up from intern, to PA, to assistant editor, to associate producer — he’s produced 11 feature-length documentaries, 4 docu-series for network television and countless hours of digital and commercial content. His work has been picked up by Showtime, Netflix, ABC, Fuse, BET, Fusion and the Live Well Network, and featured at film festivals such as Sundance, Stockholm International, St. Louis International, Oslo International and South by Southwest. Over the course of his career, Krause has developed a knack for finding the story and presenting it in the most compelling way. He is a member of the Producers Guild of America.

Joann Mercado Hicks

Producer | Production Manager

Whenever Joann walks into a room, she seems 10 feet tall — mostly because of her affinity for super high heels, but also because of the force of her indomitable personality. As a producer, she’s a second brain for Sara (our Head of Production), and she’s overseen the creation of some of our biggest projects. Clients love her because she ensures production runs smoothly and that their message is effectively communicated. Jo is also one of Windsong’s “faces,” serving as a liaison to the public and media, and a member of Women in Film. She is based in our Glendale office, but when she makes her way back to Fresno, she relieves production stress by ballin’ out on the Windsong basketball hoop (yes, we have a regulation hoop in the office)! When she isn’t busy with all that, Jo loves spending time with her husband and her adorable godchildren.
Jeremiah Belt

Jeremiah Belt

Lead Colorist | Motion Graphics Artist

Jeremiah uses the power of his mind (and his computer) to make things move (and look pretty). As lead colorist, he makes sure every hue, shade, tint and tone of our productions look accurate, whether they’re broadcast on TV or projected on a silver screen. The other half of Jeremiah’s job involves telling all the bits on a screen where to go in fully animated spots or making text and images interact with live action. Jeremiah honed his skills over the years working for ad agencies, broadcast networks and freelance before we snatched him up. When he’s not playing with shapes and colors, Jeremiah likes eating food, foodie-style, with his wife Sarah.
Tony Bennett

Tony Bennett

Lead Video Editor

Tony is a gifted storyteller. One of Windsong’s greatest assets is Tony’s ability to take individual clips and string them together into something greater than the individual parts. Tony is a graduate of Brown Institute of Broadcasting, and brings over 25 years of video experience to his work as our senior editor. Everything he touches benefits from his style, experience, and creativity. When Tony isn’t editing video, he spends as much time as humanly possible with his wife, daughter, and two sons.

Marianna Pang

Video Editor | Creative Producer

Marianna spent over a decade as a one-stop shop in NYC before packing up and moving cross-country to stake her claim in Fresno. She has had the good fortune to edit, animate and composite her way through a multitude of projects from web to feature films for international brands including Nike, Pfizer, and Tiffany's & Co. When she's not attached to her edit bay, she's traveling the world: 6 continents and counting (yeah, she's been to Antarctica). And when she's not traveling, Mar is perfecting her porridge recipe in hopes of winning the Golden Spurtle at the World Porridge Making Championships in Carrbridge, Scotland. Seriously.

Austin Newell

Visual Effects Artist

First things first: Austin has seen every episode of The Office more times than you. But when he’s not binging on the antics of Dwight, Michael, Pam and the rest, he’s got his hands in every part of Windsong’s post-production process. He’s got a degree in digital cinematography and nearly a decade of video production experience to lean on, much of it self-taught as he lives 90% of his life in Adobe After Effects. When he’s not working on videos for work or fun, he loves spending time with his wife Jess.

Vince Cosentino

Digital Asset Manager | Assistant Editor

Every bit of video that comes into Windsong Productions goes through Vince. As digital asset manager, he ingests and preps edits for editors. He oversees all the digital assets that pass through our studio. Vince graduated from CSU Fullerton where he earned a bachelor's in communications with a concentration in TV and film production. Over the past two decades, he has worked as a producer, director, and editor on numerous short films, commercials, and other videos. He enjoys spending time with his son, hiking, and watching movies.

Carolina De La Torre

Associate Producer

Carolina is our key connection piece between pre-production and physical production. In her role as Associate Producer for Windsong, her skills are second to none.

She’s a people person. People are just naturally drawn to her bright nature and empathetic problem solving skills. For these reasons, having her act as our in-house casting director (casting guru might be more appropriate a term) has been a big win for the company. She is quick to perceive the strengths of others and has an impressive roster of fostered relationships with local and non-local actors.
When she isn’t growing relationships with talent or orchestrating the plethora of details needed to move into physical production, she is expanding her passions for directing and producing. In fact, she has been instrumental in some of our largest projects to date.
Her work as a Producer on “Come and Get Your Love” for client Valley Health Team shaped the final product immensely. The spot is about a Chicano family throughout several decades. Her personal experiences and understanding of the culture deeply shaped the creative direction, casting, client experience, production design and hair/makeup.

Her efforts on “Student Champions” for our client Madera Unified School District was a game changer. Not only did she interview the Spanish speaking migrant and refugee communities highlighted in this piece, but she led collaborative meetings with the post-production team and manually transcribed the final proof for ensured accuracy. This is the kind of care Carolina brings to anything she touches.
Working with underserved communities is a thru line of Carolina’s work and life. Her passion for this exists both in her career at Windsong and in her outside projects. In 2021, she was one of ten individuals to receive a grant from the Central Valley Community Foundation to create a documentary film about a lesser-known of undiscovered story. She created “Mi Elotero” to honor the growingly difficult working environments of Fresno's street vendors. It aired as a part of The Big Tell on KSEE24, a Fresno affiliate of NBC.

She’s deeply involved in helping her community and is a member of the Central Valley Latino Giving Circle, the largest philanthropic movement led by Latinos in California.

Cody Fletcher

Creative Producer | Writer

Max Martinez

Production Designer

Our production designer, Max, is no stranger to the ever-dynamic world of production. Born and raised in Fresno’s Tower District, his love for film started at the tender age of eight when he created stop motion animation with his action figures. Editing hour-long, skate films called “Tower Trash” became his hobby as a teenager. When he finally entered the work force, Max spent his early, on-set years gripping, editing, camera operating and production assisting. However, when a friend asked him to design the sets of a short film, Max found his true calling—set design. From there, it all clicked and Max became Fresno’s sought-after freelance set designer for businesses and friends alike. His production design can be seen in feature films like “The Gallows II”, “Prey”, and “Held”. In his time with Windsong, Max has designed for Burt’s Bees, Alamos Wine, L’Oreal, Beltone Global, Hilton, West Hills Community College, and many others. When he’s not building intricate sets in-studio or unearthing one-of-a-kind props from his favorite shop, Yoshi NOW!, he is playing video games, constructing miniatures, and raising his adorable kid!

Chelsea Gue

Assistant Producer

Chelsea Gue is a Los Angeles-based Assistant Producer. With just about a decade of on-set experience, Gue brings to the table a well-rounded background in experiential brand marketing, social media management and content creation. While she is technically the newest member of the team, she has worked with and along-side Windsong since 2012 when she was their very first intern.

Outside of producing, Gue’s been a conservatory member at Upright Citizen’s Brigade since 2018, and performed with her long-time, comedic trio “The Usual,” coached by Emily Schmidt. She actively trains in theatrical acting at Joshua Lebar Studios. And when she has time, she lives vicariously through the dog owners in her life and advocates for Dog Rescues in her beloved Los Angeles.

General client feedback after working with Gue:
• “Nuanced eye for brand content.”
• “10/10 stars for positive energy.”
• “Proactive communicator and calm under pressure.”
• “Never met a dog she didn’t pet.”

Joe Ellis

Studio Manager

Out in the world, he goes by Joe. But here at Windsong, he answers to Ellis. No matter where he is in the building—whether it’s at the workbench, in the studio, or at the reception desk—Ellis is in constant motion. Whenever there’s a problem to solve or a job that needs to be done, Ellis steps up to the plate and hits it out of the park. Despite being new to video production, his ability to build, fix, or find anything we need makes Ellis an essential element that keeps Windsong Productions running smoothly. He’s also an expert maker of animated Bitmoji.

Maximiliano Salazar

Production Assistant

Arguably the greatest basketball player to grace the courts at Windsong Productions. Maximiliano’s journey to join the crew is legendary in these parts.

At just 11 years old, with the help of his younger brother, Max (as we call him) submitted his first film to Windsong’s local short-film festival, “The Germ.” Ten years later, Max is an integral part of our producorial team and physical production team—bringing attention to detail to set (along with the chillest vibes you’ve ever seen). Max is what we call a “pinch hitter,” someone who can pivot to nearly any role. Key PA? Max’s got it. B-Cam? Max is on it. Grip? He’s there. We count ourselves lucky to have a crew member as versatile and committed as Maximiliano.

In his spare time as a collegiate filmmaker, Max shot and directed a documentary about the Fresno Pro-Am, a basketball league that features Fresno State and NBA players, that will debut in 2024. When he’s not racking up points on the court or filming it, Maximiliano enjoys reading and collecting comic books with his younger brother, Luke.

Take a Look

Photos of Windsong Productions

If a picture is worth a thousand words, here are a bunch of words about Windsong Productions. Check out these photos of what we’ve been up to.