Joe WeinStories, Design and Technology.

44 Keys is a Los Angeles production and digital studio founded by filmmaker and designer Joe Wein. We create films, branded content, websites and campaigns—bringing the same curiosity, care and visual sensibility to each.

44 Keys produced Joe’s award-winning short film Goldfish, an official selection of the Tribeca Film Festival and an award winner at Gen Art, Austin and Savannah (SCAD). More recently, the company produced the feature documentary 76 Days Adrift, directed and edited by Joe and executive produced by Ang Lee.

Joe began his career as a screenwriter, writing projects for Paramount, Universal and Fox and being named one of Variety’s “Top Ten Screenwriters to Watch.” His work has also taken him into directing, producing, editing, visual effects and entertainment marketing.

The digital side of 44 Keys grew alongside the film work. Joe began building websites in the late 1990s while working nights as a network administrator. Early projects for 20th Century Fox Home Entertainment led to decades of work creating websites and digital experiences for companies, organizations and entertainment clients.

Today, 44 Keys works with a trusted group of designers, developers and creative collaborators. Recent projects include websites for Live Nation and Worthe, along with digital and social media campaigns for films including Trolls, Rambo: Last Blood, Hellboy, Dumbo, Ma and The Hate U Give.

Whether we are making a film or developing something for a client, the process begins the same way: by listening closely, understanding what needs to be communicated and finding a distinctive way to bring it to an audience.

Why 44 Keys

The traditional typewriter keyboard had 44 keys. Its QWERTY arrangement – popularized by the Sholes and Glidden, the first commercially successful typewriter – became the basis of the keyboards we still use today.

Joe has spent much of his life looking down at those keys: writing stories, designing websites and shaping ideas. The name 44 Keys is a nod to the place where language, design and technology meet.

Selected Clients & Collaborators
  • 20th Century Fox
  • Universal Studios
  • Paramount Studios
  • Fox 2000
  • Sony
  • Live Nation
  • Lucasfilm
  • Worthe
  • WeightWatchers
  • Dickies
  • Brave New Films
  • Lincoln Property Company
  • CenterCal Properties
  • Harold Lloyd Trust
  • The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society
  • Burbank Studios
  • Soraya Nazarian