Producers share ownership of new Varicam 2700

One of the uses to which Hector Perez of Rocket Productions will put his new high-end HD camera will be minority-designated production services for Energy BBDO’s new Illinois Lottery account.

Perez and long-time associate and fellow shooter, Don Winter of Don Winter Productions, teamed up financially to purchase one of the first Panasonic Varicam 2700 P2 camera systems in the U.S.

The two companies will share the use of the $60,000 system purchased from Roscor “after we took a long time deciding which tapeless system we wanted to invest in,” says Winter.

The camera system includes a lens, five 32 gig P2 cards, a 17-inch HD monitor, a download box and two camera cases.

“It’s all battery operated, so we can go anywhere with it,” adds Winter, who shoots spots, corporate, documentaries, entertainment and TV news for NBC and the Al-Jazera Arabic-speaking network.

Winter’s first use of the new camera will be coverage of the Chicago Auto Show at McCormick Place for Toyota during its opening weekend, Feb. 13 and 14.

This is the first time co-producers Winter and Perez have shared in the purchase of a major piece of equipment, although Winter has partnered on camera purchases with other company owners in the past.

Both wanted to add upgrades to their respective equipment arsenals, but it wasn’t until Winter said he was going to buy a high-end camera that Perez decided, “if we both pitch in and split the cost, we can afford it.”

Perez, a four-time Emmy winner, said the first project they used the camera was a 10-minute video for Rocket’s long-time client Alivio Medical Center, a provider of free medical services to the Hispanic community.

“I told Alivio, that if they wanted HD we’d go out and buy the best HD camera we can find,” which was one reason the camera partners deliberated so long before settling on the Varicam 2700.