In the mid-seventies, around 1976 (exact date TK) the Sony color portapak became available. Artists could submit project proposals to local TV stations such as WXXI in Rochester and if blessed take out a Sony 1600 camera and portable deck for a few days, maybe up to a week. This was quite a trek for New York City artists and I remember lugging the equipment over 6-foot banks of snow.
As a more practical alternative we formed a video coop to purchase production equipment; a color camera portapak, microphone, fluid head tripod, battery belt. The coop included full shares and half shares, and most of the coop members contributed to the weekly series, often working on each other's shows, either on location, in a make-shift studio we had set up on the ground floor of 93 Grand Street in SoHo (former HQ for Avalanche magazine) or sometimes with Jim Chladek at Manhattan Cable's live studio at 120 East 23rd Street.
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| Production Coop Members |
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| Production Coop Expenses |
