New Panavision NY

Ron Perelman and NYC Film Commissioner Katherine Oliver cut the ribbon to officially open New York’s newest newly reincarnated rental house. Panavision New York has moved from its previous digs on West 36 Street to a sparkling, lofty space at 150 Varick Street. Panavision CEO Bob Beitcher, VP & General Manager Steven Bernstein, Scott Fleisher, Sal Giarratano, and the staff of long-time colleagues welcomed New York’s film community at a well-attended evening party in its modern, museum-like space, surrounded by the “sculptures” of a dazzling array of equipment on pedestals. Cameras and cocktails–what more could we ask for!

The space looks like a combination of Sweden, where windows are mandated for every worker, and a clean-room in Silicon Valley. Unlike Sweden, ample sunshine streams in through huge panes everywhere. Everything is crisp, clean, user-friendly and inviting. The interior design is stunning, done in a style similar to nearby Deluxe Labs. The color schemes would make Vittorio Storaro smile: a lot of attention clearly went into the psychology of paint color: red for storage, pastels for customer areas, blue for technical areas, and so on.

The location is excellent: just off the Holland Tunnel, plenty of parking (albeit not free), SOHO nearby (good restuarants and shopping), and a Manhattan Mini Storage across the street (good place to store Camera Assistant Carts and Kits).

The half-acre single second-floor layout has a logical circular flow from dedicated loading docks downstairs to receiving, cleaning, storage, maintenance, checkout and shipping. It is a far cry from the Dickensian Industrial Revolution  film infrastructure architectural style previously prevalent in New York, in which every expense was seemingly spared. Panavision clearly is bullish on New York, and has lavished much care, time and funding in support of a projected proliferation of New York film production.   www.panavision.com

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