Nick Smeloff formed the company in 1975. He had been working as a Producer/Director for the University of Nebraska’s PBS station when Sony introduced its first portable, color video camera and recording equipment for on-location use in 1974. This system was a breakthrough because it was the world's first portable, color video camera, making it possible to capture video outside the studio. This 1974 release made professional-quality color video accessible for news gatherings and commercial field productions for the first time, which was a major step towards modern camcorders.  This became Smeloff Teleproductions.