Bios, quick facts, headshots, and links to featured interviews. Everything you need to write about Howie without emailing him first.
Howie Zales is an Emmy Award-winning handheld camera operator and TV executive. He is founder of HJZ Productions (2001) and co-founder and president of Viridity Entertainment Services (2019). His crews cover the Super Bowl, Olympic Games, WrestleMania, Sunday Night Football, and the NYC Marathon for NFL Network, NBC Sports, WWE, MLB, NBA, NHL, HBO, Fox, CBC, and Apple TV. He hosts the Operator Mindset podcast. Based in New York.
Howie Zales is an Emmy Award-winning handheld camera operator and television executive based in New York City. In 2001, he founded HJZ Productions to provide full-service IATSE union crews for the biggest live broadcasts in American television. HJZ has crewed for NFL Network, NBC Sports, WWE, MLB, NBA, NHL, MLS, HBO, Showtime, Fox, Apple TV, CBC, Sports Net, IMG, Dome Productions, and Gravity Media, with recurring credits on the Super Bowl, Sunday Night Football, WrestleMania, Notre Dame Football, NYC Marathon, Triple Crown horse races, and the Summer and Winter Olympic Games. In 2019, he co-founded Viridity Entertainment Services and serves as its President. Viridity delivers broadcast-quality livestream, hybrid, and corporate event production for clients including T-Mobile, Capital One, Food Network, GCI Health, Salt N Pepa, 160over90, and Temple Beth Sholom. In 2026 he launched Operator Mindset, a podcast where handheld camera operators, live sports producers, and founders talk about the work behind the work. He runs his day to day with the help of Athena, an AI operator built on ACTi Beings, who also co-hosts the show.
Click to download. Approved for editorial use with credit “Howie Zales / HJZ Productions.”
When founders, editors, and hosts want the operator perspective, Howie is the one they call. A curated set below with links.