July 23, 2013 – Burbank, CA - When TV One renewed The Rickey Smiley Show for a second season, Bobbcat Films, the show's production company, quickly reached out to Bexel. Having worked closely together on season one, Bobbcat Films wanted to explore some workflow changes for season two of the hit comedy, including a significant move of the show's control room from the sound stage to an adjacent trailer.The Rickey Smiley Show premiered in 2012 and opened with the highest ratings in TV One‰'s history. The original sitcom stars comedian and nationally syndicated radio personality Rickey Smiley. In the series loosely based on his life, Smiley plays a popular national radio personality who is a single father trying to balance his family life including his ex-wife and career in the spotlight. The second season, with a full 26 episode order, premieres on July 26.Roger Bobb, who runs the Atlanta-based Bobbcat Films and produces as well as directs The Rickey Smiley Show, wanted to be able to expand the sets for season two of the series and the ability to enjoy a greater range of camera movements. In order to accommodate these changes, the decision was made to move the show‰'s master control system to a trailer. Bexel engineer Ron Fuller knew immediately that this meant the show would need to upgrade to a fiber solution. Without knowing the exact location of the new TV truck in advance, Bexel provided 1,200 feet of fiber to ensure that a variety of scenarios could be covered. CopperHead adapters were used to turn their camcorders into fiber connected chain cameras that could transmit over long distances.Once the trailer was in place, Bexel provided the integration for the entire control room component, including the cabling and structure for the audio, and supplied all of the video equipment. The streamlined television racks that Bexel specializes in had an increased importance to the production when they were moved for season two. The racks, designed for maximum space efficiency, provide a compact, easy to cool and care for system that proved particularly helpful when moved into the confines of the TV trailer. As the new mobile control room came together, it quickly became apparent that the generators powering the trailer were causing a sound issue. After several attempts were made to isolate the noise, Bexel determined that moving the generators to a nearby building was the best answer to the problem.The Rickey Smiley Show is a 24p, multi-camera production, using four Sony PDW-F800 camcorders with Canon lenses provided by Bexel. The camcorders were chosen to provide maximum versatility for the production. The show is shooting in a traditional four-camera style on pedestals, with traditional studio configurations, however if they need to do steadicam shots or outdoor scenes, they can pop the cameras off and go. Dailies are done using Bexel‰'s Tapeless Dailies solution.‰"Bexel is more than just a service provider, we‰'re a company that delivers solutions,‰" said Fuller. ‰"They (Bobbcat Films) have really relied on our team to provide truly comprehensive, end-to-end support. We‰'re quite proud of our contribution to The Rickey Smiley Show, and we have enjoyed a real collaboration with the wonderful team at Bobbcat Films.‰"The Rickey Smiley Show utilizes a Sand router, part of Bexel‰'s series of Element racks, pre-wired production racks that include a router, a DA tray, and a synch source. Other equipment provided by Bexel for the series includes; Sony switchers, Sony monitors, Evertz DA systems, Harris Broadcast Panacea routers, Genelec speakers, TVLogic monitoring systems, and AJA Ki Pro file-based recorders."We have enjoyed a very long and successful relationship with both Roger Bobb and producer Angi Bones, first at Tyler Perry Studios and now at Bobbcat Films,‰" commented Julia Rodgers, business development manager for Bexel. ‰"That history shows in a variety of ways. For instance, we know that Roger likes to direct from the floor, so we set-up a Video Village for him that includes several mobile monitors that allow him to take a look and pull-up whatever camera position he wants, when he wants. That system was completely customized to his needs, and makes his life easier. That is always our goal at Bexel.‰"[sc name="news-footer"]