March 16, 2016 - Burbank, CA - FYI’s Kocktails with Khloé features the fun, surprising and real conversations that happen when friends get together at home to dish on their lives, pop culture and more. In each episode, Khloé’s guests join her in the kitchen and around the table for a lively dinner party, where conversations pair with cooking, party games and, of course, “kocktails.” To help achieve this intimate atmosphere, the show’s production company, Pilgrim Media Group, enlisted the team from Bexel Global. Kocktails with Khloé is the first television talk show to rely exclusively on robotic cameras. Bexel Global provided the production with 24 robotic cameras in total, 20 AW-HE130 Panasonic pan-tilt-zoom (PTZ) cameras and four Panasonic AW-HE2 point of view (POV) cameras. No traditional broadcast cameras are used to capture the show’s action, meaning no camera operators are located on set. “The choice to use all robotic cameras on our show stemmed directly from the creative,” said Leigh Purinton, Senior Vice President of Production at Pilgrim Media Group. “Our host, Khloé, wanted her guests to feel as if they were visiting her actual home. We have a four-wall set, with a completely enclosed living room, kitchen and dining room, so guests feel like they are coming into a real home. With the robotic cameras, once shooting begins, there are no stage managers or crew running around. This ultimately allows guests to be relaxed and to be themselves, which helps achieve that comfortable, intimate environment we are trying to create for each episode.”

Bexel Global began collaborating with the team from Pilgrim from the early stages of development. “I knew Bexel was right for the challenge of this show based on their experience, with robotic cameras right in their wheelhouse. They have a solid team, so I knew we were in good hands,” said Purinton.

In addition to supplying the robotic cameras and integrating them into the set, Bexel Global designed and built out the master control room as well as the complete infrastructure for video and audio on Kocktails with Khloé. While the initial installation was done over the course of five days, the company is supplying the production with sustaining engineering, providing three of the company’s expert engineers for every shoot day.

“It was great to work with Pilgrim Media Group on this production,” noted Jeffrey Bown, Strategic Accounts Manager for Bexel. “We did Misfit Garage and Missing in Alaska with them recently, and they’re always fabulous collaborators. Their creative team knew from the beginning that they wanted to utilize robotic cameras for this hybrid talk show format, allowing viewers a fresh, fly on the wall experience, which has clearly worked incredibly well for FYI.”

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