May 15, 2015 – Contestants can get drenched in cash or just plain drenched on Pontoon Payday, debuting in May on CMT. Produced by 495 Productions, the company behind Jersey Shore, Pontoon Payday involves unsuspecting lake-goers who are plucked from their party boats to find themselves suddenly competing on a floating game show hosted by comedian Frank Nicotero. If they can answer questions correctly, they’ll win quick cash to keep their party afloat. But when they get the questions wrong, they are tossed overboard.Pontoon Payday is part of Bexel’s ongoing collaboration with 495 Productions. Bexel provided all of the video and audio equipment used to acquire the show, which was shot in Lake Havasu, Arizona.

“There has been a sea-change in the reality television space,” says Jeffrey Bown, Strategic Accounts Manager for Bexel. “This market has evolved rapidly from the use of standard 2/3-inch HD cameras to single-image cameras, and 495 Productions is leading that transition. For Pontoon Payday, they moved to Sony F5 cameras and Fujinon Cabrio lenses. When 495 was looking to explore and upgrade their capabilities in this area, and transition to a fully tapeless workflow, they turned to Bexel. They knew that we would be the right partner to help them achieve their goals.”

Among the equipment hired were three Sony PMW-F5 CineAlta 4K cameras powered by Anton/Bauer batteries, five Fujinon Cabrio Zoom lenses, two Sony PMW-300K1 XDCAM HD cameras with splash bags, three RFX HDTX HD transmitters with six RFX Direct VU HD 9” handheld receiver/monitors, and a variety of equipment from Litepanels, Sennheiser and Sachtler.

“The nature of the shoot was pretty frenetic and crazy, and it all had to be captured in real time,” notes Bryan Kirby, Sales Coordinator for Bexel. “On location, the handheld receivers for the RFX system had to be bolted down to various parts of the boat, and the F5 cameras were roped to the pontoon so they wouldn’t get dumped. All in all, Pontoon Payday is a pretty raucous event!”

Party Down South 2

(Season 2), also premiering on CMT in May, represents another new collaboration for Bexel and 495 Productions. One of the most popular original series in CMT history, the Party Down South franchise features strangers who come to live in the South and party it up like “real country folk.”Shot in St. Petersburg, Florida, with the full support of Bexel, Party Down South 2 utilized a host of equipment, including 18 Panasonic AW-HE60SN Full HD PTZ cameras with full control and other POV cameras for the house build, as well as seven Sony PMW-F5 CineAlta 4K cameras with Canon PL Cine-Servo and Fujinon Cabrio Zoom lenses for the ENG crews. The build included a full control room featuring an Evertz Xenon router and VIP monitor wall for all sources, including the full HD quality wireless monitoring of the Sony F5 cameras using an RFX 6-Way Diversity Receive system.

“For Party Down South 2, 495 Productions was again advancing their technology approach, and Bexel was very happy to work with their outstanding team in a collaborative manor on the new workflow,” concludes Bown. “When it was determined that their control room needed to be moved into a separate house for the first time, Bexel also implemented a fiber solution to transport the video and audio signals from the main house down fiber optics to their control room. Working with 495 Productions has been a wonderful experience for us, and we look forward to our ongoing partnership.”

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