Bally Sports Matches Live, Broadcast Audio to New Graphics Package New sound design features a videogame aesthetic' By Dan Daley, Audio Editor
Wednesday, June 2, 2021 - 11:24 am
Print This Story | Subscribe
Story Highlights
As arena and stadium sound systems have gotten louder, video screens bigger, and sports broadcasts brighter and noisier, the content delivered through those portals has, unsurprisingly, undergone some supercharging. That goes especially for Sinclair Broadcast Group's rollout of its Bally Sports Network after purchasing 19 former Fox Sports regional networks in an $85 million transaction last year.
Bally Sports' newly designed global logo will serve as a foundation for its RSNs' graphics.
Created in concert with Interbrand, Bally's marketing consultancy group, the all-new Bally Sports logo features the iconic red Bally script atop a red Sports. This new logo architecture also serves as the foundation for the RSN logos, with the global logo positioned above a prominent red banner and the corresponding geographic name overlaid in white.
And to match that new look, an audio counterpart, with a set of new sounds, was commissioned from Dallas Audio Post, the audio-postproduction facility that had done that type of work for the former Fox Sports Southwest RSN.
On the Air Can you do it? Obviously, for us, the answer's yes, for sure. And then the elements started coming in, recalls Rene Coronado, lead sound designer and partner, Dallas Audio Post, which has done the sound design for the NHL's Dallas Stars and the NBA's Dallas Mavericks, who share American Airlines Center and whose games are carried on the network. Initially, we got a package of six or eight elements of just transitions and wipes. I did a first pass on all of them in multiple styles just to get a sense of where [Sinclair] wanted to go.
Explaining his process, he notes that the broadcast-audio elements had to match the video-graphics package already developed - for the game ins and outs, lower thirds of score wipes, and so on - and reflect the network's regional nature. It also had to pass muster with the larger network, based in Los Angeles.
Dallas Audio Post's Rene Coronado produced the audio counterpart to Bally Sports Network's new graphics.
I did some that were very organic, some that were kind of digital, some that were very dense, and others that were more sparse and kind of punchy, Coronado says. I initially delivered a handful of transitions, with the expectation that we would explore styles and textures until everyone agreed on the direction we wanted for the entire package and, ultimately, for the brand. The first pass included options that were very organic in nature, some that were completely synthesized, some very dense and busy, and others that were simple and cleaner. After a few rounds of experimentation and feedback, a direction was agreed on, and we were off to the races.
The primary feel, he continues, ended up being a modern videogame aesthetic, with both complex interlocking movements to match the visuals and heads-up-display-style UI to reference first-person shooters and space games.
Over the next several weeks, dozens of elements were created and delivered, each going through approval both locally in Dallas and at the corporate level. All the elements were designed in 5.1 surround and then mixed down to stereo at broadcast-spec levels. Ultimately, the transition sounds offer sharp, anticipatory suspense, giving Mavericks and Stars games an almost videogame intensity.
Every element is visually very complex, so there's a lot of movement and a lot of density to the sounds, explains Coronado, who did the work on a pair of Avid S1 consoles, recorded and mixed to Pro Tools, and monitored through a Genelec 5.1 array. A lot of the feedback I was getting was that they wanted it to feel very modern and be almost inspired by videogames, Call of Duty, that type of thing. So I went there. It's a lot of metallic, kinetic stuff mixed in with modern videogame-type user-interface sounds that you would naturally hear when you're selecting weapons during Call of Duty. That kind of vibe is sprinkled throughout. But it still has to work in the context of a dense hockey game or basketball game with other stuff going on.
In the Arena Onsite at the American Airlines Center, Coronado has an interesting sonic canvas to work on: a multichannel PA system that came about when the venue updated its sound system in 2011 but left existing speaker elements in place, creating a 12-channel system within an array of 60 speakers around the floor that can approach 120 dB. Through that, Coronado is delivering 14 discrete tracks of audio premixed through his studio matrix to move throughout the installed sound system.
There's always a big production there, such as the big video that plays before the teams hit the ice or run onto the court, he says. When the Stars are in the playoffs, it's like 20 minutes of continuous video. It's a massive production, and I'm delivering 14 discrete channels of audio, plus a time-code channel, for that. It can also be synched up with the 360-degree ribbon board around the arena.
Coronado delivers the in-venue sound design on .wav files, including the final mix with individual sounds assigned to specific channels/speakers throughout the arena, including panning from speaker to speaker. He routinely travels between studio and venue to listen to the mixes, adjusting them to the arena's sonic characteristics.
I have a good sense of what translates, what rattles in the room, what the reverb in the room is doing, he notes. I've learned over time the arena will react well to mixes that are very dry and very punchy. And I'm delivering mixes that allow [the mixers] to leave the
Most recent headlines
04/08/2024
Dalet, a leading technology and service provider for media-rich organizations, is excited to announce Santiago Solanas as its new Chief Executive Officer (CEO)....
03/06/2024
Dalet, a leading technology and service provider for media-rich organizations, a...
08/05/2024
NEEDHAM, Mass. The International Data Corporation is predicting that worldwide spending on telecom services and pay TV services will increase by 1.4% in 2024 to...
08/05/2024
CUPERTINO, Calif. In a notable development for news and live video production, Apple has unveiled a number of significant upgrades to its Final Cut Pro software...
08/05/2024
Pliant Technologies has announced that it will be presenting its new SmartBoom LITE Headset at InfoComm 2024 (Booth C5116). The latest updates include enhanceme...
08/05/2024
SAN FRANCISCO Fox's ad-supported streaming service Tubi has launched Stubios, a fan-fueled studio for aspiring filmmakers and their fans that the company sa...
08/05/2024
SAN ANTONIO, Texas Five more stations have launched NextGen TV service, bringing to nine the number of local TV services on-air with ATSC 3.0....
08/05/2024
TYSONS, Va. Tegna Inc. has announced that Greg Retsinas has been named president and general manager at KGW, Tegna's NBC affiliate serving the Portland area...
08/05/2024
08 05 2024 - Media release Olivia Colman and John Lithgow Star in Sophie Hyde's New Project JIMPA
Olivia Coleman and John Lithgow in JIMPA. Photo credit: ...
08/05/2024
OpenDrives Joins AWS Partner Network
Brie Clayton May 7, 2024
0 Comments
Atlas software-defined platform now available via AWS trusted partner network...
08/05/2024
Animate AI Matte Paintings in After Effects
Graham Quince May 7, 2024
0 Comments
Arguably the best video use for AI generated images is Matte Painting...
08/05/2024
Throw Expression in Adobe After Effects
Andy Ford May 7, 2024
0 Comments
The Throw expression is a time-saver in After Effects. It allows you to mov...
08/05/2024
Join FilmLight in Toronto: Baselight 6.1, Nara and more
Brie Clayton May 7, 2024
0 Comments
Thursday 30th May, from 2:30PM, Hosted by Alter Ego 488 ...
08/05/2024
Gray Television reported a first-quarter profit as advertising revenues rebounded to above pre-COVID-19 levels....
08/05/2024
The Today show shared the performers on its summer concert series, which feature...
08/05/2024
Lewis Dodley, longtime anchor for Spectrum News NY1, will retire at the end of May. He's been on the air at the Charter Communications-owned local news chan...
08/05/2024
Scripps Sports said it plans to air a new studio show when a new season of WNBA Friday Night Spotlight starts May 24....
08/05/2024
Advertisers are looking to reach the right audiences and tell their stories inside compelling content, Karen Kovacs, president of client partnerships at NBCUniv...
08/05/2024
Professor emeritus John (Jack) Johnson elected to the National Academy of Sciences Johnson's multi-disciplinary research has been instrumental in shaping ou...
08/05/2024
zweiB updates to latest version of R&S CLIPSTER Specialist in deliverables for cinema, events and trade shows
Rohde & Schwarz, a global leader in broadcast...
07/05/2024
NAB Show 2024
Utah Scientific rocked the 2024 NAB Show in Las Vegas, unveiling two new game-changers in video signal management.
Our primary focus this yea...
07/05/2024
7th May 2024 The nations favourite comedy channel Gold has teamed up with the ma...
07/05/2024
There's something special about summer. We're not sure whether it's the warmer weather, the longer days, or something else a bit more magical, but s...
07/05/2024
NITV appoints Michael Rennie as Presenter and Senior Producer for NITV News
Media releases
NITV has announced the appointment of Michael Rennie as Presenter...
07/05/2024
The ability for line-of-site tactical voice and data networks to seamlessly traverse over Satellite Communications is an emerging requirement to assure warfight...
07/05/2024
On April 5, 2024, the L3Harris Avionics Products Repair Station (NN2R037L) in Gr...
07/05/2024
eds3_5_jq(document).ready(function($) { $(#eds_sliderM519).chameleonSlider_2_1({ content_source:......
07/05/2024
Share this article
width=32 height=32 loading=lazy data-lazy-src=https://apogeedigital.com/app/themes/juniper-theme/src/img/icons/facebook-purple.svg />
wid...
07/05/2024
BURBANK, Calif. The Walt Disney Company has finally delivered some from profits from its hefty streaming investments, with the second quarter of its fiscal year...
07/05/2024
Bonnie Hammer, vice chair of NBCUniversal, and Jen Psaki, MSNBC host, read from their new books at the 92nd Street Y in Manhattan Wednesday, May 8. Hammer's...
07/05/2024
Paramount Plus has ordered the series Crutch, a comedy that is a spinoff of CBS comedy The Neighborhood. Tracy Morgan stars....
07/05/2024
Edward J. and Melody Thomas Scott and Lidia Bastianich will receive Lifetime Achievement honors at the 51st annual Daytime Emmy Awards in June, the National Aca...
07/05/2024
The 2024 Giants of Broadcasting & Electronic Arts luncheon and awards ceremony happens in New York November 12, and the honorees are Al Roker, weather and featu...
07/05/2024
Dabl Network has added The Wayans Bros., The Jamie Foxx Show, Living Single and Everybody Hates Chris to its weekday and weekend lineups. Those shows join the l...
07/05/2024
After winning a proxy fight, The Walt Disney Co. said its entertainment business turned a profit and added subscribers in its fiscal second quarter....
07/05/2024
NBA Entertainment is closing out the second season of its series Pass the Rock with a look at Victor Wembanyama of the San Antonio Spurs, the league's rooki...
07/05/2024
Syncbak, which provides stations with streaming capabilities, said it is rebranding as Zeam Media....
07/05/2024
Samsung has made a deal with Magnolia Pictures that will bring titles from Magnolia to the Samsung TV Plus free streaming platform....
07/05/2024
Amazon, which has added commercials to Amazon Prime Video, is rolling out new interactive ad formats that will enable advertisers to engage streamers and sell s...
07/05/2024
Syncbak, a 15 year-old provider of streaming tech for local broadcast stations has rebranded itself, adopting the name of its streaming service launched in Febr...
07/05/2024
POST Luxembourgs journey with TAG Video underscores how finding a vendor who und...
07/05/2024
PORTSMOUTH, N.H. New findings from Hub Entertainment Research provides extensive data showing that the majority of consumers will opt for lower cost ad-supporte...
07/05/2024
NEW YORK The Library of American Broadcasting Foundation (LABF) has announced th...
07/05/2024
CBS News has named Lindsey Reiser an anchor and correspondent for CBS News 24/7, the network's live, streaming news service. Reiser, who was most recently a...
07/05/2024
NEEDHAM, Mass. After more than two years of decline, worldwide tablet shipments posted modest year-over-year growth of 0.5% in the first quarter of 2024 (1Q24),...
07/05/2024
ESPN is reporting that April was a record-setting month as the network delivered its best April prime time audience on record, dating back more than 30 years....
07/05/2024
WASHINGTON, D.C. The National Association of Broadcasters (NAB) has announced that Kirsten Donaldson has joined NAB as vice president of public policy. Donaldso...
07/05/2024
The Bulls are back home again this week from May 7-12! Don't miss out on any...
07/05/2024
Tonight on House of Zwide: Mampho cautions Maria against making a move on IsaacDon't miss Tuesday, 7 May's riveting episode of South African soapie Hous...
Bally Sports Matches Live, Broadcast Audio to New Graphics Package New sound design features a videogame aesthetic' By Dan Daley, Audio Editor 
