Little League World Series 2021: ESPN Aims for Major-League Audio
26/08/2021
Thursday, August 26, 2021 - 7:05 am
Print This Story | Subscribe
Story Highlights
The Little League World Series (Aug.19-29, ESPN) reflects how Little Leaguers enjoy emulating how their heroes' look and sound on television. The audio part will be provided by an estimated 80-plus microphones that ESPN is deploying in and around Howard J. Lamade Stadium and Volunteer Stadium in South Williamsport, PA, the paired venues for the first LLWS since the COVID-19 pandemic scuttled the 2020 event.
NEP's EN3 A and B units are covering games at Lamade Stadium, and two units of Supershooter 5 are working the games at Volunteer Stadium. The main distinction between the two is the production workflow. EN3 is being used for a conventional production but with ESPN's GREMI (Graphics REMote Integration) model deployed and graphics operators, clock and score, and two of eight EVS operators working from ESPN's plant in Bristol, CT. Supershooter 5 deploys a REMI workflow, with production handled in Bristol.
ESPN's Joe Rainey: It's a Little League World Series like you've never heard it before.
The production team, the switcher, the main audio console, and the program signal itself [are] in Bristol, basically receiving the individual cameras and microphones, as if the control room was here in a truck, so it's as seamless as possible, explains ESPN Senior Remote Operations Specialist Joe Rainey, who is onsite in Williamsport. GREMI, on the other hand, is still onsite integration: there's a full production team onsite; the switcher is here onsite; the signal is composited here and transmitted back to Bristol. It's just [that] a few of those operators aren't physically onsite.
It's the first LLWS for both production trucks, but both A1s aboard them are veterans of the event. A1 Steve Koura is mixing the game conventionally in Lamade Stadium; Devin Barnhart, on the other hand, is sending his mixed stems from Volunteer Stadium to Bristol, where A1 Brian Deardorff serves as A1 for the final on-air mix.
Devin is performing a much different kind of role than he normally does as an A1, Rainey explains, describing Barnhart's role as closer to that of a submixer, focused on delivering separate channels of sound effects - bat cracks, catcher's-mitt pops - along with the announcers' mics. This is a little bit of different territory for him.
A1 Steve Koura is mixing the games at Lamade Stadium.
He notes that ESPN has used both REMI and GREMI configurations in tandem before, during the NBA's 2020 bubble season. The configuration, he adds, enables a more bandwidth-compact and efficient backhaul to Bristol for the approximately 80 channels of audio. It also affords more productivity during a time when the pool of broadcast-sports technicians and supply of microphones are particularly tight, with baseball heading toward its seasonal denouement, the NFL ramping up, the Olympics ending, and the Paralympics beginning. However, it does not reduce the amount of sound from the park.
Audio is a very, very important subject for ESPN, Rainey says. The sound of a game gives us most of our emotional cues and gives us a lot of the excitement and the drama that go along with the pictures.
An Abundance of Mics That's underscored by the fact that, despite Little League's most recent ruling, announced Aug. 13, that fans would be prohibited from attending the games, ESPN's crew is nonetheless deploying a substantial number of transducers, including crowd mics. Accrording to Rainey, the core of that coverage, between the two stadiums, is a total of about 40 mostly mono but some stereo shotgun microphones and an approximately equal number of lavaliere mics. The former are aimed across the field and at the stands, picking up ambient sound and the enthusiastic cheering of a small group of players' family members - up to 250 are allowed per game in the 40,000-seat Lamade venue - whose welcome noise is far out of proportion to their numbers. In addition, about a dozen PZM boundary mics are located to pick up vibrational and reflective sounds, such as outfield-wall collisions. And Barnhart has deployed mini-parabolic microphones along the 60-ft.-long baselines (Little League's are two-thirds those of the MLB).
https://www.sportsvideo.org/new/wp-content/uploads/2021/08/A-SVG.mp4
The entire microphone infrastructure rides on an extensive Calrec Hydra network to the Calrec Apollo audio consoles in each truck. Rainey also points out another audio first this year: the RTS Omneo intercoms and foldback are all on a Dante network.
If the shotguns are doing a lot of the heavy lifting, the lavs are ESPN's LLWS secret weapons. In fact, Rainey describes them as secreted throughout the stadium, on two managers and coaches per game, in the dugouts, and even on the iconic statue of Howard J. Lamade in centerfield, a photogenic touchstone for players and visitors.
Between the two types of transducers, viewers get some remarkably intimate audio, such as when Washington team manager Rich Todd gathered the fielders on the mound around their pitcher, who had just been hammered by Texas's hitters during Friday night's game: Don't worry about it, man; you did great, he comforted him, later adding to the others, We're here for fun, so let's have fun doing it.
A1 Devin Barnhart is sending mixed stems from Volunteer Stadium to ESPN facilities in Bristol, CT.
Despite the crowd size, Rainey says, augmented crowd noise was never considered. The audience is audibly enthusiastic, while its sparseness reveals plenty of other sounds of the game.
What we're getting
LINK: | https://www.sportsvideo.org/2021/08/26/little-league-world-series-2021... |
See more stories from svg |
Most recent headlines
04/08/2024
Dalet Appoints Santiago Solanas as CEO to Lead Next Era of Growth and Innovation
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 and Veritone Reach Agreement to Distribute, Transact and Monetize Media Archives
Dalet, a leading technology and service provider for media-rich organizations, a...
02/05/2024
Hiltron Introduces Field-Upgradable Motorisation Kit for CPI 2385 Satcom Antenna
Accompanying image shows Hiltron's new HMAM-based field-upgradable motorisation kit for the CPI 2385 satellite communications antenna. Backnang, Germany,...
02/05/2024
Millennium Space Systems Selects L3Harris to Build Space Development Agency Electro-Optical Infrared Payloads
MELBOURNE, Fla., May 2, 2024 - L3Harris Technologies (NYSE:LHX) has received a c...
02/05/2024
Samba TV Launches New Generative AI Ad Solution
NEW YORK Samba TV is debuting new capabilities for Samba AI, the company's suite of generative AI technologies. Samba AI's new capabilities provide a re...
02/05/2024
Television Academy Foundation Names Anne Vasquez Executive Director
LOS ANGELES The Television Academy Foundation has announced the appointment of Anne Vasquez as its executive director effective May 13....
02/05/2024
SAG-AFTRA to License Nielsen Streaming Data
NEW YORK SAG-AFTRA has inked a deal with Nielsen to become its third-party provider of streaming content measurement and has announced that it will use the Niel...
02/05/2024
Cineverse Unveils Public Beta of AI-Powered cineSearch
LOS ANGELES Cineverse has debuted cineSearch, its previously announced new content search and discovery service in public Beta....
02/05/2024
Can AI find a way to reduce the broadcast industry's energy consumption?
OpenDrives Trevor Morgan asks if AI has the answer to making data centres for the media and entertainment industry more sustainable By Contributor Published:...
02/05/2024
Bill Baggelaar Asks the Questions: An Unfiltered Look at Media Supply Chain Transformation
Bill Baggelaar Asks the Questions: An Unfiltered Look at Media Supply Chain Tran...
02/05/2024
Two Boston Conservatory at Berklee Alums Nominated for Tony Awards
Two Boston Conservatory at Berklee Alums Nominated for Tony Awards An additional eight alums and two current students performed in nominated productions. By...
02/05/2024
Viewers Call Finding New TV Content Frustrating' in Comcast Advertising Report
A majority of viewers 51% said the difficulty in finding new content on TV c...
02/05/2024
Programming Legend Art Moore Retiring After 53 Years With ABC Stations
Art Moore, who headed production of long-running syndicated series, including Live, said he plans to retire in September as VP of programming for WABC New York....
02/05/2024
Nexstar Will Move The CW Affiliation to WGN Chicago
Nexstar Media Group, which owns The CW, said the network's affiliation will be moving to Nexstar-owned WGN Chicago....
02/05/2024
Future Today Puts First Original Shows on Fawesome Channel (NewFronts)
Future Today said that it plans to launch the first original shows on its Fawesome streaming channel....
02/05/2024
Behind the Music' Returns on Paramount Plus
Behind the Music is back on Paramount Plus with new episodes May 1. Those profiled in the season two episodes are Bell Biv DeVoe, Trace Adkins and Wolfgang Van ...
02/05/2024
All American: Homecoming' Returns on The CW July 8
All American: Homecoming starts season three on The CW Monday, July 8, while season two of 61st Street kicks off Monday, July 22....
02/05/2024
Jerry Seinfeld's Pop-Tart Movie Starts on Netflix May 3
Unfrosted, a movie about the race to create a game-changing breakfast pastry, such as, say, the Pop-Tart, debuts on Netflix May 3. Jerry Seinfeld directs, his f...
02/05/2024
Former BT Sport COO Jamie Hindhaugh joins EMG / Gravity Media
Charlie Cubbon has also been appointed chief operating officer By Matthew Corrigan Published: May 2, 2024 Charlie Cubbon has also been appointed chief ope...
02/05/2024
Durable Goods Signs Lionel Coleman
Durable Goods Signs Lionel Coleman Brie Clayton May 2, 2024 0 Comments Durable Goods has signed multi-hyphenate director Lionel Coleman for commercial...
02/05/2024
Hitsujibungaku's Music Video GO!!! Shot by Kyotaro Hayashi with Blackmagic Cinema Camera 6K
Hitsujibungaku's Music Video GO!!! Shot by Kyotaro Hayashi with Blackmagic C...
02/05/2024
Diamond Sports RSNs Go Dark On Comcast Systems
Bally Sports Regional Networks were taken off Comcast's systems on April 30 when their existing distribution agreement expired and Diamond Sports Group was ...
02/05/2024
Diamond Sports Group, DirecTV Renew Distribution Deal
SOUTHPORT, Conn. and EL SEGUNDO, Calif. Diamond Sports Group ( Diamond or the Company ) and DirecTV have announced that they have reached a multi-year renewal...
02/05/2024
Three Nexstar Stations to Become CW Affiliates
IRVING, Texas Nexstar Media Group has announced that its owned and operated television stations in Chicago, Illinois (DMA #3), Norfolk, Virginia (DMA #43), and ...
02/05/2024
FCC, FTC Ink Agreement to Cooperate on Net Neutrality Enforcement
WASHINGTON, D.C. The Federal Communications Commission and Federal Trade Commission have signed a Memorandum of Understanding to coordinate consumer protection ...
02/05/2024
Haivision Celebrates 20th Anniversary
MONTREAL Haivision Systems Inc. is marking its 20th anniversary by detailing some of the accomplishments and developments that have helped the company become a ...
02/05/2024
Agora Introduces Adaptive Video Optimization Technology
SANTA CLARA, Calif. Agora today unveiled its Adaptive Video Optimization (AVO) technology that uses machine learning to adjust parameters dynamically at every s...
02/05/2024
Study: Streaming Market Is Saturated But Subscriptions Continue to Grow
NEW YORK Kantar has released a new study showing the U.S. streaming market has hit a saturation point, with the household penetration rate stagnating and at nea...
02/05/2024
Samba TV To Spotlight New Capabilities For Generative AI Ad Solution
NEW YORK Samba TV is debuting new capabilities for Samba AI, the company's suite of generative AI technologies, at the 2024 IAB (Interactive Advertising Bur...
02/05/2024
GSTV Pumps Up Research, Programming at NewFront
GSTV, the network that programs screens at gas stations, will be talking about new research and new programming at its NewFront presentation Wednesday....
02/05/2024
Baselight training. Paris. Les Lapins Bleus. 27-31 May 2024
Baselight accredited training partner, Les Lapins Bleus, is conducting a five day Baselight training course in Paris in May. Location: Paris Dates: 27-31 May ...
02/05/2024
Skeem Saam: Wednesday's episode, 1 May 2024 [video]
Skeem Saam: Wednesday's episode, 1 May 2024 [video]Missed an episode of Skeem Saam? No problem! Watch the latest episode of your favourite South African soa...
02/05/2024
Prison Journalism: It's alright not to have
Prison Journalism: It's alright not to haveWesley Leong was incarcerated at the age of 15 in 1996 at Pollsmoor Prison. He is currently part of Restore's...
02/05/2024
Tonight on Smoke and Mirrors: Thandiswa's quest to reclaim Caesar's house intensifies
Tonight on Smoke and Mirrors: Lulu navigates the complexities of her relationshi...
02/05/2024
GeForce NOW Delivers 24 A-May-zing Games This Month
GeForce NOW brings 24 new games for members this month. Ninja Theory's highly anticipated Senua's Saga: Hellblade II will be coming to the cloud soon -...
02/05/2024
NVIDIA AI Microservices for Drug Discovery, Digital Health Now Integrated With AWS
Harnessing optimized AI models for healthcare is easier than ever as NVIDIA NIM,...
02/05/2024
ARRI announces the ALEXA 35 Live - Multicam System
ARRI announces the ALEXA 35 Live - Multicam System posted: 02/05/2024 Arri Alexa 35 Live - Multicam System ARRI announces the ALEXA 35 Live - Multicam Sy...
02/05/2024
The Women': Author shines light on forgotten women in war
The Women': Author shines light on forgotten women in warThe bestselling author of The Nightingale', Kristin Hannah, has outdone herself with her new h...
02/05/2024
May 01, 2024
New technique improves T cell-based immunotherapies for solid tumors Scripps Research scientists help T cells more effectively kill solid tumors cells in vitro ...
01/05/2024
Release Rundown: What to Watch in May, From I Saw the TV Glow to Power
Owen (Justice Smith) and Maddy (Brigette Lundy-Paine) develop an eerie connection to a supernatural TV show in Jane Schoebrun's I Saw the TV Glow....
01/05/2024
Celebrate May the 4th With Special Star Wars' Playlists, Audiobooks, and More
Spotify's Star Wars celebrations are in full Force starting today, and this ...
01/05/2024
Spotify's New Hardcore Gardening Playlist and Brain Dead Collab Will Rattle Greenhouses Everywhere
All around the world, millions of Spotify fans love listening to hardcore punk m...
01/05/2024
THE CALL FOR THE FIFTH PRESIDENTIAL EMPLOYMENT STIMULUS PROGRAMME (PESP5) FOCUSED ON THE AUDIO-VISUAL INDUSTRY, IS OPEN.
THE CALL FOR THE FIFTH PRESIDENTIAL EMPLOYMENT STIMULUS PROGRAMME (PESP5) FOCUSE...
01/05/2024
QTAKE Pioneers Live 3D Stream to Apple Vision Pro
QTAKE, the leading video assist and on-set collaboration software trusted by professional filmmakers worldwide, launched a new cutting-edge feature at NAB 2024....
01/05/2024
LA County Opens Entertainment Business Interruption Fund Grant Program for Small Business, LAEDC Offers Updates
In HPA's ongoing focus on providing input and insight from city and county g...
01/05/2024
Trailblazing AI Storytelling by Empowering Storytellers: Curious Refuge
HPA Newsline had the opportunity to speak with Caleb and Shelby Ward, founders of Curious Refuge. Caleb and Shelby were participants in the 2024 HPA Tech Retrea...
01/05/2024
Supporting Global Air Traffic Modernization through Managed Services Infrastructure
L3Harris works with air navigation service providers who efficiently manage air ...
01/05/2024
Q&A with Scott Alexander, Aerojet Rocketdyne's new Missile Solutions President
Scott Alexander, Missile Solutions President, Aerojet Rocketdyne...
01/05/2024
Comcast: More Than Half of Viewers Frustrated About Finding Content
NEW YORK Just over half of U.S. viewers are frustrated over their ability to be able to find content to watch on TV according to Comcast....
01/05/2024
Bally RSNs Go Dark On Comcast Systems
Bally Sports Regional Networks were taken off Comcast's systems on April 30 when their existing distribution agreement expired and Diamond Sports Group was ...