
Thank you to Chuck Ibey, A1 & Sound Guarantor from Dome Productions in Canada for sharing this insightful blog on what it's like to work in the NHL Bubble.
Chuck, who has been sharing mixing duties on a Calrec Artemis audio console since 24th July 2020, has written this very current and relevant back to work account that provides a window into the world of audio inside the NHL Bubble.
NHL is Back
With the NHL returning to North America, we had a very unique sound situation to deal with. Obviously we'd be returning with no crowd in the arena, and new guidelines in place to restrict the spread of COVID-19. The NHL has done an amazing job of sheltering it's players, staff, officials, broadcast crews, and service industry workers inside a secure bubble. We're all tested daily for COVID-19, plus undergo a screening questionnaire and temperature check before entering the venue and hotels. We're committed to staying inside the NHL bubble until the end of the Playoff series, which could go until early October. It's an adjustment, being confined to a small area including your hotel and the hockey rink, but we're all excited to be back doing what we love.
The Crew & Setup
Our audio crew is from across Canada and includes Patrick Castonguay and myself sharing the broadcast mix duties in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada. Benito Altobelli is with us as relief and backup A1 in the (hopefully) unlikely case of someone getting sick. Jeff Kozak is in charge of the Synthetic Crowd mix, and we have 2 of the best A2s in North America, Mike Cleasby and Steve Hilder.
This event is very much like how a world feed would be done for an event like the Olympics. We have 2 broadcast trucks from Dome Productions handling the production of the game, with national and regional broadcasters taking our packaged audio/video feed of the games and adding their own commentators, graphics, and other content down the line. Inside our truck, we deal with the sounds of the game only and do not have to worry about announcers like a traditional broadcast. The other thing we don't have to deal with is a crowd. Obviously, because of the current pandemic, the arena is empty. An arena that can typically hold over 18,000 cheering fans.
The Crowd
The NHL's solution to this was to produce a synthetic crowd layer that can react to the game in real-time. Using a library of recorded crowd beds and sounds from EA Sports, Jeff Kozak is playing the crowd in real-time during the game with an Ableton Live setup and midi trigger. Someone's on a break-away scoring chance, you'll hear the anticipation of the crowd as he skates toward the goal. The home team scores a comeback goal, you'll hear the building go crazy with team-specific goal horns and fans cheering. Once we had everything dialed in with the mix, you could close your eyes and it sounded like any other playoff hockey game.
Acoustic Issues & Solutions
We quickly found that having an empty arena provided a lot of acoustic issues. We are mixing these games in 5.1 surround sound and placed a number of ambient microphones throughout the arena to capture the live sound of the building. The PA is still playing inside the arena, and we wanted to ensure we captured the live ambience of that and the players. Unfortunately because of the empty seats, we heard a lot of echo and slap delay as the sound hit all of our microphones at different times. It's something that wasn't noticeable during typical hockey games. Our solution was to time-align all of our microphones and the feed we take of the PA. Dialing in delay from 1 or 2 frames all the way up to 17 frames or so, we managed to get the whole building to sound in sync. Another unusual aspect of the mix was the inclusion of the PA feed into the mix full-time. In a typical hockey game, we'll mix in the PA feed during anthems and referee calls, but never during the game itself. It's just too much sound, and the PA is typically cranked to 11 inside the building, so it's all we ever hear in our microphones. During this event however, the PA is being played much quieter, and we felt a lot of energy and presence missing in the mix. That formed the NHL's decision to include some of the PA feed directly into our broadcast mix.
Calrec Artemis
The Calrec Artemis console we are using quickly showed it's usefulness during this event. We have somewhere around 65 channels of transmission audio, spread over 24 different transmission paths, going all over North America to many different national and regional broadcasters. We have our primary 5.1 mix, plus a number of other 5.1 or stereo mixes and stems available for broadcasters to choose from. Having such a large need for flexible and adaptable routing was exactly what the Calrec was made for. The ability to create such a high number of outputs and different mixes was a must-have for this, and we needed to work with multiple layers. Having 3 different A1's mixing these games, with a very short turn-around in between games meant there was no time for re-configuring or reloading of the console. With the use of cloned faders, paired faders, and multiple layers, we're able to each have our own operating layer organized the way we like it. We have our own presets saved for compression/EQ/automixing, and can quickly load those as the next A1 sits down to mix his/her game. Sound is a very expressive and subjective medium, and we didn't want to shoehorn any of us into working a certain way.
More from Calrec
02/07/2025
Calrec expands ecosystem at NAB 2025 giving broadcasters access to dynamic workflows and ultimate flexibility Helping broadcasters meet the shifting needs of me...
24/06/2025
Argo M and ImPulseV took the audio lead, powering the live audio for the
AWS Cloud Sports Production and Esports Racing Challenge at NAB...
22/05/2025
Calrec fuels young talent by backing local students in the F1 in Schools programme...
29/04/2025
Calrec has been putting sound in the picture for more than six decades and is still pushing the boundaries of audio broadcasting with a full range of connected ...
16/04/2025
Calrec's True Control 2.0 is a Remote Production winner in the 2025 NAB Show Product of the Year Awards. This official awards program recognises some of the...
14/04/2025
As Calrec continues to lead a new era of technical innovation with its portfolio of complimentary broadcast audio solutions, the company has today announced the...
10/04/2025
Book a meeting or demonstration at NAB 2025! Please enter the following details. (Tick the relevant box for a meeting or demo):
--
Meeting / Demo*
Meeting...
02/04/2025
Calrec's Argo S ramps up Raycom's output for OTT, FAST and OTA channels North Carolina's Raycom Sports has upgraded its flagship RHD1 mobile product...
02/04/2025
Calrec expands ecosystem at NAB 2025 giving broadcasters access to dynamic workflows and ultimate flexibility Helping broadcasters meet the shifting needs of me...
01/04/2025
Calrec Craft Interview: Aston Fearon, Sound Supervisor In this craft interview, Aston Fearon speaks to us about how his career in sound started, projects he'...
27/03/2025
Join Calrec at MPTS 2025 | May 14 -15 | Stand A40 | Olympia, London We're looking forward to meeting up with customers and partners at this year's Media...
19/03/2025
Calrec's Argo Q helps NEP Denali go for Gold with complete audio overhaul NEP Denali has doubled its surface real estate with the installation of a 144-fad...
13/03/2025
Sunday February 9 saw the annual return of the US' biggest television event, the Super Bowl LIX. Jamie McCombs, Fox Sports Audio Consultant / Sr. Audio capt...
13/03/2025
On Sunday March 2, stars across the film industry gathered at the Dolby Theatre in Los Angeles for the 97th Academy Awards. Production Sound Mixer Paul Sandweis...
06/03/2025
Sunday February 9 saw the annual return of the US' biggest television event, the Super Bowl LIX. Jamie McCombs, Fox Sports Audio Consultant / Sr. Audio capt...
14/02/2025
Here are 5 reasons why you should attend ISE 2025
Discover more about Calrec: Learn more about Calrec's legacy of innovation in broadcast audio solutions ...
14/02/2025
World Radio Day: On the same wavelength
By Graham Murray, International Sales Manager at Calrec
To mark World Radio Day, Calrec's International Sales Ma...
04/02/2025
The shift from analogue to IP was driven by a desire for greater flexibility in our operations. IP simplifies connectivity, reduces the physical footprint of th...
04/02/2025
Streamline, standardise and save: how Gray Media has simplified news operations At TVNewsCheck's News Tech Forum 2024, Gray Media's Peter Gogas and Calr...
16/01/2025
It means we can provide on air experience for our radio students, who use Type R to broadcast content in the local area and across the internet, while its ver...
20/12/2024
FEED Honours List | Calrec recognised by FEED for outstanding contribution to sports broadcast
FEED's sports broadcast segment Xtreme is taking this opport...
20/12/2024
If you're IP and you know it, clap your hands (First published by TVB Europe)
By Sid Stanley, General Manager at Calrec
To mark World Television Day, Calr...
18/12/2024
Calrec's Regional Sales Manager for Brazil, Mike Reddick says, The transition from baseband networks to more flexible and scalable IP infrastructures is de...
11/12/2024
alt=Calrec will be at MPTS 2025 stand A40 width=2560 height=452 data-lazy-srcset=https://calrec.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/03/MPTS_preview_2025-03.png 2560w, h...
05/11/2024
Calrec's Regional Sales Manager Dave Lewty says that Calrec's close relationships with its customers are a key factor in the company's success.
Ca...
26/09/2024
NAB New York 2024 Preview | October 9 -10 | Booth 1213 | Javits Center, New York We're looking forward to meeting up with customers and partners at the NAB ...
04/09/2024
Slovenia's OB provider DVB Production is the first European customer to deploy Calrec's all-IP Argo S and ImPulse1...
04/09/2024
Calrec scoops third Argo win with NAB Show Product of the Year 2024 Award for tailored version of Argo S...
24/07/2024
Join Calrec at IBC 2024 | September 13 -16 | Hall 8 Stand C47 | RAI Amsterdam We're looking forward to meeting up with customers and partners at this year...
12/07/2024
My Byte-size week at Calrec By Erin Crowther My name is Erin, and I am a student at Ryburn Sixth Form. This week I completed my work experience at Calrec Audi...
09/05/2024
Join Calrec at MPTS 2024 | May 15 -16 | Booth A40 | Olympia, London We're looking forward to meeting up with customers and partners at this year's Media...
25/03/2024
NEP Australia expands its IP and remote production capabilities with first install of Calrec Argo consoles NEP Australia, a division of NEP Group and a prominen...
25/03/2024
NAB 2024 Preview | April 14 -17 | Booth C6307 | Las Vegas Convention Center We're looking forward to meeting up with customers and partners at the 2024 NAB ...
11/12/2023
The show must go on: How I won a Sports Emmy Award for Calrec's work supporting FOX Sports' presentation of FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022
By Elliot Rober...
16/11/2023
Calrec's Argo Wins 2023 NAB Show Product of the Year Award
Calrec has won the 2023 NAB Show Product of the Year Award for its configurable Argo audio contr...
27/10/2023
An Insightful Look into the World of Calrec By Will Wayman Before going to Calrec I was excited and looking forward to the many experiences I would be able to...
08/10/2023
Calrec finds new zeal and expertise with Protel...
08/10/2023
Group One extends its relationship with Puerto Rico's AVL Group Calrec distribution partner Group One has teamed up with supply and service specialists AVL ...
08/10/2023
Expanding on its already robust technical support team and further investing in IP, Group One, professional audio and lighting distributor of Audiotonix brands ...
08/10/2023
Group One expands its Support team with IP specialist Tim Casey Group One has hired Tim Casey to join its growing team of Calrec Customer Support Technicians in...
08/10/2023
EMG UK flexes with Calrec for its Stratford Remote Operations Centre Expanding on its 30-year relationship with Calrec to satisfy its complex audio needs, OB an...
08/10/2023
IBC 2023 Preview | 15 18 September | Hall 8, Booth D60 | RAI, Amsterdam We're looking forward to meeting up with friends, customers and partners at the I...
08/10/2023
IBC 2023 sees Calrec announce its launching into German market for the first time via a new partnership with Cerberus Media Solutions At IBC 2023, Calrec, a lea...
07/10/2023
EMG UK flexes with Calrec for its Stratford Remote Operations Centre Expanding on its 30-year relationship with Calrec to satisfy its complex audio needs, OB an...
07/10/2023
NEP flexes its remote capabilities with Calrec's IP ImPulse engine NEP Group, the leading media technology partner for content creators around the globe, is...
07/10/2023
Greece-based INA TV used Calrec's Summa console and Hydra2 networking technology to satisfy the complex UEFA technical specifications to broadcast European ...
07/10/2023
Calrec partners with AV Worx to expand its presence in South Africa Calrec, a leading designer and supplier of broadcast audio mixing consoles and equipment, a...
05/10/2023
NAB New York 2023 Preview |October 25 -26 | Level 3, Booth 217 | Javits Center, New York We're looking forward to meeting up with customers and partners at...
04/10/2023
Inside Broadcast Hungary's 4k Outside Broadcast Truck Last month at IBC, KitPlus sat down with Calrec's International Sales Manager, Michael Reddick to ...
03/08/2023
We have big news! Calrec has always been on a quest to solve tomorrow's audio challenges, and we have some big news to share on the Calrec booth in Hall 8, ...