Chad Robertson Talks College Sports [Mixing] posted: 12/12/2019
Q: What's your current role and what does it involve?
A: I'm a freelance audio engineer and mixer, mainly working as an A1 on college sports for ESPN, though I've worked for many of the networks as well as other clients over my career. The majority of what I do is football, basketball, baseball and studio productions. I've also done the occasional high-profile non-sports event, including important political broadcasts. For instance, one highlight was my role as Head of Broadcast Audio for the 2013 George W. Bush Presidential Center Dedication Ceremony; with every living US President in attendance, it was a memorable event. I also do some work as location production sound mixing.
Q: How did you get into broadcast sound?
A: It all started at my church, when I was 14 years old. I was interested in the AV side and the head of the church AV (who was also a remote truck A2 at the time) added me to the volunteer crew. As it turned out, I had a knack for broadcast production. So, I got involved in everything from cameras to sound. I steered myself towards sound as I found it to be the most interesting.
After that, I secured some corporate work outside of the church. In college, I worked as an A2 on various events. After college, I started to get hired more and eventually moved into A1 roles. The A1 side really took off when ESPNU came online in 2005. The truck A1 role accounts for about 85-percent of my income now. ESPN has been a great client over the years, providing many opportunities to learn and grow.
Q: What was one of your most prominent experiences with Calrec?
The first time I worked on a Calrec Apollo was during the 2012 NATO Summit. In typical Calrec fashion, the console quickly revealed its flexibility and usefulness and showcased that they had significant resources and processing power. We had a multitude of paths coming in and out for a minimum of four languages, simultaneously. The flexibility of the platform, such as splitting the console, cloning faders and assigning VCAs, along with other features, made the project very easy to manage.
Q: How has the general approach to sports broadcast changed over your time at the console?
A: The amount of programming for college sports has grown tremendously. The delivery platforms have multiplied, too, with mobile phones and other digital devices added to the more traditional cable services. But, as delivery increases, the number of on-location production people continues to decrease. There's still always an audio person, but you won't always have the production or graphics teams.
On the production side, we're consistently being asked to manage more in less time. We're doing a lot more in terms of routing multiple audio paths, in addition to adapting the way intercoms are used between the remote location and the production control rooms. Every event and location is different, so every production must be set up and torn down. Luckily, I am typically on a Calrec, so I'm not concerned about set up time at the console. Calrec consoles are never part of my traffic-jam that's not where my time gets eaten up. There are many parts of the production that must be set up in addition to the console, including transmission and intercoms. Most of the time, Calrec is actually the solution to a problem. I know it's going to do what it's meant to do; it's going to work.
Chad Robertson Talks Sports Mixing
Q: And channel count has got bigger too, hasn't it?
A: Definitely; it's not unusual to be handling hundreds of paths at once now. For instance, in July, I was on a Calrec Artemis and we had three shows on three different networks ESPN, ESPN2 and SECN. All three shows were passing through that one board, simultaneously.
The mix of sources is constantly changing, too. We'll get multiple formats of signals coming in: analog, AES, MADI, Dante, etc. and those all vary in width. Some are mono or stereo, while others are surround sound or newer formats, such as Dolby Atmos. I know that Calrec can handle all of those.
Calrec's previous digital line, the Alpha series, was great, and those consoles (Alpha, Sigma, Omega, etc.) are still working solid on many events. When the Apollo and the Artemis first came out, I remember staring in wonder at the massive amount of power and flexibility especially the number of channels and paths they could handle. I was skeptical that we'd ever need that kind of power, but here we are. Honestly, now, when I'm not on a console with that sort of power and flexibility, I feel like my hands are tied together.
Q: How do you approach a standard' sports broadcast?
A: I'm normally on a different truck every day, so there's no default set-up on the console for me. Some trucks have a generic default, but I prefer to start from a completely blank desk. So, when it's my first time sitting down to a console that I haven't previously been on, erasing its surface is my first step.
Thankfully, Calrec consoles are very easy and efficient to set up; it's very straightforward and fast to rebuild it to my liking. As the project grows, it is easy to add or reallocate resources and rearrange the surface as needed which is a huge advantage since every project is different and unique.
Q: How much automation to use?
A: I use the built-in auto mixers for announcers, which is a really useful form of production automation, but live sports shows are all unscripted. Nobody knows if there's going to be an interception or an injury or touchdown, so I don't use the automation in the traditional sense. I might go to a commercial break in 30 seconds or in 10 minutes, depending on the play of the game so, besides using a few tallies to open auto-faders, live spor
Europe Stories
05/01/2027
Worlds first 802.15.4ab-UWB chip verified by Calterah and Rohde & Schwarz to be ...
07/10/2026
Dalet, a leading technology and service provider for media-rich organizations, today announced the latest Long-Term Supported (LTS) release of Dalet Flex. Build...
06/09/2026
June 9 2026, 23:00 (PDT) Dolby and MagentaTV Bring Fans Closer to the FIFA Worl...
25/08/2026
Auction Part 3 running until 9 September 2026
Soundgas have announced that the latest stage of their John Paul Jones Gear Auction is now live, and that bids...
25/08/2026
Over 60 award-winning artists, songwriters, producers, engineers
The MONO Music Conference (formerly Music Expo SF), San Francisco's premier event for m...
25/08/2026
All three versions receive firmware upgrade
Groove Synthesis have just launched a free firmware update that kits the 3rd Wave out with two major new feature...
25/08/2026
eds3_5_jq(document).ready(function($) { $(#eds_sliderM519).chameleonSlider_2_1({...
25/08/2026
Siena Kelly, Connor Swindells and Sophie Wilde join Boyle in the eight-part series from Working Title Television and Story Films, directed by Emmy and BAFTA nom...
25/08/2026
The critically acclaimed thriller will return to Sky in NovemberTuesday 25 Augus...
25/08/2026
Wuppertal August 25, 2026
Scottish Rugby Expands Managed Coach Communications Partnership With RiedelRiedel Communications today announced the continued expan...
25/08/2026
CUPERTINO, CALIFORNIA Apple today debuted M6 in the new Mac mini and M5 Ultra in...
25/08/2026
CUPERTINO, CALIFORNIA Apple today announced the new Mac mini with the all-new M6...
25/08/2026
CUPERTINO, CALIFORNIA Apple today announced the new Mac Studio, featuring M5 Max...
25/08/2026
The new series begins Tuesday 1 September at 7pm on RT One and RT Player
The search for Ireland's hidden housing gems is back as Cheap Irish Homes return...
24/08/2026
Human-played drum fills on demand
Sample library developers Yurt Rock have announced the launch of a new plug-in that's dedicated to creating drum fill...
24/08/2026
Debut plug-in in new Professional Series
Black Rooster Audio's latest plug-in delivers an all-in-one vocal-processing tool, and is the debut release in ...
24/08/2026
Rohde & Schwarz addresses operational efficiency and infrastructure resilience a...
24/08/2026
The Handel Scandal and Dangerous Debussy will both air on Sky Arts this AutumnMo...
24/08/2026
Dalet, a leading technology and service provider for media-rich organizations, w...
24/08/2026
Arvato Systems Becomes a Service Partner of HANDELSVERBAND.swiss
Zurich - Arvato Systems Switzerland has been a service partner of HANDELSVERBAND.swiss since ...
24/08/2026
We Only Want the Earth: The Life & Ideas of James Connolly airs
Wednesday 26 August on RT One and RT Player at 9.35pm
RT is to air the compelling documenta...
23/08/2026
Offers up to 10 bands of compression
Parish Audio's latest release allows users to place individual compressors anywhere in the frequency range, but tak...
21/08/2026
Hardware-style timing shifts for software instruments
Following on from the release of Omniclock, Rapid Flow have launched a new sequencer plug-in that can ...
21/08/2026
Highly anticipated synthesizer ships in October 2026
Iceland-based Love Synthesizers have announced that their highly anticipated synthesizer is now availab...
21/08/2026
Masterpiece PBS The Forsytes has expanded its cast as its begins production in ...
21/08/2026
The BBC has unveiled first-look pictures from The Witch Farm, a new ghost story and mystery set in the Welsh countryside, coming soon to BBC iPlayer and BBC One...
21/08/2026
The BBC and BritBox have revealed the first look of Edward Bluemel as Hercule Poirot in the forthcoming six-part series Hercule from Mammoth Screen and Agatha C...
21/08/2026
eds3_5_jq(document).ready(function($) { $(#eds_sliderM519).chameleonSlider_2_1({ content_source:......
21/08/2026
** MEDIA ALERT **
VIZ Media Takes Over Anime NYC with BLEACH, BLACK TORCH, M...
21/08/2026
Tell us a little bit about your job I'm a Marketing Manager and work across a mix of clients and projects. No two days are ever quite the same, which defini...
21/08/2026
Beat The Lotto dives into the plot behind the 1980s National Lottery scandal
24 August 2026 at 9:35pm on RT One and RT Player
Beat The Lotto is the story o...
21/08/2026
The countdown to the most wonderful night of the year has officially begun!
Host Patrick Kielty is gearing up for another unforgettable Late Late Toy Show nig...
21/08/2026
Meet puppet duo Bellie and Whizz, who are about to explore all the big feelings ...
20/08/2026
Set up your own private remote collaboration infrastructure
SoundBridge have recently put together a tutorial video that provides users with a step-by-step ...
20/08/2026
New V-Control Pro features restore basic functionality
Neyrinck's V-Control software has long been keeping older Avid control surfaces compatible with n...
20/08/2026
TV, BritBox and Mammoth Screen have announced that filming is now underway on th...
20/08/2026
Thursday 20 August 2026
Nina Sosanya, Rizzle Kicks, Roman Kemp and Paul Whiteho...
20/08/2026
Wuppertal August 20, 2026
Transformation Church Elevates Production Communicat...
20/08/2026
The music between the notes Coming together In the middle of 2026, as conversations around artificial intelligence continue to raise questions about how musi...
20/08/2026
Arvato Systems Brings Together Digital Transformation Leaders in the Manufacturi...
19/08/2026
Studio owners invited to have their say on rates cuts
The Music Producers Guild (MPG) are inviting UK-based studios to take part in an in-depth survey that ...
19/08/2026
Vintage-inspired desktop interface revealed
Harrison's latest hardware offering sees them head back into the world of audio interfaces, delivering a 10-...
19/08/2026
Granular effect remains locked to scale and tempo
Described as your dream granular effect , Minimal Audio's latest creation is capable of turning any s...
19/08/2026
First polyphonic SWAM instrument incoming
Audio Modeling's latest physical-modelling orchestral instrument is just around the corner, and is now availab...
19/08/2026
There's an early Christmas gift for Bookish fans, as UKTV confirms the re-commission of the hit U&alibi drama, created by and starring Mark Gatiss. Viewers ...
19/08/2026
Wednesday 19 August 2026
Sky gives sports fans the chance to watch multiple liv...
19/08/2026
On Saturday September 5 Katie Taylor will step into the ring for the fight of her life against Flora Pili in front of 80,000 fans in Croke Park. A legendary fig...
18/08/2026
Company launch with stereo-imaging tool
Panoramic is the debut release from Panorama Labs, a new company formed by mastering engineer Nicholas Di Lorenzo. C...
18/08/2026
Control software now available for older interfaces
Focusrite have just announced the launch of an update that extends Control 2 software support for their ...
Chad Robertson Talks College Sports [Mixing] posted: 12/12/2019 
