Sony Pixel Power calrec Sony

Chad Robertson Talks College Sports [Mixing]

12/12/2019

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
LINK: https://www.live-production.tv/news/sports/chad-robertson-talks-colleg...
See more stories from liveproduction

Most recent headlines

05/01/2027

Worlds first 802.15.4ab-UWB chip verified by Calterah and Rohde & Schwarz to be demoed at CES 2026

Worlds first 802.15.4ab-UWB chip verified by Calterah and Rohde & Schwarz to be ...

04/08/2026

Dalet Announces Commercial Availability of Dalia, Bringing Media-Aware Agentic AI to Enterprise Productions

Dalet, a leading technology and service provider for media-rich organizations, t...

04/07/2026

Detective Conan: Fallen Angel of the Highway Opens in Dolby Cinemas Across Japan, Presented in Dolby Atmos and Dolby ...

April 7 2026, 19:00 (PDT) Detective Conan: Fallen Angel of the Highway Opens in...

09/06/2026

Kiswe Expands Partnership With ONE Championship To LaunchGlobal Subscription Platform

Kiswe announces an expanded long-term partnership with ONE Championship (ONE), t...

09/06/2026

SiriusXM to Carry All 104 FIFA World Cup 2026 Matches via FOX Sports Commentary

SiriusXM will broadcast FOX Sports' English-language commentary for all 104 FIFA World Cup 2026 matches from June 11 through July 19, available to subscribe...

09/06/2026

EVS Broadcast Equipment Rebrands as EVS

EVS has announced it is changing its corporate name from EVS Broadcast Equipment to EVS, reflecting the company's expanded portfolio beyond broadcast equipm...

09/06/2026

FOX and NFL Announce Multi-Year Agreement for NFL Coverage in Mexico Starting in 2026

Fox Corporation and the NFL have announced a multi-year agreement to bring NFL c...

09/06/2026

FOX Sports and ReachTV to Carry All 104 FIFA World Cup 2026 Matches Across U.S. Airports

FOX Sports and ReachTV, an airport media network, have announced an agreement to...

09/06/2026

Cosm Atlanta Opens with Private Preview, Public Opening Set for June 10

Cosm Atlanta, a 70,000-square-foot, three-level immersive entertainment venue located within Centennial Yards adjacent to State Farm Arena and Mercedes-Benz Sta...

09/06/2026

NESN Wins Five New England Emmy Awards

NESN captured five awards at the 2026 Boston/New England Emmy Awards, including four program honors and one individual award. These awards reflect the passion...

09/06/2026

Ateme Referenced by Apple at WWDC26 for Apple Immersive Video Workflow Support

Ateme has announced that its support for Apple Immersive Video workflows was referenced by Apple during its 2026 Worldwide Developers Conference (WWDC26). Atem...

09/06/2026

Axel Springer Deploys Bitmovin Player Web X for WELT Audio News Experience

Bitmovin has announced that Axel Springer SE has deployed Player Web X, Bitmovin's web video player, to power audio readouts of news articles and an audio-o...

09/06/2026

Grass Valley and Lawo Announce Technology Collaboration on AMPP and HOME Integration

Grass Valley and Lawo have announced a technology collaboration to validate orch...

09/06/2026

LiveU Deploys Remote VAR for Oceania Football Confederation, First in Pacific Islands

LiveU has announced a deployment with the Oceania Football Confederation (OFC) t...

09/06/2026

Globecast Launches Content Exchange Platform Powered by Oracle Cloud Infrastructure

Globecast has announced the launch of its Content Exchange platform, powered by ...

09/06/2026

OT7 Championship Weekend to Air on NBC and Peacock for First Time

NBC Sports will present live coverage of Overtime's OT7 football league Championship Weekend from Sullivan Field at Loyola Marymount University in Los Angel...

09/06/2026

UFC Freedom 250: Inside the One-in-a-Lifetime Production Behind the White House Fight Card

We're in three different locations, three different production teams. Coveri...

09/06/2026

Murray States Brandon Banks on Firing Up Racers Basketball Fans Through Creative Video

The intro video for Men's Basketball won Outstanding In-Venue Video in the C...

09/06/2026

SVG Sit-Down, Part 2: FIFA's Oscar Sanchez, HBS's Paul King Dive Deep Into IBC Operations, Commentary, and Ref Cam

Today is match day minus two for FIFA and HBS. On Thursday, there will be two ma...

09/06/2026

Designing the Modern Scorebug: How Broadcast Graphics Teams Are Rethinking the Most Important Element On Screen

Since their debut, the clock-and-score graphic has drawn the affinity and ire of...

09/06/2026

Watch LE SSERAFIM's PURE FLOWERS LIVE Performance Videos and Fan Q&A, Only on Spotify

Last month, Spotify hosted PURE FLOWERS LIVE, a special event celebrating the re...

09/06/2026

Watch RADAR UK Artist Skye Newman Perform Live in London for Her SE9' Album Launch

Last month, RADAR U.K. artist Skye Newman took the stage in East London for a sp...

09/06/2026

Announcement from Wayne Jones Audio

Company to cease operating on 30 June 2026 Australian loudspeaker and amplifier manufacturer Wayne Jones Audio have announced that after much consideration,...

09/06/2026

bigBASS from fedDSP

Increases low-end weight and character The latest plug-in release from Sheffield-based fedDSP aims to offer an all-in-one solution for users in search of mo...

09/06/2026

Fender Studio Pro 8.1 arrives

Introduces AI Studio Assistant, Moises Studio integration & more Fender Studio have just announced the launch a significant update that brings an array of n...

09/06/2026

Call for Sediba Scriptwriting Training Programme Bloemfontein, Free State

The National Film and Video Foundation (NFVF) is a statutory body mandated to spearhead the equitable growth and development of the South African film and video...

09/06/2026

BBC Casts Edward Bluemel As Poirot In Hercule,' As BritBox Boards Agatha Christie Remake In U.S.

The BBC has found its Hercule Poirot. After Deadline revealed last month that t...

09/06/2026

Nielsen launches Four-Screen Ad Deduplication measurement on YouTube campaigns in Italy

Media buyers and sellers can now compare YouTube reach from computer, mobile, an...

09/06/2026

Andrew Beaudet Joins Brompton as Head of Sales, Americas

Share Copy link Facebook X Linkedin Bluesky Email...

09/06/2026

Mediaset Italia Deploys Mediagenix Platform To Modernize Scheduling

Share Copy link Facebook X Linkedin Bluesky Email...

09/06/2026

Mediaset Italia Modernizes Content Supply Chain and Chann...

A project aimed at modernizing scheduling operations across Mediaset's channel portfolio Mediagenix, a global leader in smart content solutions to profitab...

09/06/2026

ACT Entertainment Debuts tvONE 4RU CALICO PRO at InfoComm...

tvONE, an ACT Entertainment brand, debuts its most powerful video processor ever built: the 4RU CALICO PRO (C7-PRO-4200), at InfoComm 2026 (Booth N6813). Engine...

09/06/2026

Composer and Conductor Eric Whitacre to Receive Honorary Doctorate at Berklee Valencia's 2026 Commencement

Composer and Conductor Eric Whitacre to Receive Honorary Doctorate at Berklee Va...

09/06/2026

Comcast Advertising Adds Purchasing Data from Affinity Solutions

Share Copy link Facebook X Linkedin Bluesky Email...

09/06/2026

Midwich to Distribute Miri Technologies in North America

Share Copy link Facebook X Linkedin Bluesky Email...

09/06/2026

Nielsen: North American Soccer Fans Jump to More Than 136 Million

Share Copy link Facebook X Linkedin Bluesky Email...

09/06/2026

Grass Valley and Lawo Collaborate to Advance Open Dynamic...

Technology collaboration to validate AMPP and Lawo HOME orchestration integration, showcasing Dynamic Media Facility principles in practice. Grass Valley and ...

09/06/2026

Bitmovin Player Web X Powers Axel Springer New Audio News...

Bitmovin, a leading provider of video streaming solutions, today announced that Axel Springer SE, international media and technology company, has deployed Playe...

09/06/2026

LiveU Delivers First Remote VAR Deployment Across the Pac...

LiveU, the global leader in live IP-video solutions, today announced a landmark deployment with the Oceania Football Confederation (OFC) that has brought Video ...

09/06/2026

Sam Craig Joins Grass Valley as VP, Global Pre-Sales

Share Copy link Facebook X Linkedin Bluesky Email...

09/06/2026

Arkansas TV Will Continue to Air PBS Programming

Share Copy link Facebook X Linkedin Bluesky Email...

09/06/2026

Glensound to Show DARK22M Network Audio Interface at InfoComm 2026

Share Copy link Facebook X Linkedin Bluesky Email...

09/06/2026

EVS Rebrands, Trims Its Name

Share Copy link Facebook X Linkedin Bluesky Email...

09/06/2026

FCC Announces Tentative Agenda for June 25 Open Meeting

Share Copy link Facebook X Linkedin Bluesky Email...

09/06/2026

Two Alumni Win Tony Awards

Two Alumni Win Tony Awards Mike Morris and Cedric Leiba Jr. won awards for Best Orchestrations and Best Play, respectively. June 8, 2026 By Tori Donahue ...

09/06/2026

X-Rite Pantone Launches Offset360 to Modernize Color Control Across Existing Presses

X-Rite Pantone Launches Offset360 to Modernize Color Control Across Existing Pre...

09/06/2026

VEON Appoints Serkan Ozturk as Chief of Staff & Strategy Officer

09 Jun 2026 VEON Appoints Serkan Ozturk as Chief of Staff & Strategy Officer Dubai and New York, June 9, 2026 - VEON Ltd. (NASDAQ: VEON), a global digital oper...

09/06/2026

Katie Price: Nothing to Hide, a candid and unfiltered account of three decades in the spotlight, coming to Sky and NOW on 8 July

Tuesday 9 June 2026 Katie Price: Nothing to Hide, a candid and unfiltered accou...

09/06/2026

Netflix Unveils First Images And Poster For Wrath, A New Brazilian Series Premiering July 29

Back to All News Netflix Unveils First Images And Poster For Wrath, A New Brazi...

09/06/2026

ENNI Will Be Using AEP.EnerS4 Billing Solution

Enni Continues to Rely on Arvato Systems - And Will Be Using AEP.EnerS4 Billing Solution Arvato Systems to implement transformation project for SAP S/4HANA Ut...