The necessities of the booth

 

Currently, everything I need to call a game fits in there. 

Normally around this time of year, I begin thinking about opening up the equipment bags and getting ready for football season. I've used the equipment a lot more in the summer the last few years, especially last summer when I was handling faux-American Legion games and Little League games.

You know, COVID games.

In other years, August had been fairly quiet for games. This year, of course, is not like that, given I have a schedule that keeps me buzzing with the Gades.

Still, I decided it was time to look things over (and I'll likely do so again soon). Armed with a new adidas duffle bag I got at Marshall's today, I began checking things to see what HAS* to go into a stadium with me.

*The thing is, what has to go can be somewhat negligible. For instance, there's already a mixer and headsets that I leave at Dutchess Stadium. There's also a headphone amp and mics and so on. That will (likely) get broken down in September but we haven't crossed that bridge yet (though I'd love to leave most of it intact and visit it during the offseason!).

But, OK, without being pedantic, what does one really need? 

- Mixer. It starts with a mixer, in my opinion, because even if you're going straight into a computer, you need to somehow mix multiple sounds together. It's just a question of which mixer. Lately, I'm all about my Zoom PodTrak P4, which allows me at least two mic inputs, a phone input (or another mic), and a computer connection (or still another mic). Plus it's really small. A backup mixer can come into play to expand the setup or I can go to a bigger mixer as needed.

- Headsets. This helps in terms of how many inputs you need on the mixer. Four mic inputs is always a nice sweet spot but you can always go with more. Still, my way of thinking is there's one for me (or whoever the lead broadcaster is), one for the lead analyst, and then input for a handheld crowd mic. From there, add as needed. Of course, given I've come to "Scully" so many games (work alone) I often need fewer inputs. At Dutchess Stadium, I have me, a second headset (if necessary), a handheld crowd mic, and a "shotgun" mic for the crack of the bat. I bring an extra headset in just in case (such as when Mark Jeffers and Dave Torromeo visited).

Storing the mixer and headsets is always a headache. To put them into a better case creates more to carry so that's also a consideration in all of this. Crushing either one can obviously damage them.

- Microphones. I sort of broke that down above. I try to carry two handheld mics. While I'd love to own a shotgun mic, I normally rely on trusty Shure mics and the like. Basically, just quality handheld vocal mics that will hopefully catch the buzz of the crowd. It's not perfect but it's fairly affordable.

- Cables. Can't have mics without them (unless they're wireless). So I try to carry a couple of different lengths. Maybe three. If necessary, I have extras that I keep in my car.

- A headphone amp. While my Zoom PodTrak P4 has headphone inputs I still like having an amp available. My preference is one that has both 1/4 inch and 3.5mm inputs but that's not always easy to have. I have an amp from Behringer that has 1/4 inputs and that works nicely.

- An extension cord. I keep a few available in case I have to string them together to reach an outlet but I normally keep one in the bag. I also have a long run of cord for certain situations (such as being 50-100 feet from where I'm calling the game). Don't laugh. It's all happened. However, I've also gotten better at certain circumstances where I can run off battery or computer battery. That is definitely not ideal.

- A power strip. Sean and I still laugh about an old HAN Network story where we couldn't find any power stripes in Cooperstown back in 2015. He wasn't even there but I guess the way I told the story brought it into being its own meme. "Everyone STOP. Where are the power strips?" Anyway, one that allows for several inputs is nice. Again, just if necessary.

- Tape. Preferably some kind of a "gray" or "gaffers" tape but also painter's tape is good for hanging notes.

- Now, how do you get all of this to the outlet broadcasting the game? Well if I'm putting it on Robcasting then I need a USB cable to go from the mixer to the computer. However sometimes it's not that simple, so I have a converter that will take audio from the mixer and convert it to USB as needed. In other cases, I need a 1/4 inch cable to convert over to XLR (mic cable) with a male end. Or it might need to be 3/5mm to XLR male.

What I'm saying here is I have a collection of various cables and adaptors, which is where I tend to become "MacGyver" with my ability to (hopefully) make sure the show still goes off without a hitch.

I'm sure I should probably give you even more detail than I have already but I'm hoping you get the idea. Sure, I can walk in with minimal items and make it work but I like to have a bit more in my bag of tricks (#Preparation, amirite?). Yet that being said, I've really tried to back down on just how much I carry due to it not truly being necessary. I've hurt my back enough dragging so much into various facilities.

It's nice -- especially with Local Live -- to make sure I have the right mixer, headset, and adaptors to do a minimal setup for the ease of everything. Yet, given how I am, you can probably see why I like to do my own setup and breakdown. It's a time of peace for me and I've gotten pretty proficient at wrapping up and getting out of the facility. I know where everything goes.

It's from this point that the kit can expand. For instance, what about the weather? To that end, I keep a few towels in the bag for spills and anything else. Those also come in handy when it's super hot and I'm roasting. I mop my face with them. Additionally, I've added a small tarp for when I need coverage. Now that's not as necessary if I'm using my pod or if I'm indoors. Also, I can utilize my Pelican case as necessary. But those are all considerations.

Of course, there are also banners if I'm hanging one for either WGCH or Robcasting or someone else. But now we're expanding the limits of what we need.

So what did I miss? There's probably something I forgot to mention or perhaps you have a better idea. I'm always looking to get better at this but, at the same time, I like my system also. Still, my system constantly evolves and I guarantee I will unpack and examine it all next month when baseball season is over.