Orbital Sound Ltd

Metal Mayhem

Special Report

Paul Johnson at his DDA CS8 console

Apart from presenter' radio mics, the show is run largely from playback or manually cued samples. However, one pair of ambience microphones was sited inside the ‘battle zone' with predictable results.
"The robots make a remarkable amount of noise inside the Macrolon box, and we wanted to be able to incorporated this. The sound of a real flamethrower is of Sennheiser MKH 416 mics into the arena but one got fried on the very first day!"
"The only other live sources also equipped with Shure handhelds – are the three Robo-babes- roller-blading cheerleaders whose job is to keep the crowd (or rather the male members of the crowd) on their feet.
The two presenter receive stage management and programme feeds from a pair of Trantec IEM units, where the rest of the crew are supplied with a three-ring RTS comms network.
The numerous intermissions between robot battles are filled with VT clips from the television series; these are supplied to Johnson as a stereo pair from the extensive video production unit.
CD and MD players are also used; the former runs a pre-show soundscape track recorded at Orbital's studio by Frost, " There is a 40 minute bed that contains futuristic sounds, some voiceovers and a general background effects but we cross fade it into another track that contains the last five minutes of build-up. At this point, we are committed to start the show."
During the show, Johnson fires a series of samples from a MIDI keyboard adjacent to his console. This is hooked up to an Akai 56000 sampler, which is loaded with enough bangs, biffs and crunches to amuse the most jaded sound operator.
"There are specific jingles for each robot – Sergeant Bash, for example, has a bugle call – and there are a number of different noises associated with the weapons that each robot carries," adds Frost.
"There is a comic element which is used when members of the audience are invited to drive a pair of robots, and we exaggerate various elements such as crashes and thing falling over – we've now got a huge collection of destruction noises in our collection that will prove bery useful if we do this type of show again."
Despite the destructive prowess of the stars of the show, several of which weigh in at well over 100kgs, Johnson is unsure which side of the Macrolon screens is safer. "It's not the robots that I find most alarming but hearing several thousand people yell "Kill! Kill! Kill!" at the top of their voices is pretty scary stuff."
MIKE MANN

SOUND REINFORCEMENT

Robot Wars director Hugh Wooldridge with the Robo-Babes

UK - The screams of ‘death destruction and mayhem' might have seemed more at home at a Marylin Manson show, but the fans of Robot Wars take their demolition very seriously indeed.
Freelance events director Hugh Wooldridge (whose precious television credits include Challenge Anneka) was brought in to translate the television series into a large-scale format. "This has sold extremely well as a live show," he remarks "especially considering its niche market. In fact, it's the only show I've ever been involved with that has recouped its cost within the first three week."
The 37 – show production (which runs three times daily at weekends in various UK arena venues) was something of an unknown quantity, but that did not stop Wooldridge bringing in the big guns; in this case, London-based Orbital Sound.
Designer Seb Frost specified a distributed systems of d&b C7 cabinets suspended from the box truss the also supports the vast blast proof Macrolon screens surrounding the stage.


"The sound of a real flamethrower is pretty awesome! We put a couple of Sennheiser MKH 416 mics into the arena but one got fried on the very first day!

"Because of the time it takes to build the set, we have had to use a PA system that's quick and easy to rig. The box set it essentially square, so each of the three sides facing the audience is fed with a left-right mix" he explains.
D&b 1801 subs are located around the stage edge, while for some venues (where promoters had sold seats at the extreme outer edges of the stage) wide-coverage C690s were driven by d&b P1200 and E-PAC amplifiers, fitted with proprietary crossover cards. "We send the same basic mix to everything" explains operator Paul Johnson, who mixes from a DDA CS8 compact console, "but we are also responsible for providing foldback into the contestants' control booths and the back-stage pit area."
Presenters Craig Charles and Andy Collins both use handheld Shure Beta 58 UHF radio mics- even though Orbital has traditionally been a loyal Trantec user.
"This is not like a theatre show, where we would expect to use the Trantec packs with head worn minimics," explains Johnson; "The mics are subjected to a lot more abuse in this environment – it's much more like rock'n roll."
Contestants are not provided with microphones – with multiple channel RF transmitters and temperamental robots to handle, they have enough to do without providing a commentary.

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Paul Johnson at his DDA CS8 console

Apart from presenter' radio mics, the show is run largely from playback or manually cued samples. However, one pair of ambience microphones was sited inside the ‘battle zone' with predictable results.
"The robots make a remarkable amount of noise inside the Macrolon box, and we wanted to be able to incorporated this. The sound of a real flamethrower is of Sennheiser MKH 416 mics into the arena but one got fried on the very first day!"
"The only other live sources also equipped with Shure handhelds – are the three Robo-babes- roller-blading cheerleaders whose job is to keep the crowd (or rather the male members of the crowd) on their feet.
The two presenter receive stage management and programme feeds from a pair of Trantec IEM units, where the rest of the crew are supplied with a three-ring RTS comms network.
The numerous intermissions between robot battles are filled with VT clips from the television series; these are supplied to Johnson as a stereo pair from the extensive video production unit.
CD and MD players are also used; the former runs a pre-show soundscape track recorded at Orbital's studio by Frost, " There is a 40 minute bed that contains futuristic sounds, some voiceovers and a general background effects but we cross fade it into another track that contains the last five minutes of build-up. At this point, we are committed to start the show."
During the show, Johnson fires a series of samples from a MIDI keyboard adjacent to his console. This is hooked up to an Akai 56000 sampler, which is loaded with enough bangs, biffs and crunches to amuse the most jaded sound operator.
"There are specific jingles for each robot – Sergeant Bash, for example, has a bugle call – and there are a number of different noises associated with the weapons that each robot carries," adds Frost.
"There is a comic element which is used when members of the audience are invited to drive a pair of robots, and we exaggerate various elements such as crashes and thing falling over – we've now got a huge collection of destruction noises in our collection that will prove bery useful if we do this type of show again."
Despite the destructive prowess of the stars of the show, several of which weigh in at well over 100kgs, Johnson is unsure which side of the Macrolon screens is safer. "It's not the robots that I find most alarming but hearing several thousand people yell "Kill! Kill! Kill!" at the top of their voices is pretty scary stuff."
MIKE MANN

SOUND REINFORCEMENT

Robot Wars director Hugh Wooldridge with the Robo-Babes