UFC 147 in Belo Horizonte.
The 21st till 24th of june Broadcast Brazil was in Belo Horizonte in the state of Minas Gerais, Brazil, at the 147th UFC event.
This big fighting event was held in the stadium Mineirinho.
Mineirinho, Belo Horizonte - one hour before the live broadcast starts.
A well known figure at this event is Brian Froustet, a very experienced A2 (Senior audio assistant)
We had the chance to ask him a couple of questions about his work at the UFC events.
Brian Froustet, A2.
BB: So Brian, please tell us what is your function, and what does it include
Brian: "I’m an A2 or Audio assist. Basically I take care of everything not dealing with the actual mixing of audio of the show. My main position with UFC is the Booth A2 which entails setting up the Booth Announce position for Mike Goldberg and Joe Rogan for them to announce the fights and do there on camera stand ups. I also set up all the comms, courtesy listen headsets and put the efx around and under the Octagon. But as you know my job is not limited to that. As an audio team we all jump in to take care of whatever needs to be done audio wise for the show whether it be running or making cables, building other interview positions and just helping each other out however we can".
Mineirinho, Belo Horizonte - setting up.
BB: How many years are you working on the UFC
Brian: "I have been working with the UFC since 2008"
BB: What is for you the best part of the UFC events
Brian: "There are many great things about working all the UFC events... Besides traveling all over the states for shows I have been lucky enough to have also gone to Australia, Japan and Brazil for events. I have also been lucky to meet some pretty amazing people because of traveling all over. But I think the best part for me is being able to do all that with the audio guys I travel with, MJ Law, Ryan Mitchel and Robert Massey. I couldn't imagine doing this job without them, they are the best at what they do and are the best friends a guy could ask for. Oh, and I get to see some pretty amazing fights, hahaha".
BB: What is the difference Brazil and other countries at UFC events
Brian: "I think the biggest difference between doing UFC events in Brazil and in other countries is definitely the language barrier. It seems that most of the other places we go English is used quite a bit more than it is in Brazil. Obviously we all try and learn some basic Portuguese to communicate, but as I'm sure you know its not an easy language to learn.
As for the equipment and venues, there is really no difference with some of the places we work in the States. Some buildings are easy to get stuff in while others are just a big pain in the ass".
Your DreamTeam for any UFC event.
BB: What are the good and bad parts of Brazil as event host
Brian: "Brazil is an amazing place to hold UFC events. The energy of the crowd is like no other place I have been with them. Its awesome to hear and see people screaming and cheering for six hours straight. I really can't think of anything bad other than its tough for me to eat at times since I don't eat meat...The Brazilians really love their meat".
BB: Does the latin culture influence the way of working
Brian: "The culture itself doesn't really influence our way of working as I am sure you guys can tell. We obviously like to have fun but when its time to work we get the job done. We do whatever we can to respect the ways of the people or country we are in".
Mineirinho, Belo Horizonte - one hour before the live broadcast starts.
BB: Any specific technical difficulties this last UFC, and if so, these were due to what
Brian: "The only real technical difficulty we had for this past UFC in Belo Horizonte was one that, as small as it may be, caused quite a few issues and that was power for all the equipment. It wasn't the power itself but actually the plugs on the power cords. It was all 220v, but all of our equipment was Australian power and the power strips we had were Brazilian. Once that issue was solved we were good to go".
BB:Do you see a rise in the amount of (english speaking) Brazilian Broadcast Technicians needed during the UFC in Brazil. And in which specific areas.
Brian: "I do. I know there are plans to do more UFC events in Brazil and also with the World Cup And Olympics coming to Brazil, I think it would be a huge help. I'm not saying that the people coming to Brazil shouldn't learn some Portuguese, but even with that the translation does not always covey the way you would like. That being said I also don't want to take work from the locals but the reason they bring all of us is the ease of communication and we know the show and what needs to be done.
Now Obviously we have had the pleasure of having Niek van Esch, René Schaap and Danny Littlwin on the shows which is a huge help so Audio is not really an issue.
The biggest issue usually seems to be with the Camera operators. They don't send them all from the States and we do use locals. At times we have to set up a translator in the truck to tell them what the Director wants. Most of them speak some English but like I said before, what the Director say/wants and how they, the camera operators, understand, that is not always the same".
BB: Any good advice for the Brazilians in this area
Brian: "I would say to just ask questions. I know when I see new equipment or someone doing things differently than I would, I need to know about it. We all are always willing to show someone something new, it is how we all learned and how we are still learning.
All under control.
So we hope this is, besides, fun to read, also a good help and insight information about foreign broadcast events held in Brazil and what the future may hold".
More photo's available on our Broadcast Brazil Facebook page, you can find them here. Like us if you want ;)
And see our former blogpost about the UFC event held in Rio de Janeiro.
mentioned:
UFC
Danny Littwin