Sound engineer Todd Pergallini’s skills are taking him to some of the country’s biggest sporting events, where he helps keep lines of communication open for match officials, referees and audiences.
Todd, a TAFE SA graduate, is a freelance Audio Comms Assist with Gravity Media, working in the competitive sports arena and on major events including the VAILO Adelaide 500 and AFL Grand Final.
“I wear many different hats depending on the shifts that I work and tasks can include setting up an audio/communication rack, patching inputs and outputs of audio, installing FX microphones and much more,” he says.
“Recently I finished working on the VAILO Adelaide 500 to supply communication around the loop for flag marshals talking to race control.”
Todd is currently an audio technician for the Men’s A-League Soccer and says his career highlight to date has been working on the 2024 AFL Grand Final at the Melbourne Cricket Ground (MCG).
“Being part of one of the biggest events for the sporting year in Australia was something very special,” he says.
“My job consisted of setting up and managing umpire communications which is used for broadcast as well.”
A keen musician, Todd decided to study sound production to learn more about the technical side of music.
“Growing up I played guitar, played in bands and had a real interest in songwriting, producing and recording music,” he says.
He enrolled in the Diploma of Music (Sound Production) at TAFE SA’s Adelaide College of the Arts (AC Arts) where he appreciated the modern facilities and diverse range of creative industries under one roof.
“Under the one umbrella, you’ve got location sound and post production, live sound work, studio recording and mixing, so you get a taste of all the different worlds of audio,” he says.
“Also, the lecturers all still work in the industry in various ways, so you are getting first-hand knowledge and insight.”
Todd says through AC Arts he not only built his industry knowledge but developed an important network of contacts, which includes his current employer.
“I got the call up during my studies to work for Gravity Media and I was flying around the countryside for AFL and Super Rugby SportsCom and the work continued after graduation,” he says.
“I’m very grateful that I’ve been exposed to a totally different part of the industry. I was interested in the studio side of things, and still am, but I feel lucky to have been given the opportunity to work in these different fields.”
Todd says every job differs in size, location, complexity and budget and he enjoys the challenge each project brings.
“When I led a team of riggers at the VAILO Adelaide 500 to install equipment and cables – over 7km of cable – the scope of work to be done was huge,” he says.
“We had a deadline to meet, which always adds to the challenge, and when the system was up and fully operational it was an extremely rewarding feeling.”