Tips for newbie Boom Op? First feature iminent...

[Branmong]

So I got a job as boom operator on a feature which is starting shooting soon and is due to shoot for a month or so. The only slight problem is that I've never actually done this job before - a friend has shown me the basics, but I'm obviously a little nervous as I'm going to have my first proper day of work on a feature, rather than some nice arty short film which nobody would probably ever see. The guy mixing sound is a friend of mine (which is why I landed the job) so that's obviously a huge plus, but I need to be able to come across as being a professional, and not let on that I've only had a few hours practice.

What I'm worried about are:
1) My arms starting shaking from tiredness
2) Casting a shadow with the boom pole
3) Smacking one of the actors in the face with the microphone

Any tips from anybody? I will post back after the shoot to let people know how it went, if anybody is interested.

[tom_lowe]

READ THE SCRIPT!

As for wobbling arms, it will happen, but you will manage to overcome it. Put the boom down between takes as much as possible. During run throughs look for better positions if you can. If you can take the length of the boom down, do so, it'll help a lot.

After one week or so, the wobbling will stop and your upper body strength will improve.

[Uncle Bob]

Before my first gig as a boom-op I practiced with a 12 foot 40 pound steel pole for a couple of weeks; after that a real boom pole was a feather!

As Tom said, know the script.

Get friendly with the DP.

Read the following article.

http://www.thompsound.com/old-site/A...T/zen_boom.pdf

[Branmong]

Originally Posted by Uncle Bob

http://www.thompsound.com/old-site/A...T/zen_boom.pdf

That's exactly the kind of thing I've been looking for. Many thanks for this.

I've also been doing weights and swimming for the last few weeks in preparation :-)

I've read the script but will go over it a few more times. Anybody else?

[korbes]

I just bumped into the following article via the Designing Sound blog yesterday:

Principles of Boom Operation | Colin Hart's Sound Kitchen

[eastwestaudio]

Push ups. And go to The Discussion Group @ jwsound.net - Index and read everything you can related to boom oping.

Also, you don't always need to hold the boom with arms fully extended over your head - you will discover you can often hold it lower and help with the tiredness - also you can shift the relative position to in front and behind you a bit - also will help with muscle tiredness.

learn about camera angles! boom shadows need to be dealt with in cooperation of the lighting team.

[danijel]

Are you going to be placing lavs? If so, you should explore it as well - it's a field just as broad as boom operating itself.

[jozzafunk]

The gaffer is your friend - don't piss them off. Don't get in his way - when he's lighting get off set (but not far!) or right out the way. Get good at cabling fast.
If you can't get close without dropping shadows, use a mic with more reach. Don't chew in the mic, don't let the boom thump on the ground, rest it on your foot. etc etc If you're wobbling use your abs and breath deeper, keep your spine straight. Know the script and be able to repeat the days sides off the top of your head and you'll be fine. DO NOT hit an actor in the head!

[Uncle Bob]

Originally Posted by eastwestaudio

lso, you don't always need to hold the boom with arms fully extended over your head - you will discover you can often hold it lower and help with the tiredness

I was taught that the proper position is with your elbows parallel to your shoulders - the "H" position.

[0bazooka_joe0]

I'm not an expert by any means but seeing as this is a feature film, and your first real gig I can only imagine the nerves. Keeping in mind everything else that was said, be a ghost first and formost... then get the good dialogue. Being a feature, most of the dialogue will be replaced in post but you can't take out a boom or boom shadow from a shot so easily. The director and producers will like you if they never see any evidence of you in their shots more so than having top notch dialogue.
Good luck!

[tom_lowe]

Originally Posted by 0bazooka_joe0

I'm not an expert by any means but seeing as this is a feature film, and your first real gig I can only imagine the nerves. Keeping in mind everything else that was said, be a ghost first and formost... then get the good dialogue. Being a feature, most of the dialogue will be replaced in post but you can't take out a boom or boom shadow from a shot so easily. The director and producers will like you if they never see any evidence of you in their shots more so than having top notch dialogue.
Good luck!

Saying that a lot of dialogue will be replaced in post really isn't accurate. Sure, some of it will be, but they won't do it unless they have to, unless they really hate the sound of the location dialogue. It depends on the style of film, but if you go in as a boom op thinking it will be all replaced, it will make you lazy and think "it doesn't matter if I f**k it up as it will be replaced anyway".

Not casting shadows is important and dialogue is easier to replace that shots with shadows, but you should still go in thinking that what you record on set will be used,

[eighttwelve]

Originally Posted by tom_lowe

Saying that a lot of dialogue will be replaced in post really isn't accurate. Sure, some of it will be, but they won't do it unless they have to, unless they really hate the sound of the location dialogue. It depends on the style of film, but if you go in as a boom op thinking it will be all replaced, it will make you lazy and think "it doesn't matter if I f**k it up as it will be replaced anyway".

Not casting shadows is important and dialogue is easier to replace that shots with shadows, but you should still go in thinking that what you record on set will be used,

In today's movies and tv shows, I notice that there's extremely little room tone. Is that mostly from incredible noise reduction, amazing production sound or mostly ADR'd sound?

[vrc2250]

-For the physical part. Start doing push-up's with your arms spread wide. Start slow then build up. On the last 2-3 hold in the down position for a few seconds. On those long takes that little exercise will do wonders.
-Many of the Dp's I've worked with don't give a rats-a(*$ about sound. Make the gaffer your best friend and he will happily put up a cutter for you where possible.
-Watch the lights being setup and look for your dead spot to boom from, if not from above then go from below
-Know that sometimes you will be completely boned!! 2-3camera on wide/tight with lights dead overhead.. Grit your teeth and do your best.
-Fear not the frame line!! When you look at the monitor and see that safe area. THATS your territory!! Those 2-3 inches make a world of difference.
-Lastly, kindly remind people who are behind you on a tight set that if you are behind me during a take and I've got to swing the boom... Your are fair game to be hit (Read... Set Photographer)..
Good luck and have fun.

[Rick Sanchez]

Originally Posted by tom_lowe

Saying that a lot of dialogue will be replaced in post really isn't accurate.

This is more than true. There is a good chance that they will do everything possible to avoid having to replace dialog in post. Generally replacing dialog is only done when it is absolutely necessary, as a alternate backup to a questionable production take, as something to be used as an effect or requested by the producer/director/sound supervisor or re-recording mixer.

[minister]

Originally Posted by 0bazooka_joe0

I'm not an expert by any means but seeing as this is a feature film, and your first real gig I can only imagine the nerves. Keeping in mind everything else that was said, be a ghost first and formost... then get the good dialogue. Being a feature, most of the dialogue will be replaced in post but you can't take out a boom or boom shadow from a shot so easily. The director and producers will like you if they never see any evidence of you in their shots more so than having top notch dialogue.
Good luck!

This is terrible advice. This is one of many sources of bad production audio. Do you realize how much work it is to do ADR on the part of the sound people, the director, the actors and the re-recording mixer?

You'd think from reading the internet that all features have all their DX replaced............

How many features have you worked on? As a boom op? mixer? ADR supervisor? Re-recording mixer?

You really need to do both stay out of frame and get great audio! You need to find where the frame is. And your mixer needs to know how to cover a scene with booms, lav's and plants.

[JSt0rm]

Even if you do end up in frame I dont think its really that hard for them to remove a little fuzzy thing up in the corner. Best to obviously not be in frame but I dont think its the end of the world if it happens.

[jozzafunk]

I kinda work with the mantra ' If you not in frame a least once a day you're not getting close enough ', but you have to judge it a bit, if they can see you are responsive to them ie DOP - they'll work with you. Do your dropping in before action is called and cope with the odd glare - what is picture without sound?, and it's the post sup and prod manager that pay the bill's and they'll remember if there's not too much ADR to be done. Having said that - the last feature I boomed the Director went in thinking he'd ADR everything ( fresh to features ), we had to re-educate him, there was some brilliant performances that'll never be replicated in post.

[Uncle Bob]

Originally Posted by eighttwelve

In today's movies and tv shows, I notice that there's extremely little room tone. Is that mostly from incredible noise reduction, amazing production sound or mostly ADR'd sound?

A multitude of reasons...

Having directors and producers who understand that quality production sound is vital to a successful production.

A real budget; they can afford top-notch Production Sound Mixers and Boom-Ops who have the proper tools, know correct gain structure, how to properly swing a boom, record room-tones and wire up the talent with lavs to give the audio post editors and mixers choices.

Indoors sets that are relatively controlled sonic environments (the real trouble comes with out-doors-on-location shoots).

There is room-tone there, but due to the professionalism and experience of the production sound crew, the editors and mixers - and access to state-of the-art tools - it sounds like, well, normal everyday room-tone which is always there in your real life but don't notice.

The need to capture great production sound is especially vital for TV series which are on very tight budgets and schedules. Every dollar/minute spent on production sound saves ten in audio post.

[Sventeck]

Every dollar/minute spent on production sound saves ten in audio post.

amen to that!

I'm sick of working on films that had someone's cousin as the boom-op or production mixer

I don't know much about the art of the boom, but from what I work with daily, it's got to be a lot harder than anyone knows... it seems it's either really good production sound, or HORRIBLE!

But also I suppose it has to do a lot with the other members of the crew, location, air-traffic patterns, etc. etc.

and yeah... most features do not replace the majority of dialogue.

[Jfriah]

"Hear Hear!"

And, yes, the DP will let you know when you're in the shot. Sometimes 'very directly' will he/she let you know...

It is their job to shoot the thing and get what the director wants to see, make it look pretty (in conjunction with grips, gaffers, etc.).

It is your job to get in and then wait for someone to tell you you're in the shot. Keep in mind, YOU are not looking at a monitor so you don't have any idea what the framing is like. GET IN THERE and be prepared to get 'informed' when you're in the shot. It is nice if you're on a small enough set/crew where you can actually talk directly to the DP and get to know them before you start work. "we all have a job to do" but as is typical, picture takes preference.

Just be on the ear-out for hearing "Boom!". If the DP is nice about it, they'll let you know and will be cognizant of actual framing lines and shots and not just yell out when the boom is seen on the monitor. If it is being presented in such a format, you still have room to go before appearing "in the shot" based on framing and aspect ratio, etc.

Good luck. And good luck holding your arms up/dodging lights, walls, and actors' heads.


And, yes, please never assume one single word gets replaced. You and the location mixer are there to capture the best dialogue possible. You never PLAN on things being replaced because...what if it isn't? Who's to blame, then, for the sound?
tutt

Jeff

[colinhart]

Originally Posted by 0bazooka_joe0

I'm not an expert by any means but seeing as this is a feature film, and your first real gig I can only imagine the nerves. Keeping in mind everything else that was said, be a ghost first and formost... then get the good dialogue. Being a feature, most of the dialogue will be replaced in post but you can't take out a boom or boom shadow from a shot so easily. The director and producers will like you if they never see any evidence of you in their shots more so than having top notch dialogue.
Good luck!

No... Nothing said here is accurate. Almost all of a feature film is going to be production sound. That's why boom technique is so important. If you were going to just replace everything in post, you wouldn't be paying thousands of dollars a week to have a sound team with $50k+ of recording equipment on set, and you most certainly wouldn't be paying a boom op.

The article I wrote about boom operation was post by korbes above. It will give you so pointers on what you should be doing with a boom pole.

Here it is again: Boom Op Article

FYI, most (all) directors want good production sound. It sells their work. As an example, over 90% of "Inception" was production dialogue. Same with "Dark Knight" (Both Nolan movies - he's awesome with audio!).

Very often, even the best of the A-list actors can't reproduce a line properly in ADR. It rarely works perfectly. Just think about it. When talent delivers a line on set, there is an entire crew there who's job is to make the actor feel comfortable - make him feel like he's in the scene. And during the performance, the actor is in character, interacting with others and the set. The performance will be real. Now imagine trying to come into a recording studio 2+ months after wrap at 9am with your sbux coffee, staring at a screen, trying to remember the mood and reproducing the feeling WHILE maintaining sync. VERY difficult, and extremely expensive to make happen.

Just get it right on set. It doesn't matter if you're not best friends with the director or DP. Do your job and do it well.

[K5000]

Lots of tips here. I don't have that much experience, but a few pieces of advice I've had which have been quite helpful at some point.

-If you have to move around in a cramped space while shooting, it's good to have your rear hand over the rubber end of the boom pole. This way, if you have to back up, your sensation of touch will give you more time to react and stop if you're about to back into something or someone.

- If you're having a hard time in a close-up, because of shadows or whatever, you could try booming from below. Two things you have to be careful about: A directional mic will pick up different reflections when pointing diagonally up compared to diagonally down. These reflections might be a heck of a lot uglier than those when booming upwards. In any case, if the reflections don't sound bad at all, you should consider booming every shot in the same scene, that is of similar perspective, from the same position. This might avoid unwanted changes in sound character when moving from shot to shot.
The second thing is that if you're booming from below, the mic being close to the actor's body might give you a false visual impression of correct mic placement - you might not at first notice that though the mic is close to the actor, it might actually be quite far from the mouth/chest area.

- Someone said that a boom op should stay away from the set while the gaffer does his/her thing. Might be a work culture thing as well, but over here it might even go like this: while the gaffer works, the boom op closely follows the development of lighting and shadows, working out the possibilities for his/her own placement. With a boom, a boom op can also constantly check out the shadows as well. This of course also reminds the gaffer of the boom op's existence, and dialogue can be opened between the two, if any obvious problems arise that could be fixed with a minor lighting adjustment. Of course this requires both a receptive gaffer and a friendly boom op. In any case, if a boom op doesn't "stake his claim" early on like this beforehand, it might be too late to fix anything once shooting starts.

[PoxyMusic]

Originally Posted by colinhart

No... Nothing said here is accurate.

The part about not being an expert was accurate.

[colinhart]

Originally Posted by PoxyMusic

The part about not being an expert was accurate.

Touché...

I stand corrected. He was right about that...

[tsvisser]

Well to cut the guy a little break, some films have been known to ADR the majority of the dialogue, but they have big budgets, and they wouldn't be using a first time boom op.

[sonnykeyes]

I used to work on set in a non-audio capacity, and the boom op often pointed out that it's a job where you never get positive feedback, only negative. No one will ever say, "Hey, great boom work on that last shot!" You'll only hear complaints about shadows and mics in the shot. If one day no one complains, you're doing a fantastic job!

Sonny Keyes
Ricochet Audio
Toronto

[Jfriah]

Originally Posted by colinhart

No... Nothing said here is accurate. Almost all of a feature film is going to be production sound...If you were going to just replace everything in post, you wouldn't be paying thousands of dollars a week to have a sound team with $50k+ of recording equipment on set, and you most certainly wouldn't be paying a boom op.

I don't know what features you're booming for / have edited DIA on / which directors you've worked with but "Almost all of a feature film is going to be production sound" can be debated unless you're Christopher Nolan or Q. Tarantino. As to paying money to a sound crew on set, think of paying the REST of the crew while the sound babies get another take because of iffy sound. (and that's a direct quote heard on a set before)

Originally Posted by colinhart

most (all) directors want good production sound. It sells their work.

Very true. And very rare that directors and producers know enough to take sound into account. I'll debate you and say here "Most (all) directors WANT good production sound but many of them don't know how to allow that to happen and don't have the money to throw around to get it." Obviously, a blanket statement and 'what budget' of feature is being talked about.

Your comments about ADR are very true. I used to record it every day. When you have an actor crumple up the sides and throw them on the ground, say 'screw this sh*t' and walk out...

Originally Posted by colinhart

Just get it right on set...Do your job and do it well.

Just TRY to get it right on set. TRY to work with the rest of the crew so that everyone benefits as much as they can. Do YOUR job well. And then, in the end, as a location mixer just reminded me: "You can't ADR the pretty picture."



Jeff

p.s. very true, Sonny. Nobody gets positive feedback on location sound (at the time of shooting). They're just concerned with shadows, getting in shots, and the location mixer opening his/her mouth about potential/real issues in order to try to lessen them. (read: "sound babies")

[Airon]

Originally Posted by Uncle Bob

Before my first gig as a boom-op I practiced with a 12 foot 40 pound steel pole for a couple of weeks; after that a real boom pole was a feather!

As Tom said, know the script.

Get friendly with the DP.

Read the following article.

http://www.thompsound.com/old-site/A...T/zen_boom.pdf

I've worked the boompole myself for three years, during my first five years as an editor and mixer, because I wanted to know where it comes from, what the problems were, how good production sound is achieved. This is by far not the amount of experience you'll find with some of the folks here, but I can only stress some of the pointers given here.

Communication with the people whom you could piss off, and who could piss you off is vital. The more you support the gaffer, DOP, actors and everyone else you work with, the more they are likely to support you.

You won't believe how happy some DOPs were when I informed them of how I planned to boom the shot and whether it would get in their way or produce trouble with shadows and frame dips. People would rather hear about problems during the setup phase. It's a problem that is much easier to solve than in the middle of a shot.

Actors are people you should have a good relationship with, professional at the very least, because you'll probably be the person attaching lavs to more intimate parts of their body, running wires in to their backs as well. The more professional folks will be most helpful with this, but be ready to deal with nervous folks.

And only irreplaceable people get to freak out. Never tarnish your reputation on set and beyond with bad behavior.