New: An Easyrig for Boom Operators

[rmac]

Johan Hellsten posted this to YouTube yesterday:

 

Easyrig Boom Rig Release Video

 

 

The price is US$2200 with vest. Gotham Sound (Nick Huston) discussed the product with Hellsten at NAB yesterday. From 8:50:

 

 

[The Documentary Sound Guy]

Neat ... that's the first armature I've seen that doesn't look totally impractical and bulky.  I might keep an eye on this.  It's still a pretty big item to be carrying run and gun, but they've clearly put a lot of thought into the specific needs of sound and boom.  I'd try it.

[jozzafunk]

We tried an earlier proto on a 17 page backwards walk and talk, it was great for that

[Fred Salles]

Interesting. It seems to have solve some or all the issues that the Boom Audio Kit Cool had. Much more versatile and allowing many movements, even small adjustment. Though they have borrowed and adapted the 2 wheels system of Kit Cool for boom twisting, most movements seems more free. I look forward in trying it.

 

[Tong0615]

It would be interesting to see a comparison between BoomRig and Exoskeletons. 

[Olle Sjostrom]

I mean, for longer scenes outdoors or large interiors this is great. 

 

I was even more excited by that mixer holder, I wish they'd release just that part like a belt where you just hang the mixer. Great stuff. Proud swede. Great accent

[The Documentary Sound Guy]

You mean the harness?  There are other options out there, what did you like about this one in particular?

[Olle Sjostrom]

16 hours ago, The Documentary Sound Guy said:

You mean the harness?  There are other options out there, what did you like about this one in particular?

I just liked the way the mixer bag hung off of the hooks. Imagine a thick belt or girdle you wear around your hips, and you'd hang the bag on that instead of having straps over your shoulders, so no harness per se. 
I don't know if it'd actually work but it seems like a nice solution. I think I'd buy it

[rmac]

11 hours ago, Olle Sjostrom said:

I just liked the way the mixer bag hung off of the hooks. Imagine a thick belt or girdle you wear around your hips, and you'd hang the bag on that instead of having straps over your shoulders, so no harness per se. 
I don't know if it'd actually work but it seems like a nice solution. I think I'd buy it

 

If I attached my Easyrig Minimax, which supports up to 7kg (15.4lb), to a mixer bag instead of a camera the bag would feel almost weightless. I’d be able to guide the bag with a couple of fingers. The Easyrig for boom poles is designed differently, but Hellsten appears to be saying that it has a positive effect on the apparent weight of a mixer bag.

[Jim Feeley]

7 hours ago, Olle Sjostrom said:

I just liked the way the mixer bag hung off of the hooks. Imagine a thick belt or girdle you wear around your hips, and you'd hang the bag on that instead of having straps over your shoulders, so no harness per se. 
I don't know if it'd actually work but it seems like a nice solution. I think I'd buy it

 

Olle, great thought. I'd love to know what people think so I started a new thread:

 

 

[evarsimon]

My thoughts exactly; as soon as I saw it being used, it seems much better than dual arm or other system that rely on clamps, or even battery power to work. Seems very intuitive, has the option to park the pole. The only improvement would be not to require a second person to adjust tension on the fly; but people are used to helping out with Easyrigs - but the control being on the side somehow would make it much better when doing doc work or other one man band setups.

[rmac]

This is a detailed walkthrough from Easyrig  “Ambassador” Jayme Roy.

 

 

[Patrick Farrell]

6 hours ago, rmac said:

This is a detailed walkthrough from Easyrig  “Ambassador” Jayme Roy.

 

 

 

Shame about the video's audio.

[rmac]

Easyrigs for cameras can be converted to a Boom Rig. The conversion is easy, and if one already owns an Easyrig for cameras there’s a substantial saving.

 

I have an Easyrig Minimax. The U.S. distributor (16x9, Kyle Heffernan) tells me the following:

 

"To convert a Minimax to a Boom Rig you would need to purchase the Boom Rig Power Pack [no vest].  It's cost is $1,545. You would then simply attached your Minimax Vest, no additional parts are needed."

 

I think that some owners of camera Easyrigs will be interested. It’s easy to envisage situations where one's Easyrig isn’t needed for the camera, either because the camera can be supported by a tripod or can be handheld, but would be useful for a boom. I imagine that rental operations may also be interested in this.

 

 

6 hours ago, Patrick Farrell said:

 

Shame about the video's audio.

 

That video is something of a missed opportunity. Johan Hellsten pays Jamye Roy to be an Easyrig “Ambassador” because of his experience as a cameraman. I’d like to see a demonstration by an experienced boom operator, preferably one who’s at least semi-independent who can also provide a credible evaluation.

 

I see that you’re from Brooklyn. Gotham Sound will have an Easyrig Boom Rig available to try out at its Sound Expo event in Queens this Saturday. 

[Tong0615]

I tried the Boomrig for one day in a real filming situation. 

My very first impression: The Boomrig is very helpful in some situations, but it requires the Boom Op to adapt their way of booming, and requires curtain adaptation in the sound team. 

 

Pros:

• Very easy to wear and setup, it took me less than 1 minute to put it on.
• The compact design allows use it indoors, the arm can be lowered, which is very practical to move around between takes. 
• The adjustable load is very practical for all kinds of microphones and shock mounts. 
• In Situations such as long takes, Steadicam walks, and wide shots, the Boomrig helps to reduce the load on shoulders and back significantly. 
• In a Steadicam walk situation, I don't need to pay attention to my supporting arm and weight balance so much, but can fully concentrate on getting the microphone to the spot. That was a huge surprise for me. 
• It's effortless to do a long take, I didn't feel anything on my arm after a long take with fully extended boom. 
• It worked very well when turning the microphone from one side to the other, the two small wheels in the hook are silent and fast. 
• The swing-arm is also responsive and quiet, worked surprisingly well when I needed to change position from above to low.
• The arm can also move in the forward/backward direction for about 30cm, and it is also possible to "slide" forward or backward when it already sits in the hook, the rubbers on the wheel doesn't make any noise. 

 

Cons (or things I still need to figure out)

• The Boomrig requires adjustment for load/tension after each adjustment of boom, which can be problematic for a 2-men crew (sound mixer + boom op). If the load is not properly adjusted, the freedom of movement can be very limited, and that can cause missing cues. 
• Even though the Boomrig has a compact design, it is still nearly impossible to use it in a low-ceiling situation. 
• The design of the right-sided arm is a bit limiting, It took me a while to learn how to boom from both sides with this arm.
• It took me a bit of struggle to get the boom pole into the hook every time when the boom pole is extended. 
• It is very difficult or almost impossible to adjust the length of the boom pole when it's in position. 
• The forwards-backwards movement is a bit limited due to the design of the arm. 
• The Up-Down movement is still a bit difficult to get under fully control for me after using it for one day.
• It is not so easy to get the right load, and when it's not properly adjusted, I need to fight with the Boomrig actively. 
• After one day, I'm still not able to do fine detailed movement with the Boomrig, for shoots, where I need to do fine movement and be very precise, I had to do it without the boomrig.
• Switching sides during take is not possible (could be problematic for documentary work)

 

Overall, after the first day, I would recommend the Boomrig to all Boom Ops, even though it has some limitations, it reduces the load from Boom pole on the arms and back significantly without losing too much flexibility. 

 

I will keep testing the Boomrig this week, and will make more reviews. Please also let me know if you have any questions or some thoughts related to the test. Thanks. 

 

[VASI]

Thank you for sharing @Tong0615! 

[Derek H]

Thanks for posting! Keep it coming!

 

 Yeah it’s too bad you can’t switch sides more easily, sometimes you need to boom from one side or the other depending on the situation. Also having rollers that allowed you to not only pivot the mic but push/pull it would be good. 
 

I’m curious, How has the reaction on set been?

[Tong0615]

2 hours ago, Derek H said:

Thanks for posting! Keep it coming!

 

 Yeah it’s too bad you can’t switch sides more easily, sometimes you need to boom from one side or the other depending on the situation. Also having rollers that allowed you to not only pivot the mic but push/pull it would be good. 
 

I’m curious, How has the reaction on set been?

Just make sure it's not being misunderstood, you can boom from both sides when using BoomRig, only switching side on the fly (during take) is not possible. I do switch sides on documentary works when I have to go from one side of the camera to the other side of the camera, and this is not possible with the boomrig.  

 

You can push/pull the boom pole (I think even more compared to without the Boomrig), it doesn't make any noise when you push the boom pool forward or backwards on the rubbers, and the arm also moves in the forward/backward direction for about 30cm. 

 

Since most of the crew knew about the camera easyrig, they were not so surprised. But they were interested in how it works, especially the camera and grip department.  

[Jason Nicholas]

Anyone else have further thoughts or experience with the Boom Rig?

[Mungo]

I had it on for a show where random people in the streets were questioned about recent political things by a presenter. It was a kind of "run and gun" shoot. The presenter was of course laved and the people not because everything had to be spontaneous. Shot by two FX9 for each wide and narrow shot and presenter shot.

The Boom Rig helped A LOT in this scenario to keep the right distance above the heads for an unpredictable period of time - you didn't know how the discussion would develop. The mixer was fixed on the Boom Rig front holder which I found pretty comfortable. But, after some hours, you realize that it is as heavy as always.

I guess wouldn't use it where maximum flexibility is needed and takes are shorter but on that day it saved my life.

[DanieldH]

On 1/8/2025 at 8:38 AM, Mungo said:

I had it on for a show where random people in the streets were questioned about recent political things by a presenter. It was a kind of "run and gun" shoot. The presenter was of course laved and the people not because everything had to be spontaneous. Shot by two FX9 for each wide and narrow shot and presenter shot.

The Boom Rig helped A LOT in this scenario to keep the right distance above the heads for an unpredictable period of time - you didn't know how the discussion would develop. The mixer was fixed on the Boom Rig front holder which I found pretty comfortable. But, after some hours, you realize that it is as heavy as always.

I guess wouldn't use it where maximum flexibility is needed and takes are shorter but on that day it saved my life.

Hey Mungo,

where did you get it from? Is there any rental place you know of?

[Mungo]

1 hour ago, DanieldH said:

Hey Mungo,

where did you get it from? Is there any rental place you know of?

Bought it from manufacturer 

[Jason Nicholas]

I went to my local dealer here in Sydney today to try this out; very interesting. It was a bit fiddly to get adjusted (and that's really not a one person job). I think my only initial reservation about it would be that need to have a second person adjusting the arm tension from behind as, if you shorten or lengthen the pole between takes, the tension needs to be adjusted. If the tension is too low, the boom drifts down and you have to lift it up as 'normal'; it too high, then the boom counterintuitively drifts up and you have to pull it down. I think the other thing to note, as @Tong0615 says above, is that you can't readily reposition the boom 'fore and aft' once it's placed in the holder; you do have a range of motion that the arm will allow for but if you need to go further than that, it has to be with your feet rather than simply moving the boom back through your hands. However, when it's dialled in, the pole just rather floats there and can be manipulated with very little effort. I was only using it for about 15 minutes but I think, once you get used to the concept, it would be a quite useful piece of kit. That's a very rough overview of it (and I'm not an experienced boom op to begin with); really need a report from someone who has done a whole feature or the like and has grown accustomed to what's needed for smooth operation and where it is/isn't called for. 

[DanieldH]

I have used mine now on one day on a beach and a street walk and talk scene. Lots of Steadycam moving backwards walk'n talk.
A very useful tool with some weird / to be improved aspects. I used it with my internally cabled, strongly counter-weighted and shrink tube coated 5100 QP.

- I can reach the T-handle myself, when the arm is hooked in the vest or with the boom inside the hook in the equivalent low position, but not when it is completely down and not when I am wearing lots of layers of clothes and my winter jacket.
- Load adjustment by the handle is roughly necessary, but not really that intensive to operate. You don't have to adjust it every time you lengthen/shorten the boom up to maybe half a meter. Load balance is (so far) fine tuned by the distance of the pulling hand to the hook.

- Moving the boom back and forth during take is a bit limited and it is strange why the lower arm hinge is designed that way.
- Adjusting the boom in the hook back and forth before take without lifting is possible if the hooks wheels are in a skewed position and the boom is turned.

- The packing volume is rather annoying. I'll defeat that by disassembling the arm pipe from the lower arm assembly, looking out for some knurled screws.

- The upper profile assembly has a "nose" that appears to be designed on purpose. It likely hits the hooks swivel when moving the arm down somewhere midway. That makes a significant sound that the arm resonates. I consider this a significant design flaw. I will try to defeat this with some cushioning tape, but why that nose exists in the first place puzzles me. The upper profile assembly pictured in the spare parts catalog does not show that nose.
-The hook does the job somehow, but there is quite some room for improvements. Rolling O rings as wheels or omni- or mecanum wheels in twin configuration come to mind.

- The system has big open metal parts that are prone to scratches and can hit other things or humans producing damage, injuries or even worse, making sound 😉. I will likely fit some fabric shrink tubing on the arm and possibly 3D print a TPU cover for the hook.

[Derek H]

Great notes, if you haven’t yet please share them with the Easy Rig people.