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Operating a boom mic: Where to start?


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I have my boom pole, my shotgun and hypercardiod mics, and my SD 302 mixer feeding a Zoom H4n recorder.  I am recording dialogue indoors and outdoors. 

I've never operated a boom pole before and would like to learn some of the basic technique.  I have Google'd the subject but I was hoping someone could point me to an online source that they felt did a really good job covering the basics.

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I have Google'd the subject but I was hoping someone could point me to an online source that they felt did a really good job covering the basics.

There are a lot of things one can learn online but boom operating isn't one of them. You will need to find a boom operator who has had the experience and learn from them. Sitting in front of your computer and Googling your brains out is just not going to cut it. Sorry for the reality check.

-  Jeff Wexler

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I suggest practicing on someone you know. Have them walk around, turn different directions, and talk loud and soft. Have them do this while delivering some lines of dialog. If you can follow them around while having the mic on axis, that's a good start. Like Jeff said, find someone that has the experience and shadow them for a bit.

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Here is a lesson I learned from somebody long ago.

Take a flashlight and mount it along side your boom mic.

Pick up your boom with the flashlight turned on and point it at your TV's speaker, operating at a normal listening level.

Now stand there for half an hour or so.

Feel the burn in your arms.

Learn to shift your legs without moving the boom much, alway pointing at the speaker.

Plug everything together and listen to your boom as you move it around and over the TV.

Notice how the level changes in your headphones.

Now move around your TV while keeping the beam of light of the flashlight aimed at the speaker.

For advance training, you can chase freinds, brothers, sisters, or roommates round as they try to avoid you, but remember to keep the  beam of light aimed at their mouths.

Do this for a couple of weeks and you just might get a job on a student film.

And learn to react to the sound of "Booms in!!!!", "Hey, there's the sound guy, lets put the key light here." or "You're not going to stand there, are ya?"

Have fun.

Scott, booming since 1988......

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Sadly, learning to boom from an online guide is kind of like trying to learn to ride a bicycle from a book.

But I would highly recommend Mark Ulano's 1999 article, The Art of Zen Boom, which goes into the basics and the philosophy pretty well.

Also, remember the classic advice: "if you don't get yelled at at least twice a day for having the boom in the frame, you're not trying hard enough." Stamina, getting along with the other crew members, being helpful under stressful conditions, watching for boom shadows, learning how to listen and anticipate problems before they happen...  It's a very tough job, and I salute those who do this every day for a living.

--Marc W.

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The best way to learn to boom, mix, or do anything else audio-related is to close your eyes and LISTEN.  Learn to focus your attention on the nuances of sound.

Hear the footsteps as someone enters the room.  Notice how your brain can pick out a conversation across the room even when there are people talking closer to you.  Listen to what it sounds like when someone turns their head as they speak.  Pay attention to speech patterns and the ranges of different voices.  Good sound mixing is 95% brain and 5% ears.  "Trained ears" is a misnomer -- it's actually the brain that's trained.  Train your brain.

Next, do the same thing with the boom (don't walk with your eyes closed, though).  Open your eyes and maintain the same aural focus as before while you have a subject turn their head while continuously talking.  Notice how it sounds as the subject goes off-axis.  Listen especially to the sibilance -- those hissy "S" sounds as the mic turns off-axis.  You'll hear the high frequencies (that's where those "S"s live) begin to drop off before the rest of the sound.  Have your subject walk toward a wall and listen how the sound changes as phasing occurs when they near a hard, reflective surface.  Do the same exercise with them sitting down at a desk as you boom the action.  As you hear that sound changing, try to "work" the boom in a manner that keeps the sound as consistent as possible, both volume-wise and sound quality-wise.

Learn to do the above perfectly...

Learn to walk forward, backward and sideways while doing all the above perfectly while holding a long stick over your head with a weight on the end of it for long periods of time...

Learn to avoid boom shadows from a dozen lights while doing everything mentioned so far...

Learn to stay just above the camera's frame line at the same time (which means you need to develop an understanding of lenses, focal lengths and field-of-view).

Now, do everything above with two different people talking in the scene when there is furniture, C-stands and flags everywhere, and a ton of other people in your way.

Do it all while maintaining mental focus yet thinking ahead and also being a friendly presence on the set and you've just begun to be a decent boom operator.  The migration from film to video cameras means you'll need to be able to do it continuously for longer periods of time.

By the way... never panic.  When someone yells "Boom's in" as if a tsunami is coming, DO NOT sail the end of the microphone as high as you can get it above the set in order to avoid the yelling.  Simply put (and there are slight variations on this depending upon things like sound perspectives, matching, etc.), your job is to keep the boom as near to the frame line as you can.  If your sound mixer doesn't have a video monitor and you need to get a frame line reference from the camera department (not ideal), don't expect to have them guide you down to the frame line.  Put the mic in-frame and let them talk you up in increments until it's out.  If the camera department had their way, your boom would reside near the ceiling, in another room, off in some distant building.

Good luck.  It can be quite rewarding when you nail a difficult shot.

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I like everything John is saying but one:

DO NOT CLOSE YOUR EYES!

Having headphones and gear on can be a little confusing and dangerous.

So always be aware of your surroundings: people,lighting, cars, and especially cables on the ground.

Make sure your cables do not catch on something as well.

The best way to learn to boom, mix, or do anything else audio-related is to close your eyes and LISTEN.  Learn to focus your attention on the nuances of sound.

Hear the footsteps as someone enters the room.  Notice how your brain can pick out a conversation across the room even when there are people talking closer to you.  Listen to what it sounds like when someone turns their head as they speak.  Pay attention to speech patterns and the ranges of different voices.  Good sound mixing is 95% brain and 5% ears.  "Trained ears" is a misnomer -- it's actually the brain that's trained.  Train your brain.

Next, do the same thing with the boom (don't walk with your eyes closed, though).  Open your eyes and maintain the same aural focus as before while you have a subject turn their head while continuously talking.  Notice how it sounds as the subject goes off-axis.  Listen especially to the sibilance -- those hissy "S" sounds as the mic turns off-axis.  You'll hear the high frequencies (that's where those "S"s live) begin to drop off before the rest of the sound.  Have your subject walk toward a wall and listen how the sound changes as phasing occurs when they near a hard, reflective surface.  Do the same exercise with them sitting down at a desk as you boom the action.  As you hear that sound changing, try to "work" the boom in a manner that keeps the sound as consistent as possible, both volume-wise and sound quality-wise.

Learn to do the above perfectly...

Learn to walk forward, backward and sideways while doing all the above perfectly while holding a long stick over your head with a weight on the end of it for long periods of time...

Learn to avoid boom shadows from a dozen lights while doing everything mentioned so far...

Learn to stay just above the camera's frame line at the same time (which means you need to develop an understanding of lenses, focal lengths and field-of-view).

Now, do everything above with two different people talking in the scene when there is furniture, C-stands and flags everywhere, and a ton of other people in your way.

Do it all while maintaining mental focus yet thinking ahead and also being a friendly presence on the set and you've just begun to be a decent boom operator.  The migration from film to video cameras means you'll need to be able to do it continuously for longer periods of time.

By the way... never panic.  When someone yells "Boom's in" as if a tsunami is coming, DO NOT sail the end of the microphone as high as you can get it above the set in order to avoid the yelling.  Simply put (and there are slight variations on this depending upon things like sound perspectives, matching, etc.), your job is to keep the boom as near to the frame line as you can.  If your sound mixer doesn't have a video monitor and you need to get a frame line reference from the camera department (not ideal), don't expect to have them guide you down to the frame line.  Put the mic in-frame and let them talk you up in increments until it's out.  If the camera department had their way, your boom would reside near the ceiling, in another room, off in some distant building.

Good luck.  It can be quite rewarding when you nail a difficult shot.

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...I like everything John is saying but one:

DO NOT CLOSE YOUR EYES!...

I guess I wasn't as clear as I thought.  I'm not an advocate of booming with your eyes closed -- far from it.  What I was proposing was training exercises to learn to focus the brain on aural perception.  After which, training with a boom (and eyes wide open, of course -- as I stated) is then in order.

I think a good candidate for booming should train their brain to learn how to listen before ever picking up a boom pole.  Otherwise you miss little nuances -- like what I actually said.

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Tip #1 - It's better to be a little too far in front of the subject than it is to be behind.  Don't point the mic too severely, which can often sent half (or all) of the pattern into someone's forehead or behind them entirely.

Then there's everything else!

But the best advice is to get on set and watch it being done.  I learned more in one day of watching Don Coufal boom that I could have ever "researched".  He was also kind enough to talk about his techniques between set-ups.  The knowledge gained in just ONE DAY was immeasurable.  Then there was watching other boom operators, as well as watching and listening to mixers gripe and/or praise as boom operators did different things which helped or hindered the sound.

Robert

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But I would highly recommend Mark Ulano's 1999 article, The Art of Zen Boom, which goes into the basics and the philosophy pretty well.

Also, remember the classic advice: "if you don't get yelled at at least twice a day for having the boom in the frame, you're not trying hard enough."

--Marc W.

Both great advice its funny I was in shot twice yesterday myself. It just takes alot of time and practice to be a great one.

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but wait...

there's more!

a good boom operator needs to learn the script as well as (or better than) the actors.

a good boom operator knows lighting as well as (or better than) the gaffer.

(there are three people on a set who can light the shot: the DP, the Gaffer, and the Boomer!)

The boom operator stays on the set observing (and keeping tabs on) the entire lighting process.

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All good advise so far IMO. Very hard to learn even by doing it. Impossible to just read about. I would suggest that since you own a fair amount of gear, set it up and crank the gain up and move the mic around for 5 minutes at a time. Use your ears to hear how much handling noise you generate. Until you can move an active mic around any space without handling noise, you are not ready to boom. Practice of any kind will make you better. Good luck. Work hard.

CrewC

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Also, remember the classic advice: "if you don't get yelled at at least twice a day for having the boom in the frame, you're not trying hard enough." Stamina, getting along with the other crew members, being helpful under stressful conditions, watching for boom shadows, learning how to listen and anticipate problems before they happen...  It's a very tough job, and I salute those who do this every day for a living.

--Marc W.

Once I develop a rapport with the DP/operator I always ask them this question:

"Know what it means when the boom is in the shot?  You need to push in a little..."

Always gets a laugh.

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Thank you all for the replies and reality checks.  I will follow up on the information provided and attempt to find someone local who I can solicit (trick?) to let me observe and learn from.  I'm guessing there aren't that many boom ops in my area (Edmonton, AB, Canada), but I will find out. 

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