From the course: Creating a Short Film: 12 Audio

Recording with a boom pole

From the course: Creating a Short Film: 12 Audio

Start my 1-month free trial

Recording with a boom pole

- [Instructor] In the last movie, we talked briefly about using a boom pole to record audio. So let's talk about that in a little bit more detail. Essentially, a boom pole is just a pole that you attach a shotgun mic to and hold up to record audio on set. This allows you to get those very directional microphones pointed at the audio source, but keep the microphone out of the shot. Now, I've seen some DIY indie YouTube videos on how to create your own boom pole, and I could see how that might be a tempting way to save money. After all, it's just a simple pole, right? Well, not exactly. Boom poles are designed to be used in film work. They are strong enough to support the weight of a microphone, but light enough to be held aloft by a boom operator throughout very long shoot days. And, perhaps most importantly, they're also designed to record audio without picking up additional noise from the operator. They're usually padded and attached to shock mounts which greatly reduces noise transferred from holding the mic. Let's talk about operating the boom. Assuming that you're using an extremely directional mic like a shotgun, remember that you only record what you point at. It's not enough to just get a microphone close to an actor or to a sound you're trying to record. You need to point the mic directly at what you're trying to record. When recording dialogue scenes, that means pointing the mic directly at the mouth of the person speaking. It's also common practice to aim towards the top of the sternum of the person that you're recording. And that will pick up a little bit more low end frequencies in the voice. When you hold the boom, you typically want to have the mic a little in front of the subject and angled slightly back at them. You also want to get the mic as close to the subject as you can, but this can create some interesting challenges in wide shots. So before the cameras roll, make sure that you do something called a frame line check. Work with the camera operator to find the spot where your boom is just barely out of frame and then make sure it never goes lower than that throughout the shot. Often, boom operators will find some object around them to use as a guide or a mark for where that frame line is, like maybe your next to a ladder on set. So you could find a rung that you could use as kind of like a reference for where the frame line is or whatever. Shots where the camera moves can become a little bit more tricky. Oftentimes, you'll need to get creative. Maybe you'll need to hide behind the kitchen counter on the floor and point your boom upwards at the actors, but sometimes recording with the boom just isn't feasible, like in these wide shots from the goodbye scene in The Assurance. For these, we really had no other choice than to use LAV audio or to record the sound separately with the camera not filming. That way, you get the authentic sound from the location as well as the same energy that the actors have in that moment. But when in tighter spots, get creative and figure out how to boom the shot. Next, we'll look at the importance of respecting the sound mixer.

Contents