The boom operator is the person in control of the boom pole and the mic attached to it. They must be confident when controlling the boom, as the audio they capture is extremely important. In terms of quality, boomed dialogue is by far the best, if compared to lavaliers or boundary mics. As our roles on set will be different each day, in order that all of us will get a decent amount of experience in each role, no one person will be booming all the time. So we will all need to practice and research effective booming techniques.

There are several different ways one can boom, depending on the scenario, and the equipment on hand. Boom poles can be cabled or uncabled, which can affect handling noise, and the boom op has a large amount of movement available to him/her that can allow them to get the best audio possible. If a boom is not cabled, which means it has an XLR cable running through the centre, then the cable must be wrapped around the exterior. A good tip I found in The Location Sound Bible is to use hairbands with bobbles on them on the boom pole, allowing the boom op to secure the cable to the pole, eliminating any noise that would be created by it knocking, and also being easy to remove. Some basic positions when booming are the Standard “H” position, where both arms are bent at the elbow, allowing you to stretch the boom a little further if need be; and the Flagpole position, where you keep your elbows at your sides. This can be used as break position from the “H” position, and also works well in more cramped spaces. You can also use a Crucifix position in very long takes, with the boom fully extended (increasing the strain on your arms), resting behind your neck with both of your arms draped over it. This isn’t ideal though, as you lose a lot of the control over the boom pole that you have with the other positions.

The main thing I must do is ensure I’m comfortable when booming. If I rush when setting up, the pole could be overextended, my arms could be in the wrong position and quickly cramp up, and the cable could knock against the pole and cause noise on the recording. I need to make sure that I have enough time to set up, be aware of what I will be doing, and also practice at least once before beginning filming. If I do this, I’m confident I’ll be able to capture some excellent audio.

P.S. As a small addition, the boom op must make sure their footsteps do not appear on the recording, and products do exist to help with this issue. Hush Heels are available, and muffle the boom ops footsteps. They are quite expensive however, so I think for this project we will simply remove our shoes when booming.