Behind The Boom with Boom Operator Ken Strain | URSA Exclusive
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- Опубликовано: 11 июл 2024
- With over 30 years experience as a Boom Operator in LA & New York Ken Strain has a wealth of knowledge which has has generously shared with us in this epic interview!
We cover boom op techniques, horrible rookie mistakes, the custom equipment Ken uses on set, ways to avoid back & neck strain, tips for swinging dialog & catching fast head turns, qualities of different boom mics and when to use them, a brilliant tip for booming underneath, tricks for learning lines and planning out scene coverage, advice for speaking with directors and cast members, advice for assistants new to the industry and so so much more! Just check out the chapters list below for a full break down!
So get comfy as this is a long one, jam packed with great advice, stories and real world on-set experiences. A rare treat as many boom ops are not willing to put their head up and say what needs to be said.
And for an even deeper dive into boom technique & theory we recommend you check out Kens BoomRight Masterclass eBook here: boomrightmasterclass.com
Big Thanks to Ken for being so generous and sharing so much, it's really a rare gift and we hope that this video helps to create an open dialog about booming.
Do let us know what you think in the comments!
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Video Chapters:
00:00 - Intro
00:40 - House, Lost & Chicago 7
01:33 - 'The Cradle' Technique
04:08 - The Boom Patch
05:20 - The Counterweight
06:42 - Lighting & Shadows
07:54 - 'Switching' Arms
11:15 - Back & Neck Pain
12:49 - Finding 'The Pivot Point'
16:26 - Boom Mic Angle
18:26 - Booming Head Turns
21:00 - Reducing Weight on the pole
22:25 - Asking the right way
24:18 - Communicating with cast
25:50 - Remembering Lines
28:54 - Swinging Dialog
30:06 - Picking the right mic
31:06 - The oh sh*t moment
31:54 - Parallax Boom Mic Accuracy
32:56 - The Private Audio Feed
33:36 - Moulded In-Ear Pieces
34:23 - Hearing Loss
35:33 - The Boom Box
37:37 - Mic Suspension Tips
39:50 - Wireless Video Monitoring
41:49 - Pushing The Frame
42:40 - Mistakes to avoid
43:44 - 'The Quest' Story
47:09 - Managing Background Noise
49:54 - Filming on a Beach
51:32 - Booming Underneath
53:30 - Booming Loud Scenes
57:10 - Avoiding Eye Lines
58:53 - What to Wear on set
59:53 - Wiring Cast
1:03:01 - Justifying 2 Booms
1:05:21 - 1AS or Boom Op?
1:07:27 - Assistant Advice
1:09:40 - Art of Booming
1:10:29 - Boom Right Masterclass
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Featured Products
K-Tek KP14V Mighty Boom Pole 14 foot with interior cable : ktekpro.com/product/kp14v-mig...
K-Tek Boom Patch : ktekpro.com/product/kbp-ktek-...
URSA Fur Circles : ursastraps.com/product/fur-ci...
Hide-A-Mic Re:Pose Noise Reducer
Sennheiser MKH50 & Schoeps CMIT5U microphones
Radius RAD1 Suspension : radiuswindshields.com/product...
Ultimate Ears moulded earpieces : www.ultimateears.com/
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Credits
Ken Strain :
www.imdb.com/name/nm0833166/
boomrightmasterclass.com
Simon Bysshe :
www.imdb.com/name/nm2015085/
Filmed by Nico Hambleton:
www.nicocam.com
Edited by Simon Bysshe
Produced by URSA Straps:
ursastraps.com
Filmed at The URSA HQ in the 'Audio Dept' building, Isleworth, West London. 
Кино
15+ year IATSE journeyman sound mixer and boom op here. These are wise words from a wise man. I always want to make it as easy as possible for my boom operators (use a boom mate if possible… etc). Don’t kill yourselves out there if possible. Your body will thank you. Also never underestimate the effectiveness of resting it on your head and one arming it.
Thank you for your kind words, but I take exception to resting the boom on the head. If you read my ebook, BoomRight Foundation, I show so many ways to accomplish the Cradle Technique, that you won't need to rest the boom on your head, which is terrible for your neck. Doing that also requires you to be wearing conventional headphones, and many of us have switched to In Ear Monitors (IEM's).
Every production sound person needs to see this! So much wisdom in here.
Thank you Bradon, please help us spread the word!
Ken is the reason I don’t boom over my head. Put me at odds with some of my TAs in school, but hey I’d sooner trust the word of a professional.
41:25 “Know your lenses, know your lens sizes…”
This is true but you can only go as far as knowing it until the camera-operator decides to change a little bit of the shot while you weren’t looking for one split second.
This thing with seeing the frame live is amazing, it really helps being as tight to the frame as possible even when the frame changes just before shooting.
I tried this frame live on phone and it does work but when costume need it you have to be like ok nm. The system only allows so many links to it. And also yes you’re right camera love to change things or try new things whilst in a take often so I find it best to just listen and watch camera dep and go from there.
What a great interview! Thank you so much for sharing. Ken has so much valuable insight, this was a real treat to watch! 👏
Thank you!! Hey, is that foam on Kens MKH50 a prototype Radius product?
@@URSAStraps it is! We’re calling it “the mushroom”… for now 😅 Not sure when this will become a product as of yet, however we wanted it to go out to people like Ken First, before we bring it to the market. If there’s interest, it could be sooner 😊
Big fan of Ken, this is a great watch, kudos to Simon & URSA crew, respect all round!
I so much agree with the in ears. Especially wearing on ears in the summer ,,,,, hot hot hot…
I use shure se215 and se 315. Robust cable that can take some abuse and good enough sounding.
What he mentions about switching ears is spot on. I switch ear every day. When i was starting and after wearing the headphone on the right ear only for 6 months my hearing was panned to the left and theright side sounded muffled and then it took me another 6 months for my hearing to return to balanced . It was scary.
In addition to what Ken is saying i always wear the cable under my t-shirt and it only comes out of the neck hole. This way when you are working in tight spaces with chairs or branches in the forest etc.. Much less chances for the cable to get caught somewhere.
Ken seems like a very cool and knowledgeable colleague.
This is such a great video! So insightful, full on proper hands on experience “value bombs” from someone who really knows their craft! Thank you!
I'm seeing this right before starting work on a show. So much insight and gems shared here. Thank you so much for this
Definitely bringing this back to Australia, I was taught to boom up over to... Last year. Its still going. I trust he knows more than my Uni lecturer does haha
Every Ken's video or masterclass is such a treat. A well of knowledge from a true Sound Ninja.
Another URSA gem of a video! Thank you Simon and team URSA for getting such a legend.
Very generous guy to share his hard earned knowledge!
My boom ops are rocking the Ultimate Ears. They love them.
I'm relatively new to sound (2 years) and have mostly OMB. It's lonely so to hear similar problems that I have be addressed here is incredible. Definitely want to pick up Ken's book!
One of the best discussions on location sound I’ve seen! Thanks so much
I'm only a few years into production sound, so this video was absolute gold! I'm pleased Ken mentioned his booming stance - this is the stance I always end up in!
I quit my sound career ages ago, but glad to see I was instinctively picking up some stuff Ken said. I dreamed about having my own wristband smartphone monitor, and I am glad to see someone took it to fruition. If I ever go back to booming, I'm going to remember all this.
Thank you Simon and Ken for this brilliant video!! Such a wealth of information. I wish I had seen this years ago 🙌
What a great, thorough lesson on how to boom! This is everything I have ever tought to my trainees and more but in 1 film I'm just gonna make all of my trainees whatch this video first. :D
Great Video, with loads of insight! Thank you Simon, Ken and the Ursa team for putting this together!
Thanks George!
Love listening to Ken talk about booming. Great video x
Thank you Jodie!
Ken, thank you for the insightful interview about the booming. I really enjoyed it and gained valuable knowledge.
Amazing interview, thank you for sharing!
Great insights! Really enjoyed this interview and hearing more about the craft....great work all round!
thanks for the tips ken, i know if i ever got the chance to utility for you i wouldn't let you down!!!
Another amazing resource! Thanks so much Ken & Simon :)
GREAT interview - thanks for sharing!
So so so good! So prodessional, so wise, so experienced. Well done. Just about everything a location operator needs to know before getting on set. Bravo.
GREAT!!! Txh Simon & Ken!
Just every info is on spot ! Thanks
Love this!! Such an amazing insight into the industry from a seasoned pro, thanks for sharing your knowledge with people starting out in the industry! Always love these URSA videos!
Thanks Emily!!!
Thank you Ken!!
Fantastic to get such an in-depth perspective, thanks for putting this together Simon!
Thank you! We thought the internet needed a nice long form deep dive into booming
This was very helpful. Thank you. 🙏
great insight...excellent interview.
Amazing video thank you!
Incredible resource!
Thank you for this great video
Loved this, thanks. I started as a PSC recordist to learn the system from recorder to wires to mics and what the mixer wants to hear. I love to be in charge of radios and let the mixer and boom operator know what's for who and learn what is best for whom depending what my 1st and mixer want wire wise & if it doesn't sound right, they let me know what to do or if they change it, what they did. I love to 2nd boom also, there is nothing better than being told by your mixer and or key boom that sounds great, keep doing that. If my team is happy at the end of the day or each scene then I know I've done my job and fingers crossed I'll be asked back. I like to listen and observe the set over talking about what I had for tea last night. I also like to try and get the mic on the artist before set time so maybe the mixer can listen to the rehearsals and then its just adjustments over putting on that requires attention.
I look forward to the scene talk and maybe the mixers kit video.
Excellent, I love your passion!
Amazing video! Well done team
Thank you @fiercesound2138 ! And thanks for the shares on facebook :)
Great video, it puts the whole booming into prespective!
Thanks Jon, glad you enjoyed it!
Ken is legend!
Great video Simon
Thank you Simon!
I am 1,63 and I have been booming having to boom in some of my audio jobs. And man, I wish I was as tall as he is, cause in small rooms (where length cannot be that much of a help) rising my arms is almost unavoidable and it gets tiring!
any chance you have any info on the app you use for the video feed to your iphone? I saw someone mentioned "wide shots", not sure if that is accurate... cant find anything on that. Would love to look into that! Thanks for all your helps guys, this was a great watch and I learned so much!
gracias!
Thank you for all this wise advices. BTW, finaly a video where it's ok to have the boom in the shot for more than one hour 😅
I want to make a test with BoomRight. Thank you Ursa!!!
You wont regret it
Ken has so many little nuggets of great advice and anecdotes. Take note kids
Thanks Ben!!
@Ken Strain, what is the foam you're using for your MKH50? It seems wider than a basic sennheiser foam.
Its a new prototype foam from Radius called The Mushroom. Not out yet, still in testing, but its pretty cool
any stick related sports can help your cordination as well. Check out hockey or Naginata if you are into martial arts.
Some nice tips from Ken; but seems to have limited experience regarding shooting outside from comfort zone.
It's a University That's you Guys doing... Great Job...
Hi ! Thx for this itw, it was so interesting and instructive. As a rookie boom op, I would appreciate some opinion about the choice for a first versatile mic : would it be preferable to choose a short hypercardioid one (mkh50, mk41, ...) or a shotgun mic (cs3e, cmit5, ...) to cover both int & ext (obviously it's not optimal but which solution would be the least restrictive according to you ?)
Thanks in advance !
A Schoeps mini CMIT would be good all rounder for a small directional mic
I agree with URSA here - use a CMIT
regarding the cradle, keep in mind Ken is 6'5" lol
I don't know if I missed it or what, but what is the application for the wireless video monitoring? 39:51
I'm curious..
Wide shots.
@@jmendel8 no, I mean what is the app he's using to see the frame on his phone.
@@redjrjames oh gotcha. Probably whatever the video village video TX brand is. Holly Land had an app, teradek probably has an app.
what foam does he have on that MKH50?
Excellent question, Ken picked up that foam from the Radius booth at the ProAudio Roadshow - I think its a new prototype. We show it in a little more detail in the next video (which I still need to edit) but the cool thing about it is that there is a decent cavity inside the foam rather than foam touching all around the capsule. Hope this helps. The exact foam is not on the Radius Windshields website yet...
@@URSAStraps thank you for the details! Will keep an eye out for it when its released
I’m just ken❤
Isn't that a left handed way to play pool? I'm right handed and the cue rests in my left hand. Or do i play pool left handed?!
Boom operator.. boooooooom operator
This beautiful art is dying out due to camera shots getting wider with more camera shot sizes for a simple interview. They’re killing this art form. Everything needs to be on wires. Camera folks don’t hear the difference.
He's also tall lol