You know I looked this up worrying that I didn't know how to hold a boom mic, since I'm doubling as boom guy in our next short film. Having watched it I realised in fact I did know all this, but thanks for the confirmation anyway. I feel a whole lot better now.
Good Job Mike I was trying to find bad examples for operators and came across this and thought I would comment because there are so many bad techniques going on with ops. My pet peeve is the shoulder hold or shoulder boom mount position.
Usually you connect it directly to your camera's mic. input - unless you want to record the sound separately for some reason - such as the camera being too far away to run a cable to it - then you'd use a stand-alone digital audio recorder. In this case you'd have to re-sync the sound in post production.
Depends on where you live. If you're in a major city there should be a company that sells professional video/film equipment. If not you can look online. B&H Photo might be a good place to start. Their prices are usually pretty good.
Boom Poles (also sometimes called "Fish Poles") are available at companies that sell professional video equipment. If you don't have one in your area you might visit B&H Photo on line. They're a very respected vendor.
I don't really keep up with all the Canadian stores. Check your local yellow pages for stores local to you and do a google search for on-line stores or stores in other cities. Shouldn't be too hard to find.
If you watch the person's shadow and your mic shadow while booming them you can inch your way in so that you don't make contact with the person. The name of the game is to get as close as you can without coming into frame or shadowing the actor. You also need to be on-mic, so watch the actors too.
boom mics and poles are nice and all BUT what is the best way of attaching the darn wire?! that is, without making it so slight bumps translate into audible thumps in the audio?
Most often you can wind the cable around the boom pole - leaving enough slack at the mic. end so you can adjust the mic. angle. Then the operator has to be careful to hold the pole tightly so as not to make sounds.
I've seen it spiralled around the pole, tight enough not to wiggle and bang against the pole, but loose enough to allow for some adjustment of the mic.
Buy or rent a fish pole that is cabled internally. Where it comes out of the bottom, position the hole downward, but slightly tilted to the side and place your middle finger on the cable touching lightly, but just enough to keep it in place. That way it won't make any noise.
If you did 90° to the floor you'd have to have the mic. right over the subjects head which would muffle the sound. A couple of feet in front of the subject and angled to pointed at their mouth is best.
The pickup for the mic is in it's end. If you put it right over the performer pointing down you're trying to pick up their voice through the top of their head. If it's pointing down, but a foot or so in front of them you might get sound reflection from the floor. Out a few feet and pointing at their mouth is best.
90 degrees is a bad call. Different angles for different mics and different shooting conditions, rooms, airplanes flying over head, reflective surfaces, etc etc. You boom people differently depending on which microphone you choose. If you're looking for a general rule, out in front, about 25 degree angle pointed at their chin/chest aught to give you some leeway when the actor makes a quick head turn.
+Guy Richardson If you try and aim for the actors sternum you tend to catch the vocal frequencies at the optimum point, if you point right at the actors mouth you can pick up distortion on the consonants, if your pointing at the floor you can muffle the audio
You might not want to see the mic. Hiding a lav under the clothes might make noise or muffling the sound. Most production companies use a boom mic when a lav is not the best choice.
Ironically, the narrator - uh expert's? audio level is distorted and the overall audio mix of this tutorial is uneven. Does DAZ 3D only have let you design sexed up women images for talent?
I wouldn't call her "sexed up". Just attractive and nicely dressed. Like many TV hosts. In order to make her look old or unattractive I would have had to apply morphs to the figure - and I didn't want to bother. Think of this as an illustration using a mannequin.
Glad you liked it. I hope o get more vids up sometime soon.
Watching the shadow is a pretty cool trick. I would never have thought of that but see it being really helpful.
You know I looked this up worrying that I didn't know how to hold a boom mic, since I'm doubling as boom guy in our next short film. Having watched it I realised in fact I did know all this, but thanks for the confirmation anyway. I feel a whole lot better now.
Thank you, very helpful! Good to know I can put the mic under me as well.
Solid advice, just what I was looking for!
Good Job Mike I was trying to find bad examples for operators and came across this and thought I would comment because there are so many bad techniques going on with ops. My pet peeve is the shoulder hold or shoulder boom mount position.
Thanks for your time to edit and post. Boom pole shadow points well taken. Dazzle 3 d looks good, too.
Usually you connect it directly to your camera's mic. input - unless you want to record the sound separately for some reason - such as the camera being too far away to run a cable to it - then you'd use a stand-alone digital audio recorder. In this case you'd have to re-sync the sound in post production.
Depends on where you live. If you're in a major city there should be a company that sells professional video/film equipment. If not you can look online. B&H Photo might be a good place to start. Their prices are usually pretty good.
Boom Poles (also sometimes called "Fish Poles") are available at companies that sell professional video equipment. If you don't have one in your area you might visit B&H Photo on line. They're a very respected vendor.
If you have a tripod shot you can actually put the mic in the shot as long as nothing moving crosses over it. Then cut microphone out in post.
Would Cotton work to make a Boom Mic or sound proofing with a plastic bin ?
You're very welcome. Sorry for the late response.
I don't really keep up with all the Canadian stores. Check your local yellow pages for stores local to you and do a google search for on-line stores or stores in other cities. Shouldn't be too hard to find.
You're very welcome.
This was awesome! Thank you so much. :-)
Thanks Mike!
If you watch the person's shadow and your mic shadow while booming them you can inch your way in so that you don't make contact with the person. The name of the game is to get as close as you can without coming into frame or shadowing the actor. You also need to be on-mic, so watch the actors too.
Thank you bro. Iam very happy. Super .....thank God.
Where can you the boom mic and the stand?
It was very helpful :)
Thanks a lot.
boom mics and poles are nice and all BUT what is the best way of attaching the darn wire?! that is, without making it so slight bumps translate into audible thumps in the audio?
Most often you can wind the cable around the boom pole - leaving enough slack at the mic. end so you can adjust the mic. angle.
Then the operator has to be careful to hold the pole tightly so as not to make sounds.
I don't trust any boom operators who aren't named Mike
Whew!! Good thing my name is Mike.
..
Thanks!
thanks buddy
A Big cuestion for me is ¿how to manage properly the cable?, ¿how to roll it just to get a good sound? beause is too large
I've seen it spiralled around the pole, tight enough not to wiggle and bang against the pole, but loose enough to allow for some adjustment of the mic.
Buy or rent a fish pole that is cabled internally. Where it comes out of the bottom, position the hole downward, but slightly tilted to the side and place your middle finger on the cable touching lightly, but just enough to keep it in place. That way it won't make any noise.
Shouldn't the mic be 90 degrees to the floor rather than on an angle?
If you did 90° to the floor you'd have to have the mic. right over the subjects head which would muffle the sound. A couple of feet in front of the subject and angled to pointed at their mouth is best.
The pickup for the mic is in it's end. If you put it right over the performer pointing down you're trying to pick up their voice through the top of their head. If it's pointing down, but a foot or so in front of them you might get sound reflection from the floor. Out a few feet and pointing at their mouth is best.
90 degrees is a bad call. Different angles for different mics and different shooting conditions, rooms, airplanes flying over head, reflective surfaces, etc etc. You boom people differently depending on which microphone you choose. If you're looking for a general rule, out in front, about 25 degree angle pointed at their chin/chest aught to give you some leeway when the actor makes a quick head turn.
+Guy Richardson If you try and aim for the actors sternum you tend to catch the vocal frequencies at the optimum point, if you point right at the actors mouth you can pick up distortion on the consonants, if your pointing at the floor you can muffle the audio
Thanks for your comments, Scarlet. Very helpfull.
''Get out of the shot, man. GET OUT OF THE SHOT,-''
WTF!!! Why don't you just use a lavalier dude!!?
You might not want to see the mic. Hiding a lav under the clothes might make noise or muffling the sound. Most production companies use a boom mic when a lav is not the best choice.
Ironically, the narrator - uh expert's? audio level is distorted and the overall audio mix of this tutorial is uneven. Does DAZ 3D only have let you design sexed up women images for talent?
I wouldn't call her "sexed up". Just attractive and nicely dressed. Like many TV hosts. In order to make her look old or unattractive I would have had to apply morphs to the figure - and I didn't want to bother. Think of this as an illustration using a mannequin.