Boom Op vs DP

Last week I posted a little about sound design, so this week I wanted to post about sound recordists and boom operators, the common audio positions found on a set. Sound guys notoriously get treated like shit. Most other crew members including Directors, Cinematographers, and Producers don't give sound priority. All they care about is the image that is being shot, but in reality the picture can be great but if it sounds bad then the entire film is going to be bad. That's just how it is. Of course there are exceptions to this and there are Directors and DPs that care and ask how a take sounded, etc, but for the most part this is the case on professional sets and especially on college sets. Sound doesn't get enough appreciation.

This link below is called "An Open Letter From Your Sound Department." It is written by the top Hollywood Mixers and Boom Ops and gives practical solutions for each crew member on set to make the film sound better. I bet no one knew that it is in the Grip's job description to help sound and set up sound blankets and work to create the quietest filming environment. I learned quite a lot from this letter and anyone can learn from this. Definitely worth a read.

http://filmsound.org/production-sound/openletter.htm

As someone who has both been a Director of Photography and a Sound Mixer/Boom Op, I can relate to this short animation that makes fun of this relationship between the camera and the microphone. Anyone that has done both these positions or just taken notice while on set of what goes on and where all the power seems to be. I would highly recommend everyone to watch this video.

There are plenty of things like this that occur on film sets and there are quite a few of these animations that poke fun at it all and they are all funny and completely true.