boom techniques

G

GMOVIE

Member
I have searched the internet for specific information on this and have found nothing. So im going to ask .

Im definitley new to audio as you will see. If this has been covered here already , and i suspect it may have (i just cant find it) , please direct me to the link. In fact, any links regarding this would be appreciated.

Okay.

Im going to give a scenario and i would like someone to tell me what the best technique would be here.

Lets say im shooting indoors using a decent hyper cardioid or super cardioid setup...on a boom pole. I have two actors who are about two to three feet apart.. moving around a bit during the scene, but stay in the general same area..
I am booming from overhead.
Do I.....
1.Keep the mic directly in the middle of them throughout the scene.
2. Point it directly at the mouth of one of them on some takes.. and on the other takes point it at the other actor-thereby giving the editor super clean audio from each actor on different takes so it can be edited .(thiswould obviously require more the most takes and if they talk over each other, one wouldnt sound right)
3. Keep it generally in the middle and "rock it" back and forth according to who is talking. (this doesnt seem right cause the audio would change, but ive heard of people doing this )

There could be an option im missing here.

Also.. take this same scene using a shotgun mic OUTDOORS. Same questions..

Any direction would be greatly appreciated as im trying to learn all i can about audio for films....

I suspect 2 is the right answer. The others dont seem right...
 
The first take kepp stationary in room so that everyone knows where everyone is going. Yhe you split up the rest if the takes up isolated on an indicidual
 
Search the forum, boom technique has been discussed several times.

Essentially the boom op keeps the mic the optimum distance and angle to keep the voices at a loud and consistent level. This technique changes from situation to situation by following the action, using the off-axis response to favor the louder speaker, to even pulling back to the mic for people who speak like Robin Williams.

A good boom op watches the rehearshal and learns the dialog and blocking to follow the action during takes.

If both actors are on screen then you mic both; if it is a one shot then you can mic just the actor on the screen but make sure the dialog with the off-screen actor does not overlap.

Cheers
 
wabbit said:
If both actors are on screen then you mic both; if it is a one shot then you can mic just the actor on the screen but make sure the dialog with the off-screen actor does not overlap.

Cheers
Click to expand...

Mic both as in use two microphones, or as in use the same mic to capture both ends of dialogue?
 
Mic both as in follow the action with the boom mic or as in laving all the actors on screen with dialog. Occasionally a shot will require two boom mics to get all the dialog clean but for the most part one boom should do.

Ultimately the only way to learn is to practice. Get out and shoot some scenes and then edit to see how the sound cuts. Learn from mistakes and go back and practice some more.

BTW, the number one rookie mistake is to fear the frame line. Always get a boom check (put mic in shot and then back out to find frame line) and then keep it consistent. Rookies tend to creep the boom higher and higher to avoid getting in the shot. If the shot is moving then the op needs to know where the line moves.

Cheers
 
Thanks for the responses and the link. I will check that out.

Wabbit...sorry if i missed something here.. but when you say "follow the action".. are you saying that , based on my scenario above, you would tilt the mic from one person to another according to who is speaking, or do you mean keep it in the middle of them , at a consistant spot...without tilting back and forth? ...?
 
I will have a series of interviews to shoot in 2 weeks. I have an Audio Technica 4073 which I have been placing on the camera. Would it be impractical to place my DVX100a on a tripod and be my own boom operator? I would love to purchase a good wireless lav system but I am short on cash right now.

Thanks in advance.
 
if 2 actors are on screen, as in both faces are on camera, play boom back and forth between them. know the blocking and lines so you know where you will be swinging the boom.

if shot is over shoulder of one actor or cam is only seeing one actor, get clean sound from actor facing camera and as wabbit said, avoid overlapping dialogue, as in let production know that the audio wont cut well in the edit if someone off mic overlaps someone on mic

burningtuna, if by interview, you mean people seated ( talking heads) you can mount your mic on a boom pole, use a maffer clamp and put it on a light stand and place mic over interviewee.
 
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