Boom under or over ?

Boom under or over ?

  • Total voters
    8
  • Poll closed .
B

bigmouthmedia

Active member
I know it might depend on the situation, but who does which the most ? We do a lot of voxpops and the like.

I have a Rode NTG2 on a pistol grip and on a Rode boom pole (I like Rode !)
 
When I have the option to boom from above, I always do so because I don't want to amplify any sounds of birds or airplanes flying above. Plus, from below, you might get stuck being too close to moving clothes or fidgeting body parts that could contaminate the sound. Of course these are anecdotes and every situation needs to be considered individually. That said, that's how I start the thinking process.
 
I concur.. whatever works best, to keep the mic out of the shot and for optimum sound and rejection of unwanted sound. FWIW, some DPs will work with you adj. framing if needed.. some won't.
 
I boom from below as a problem solver. I wouldn't say often but a nice little chunk. From shadows, framing, background noise, even tonal quality of the voice can come into play.
It's often not the last resort but actually one of the first choices.

This is a bit broad of a question, as it really does deserve the reply "it depends".
 
Rippie said:
I boom from below as a problem solver. I wouldn't say often but a nice little chunk. From shadows, framing, background noise, even tonal quality of the voice can come into play.
It's often not the last resort but actually one of the first choices.

This is a bit broad of a question, as it really does deserve the reply "it depends".
Click to expand...

+1!

ymmv

be well.

rob
smalltalk.media/nyc
 
Booming from below I get more AC background noise or people fiddling with whatever is in their hands. ( or even scratching their jeans during an interview if it's a wider shot )
 
The reason I said that below is a last resort is from personal experience, and I've asked just about every professional boom op that I encounter because I've done my own informal poll, and every single professional said the same thing. "Booming from below is a last resort". I've seen these guys really work hard to get it from above since going from below is problematic. Going from below really should be a last resort. The audio quality really suffers.
 
The audio quality really suffers.
Click to expand...

I would say it differs more than suffers. Going up you will pick up more overhead things and you are closer to the chest so the voice will sound a bit different. Going down you will pick up more low things like say a brook behind the actor, and you are closer to the sinuses and farther from the chest.

So depending on a number of factors one is going to sound better than the other. But you also have to deal with other things like staying out of the shot, multiple actors, casting shadows, not blocking in the actors...

In many cases the "other" factors make booming from above a better choice even if it's not the best sonic choice. It can be really hard to cover more than one actor from below, you are more in the way of blocking from below, shots tend to cover more down from the face than up from the face so you may have a harder time getting close from below, and your flexibility to move is much more restricted from below.

Each shot is different but in general most people will end up booming from above most of the time for some combo of the above factors.

Making those kinds of decisions is why you get paid the big bucks ;~)
 
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