Suggest a Boom Pole? What do I look for?

J

Jackson Miller

Well-known member
Hello all. I did search and not really find what I want to know addressed. Sorry if I just couldn't find it.

Ok. So I am going to be shooting a feature and I need a good all around boom pole. It will just be a typical feature I guess, with wides and mediums and close ups. I want something that will work great all around. I don't really know what to look for though. Should I go with aluminum or carbon fiber? I heard that carbon fiber poles are great because they absorb shock and shakes do not travel the whole length of the pole and jerk the mic around or something like that. Carbon fiber poles also appeal to me because of their light weights. I would be open to an aluminum pole though if their are advantages. What do professionals use?

Also, length. I am thinking around 10 feet would be great and it can be shortened /adjusted when needed. But I really don't know what the best length is.

So, my budget is around 500 bucks. I would like the built in xlr kind too if their are no advantages to this. Any suggestions? What is a good place to buy. B and H?


Thanks all.
 
Definitely have it with the cable through, otherwise what you're looking for already sounds fine. B&H is the best source, in my opinion, for anything of this type. Just see what they have in your budget. Make sure you have a shock mount at the end of the pole; that's much more important to me than most else.
 
Hey Entity,
If you are working on a feature I'd look at a longer pole than 10'. That length is alright for ENG but too short for a feature. 12' minimum. I'd look at a 16'.
 
10s said:
http://loonaudio.com/index.php
Click to expand...

Thanks! Those look awesome. Any personal testimonials from you or other DVXusers?

Also, I was wondering about the difference between the Loon Series and the Penta series. The Penta ones are the cheaper of the two by 200 dollars at the lengths I am interested in. So what are you missing out on if your go penta? It is really tempting and I can't seem to find any difference except the 6 sections on the Loon and the 5 on the Penta.

Also, I was having trouble understanding the whole cable thing. So it runs up the inside of the boom but it is not actually attached or anything? Are you supposed to store it inside the boom or what? Also, I am supposed to get a coiled cable not a straight one right? How would a straight one work in a boom pole?

Are their booms that just have the cables attached or are they all like this?

Thanks a ton to anyone who answers these.
 
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Steve House said:
I'll second 10s' recommendation of Loon Audio. K-Tek and Lightwave are also very good.
Click to expand...

Thanks for the suggestions. I think I am still liking the Penta/Loon Booms the most. K-tek's are a bit too expensive and Lightwave doesn't have prices for anything listed on their site which really bugs me.
 
Kwiecien_Mariusz.JPG


Boom Pole?
 
Now about the length. I did some research and it seems that up to 10 feet is usually for news and Docs and that 12 feet and above is for film, with 12 feet being the shortest.

If this is true I will get something between 12 and 14 feet I guess but can someone please explain it to me? Does it have to do with getting wide(r) shots with the camera farther away? i don't really get it but I suppose if I had worked with them more the reason would pop out at me. Can one person still handle a 14 to 16 foot pole with one other guy handling the cables and monitoring audio?

Keep in mind that this is my first feature, but I want to do things the right way. I suppose that using a 14 foot pole collapsed to 8 to ten feet for closer shots would owrk just as well as having an 8-10 foot pole? I want to make sure I have something fairly versatile.


DAVIDNJ: What? I don't get it. Is there a shadow or something?


EDIT: Also, I was wondering what the purpose of an articulated pole would be on a short or feature film set. Should I get a cheap aluminum one to go along with the longer carbon fibre one or are they mainly for news gathering?
 
Entity said:
Now about the length. I did some research and it seems that up to 10 feet is usually for news and Docs and that 12 feet and above is for film, with 12 feet being the shortest.

If this is true I will get something between 12 and 14 feet I guess but can someone please explain it to me? Does it have to do with getting wide(r) shots with the camera farther away? i don't really get it but I suppose if I had worked with them more the reason would pop out at me. Can one person still handle a 14 to 16 foot pole with one other guy handling the cables and monitoring audio?

Keep in mind that this is my first feature, but I want to do things the right way. I suppose that using a 14 foot pole collapsed to 8 to ten feet for closer shots would owrk just as well as having an 8-10 foot pole? I want to make sure I have something fairly versatile.


EDIT: Also, I was wondering what the purpose of an articulated pole would be on a short or feature film set. Should I get a cheap aluminum one to go along with the longer carbon fibre one or are they mainly for news gathering?
Click to expand...


Still had a lot of unanswered questions (listed above). :( Can anybody educate me?

Thanks!
 
I like a longer pole so the camera can shoot wider w/o getting the boom op in the pic. Of course I don't enjoy holding a mic out at 16 feet because it becomes uncomfortable, but I suggest using a long pole. They shorten up for lesser needs, in case you didn't know.

Good Luck!
 
On topic...what mics are you using? Indoors? Outdoors?

If you are carrying this thing it will get heavy. I recommend regular dumbbell workouts.

Movies require long poles. You are booming down from a distance to stay out of the frame. You have to hold a consistent distance. ENG you are pushing the mic in someone's face.

Outdoors ENG you have a shotgun in blimp probably with a fur. Indoors for a movie you have a hyper cardioid or cardioid with maybe foam (at least I do). If you are booming a stereo I think some poles come wired with 5 pin connectors. That would still require a 2:1 split on either side. I haven't boomed a stereo mic setup.
 
DavidNJ said:
On topic...what mics are you using? Indoors? Outdoors?

If you are carrying this thing it will get heavy. I recommend regular dumbbell workouts.

Movies require long poles. You are booming down from a distance to stay out of the frame. You have to hold a consistent distance. ENG you are pushing the mic in someone's face.

Outdoors ENG you have a shotgun in blimp probably with a fur. Indoors for a movie you have a hyper cardioid or cardioid with maybe foam (at least I do). If you are booming a stereo I think some poles come wired with 5 pin connectors. That would still require a 2:1 split on either side. I haven't boomed a stereo mic setup.
Click to expand...


So then for films, the mics are farther away from the subject...

1) do you have to turn the audio levels up?

2) What is a good distance and How can you keep it constant when the framing changes? Wouldn't you want to push in as close as possible for those close up shots, or are you saying that you should still keep the mic 3-5 feet away?

I am not going to be boom op, I am directing and producing, but I will be working closely with all departments.

3) Is it unrealistic to have one average guy operating the boom fay in and day out? I suppose two guys could switch off? Is that typical? Or is their just one boom op the whole time like I had originally planned?

As for mics, well I am going to have two primary mics that we will use depending on the situation. A tight short shotgun, and a wider hyper or super cardioid, both good quality ($1000 + range for each mic.) Both indoors and outdoors.

Thanks for the help. Sorry for all of the questions. I am just trying to learn it all and soak it up like a sponge.

- Jackson.
 
It depends what you are shooting.

1) I adjust the mics before every shoot...similar to setting white balance, exposure, or focus. My headset are my eyes, the level scale my exposure meter.

2) I have mic'd a Senneheiser ME64 off the camera for interviews after reading someone else say it worked ok on his PD150. It does work well in many instances. It is all about quality. If you can't turn off the HVAC and have a quiet set, the issue will be background vs. your subject. Isn't that why they have hyper cardioids? You can also put lavs on subject or mics on stands just out of the frame.

3) I often have my boom in a holder on a c-stand. Boom operaters are a luxury for me. For moving scenes they are a necessity. For $1000 each you have quite a selection on the mics. A Sanken CS3 could be the shotgun. For under $1000 you can get a stereo pair of an OktavaMod-prepared Oktava Mk-012 or Peluso CEMC6's with hyper cardioid, cardioid, and omni heads. The Oktava has a screw in 10db pad, the Peluso's two switches for 0/10/20db pad and flat, 75, 150 hz low cut filters. They are both good, to my ears the few clips available the Peluso's sound a little better.

I am now a big fan of off camera recording. A single mic and the CS3 would leave a little in that $2k budget. That could be used for a recorder (I like the Korg MR-1 at $230), a low-end mixer, and a breakaway cable.
 
Entity said:
So then for films, the mics are farther away from the subject...

1) do you have to turn the audio levels up?
Click to expand...
Try to keep the metered levels constant from shot to shot, scene to scene. This means the level pots may have to be adjusted for each shot.

2) What is a good distance and How can you keep it constant when the framing changes? Wouldn't you want to push in as close as possible for those close up shots, or are you saying that you should still keep the mic 3-5 feet away?
Click to expand...
3 to 5 feet is too far for a hypercardiod or a short shotgun. That's one reason for booming overhead the talent just out of frame - the mic should be between 20 and 30 inches or so from the talent

3) Is it unrealistic to have one average guy operating the boom fay in and day out? I suppose two guys could switch off? Is that typical? Or is their just one boom op the whole time like I had originally planned?
Click to expand...

Depends on the scene. Typically there is one boom op for the whole shoot but complex setups with more talent than one guy can handle might require two mics in the scene.
 
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