The
production sound recordist is only as good as their
gear after the experience accumulated. A highly diverse
production portfolio is also desirable when you hire
a sound person, as diversity also brings ideas and
solutions to production challenges which may arise.
For good quality sound equipment there are several
shotgun microphones, most in a cardiod, super cardiod,
or hyper cardiod pattern, and a few in omni directional
as well that have particular advantages. Truth be
told, there is snobbery that does not lead to any
significant advantage between common shotguns at a
certain criteria. Many Sennheiser, Schoeps and Neumann
all have the same sensitivity from boom to boom, as
well as frequency response, just slightly varied pickup
patterns (excepting the omni directional microphones).
As long as you pair the experienced sound person,
with a good microphone, you're in business, and it's
key they choose shotgun microphones that have particular
polar patterns for specific sound gathering &
recording. You may not want a hyper cardiod microphone
for reality television if you are tracking multiple
people, or in an interview the hyper cardiod has advantages
or disadvantages, pending the type of interview.
The
Specs.' Each having minimum sensitivity,
a range of frequency response and OHMS rating as well
(OHMS being the amount of energy to drive' the shotgun,
with the less OHMS making a more efficient / sensitive
microphone). I'll boom/bring the best microphone for
each individual shot / scene or gig, often with one
or 2 pending the shoot. I have a couple shotgun microphones
working well in all situations and a couple ideal
for certain sound gathering applications too. The
'pattern' prefix listed below on each microphone refers
to the pickup pattern.
Here
is a list of shotgun microphones
I own:
Sennheiser
ME 66 - super cardiod lobar pattern - comparable
to the popular 416 I have is specifications
Sennheiser
ME 80 - linear pattern + cardiod pattern
modules
Sennheiser
MKH 416 - super cardiod lobar pattern - with
more sensitivity & slightly tighter polar pattern
than the ME 66 or 80 (# 2 for best pressure sensitivity
+ directionality in the collection)
Sennheiser
MKH 816 - super cardiod pattern - a older
but long established reliable workhorse I use that
has a slightly increased sensitivity reach than the
416, but a touch less slight on frequency response
Neumann
KMR81IMT - super cardiod pattern- (# 1 in
best frequency response and pressure sensitivity +
directionality in the collection). The tightest polar
pattern, but sometime a bigger pickup pattern is better
- but I can work the right boom for you
If
all of this is a bunch of jargon or mumbo jumbo -
not to worry', that's why you call me to help on your
production. I have applied all these mics in various
settings and I know the best applications for each
of these shotguns. Sometimes you need a bigger pickup
pattern for particular production applications and
sometimes you wish to narrow your sound pickup pattern
for ambient noise or for other sound filtering.
Who
do I 'boom for' ? All the major networks,
news, feature film producers or HD video crews, DP/camera
people, corporate video producers, many production
companies, some radio or other journalism, news pools,
and many others needing reliable production location
sound combining the shotgun & lav'. I have also
provided boom operator and sound mixer services for
major feature films from Sony Pictures, Paramount,
Lucas Films and some smaller scale film / feature
productions. I have provided boom operation on location
production sound assignments for 35mm film production
sync audio recording, for national + global television
spots, HD video production features, for all types
or camera crews with all most every camera format
along with many makes.
Why
Boom? The boom can cut out unwanted noise
in hidden mics as well and has practical uses for
many types of productions - ENG, EFP, corporate video
production, for film production, reality television
productions, foley sound mixing & recording, for
sound effects producers & libraries, voice over
booths, among other varied audio needs. You can boom
many subjects with the right pickup and the experienced
operator. Booms are used in news pools/ENG or other
reality or journalism based applications where the
on camera subjects are on the go. IF the subject is
unwilling to wear a wire (lavalier) then the boom
is the best proximity microphone. In feature film
production a boom is almost always used if not for
backup, the primary microphone source pending the
shot or actors movement.
Individual
- Each boom has it's greatest
use to me as I know their best applications. The skilled
production sound person knows the advantages of each
microphones pluses/minuses for production location
sound and sound quality. A good sound man/person/woman
knows the advantages and disadvantages of a microphone
for the tone, clarity or brightness, and also when
not to use a particular mic in a lesser matching sound
environment. The
biggest consideration of a shotgun mic past the operator
is the pickup pattern, and sensitivity -
these two in the right hands is what you need for
the best location sound.
+
The Other Hardware - Aside from
boom operation services I can mix multiple audio sources
for video or film or television production (even radio,
advertising or audio visual applications. Most of
my boom operation and audio tech services are for
video or 35mm film production or 35mm HD with experience
dating to 1991.
The
Boom & The Sound Crew - If you need a
sound mixing/recording crew for a large HD feature,
spot, television ad, demanding television production,
etc etc, I can provide audio mixers or A1 along with
boom operators or A2 audio technicians for larger
video/film or television camera crews matching the
right experience & resources throughout Colorado.
Why
are booms used instead of lavaliers or in addition
to them ? If your concerned
about clothing noises from hidden lavaliers, then
a boom may be just for you. Boom microphones / AKA
shotgun microphones are used in feature films, in
news, for television journalism, film, video and television
productions of all types. Shotgun microphones are
also more sensitive so they can be placed further
away from a lavalier on the on camera talent. Shotgun
microphones are great for run & gun news or shooting
as well as ambush' style shooting where the subject
does not want a lavalier placed on them. Take for
instance where you want to approach a questionable
person for news, a large media pool of camera people
overcrowded for effective use of hand held microphones,
to catch someone of guard for ENG or expose, for camera
crew needing to stand back from people on camera among
many other applications.
Boom
operators we're originally integrated into
sound recording crews for film production where the
sound recordist or sound mixer (person) managed the
recording and mixing equipment while relying on a
boom operator to capture sound via shotgun microphone.
Working the boom is the expression & techniques
of following the sound subjects on camera. Some similarities
in title for boom operators are names for sound people
like production sound recordist, or location sound
recordist/mixer, audio guy or sound guy or audio tech
(pardon the masculine references). Sometimes also
termed a sound technician or audio technician or audio
person outside by clients. Other countries often use
the term sound recordist or sound recorder, especially
in Europe & the UK.
Do
I have specific Boom Operator local areas ?? - Denver,
Boulder, Aurora, Colorado Springs, Fort Collins and
their metro areas or the Rocky Mountain cities; all
are most searched or via Colorado for sound recordists
these areas all intersect each other .
Try
this Colorado map for planning. - Just call
me for Colorado -
(720) 299 2084 - Nick
|
