Boom operator (media)

A boom operator is an assistant of the production sound mixer. The principal responsibility of the boom operator is microphone placement, usually using a boom pole (or "fishpole") with a microphone attached to the end (called a boom mic), their aim being to hold the microphone as close to the actors or action as possible without allowing the microphone or boom pole to enter the camera's frame.

Invention of the boom mike

At Paramount, Dorothy Arzner directed Clara Bow's first talkie, The Wild Party (1929). To allow Bow to move freely on the set, Arzner had technicians rig a microphone onto a fishing rod, essentially creating the first boom mike. She did not, however, take out a patent. One year later one was filed for a very similar sound-recording device by Edmund H Hansen, a sound engineer at the Fox Film Corporation.

Applications

Often in television studios, the boom operator will use a "fisher boom", which is a more intricate and specialized piece of equipment on which the operator stands, allowing precise control of the microphone at a greater distance from the actors. They will also attach wireless microphones to persons whose voice requires recording. Boom poles are usually manufactured from several lengths of aluminum or carbon fibre tubing, allowing the boom to be extended and collapsed as the situation requires.

Boom operator

The term boom operator may refer to:

Boom operator (military)

In the USAF the position of boom operator is a position held by an enlisted aviator, (rank Airman Basic through Chief Master Sergeant) who is responsible for safely and effectively refueling other aircraft while in flight. The official Air Force title for boom operators is "In-Flight Refueling Technician" but this title is usually reserved for formal paperwork such as Air Medals. The title "boom" is more commonly used. The name boom operator implies that one "operates a boom" which in the case of a tanker aircraft is a long extendable metal arm that connects two aircraft for fuel transfer.

The boom operator also fulfills the role of loadmaster and passenger transport operations.

See also

References