The Sound Department The Complete Guide to Film & Digital Production: The People and The Process Lorene M. Wales, Ph.D. © 2017 Taylor & Francis

Sound Mixer Pre-production Reads the script to determine special sound requirements. Hires a boom operator. May hire a cable person and sound P.A. if the budget allows. Goes on the technical scout to determine any special sound problems, such as planes overhead, nearby construction, noisy traffic. © 2017 Taylor & Francis

Sound Mixer Production Once on set, sets up sound equipment in a pre-designated staging area. Reviews shot list and location of first setup. Confers on microphone placement with boom operator. Operates recording machine during rehearsals, to get levels. May adjust placement of boom if necessary. Records a slate for each roll/tape/DVD that states the number of the roll, the date of shooting, and the name and type of recorder being used. © 2017 Taylor & Francis

Sound Mixer Production Records approximately thirty seconds of reference tone on the tape. Records the take. Fills out the sound report. Before wrap is called, records ambience, or, room tone. At the end of the day, labels all sound tapes, and turns them over to the 2nd A.D. © 2017 Taylor & Francis

Boom Operator Builds the microphone each morning. Hooks up to the audio machine (1/4 inch reel to reel, DAT, Disk or DVD). Holds the boom in place for rehearsals and takes. Helps wrap out equipment at the end of the day. © 2017 Taylor & Francis

Other Sound Personnel & Sound Issues Relationship between boom and mixer. Cable Puller Sound P.A. The Sound Package Operations Playback © 2017 Taylor & Francis

Conclusion The sound department, while quite small, is one of the most important departments in terms of its final product. Getting great sound on set will save you time and money in audio post. The sound team records all dialogue and on-set sound effects. When possible, the sound recordist also records wild sounds of various actions that the actors take. Some situations call for the recordist to operate playback, such as for a music video or if there are singers or musicians on set. © 2017 Taylor & Francis