Job Roles - Sound Operator

Sound operator is one of the roles i have been given for FMP i am very pleased with this as it was one of the roles that i had pitched for, i will be doing this role along side my editing role for the same film. This is great as it means i get to work my my audio more in post production, which has been something lacking from previous films, all so for this role i will be doing audio tests, to determine the best way of me recording sound, to do this i will be trying out different locations for the mic along with different recording devices. Trying to research the role of sound operator is a difficult thing as, there really isn't such a thing as sound operator in the business, but instead the role we are given in uni in a mixture of many different profession job roles including,

Sound Recordist - this is the closest to the the role of sound operator, as it involves recording sound along side the camera, usually on set, whether this is a real set inside a studio or a outside location. With this role the sound recordist rarely ever gets to work with the sound he has recorded post production, but then again this role is also the combination of two other roles these being:

Boom Operator - In this role the operator is in charge of the boom, which is a long extendable metal pole normally between 3 - 9 feet long, with a microphone or even microphones on the end. The role of boom operator requires not only good upper body strength as boom poles especially professional ones can be quite heavy, especially after holding them above your head for 20 mins. This is why a boom operator also requires great endurance as they will be required to hold the boom up for however the long the shot takes to film. As for me performing this role, a lot of the script seems to be interviews so for these i will probably have a mic stand set up, but for other scenes i will be practicing with the boom to get the audio as smooth as possible.

Production Sound Mixer - This is the role that will work along side the boom operator to mix any audio that the boom operator is picking up, this role is normally done live on location and is mixed as it is recorded by the boom operator, This role and the boom operator role is something that i will have to balance by myself as sound operator, sometimes choosing if the boom location is more important for good audio or if live mixing is best.

Sound Designer - This role is also something that plays a part in the role of sound operator especially for me as i will also be working with my sound post production, and that is the primary role of a sound designer, other roles include recording or creating and post production sounds, whether these are just small sounds to bring a scene together or full on action sequences the sound designer will create them all or at the least over see the recording/creation of them all.