A Boom operator is an assistant of the production sound mixer

Production sound mixer

A production sound mixer, location sound recordist, location sound engineer or simply sound mixer is the member of a film crew or television crew responsible for recording all sound recording on set during the filmmaking or television production using professional audio equipment, for later...

. The principal responsibility of the boom operator

Operator (profession)

An operator is a professional designation used in various industries, including broadcasting , computing, customer service, physics, and construction. Operators are day-to-day end users of systems, that may or may not be mission-critical, but are typically managed and maintained by technicians or...

 is microphone

Microphone

A microphone is an acoustic-to-electric transducer or sensor that converts sound into an electrical signal. In 1877, Emile Berliner invented the first microphone used as a telephone voice transmitter...

 placement, sometimes using a "fishpole" with a microphone attached to the end and sometimes, when the situation permits, using a "boom" which is a more intricate and specialized piece of equipment that the operator stands on, and that allows precise control of the microphone at a much greater distance away from the actors. He or she will also attach wireless microphone

Wireless microphone

A wireless microphone, as the name implies, is a microphone without a physical cable connecting it directly to the sound recording or amplifying equipment with which it is associated...

s to actors, celebrities and anyone whose voice requires recording.

The boom operator must decide where to place the boom microphone based on a combination of factors, including the location and projection of any dialogue, the frame position of the camera, the source of lighting (and hence shadows) and any unwanted noise sources.