the art of hiding in plain sight

What do I mean by hiding in plain sight?

Well it mean being there but not being seen, most people don't see what is right in front of their eyes because they aren't being drawn to it or being told it's there. As a sound person we have to be there but not. We tow the line of being there but stood in darkness. We have to hide a lavalier mic and it's wire and the radio pack so the audience and the camera doesn't see it and the actor is comfortable with where it's placed but if it is seen slightly then the editor can change the camera angle to avoid it in post... But that never happens because we are AWESOME.

If it's a wide-ish shot then it's either using the radios for sound and capturing atmos on the boom or we are stood on a what we call "Boom Box" so we can get high enough to raise the boom pole above the cameras shot and drop the mic just above the actor to capture the lines acted out but we wear dark clothes and the boom box should be painted black, so if the camera decides to "pan" (left or right) then the editor can paint us out or zoom in slightly to zoom us out of the shot.

A good boom operator is there but isn't at the same time and hides the lavalier in various places as to make sure the mic is there and not seen along with the wire placed in areas that don't show up through the costume and the radio pack is hidden so it's not seen i.e. ankles, waist, stomach, inner thighs, inside pocket, hat, bra just to name a few places.

Every costume is a new challenge, exciting as it is.

It also depends on what happens in the scene i.e does a piece of clothing get taken off that you have wired... OH NO. does the actor do the same thing each take, does the mic rustle because its dropped because the actor is hot and sticky. Is there a boom shadow on the actor or the wall behind them because "someone" wanted a light placed in a position that creates a nice flair or skin tone for cinematic viewing pleasures... then we have to stand there with our arms up, blood draining out of our arms, not moving a muscle or if we do then we stand to face the camera as to make sure our movement isn't captured on camera.

So basically people underestimate the skills of sound and how to be THERE but NOT and for me i'd say apart from the actors learning lines and changing how they do things in accordance to the directors wishes, sound have one of the hardest jobs on set. YOUR WELCOME