The French perchman is equivalent to the U.S. boom operator in film production, also called the sound assistant or boomer, but differs regarding attributions. The perchman is the

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 u ...

's assistant and is in charge of the

microphone A microphone, colloquially called a mic or mike (), is a transducer that converts sound into an electrical signal. Microphones are used in many applications such as telephones, hearing aids, public address systems for concert halls and public ...

placement, typically using a light and telescopic pole also called a fish pole or boom. Thus, the perchman places and moves the microphone "in real time" in order to pick up the voices of each

actor An actor or actress is a person who portrays a character in a performance. The actor performs "in the flesh" in the traditional medium of the theatre or in modern media such as film, radio, and television. The analogous Greek term is (), li ...

during filming. Being a perchman involves providing the best sound quality possible to the sound mixer while, at the same time, not causing shadows or entering the camera frame. To accomplish this, the perchman works in collaboration with the

camera operator A camera operator, or depending on the context cameraman or camerawoman, is a professional operator of a film camera or video camera as part of a film crew. The term "cameraman" does not imply that a male is performing the task. In filmmaking ...

and the

cinematographer The cinematographer or director of photography (sometimes shortened to DP or DOP) is the person responsible for the photographing or recording of a film, television production, music video or other live action piece. The cinematographer is the ch ...

(who directs the camera movements and lights the scenes) and the gaffer. Other duties include the hiding of miniature

wireless microphones A wireless microphone, or cordless microphone, is a microphone without a physical cable connecting it directly to the sound recording or amplifying equipment with which it is associated. Also known as a radio microphone, it has a small, battery- ...

(radio mics) on the actors, the placement of hidden auxiliary microphones, and the controlling of sound reflections by the use of furniture blankets and carpet. He readies the equipment at the beginning of each day and stores the gear when the day is "wrapped", or finished. The perchman manages the technical contingencies, allowing the production sound mixer to concentrate on the artistic side of sound recording. work.chron.com, boom operator
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References

External links

perchman.com, L'Annuaire des perchmans du cinéma et de la télé

Filmmaking occupations {{filmmaking-stub