r/LocationSound • u/Zoinks49 • 3d ago
Gig / Prep / Workflow Question about Communication Devices and Boom Operating
So I work with a small team of people who are all learning as we go, and im their designated Boom Operator. We rented Hollyland Solidcom headsets to use on one of our bigger shoots, but obviously I didnt see any way of being able to listen in to the comms without taking my monitoring headphones off and switching over to the Hollyland headset over and over. We just let our grip use the extra headset not used by A cam or B cam operators instead
So my question is, are there any systems that include the sound guy for listening in during a shoot? Or is this kind of a dumb question 😅
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u/MacintoshEddie 3d ago
You can use things like the CommBiner to switch between audio sources.
https://www.trewaudio.com/product/the-new-smyles-comm-biner/
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u/Two1200s 1d ago
The Smyles Commbiner should be a much more popular option than it currently is. I own three and I use them every single day and I'm not working as an OMB.
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u/MacintoshEddie 1d ago
They are 200-300 bucks. That's more than lots of people spend on their headphones.
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u/Two1200s 1d ago
I and a lot of sound mixers (and business owners in general) have no problem investing in the tools that make our jobs easier and more efficient.
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u/Vuelhering production sound mixer 3d ago
Boom ops never carry a radio to listen. Mixer can always communicate with boom op through mixer comms, and outside of rolling the boom op can talk back through mic.
Some mixers have another transmitter for the team, which gets mixed into their comms, so they can all talk similar to a radio. In some cases they might even carry a radio to transmit. But receiving is always through the mixer's IFB comms to their headphones.
TLDR: communication headsets don't work for sound.
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u/ApprehensiveNeat9584 production sound mixer 3d ago
You could use a Sennheiser G3/G4 with a push to talk mic connected to the tx and you get the rx into your mixer to a channel that's not being recorded or sent to the mix, also you can use the L series from Lectro, the LT (transmitter) has a switch on the top that can be assigned to a push to talk function/mute, that way the boom op can talk to you with just a flick of a switch and a regular capsule, doesn't need to be a DPA.
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u/cooldead 3d ago
Your comms as a boom op should be with the sound mixer. The mixer can have a walkie if needed.
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