Overview of role
Reporting to the director, a sound recordist working on unscripted productions is responsible for capturing the best quality of sound during filming. A mix is created for use during early post-production and, if good enough, may become the final mix. During pre-production, the recordist plans the approach to sound recording and specifies the sound equipment required to do this. During filming, they operate equipment to record the desired sound, mostly dialogue, as cleanly as possible. Any additional people working on sound will be supervised by the sound recordist, although this is quite rare in unscripted TV.
Core responsibilities
These core responsibilities are provided as a guide and are not exhaustive. The exact responsibilities on a particular production will vary depending on the scale and budget band.
- Become familiar with the shooting objectives and any creative brief about how the shoot will take place.
- Identify any problems regarding lavalier mic placement, possibly concerning people with special needs or children
- Identify scenarios that need a particular treatment or could present pitfalls for sound recording or editing
- Agree a workflow and deliverable specification with the camera operator/DOP, any digital imaging technician (DIT), and production
- Attend meetings and test shoots as arranged by production
- Participate in any available recces of chosen locations to evaluate the acoustic characteristics, potential unwanted noise sources, and other factors that may affect sound recording
- Develop technically feasible options for sound equipment and recording approaches to meet production requirements and budget
- Liaise with contributors (in advance of shooting) regarding clothing, to address lavalier mic placement
- Plan and manage the radio frequencies to be used, booking additional frequencies if required
- Purchase all consumables required for the production period
- Arrange for transportation of larger sound kit
- Train sound crew on new equipment when required
- Allocate work and instruct sound assistants as required by the production schedule
- Agree overtime with production when required
- Decide how to approach each scene and the shots that compose it
- Rig and position various mics to achieve clear dialogue and minimal background noise
- Operate field mixer/recorders
- Adjust sound levels during recording to avoid excessive limiting, clipping, or electronic noise
- Request additional takes when the recording does not meet production requirements
- Route signals to record an isolated track for each microphone plus any required safety tracks
- Use 32 bit float recording if suitable
- Request and record any required “wild tracks”
- Create a production mix that meets creative and technical production requirements and can be used during initial editing
- Feed in-ear monitors and camera links when required
- Set up feeds for anyone on location needing to hear sound
- Organise delivery of recording cards/drives
- Avoid rustling and muffled sound by skilful placement of the mic capsule
- Use appropriate hiding techniques if this is a production requirement
- Deal with wind by using suitable covers
- Monitor battery levels and arrange charging to keep all radio mic units operational
- Adjust settings on the units to achieve optimum range, levels, and lack of interference
- Have the strength and stamina to be able to hold the pole for the required time
- Know about directional mics and their use outdoors and indoors
- Select suitable wind protection as per location conditions
- Monitor on headphones to inform best positioning of the boom
- Rig any timecode locking devices and ensure their correct operation
- Work in line with health and safety requirements as per production’s policy
- Ensure that general health and safety procedures are enforced at all times
- Prevent and solve issues that may jeopardise a clean recording of dialogue
- Inform the director of any issues with captured sound as and when discovered
Skills
Check out role specific skills, transferable skills and attributes for the role of sound recordist.
- Applying the physics of sound and acoustic principles to achieve quality production sound
- Selecting sound equipment to meet production requirements
- Operating audio recording equipment
- Creatively mixing sound
- Evaluating the quality of captured sound
- Communication: communicating and working effectively with directors, presenters and other contributors
- Collaboration: understanding the roles of everyone involved in filming so as to be able to compromise on sound issues if needed
- Planning and organisation: planning sound requirements, managing equipment and paperwork
- Problem-solving: troubleshooting and resolving issues with any faulty equipment
- Creative thinking: to achieve sound solutions when faced with unpredictable scenarios
- Reacting quickly: to poor pickup from a boom by effective re-positioning
- Management and leadership: allocating work and giving instructions to any sound crew
- Resilience, enthusiasm and curiosity: adapts positively to changing work priorities and patterns, ensuring deadlines continue to be met. Proactive and explores new ideas and non-standard ways of working which will enhance and deliver the best results for the production
- Productivity: organises work effectively and achieves required results within deadlines. Demonstrates the drive and energy to get things done in pressurised situations and escalates appropriately when necessary
- Ethics and integrity: honest and principled in all of their actions and interactions. Respectful and inclusive of others, and meets the ethical requirements of their profession
- Flexibility: willing to both listen and respond to changing priorities and working requirements as required, while at all times maintaining high standards in a constantly changing production environment