"Pedalo" boom
Did any one like the "pedalo" boom?
The impression was that it was an idea from someone who had never actually operated a boom. The relation between arm and operator body was all wrong for fast swings or skying, etc. That’s why the Fisher was so nice – designed by one of ‘us’.
John Howell
Dave Plowman
It looks like John is talking to the SS by the way the mic is pointing. (Utterly amazing how long it took to get reverse talkback.)
The picture shows perfectly what I referred to – the arm is near level with your shoulder which means you can’t use your body weight to speed up a move. And extremely tiring to operate for any length of time.
Geoff Fletcher, Pat Heigham
Hated it! It was b***** horrible. Worst piece of sound kit I ever had to struggle with. The pedal drive was so sloppy that one constantly overshot. The seat was nice, but the stool on the Fisher was much better as it could be swung out of the way.
Mike Giles
I recall that Bristol received a "gift" from Television Centre of two pedalo booms. We could see why they had been given away, but they were a vast improvement on the Mole Richardson booms we had been using, because the arms balanced throughout the full range and I fancy they racked a couple of feet further. The Moles were very front heavy on full rack and very back heavy when fully retracted, so we developed big left shoulders, but still carried a couple of camera weights in our pockets which we put on and off the travelling weight box as required ~ just propped between the tension pulleys, I fancy, on the top of the box ~ I can’t imagine what H & S would have made of it, especially when the tail of the arm of one boom hung over the front seats of the audience rostrum during the opening wide shot of “Going For a Song”, lead weights in place ready for the opening words, which always involved a frantic track in by camera crane and both booms on either side of it. Collisions did occur as the Mole booms were notoriously difficult to steer accurately at speed and this was live, of course.
The Pedalos seemed great at first in a small studio, as the 360 degree swing using the pedals meant you could often manage a whole show without being tracked or getting down to move yourself, as one boom in the middle could cover virtually everywhere. The seat was quite comfy too, but after we had used them for a while, mechanical workshop concluded that there was nothing they could do to prevent the slack in the pedal drive gear, which meant you couldn’t hold steady whilst being tracked at any speed, so they took off the pedals and seats, fitted large circular platforms and improved the column lock, so they were pretty well equal to Fishers ~ perhaps not quite the same reach at full rack.
So we ended up with "nice booms ~ shame about the seats!"
Mini Fisher
Pat Heigham
Mike (?) was working the TVT O/P side set mini Fisher, when the chair he was standing on gave way and the inside arm did a 360 with much twanging noises.
No time before Transmission to get the tech down from TVC, so we dismantled it on the rear aisle of the circle and managed to re-attach the interior racking cables!
Mole Richardson
John Howell
Rigging "Tonight" in Lime Grove ‘G’ on a Monday morning after a floor wash when all the cameras and booms had to be contained in the smallest area possible.
A Sound Crew member who had better remain nameless, (’cause I’m not certain of it) wheeled out a Mole boom and, noticing that the wheels had been pushed in, he decided to pull them out. With his left hand he pushed on the side of the platform lift to the right-hand wheel and with his right hand he pulled said wheel into the extended position.
It quickly became apparent that whoever had released the locking bolt to stow the wheel had unscrewed it rather too far so it no longer prevented the axle from coming fully out. So there he was stopping a Mole boom from crashing onto him with his left hand whilst trying to slide the axle with heavy wheel and tyre, back into its housing with his right.
We laughed, perhaps a bit longer than we should have, and then rescued him.
Anyone remember the Mole booms that had twin rear wheels? You had to have the steering handle virtually touching the floor before the brake was fully released, then you had to push and steer the beast bent whilst double.
Len Shorey
I was working a boom on a live “Dixon of Dock Green” in R2 studio and on a quick swing from one set to another on a camera cut.
‘On Air’ I made the swing my left hip laying into the back of the arm helping the momentum. It felt soggy on the night and I glanced back. Poor old Jack Warner had collided with the back end ramming his helmet over his ears.
“Sorry” said I after Transmission. He said, “That’s alright, I should have looked where I was going’!”
Alex Thomas
In the early sixties we used to do a political programme called “Gallery”.
It was fronted by that very amiable Canadian Professor Robert MacKenzie who invented the “swingometer”
We were in Lime Grove and had crewed down. We all had to do six weeks sound training and one of the crew, a vision man to his core was put on a Mole Richardson boom with a ST&C 4033 on the end. This mike was a fairly hefty and robust bit of kit.
During the rehearsal, the professor stood up from his chair to move to another part of the set and expected the mike to make way for him.
Alas, the man on the boom did not notice the rise and Bob received a hefty clonk to his bald head which made him sit down again.
“So sorry” said the boom op “I’m ready for you now. Please do your move”.
Bob got up again but, in the boom op’s enthusiasm to get the mike up and out of Bob’s path, he turned the handle vigorously the wrong way and hit Bob on the head with an even bigger clonk.
No names, no pack drill but the erstwhile boom op soon returned to cameras.
Peter Neill
Similar story. R2 Jackanory. Same boom, same mic. Different operator (me). Different Bald Head (Alfred Marks).
But Alfred Marks was in costume so his immediate reaction, after staggering around a bit was to draw his sword and start fencing with the boom arm.
Mike Giles
We used 4033s in the booms in Bristol, with a rather scrappy sorbo rubber collar in the clamp to reduce rumble, so it was not a very secure fit. During “Going For a Song,” Arthur Negus would often stand up to talk about a bit of furniture, requiring a swift lift to clear the wide shot. During one rehearsal, I was a bit over-energetic in clearing shot, with the consequence that the weighty 4033 stayed behind ~ far from "resting gently" on Arthur Negus’s hair, the indentation of the mic could clearly be seen on his forehead! Make-up was called to mask the damage and Arthur was very understanding about it, but I don’t think any sort of accident report was ever made.
Brian Curtis
Yet another similar tale of woe!
Same boom (Mole Richardson), same mic (4033).
Doing Nationwide/24 Hours in LG
We had a singer in the studio using a "stick mic" (can’t remember which singer and which mic now though). In rehearsal at the end of the number he put the mic on the boom platform (without me noticing) I stepped backward and trod on the mic which rolled under my foot!
The net result was the front heavy boom arm dipped down giving Sam Neeter (who had stepped into the set to adjust some lights) a biff on the forehead! Deeply embarrassed I apologised which Sam accepted and no more was said!
BUT it was always a boom op’s nightmare when people who should have known better put various items on the boom platform – because it was often a handy place to leave these things – any thing from scripts to make-up boxes!
I once when working as a boom tracker saw my boom op (whose name I cannot remember) kick a whole box of make-up off a platform scattering it everywhere during rehearsal!
Dave Mundy
If I remember rightly it was Mike Weaver who despatched a make-up ladies tray from his boom platform and caused a huge row, but he was quite right, of course, as it was very dangerous, but common, faux-pas. I once missed my footing on the platform whilst on the stage at the TV Theatre at full rack doing Crackerjack (CRACKERJACK!), hitting the proscenium arch at great speed and bodily landing on an expensive wooden model next to the boom!
Peter Neill
I once witnessed a senior boom op kicking a floor manager’s script off the platform. What made it more impressive was the fact that he first trod firmly on the spine of the binder, thus opening it and ensuring that when it went flying each page fluttered individually to the floor. I can’t be sure who the boom op was (I’ve a feeling it might have been Julian Tolkien) but I do remember that Frank Pendlebury was the hapless FM.
Geoff Hawkes
I always thought it was one Mike Cotton who was the terror of anyone who happened to place any object, even cups of water on the boom platform, but there again it might have been John Hurley. Either gentlemen please forgive me if I’ve accredited this to you falsely, but other operators always spoke of it with pride as though the culprit (ie the placer) got their just deserts, even if the tellers hadn’t the courage to meet out such punishments themselves.
As to the tales of people getting clobbered by the rear end of a boom, Mole booms in particular as I think they protruded more than the Fisher ones, I was always told (and I think this might have been by John Hurley in the first place), that the operator was responsible for the front end and it was up to others to watch out for the rear. The logic of that seems obvious. Actors were more valuable than staff!
John hays
As a keen young lad freshly arrived from sound radio, I thought it would be helpful if I returned to the studio early after lunch to prepare a newly delivered boom by folding out its platform and extending its wheels. Nobody had told me not to unscrew the retaining bolt too far–result wheel completely out and nobody to help .It crashed over onto an adjacent mole crane, snapping the tension wire of the boom arm.
The mole boom in LG G had a very free running winding mechanism for raising and lowering the platform. Dear George Prince was the boom op and somebody nudged the control wheel resulting in George gently sinking to minimum height. The normally placid George was not amused!
Len Shorey
The booms were all numbered and one quickly sorted the good from the not so good. I’ve seen them switched from D to E before the later crew came in next door.
Alasdair Lawrance
I was a sprog on “It’s a Square World”, and Michael Bentine had a joke about feeding sugar lumps to a mike (again 4033 from memory) on the end of a boom. Nobody else on the crew wanted to do it, it was obviously beneath them, so it fell to me. The audience thought it was funny, anyway.
John Barlow
Bright eyed and knowing it all having completed the TO Course my first experience at TC was on a Sound attachment. Allowed to operate a boom on “Z Cars” I was well aware that CUs needed the mic as close as possible and for wide shots it had to be raised.
CU + rumble
WS + rumble
CU + rumble
Bleep on Sound Talkback.
“What’s going on?” John Staples.
“I’m matching perspectives”.
“It’s Z Cars – I just want to hear the words!”
Geoff Fletcher
I have several memories of boom jollies back when I was on cameras at the BBC back in the 1960’s. One of the little japes the boom ops used to play on us trainee cameramen (and experienced ones now and again) was to wait until we were struggling with a dodgy shot and then park their 4033 mics over the viewfinder. The magnetic field surrounding the mic would do terrible things to the v/f picture, and provide a lot of unexpected difficulties for the aspiring camera op, with much resultant mirth all round.
Another joyful moment was when I was Heron tracking on some LE show with a studio audience. The warm up guy, probably Felix, would announce the crew and we all strolled smartly out to our cameras, dollies, and booms etc. and mount up. On one particular night I was feeling energetic and leapt aboard the back of my Heron with great aplomb, failing to notice that the rear end of a Fisher boom arm was conveniently parked right over the spot where I would be standing. My head came into forceful contact with the pulleys and I buckled at the knees seeing stars amid laughter from the audience who obviously thought it was all part of the warm up! I sported a neat series of parallel cuts on my bonce for a few days, and learned a valuable lesson about looking before you leap.
Another amusing moment (for us onlookers), was an incident that happened when working in Lime Grove on “Panorama” or something similar. The set consisted a desk at opposite ends of the studio with a Mole Richardson boom in the middle which serviced both areas. The programme started off with the presenter at the right hand desk and went into some telecine. The cameras turned and repositioned to the left hand desk at the opposite end of the studio, and the boom op skied his arm a bit and swung it through 180 degrees while his tracker adjusted his platform position to suit. On the night, it all started off OK and we repositioned as planned. I glanced across the studio at my oppo as we both pushed our peds down to the other end, just in time to witness the boom op in mid arm swing drop the 4033 neatly onto the top of (I think) Tim Healey’s head before lifting it up and continuing, apparently unconcerned, with the swing. Tim panned up into the lights involuntarily as he took the bash on the bonce, received a shout from the gallery as to what he thought he was doing, glared at the boom op and carried on. What had happened was that the boom op, who’s platform was unusually low for some reason, had glanced behind at the crucial moment and noticed that the back of the arm was about to clonk a scene hand on the head, so he lifted it over said individual, thereby dropping the other end with the mic neatly onto poor old Tim.
One of the things which was drilled into trainees when doing their first spell on sound was that it was not good practice to put a hand on the platform when tracking booms. Sometimes, however, it was practically impossible to get a Mole Richardson boom moving inwards without doing so, especially if the boom op was a heavyweight. One day I was doing some boom tracking at the theatre and the guy operating was a fattish lad and conceited with it (no names – no pack drill)). I struggled to get the boom moving and eventually put a hand on the hallowed platform to give it a bit of extra push. He looked down at the offending hand and then deliberately stood on it, thereby pressing my fingers hard into the turned up metal lip surrounding the platform. It hurt like hell and I was somewhat annoyed. He then told me that he would do the same again every time I laid a hand on his platform. He had been really objectionable all morning and this was the last straw, so I left the steering handle cum mounting steps unlatched – with the inevitable result. After that we reached an understanding…..
There was also another sound assistant who had a habit of reading a book when operating his boom. We wicked camera guys developed a ploy of giving his platform height winder a sly turn in the downwards direction as we went past his boom when he was engrossed in his book. This often went on for quite a while with the platform gradually dropping lower and lower without him noticing. When he was called into action it was usually with amusing results when he discovered he was a foot or more lower than he should have been. I might add that the crew SA1 was rather in favour of this wheeze as he thought it might break his errant assistant of the habit of book reading on duty!
Pat Heigham
1.
On “It’s a Square World” – the winning one for Golden Rose – I was on the boom over Mike Bentine’s counter, there was a large cup of coffee in front of him. Superimposed was a telecine cartoon figure who wanders on, then dives into the cup! At that moment, the special FX man under the counter squirted a jet of liquid from underneath the cup – rather too hard, as the jet hit the mic fair and square and for the rest of the scene was dripping everywhere!
2.
Luckily on rehearsal – remember that the Mole booms had a support wire cable that ran over the top of the pivot to either end of the fixed tube. I had to do a fast swing between sets, and the sparks had left a safety cable hanging from one of the lighting barrels. What were the chances of the boom wire catching and latching the snap carabiner on the end? It did! and the momentum of the arm caused the whole barrel to lurch sideways. Too far to lean forward and detach the snap hook so everything came to a grinding halt while a stepladder was found to climb up and release. That would have been fun if on a live transmission!
Alan Stokes.
I was boom op on either” Z-Cars” or “Softly Softly”. With Geraint Morris producing, it was often recorded ‘as live’.
During once very short piece of TK (TC to those from outside the BBC?) I had the last scene before the insert and the first after it. For some reason we were short staffed and I did not have a tracker to assist. So:
"Run TK" (count to zero) and "Cut"
I jump off the Fisher. Bounce the boom over a lot of camera cables, which didn’t seem to be there at rehearsal. I arrive in the next set, which was at the opposite end of the studio. Leap on the boom and turn my script over to the correct scene.
"Oh f***k!" – It’s during the next piece of TK that I have the fast re-set.
So, leap off, bounce back across all the cables. I arrive back in the correct set as:
"Counting out of TK (count to zero)"
"Cue, and cut".
I just made it but everything was still wobbling, including me, as the next scene began!
I don’t think the SS was aware.
Fisher Booms
Pat Heigham
I also remember tracking Mike Cotton on the boom for a play involving a stripper scene. The SS asked how I had performed (for the usual on-going report). I recall that Mike said: "Fine, but I had to kick his head a few times to focus his attention!"
Well, at nineteen, and it being show business an’ all!
John Howell
This reminds me of when I was on a boom on ""The Lady of the Camellias" (TC4 24-26 Nov 1963) We were using D25s in the Fisher booms and the arms were perfectly balanced throughout their rack. I had got into the habit of not locking off if I needed to use two hands to briefly shuffle my script and scribble notes. On one occasion I had flattened off the mic to allow everyone to be heard by the director and started writing my notes. I looked up to see the mic. resting very, very, gently on Billie Whitelaw’s hair. The look she gave me will be with me for ever!
Alan Stokes
I had a nasty moment with a Fisher boom. It was "Doctor Who" in a TC studio. I had the first scene, which I seem to remember was a long one. They ran the clock and the Sound Supervisor asked me to swing over to the Floor Manager to hear the countdown. I did. As there were no titles being played into the studio, it was a fairly rapid swing and rack back to the set in question.
About half way back there was an almighty ‘twang’ and a lot of f*ing and blinding from this, then, young boom op. as he tried to regain control of his steed, faced with a huge tangle of ‘knitting’, rather resembling an explosion in a spaghetti factory.
It seemed that I had got my headphone cable caught in the winding mechanism. Apart from the obvious mess of wires and strings, those lovely Fisher booms are not well balanced when the weight box slides uncontrollably back and forth along its path. You either have the mic half way to the grid, or on the floor! There was much cursing from the director as arrangements were made for the replacement of the boom. At the time they probably wanted the operator changed as well
On another occasion, I was in TC5 (I think) with a Fisher boom being used only for comms with the sound team on the floor.
John Hays and I (sorry John) were standing chatting about trains (no surprise there) and idly and slowly pumping the lever which pressurises the hydraulic platform rise/lower mechanism. I don’t think we were aware of what was happening. This went on for some time until I glanced at the pressure gauge under the platform. I showed John and there was some concern as the needle was way above the red line. It was off the scale.
One of us was going to have to get Mechanical Maintenance in to advise on the best course of action. The SS, John Delany, didn’t seem very amused when we told him.
The mechanic arrived and we asked if we should raise and lower the platform to release some of the pent up pressure.
"Not b****y likely! It would probably go through the roof."
This was followed by a lot of clattering and cursing as said boom was removed from TC5.
As far as I know, the boom never returned from its first orbit of TV Centre.
Pat Heigham
The early colour studios – I think TC6 was the first? – only had a B/W monitor in the Sound Gallery. Protestations by the Sound Supervisors that a boom shadow might not be visible as various shades of gray, but could be picked up clearly on colour cameras. It took some persuasion to loosen the purse strings of whoever was in charge of spending money!
John Howell
Indeed, I recall a "30 Minute Theatre" early in 1970 where every time a photographer took a picture I, (on grams) had to play a shutter effect.
I was making a bit of a hash of the early rehearsals and the director said "it’s quite simple John, when a picture is taken we cut to a black and white still and you play a click". That situation got us a colour monitor for a day; mind you it looked as if it had come from a skip at the back of Radio Rentals.
Shadowlands
Pat Heigham
Live show – right at the end the boom (mine) was on the closing presenter, as the shot was held for the out, the lighting had to be changed – suddenly a HUGE boom shadow appeared, spread across the back wall!
A key had been lit, right behind the boom. To give him great credit, Dennis Channon, the LD, immediately came down to the floor and apologised for bringing up the wrong key.
My training with the BBC gave me a great insight to lighting. When I went freelance on Sound for film/single cam shoots, I was appalled at the lack of knowledge/experience that so-called Lighting Cameramen exhibited.
One guy placed a 2K right behind the camera on a shoot involving an audience of several rows, for which the boom had to go into whoever spoke – big shadows! My response was to say that pre-shoot, you place the contributors in the front row, so the boom mic can get them and move the bl**dy key light.
The experience from BBC Training about lighting was underlined by a job I had in commercials – the first (pilot) for the Nescafe Gold Blend series. The Lighting Cameraman was the great Freddie Young!
While setting up, he paused by the Sound table and asked who was the Boom Operator. "Me, sir, Pat!"
"I’m Freddie", he said: "You won’t have a problem – you will see lots of lamps, but they are picking out stuff in the background – you won’t have a problem."
I went and stood in the artistes position and looked at the lighting. Perfect textbook – Key, Back and soft fill, exactly as taught at Wood Norton!
And, indeed, no problem.
