# Fire the boom mic operator!! **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [August 11, 2006, 2:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fire-the-boom-mic-operator/368246 "2006-08-11T02:55:07Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Queen\_Tonya](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/q/4491bb/32.png) [@Queen\_Tonya](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Queen_Tonya)\ **Post date:** [August 11, 2006, 2:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fire-the-boom-mic-operator/368246/1 "2006-08-11T02:55:07Z")
Just got back from seeing [The Break Up](http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0452594/) at the $1 show. Not a bad use of two bucks, except for the appearance of the boom mic in half the scenes. What the hell? How could that possibly slip by over and over again unnoticed? One time you think, eh, did I just see that? Probably not, back into the story. Second time…oh, yep, I guess I did see that, there it is again. Wow, that’s sorta unusual, I mean this isn’t some little indie-on-a-credit-card flick, right? By the third time, there were giggles and comments thruout the audience. I can’t ever remember seeing an accidental “oops, the boom’s in the shot” that many times, even on live stuff. What the heck is up with them releasing it with that many obvious screw-ups? ---
**Author:** ![Bill\_Door](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/50afbb/32.png) [@Bill\_Door](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bill_Door)\ **Post date:** [August 11, 2006, 3:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fire-the-boom-mic-operator/368246/2 "2006-08-11T03:00:31Z")
It’s not the boom mic guy. The theater is supposed to mask the top and bottom of the frame to match the film to the screen. The $1 theaters are not notably diligent about doing it. ---
**Author:** ![Ass\_For\_A\_Hat](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ec9cab/32.png) [@Ass\_For\_A\_Hat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ass_For_A_Hat)\ **Post date:** [August 11, 2006, 3:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fire-the-boom-mic-operator/368246/3 "2006-08-11T03:00:51Z")
Acording to a few of Roger Ebert’s mailbag columns, this situation is usually due to the projectionist at the theater framing the projection incorrectly. Films are shot with more head space than is intended to be in the picture that is displayed on the screen. I’ll look around for a link. ---
**Author:** ![Queen\_Tonya](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/q/4491bb/32.png) [@Queen\_Tonya](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Queen_Tonya)\ **Post date:** [August 11, 2006, 3:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fire-the-boom-mic-operator/368246/4 "2006-08-11T03:04:20Z")
Well then, ummm, oh. I did not know that. Now I’m going to be forever searching for the odd boom sighting every time I go back to that theatre, ignorance duly fought _and_ an odd new hobby, yay! 🆒 ---
**Author:** ![NDP](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ndp/32/55_2.png) [@NDP](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/NDP)\ **Post date:** [August 11, 2006, 4:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fire-the-boom-mic-operator/368246/5 "2006-08-11T04:04:14Z")
> [@Queen Tonya](#): > > Well then, ummm, oh. I did not know that. > > Now I’m going to be forever searching for the odd boom sighting every time I go back to that theatre, ignorance duly fought _and_ an odd new hobby, yay! 🆒 _Oh, I’m being followed by a boom shadow. Boom shadow, boom shadow._ ---
**Author:** ![Myron\_Van\_Horowitzski](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/9de053/32.png) [@Myron\_Van\_Horowitzski](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Myron_Van_Horowitzski)\ **Post date:** [August 11, 2006, 6:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fire-the-boom-mic-operator/368246/6 "2006-08-11T18:36:00Z")
> [@Ass For A Hat](#): > > Acording to a few of Roger Ebert’s mailbag columns, this situation is usually due to the projectionist at the theater framing the projection incorrectly. Films are shot with more head space than is intended to be in the picture that is displayed on the screen. > > I’ll look around for a link. He also said to yell, “FRAME IT!” and hope the projectionist will take it as a clue. ---
**Author:** ![Sir\_Rhosis](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/d9b06d/32.png) [@Sir\_Rhosis](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sir_Rhosis)\ **Post date:** [August 11, 2006, 7:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fire-the-boom-mic-operator/368246/7 "2006-08-11T19:31:31Z")
I’ve only seen this happen at a drive-in, never at at honest-to-goodness theater. Sir Rhosis ---
**Author:** ![kaylasdad99](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kaylasdad99/32/3398_2.png) [@kaylasdad99](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kaylasdad99)\ **Post date:** [August 11, 2006, 7:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fire-the-boom-mic-operator/368246/8 "2006-08-11T19:39:33Z")
> [@Myron Van Horowitzski](#): > > He also said to yell, “FRAME IT!” and hope the projectionist will take it as a clue. Yeah, like the projectionist at the $1 theater is going to know how to do anything more than turn the switch that starts the machine… ---
**Author:** ![Zebra](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/c0e974/32.png) [@Zebra](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zebra)\ **Post date:** [August 11, 2006, 7:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fire-the-boom-mic-operator/368246/9 "2006-08-11T19:48:38Z")
Did you notice that sometimes stuff at the bottome of the screen was missing. Like is someone is holding a newspaper or something. As a former projectionist who owned and operated a sub-run theatre, I object to the automatic low reguard for the skills of the projectionist based on what theatre he works at. Some theatre care about quality projection/projectionists and some don’t. How much they charge for admission doesn’t seem to be any indicator. ---
**Author:** ![A2Steve](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/51bf81/32.png) [@A2Steve](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/A2Steve)\ **Post date:** [August 11, 2006, 9:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fire-the-boom-mic-operator/368246/10 "2006-08-11T21:22:38Z")
> [@Zebra](#): > > Some theatre care about quality projection/projectionists and some don’t. How much they charge for admission doesn’t seem to be any indicator. And sometimes it’s not the theater but the individual - I also worked projection at a $1 theater a while back, and I was always careful with the framing and focus. Then there was the assistant manager who thought he knew how to work projection but somehow always ended up with a brainwrap that he would “fix” by randomly splicing out some segment of film for us to take care of later. Usually he would cut in the middle of a frame. Brainwrap = film not feeding properly into the projector from a horizontal platter, winding tightly around the pick-up point until it snaps. ---
**Author:** ![friedo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/8edcca/32.png) [@friedo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/friedo)\ **Post date:** [August 11, 2006, 11:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fire-the-boom-mic-operator/368246/11 "2006-08-11T23:56:24Z")
But did he splice it with duct tape or chewing gum?! ---
**Author:** ![thirdname](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/d07c76/32.png) [@thirdname](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/thirdname)\ **Post date:** [August 12, 2006, 7:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fire-the-boom-mic-operator/368246/12 "2006-08-12T07:58:52Z")
Why do they leave the junk at the top and bottom of the film that they give to theaters? It seems very strange that they don’t simply cut it off. ---
**Author:** ![GuanoLad](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/guanolad/32/42_2.png) [@GuanoLad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GuanoLad)\ **Post date:** [August 12, 2006, 8:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fire-the-boom-mic-operator/368246/13 "2006-08-12T08:24:00Z")
> [@riker1384](#): > > Why do they leave the junk at the top and bottom of the film that they give to theaters? It seems very strange that they don’t simply cut it off. You can’t. A frame is a frame, it is 4:3 in ratio and you can’t just “cut things out”. ---
**Author:** ![FriarTed](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/friarted/32/1052_2.png) [@FriarTed](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FriarTed)\ **Post date:** [August 12, 2006, 1:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fire-the-boom-mic-operator/368246/14 "2006-08-12T13:11:48Z")
The totally useless THE OMEN remake had the same problem with boom mic’s, not only from above, BUT ON THE SIDE! I don’t buy the “projectionist’s fault” excuse. It’s just a way for the film editors to avoid blame. I particularly think THE OMEN was a rush job to get it released by the appropriate date. ---
**Author:** ![Walloon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/fbc32d/32.png) [@Walloon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Walloon)\ **Post date:** [August 12, 2006, 9:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fire-the-boom-mic-operator/368246/15 "2006-08-12T21:56:38Z")
Visual aid: a [35 mm frame](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/35_mm#Technical_specifications). Note the difference between the 35mm camera aperture (yellow), and the 1:1.85 projectable image area (green). The standard image ratio for theater projector apertures and screens in North America is 1:1.85. Why do theaters show an image area smaller than what is possible (1:1.37)? An aesthetic decision by the industry since the 1950s to have a widescreen image visually distinct from the television image. The viewfinder on most 35 mm cameras has these various image areas outlined on it, so that the director of photography and camera operator can keep the important elements within the picture, even when the film is eventually shown on television. ---
**Author:** ![Mahaloth](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mahaloth/32/1079_2.png) [@Mahaloth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mahaloth)\ **Post date:** [August 13, 2006, 3:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fire-the-boom-mic-operator/368246/16 "2006-08-13T03:23:18Z")
> [@FriarTed](#): > > The totally useless THE OMEN remake had the same problem with boom mic’s, not only from above, BUT ON THE SIDE! > > I don’t buy the “projectionist’s fault” excuse. It’s just a way for the film editors to avoid blame. I particularly think THE OMEN was a rush job to get it released by the appropriate date. I’ll agree if it’s from the side, but what do you mean “I don’t buy” the argument? It’s quite factual that some projectionists do not project the movie properly. I saw Hamlet(the one with Ethan Hawke) and it was clearly projected wrong and I saw the boom mike many times. On DVD, it’s nowhere. ---
**Author:** ![hawksgirl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/ed655f/32.png) [@hawksgirl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/hawksgirl)\ **Post date:** [August 13, 2006, 3:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fire-the-boom-mic-operator/368246/17 "2006-08-13T03:29:10Z")
I saw the same thing with House of Wax when they showed it as a sneak preview at my school. I just assumed that, being a preview, they didnt give us the properly edited version or something. Learn something new every day. ---
**Author:** ![thirdname](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/d07c76/32.png) [@thirdname](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/thirdname)\ **Post date:** [August 13, 2006, 4:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fire-the-boom-mic-operator/368246/18 "2006-08-13T04:06:16Z")
> [@GuanoLad](#): > > You can’t. A frame is a frame, it is 4:3 in ratio and you can’t just “cut things out”. Why not? They “cut things out,” put things in, and change things all over the place. Is every single composite or bluescreen frame ever composed of a lower quality than other footage, so that they can’t cut out parts of non-special-effects frames without lowering the quality? I can’t watch today’s movies and believe that we don’t have the technology to make part of the image black. I don’t understand. ---
**Author:** ![Marley23](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/45deac/32.png) [@Marley23](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Marley23)\ **Post date:** [August 13, 2006, 4:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fire-the-boom-mic-operator/368246/19 "2006-08-13T04:13:08Z")
> [@FriarTed](#): > > I don’t buy the “projectionist’s fault” excuse. It’s just a way for the film editors to avoid blame. I particularly think THE OMEN was a rush job to get it released by the appropriate date. I saw it in Requiem for a Dream, which sure wasn’t The Omen. Apparently this really is SOP. ---
**Author:** ![DxZero](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e99b99/32.png) [@DxZero](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DxZero)\ **Post date:** [August 13, 2006, 4:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fire-the-boom-mic-operator/368246/20 "2006-08-13T04:31:49Z")
> [@kaylasdad99](#): > > Yeah, like the projectionist at the $1 theater is going to know how to do anything more than turn the switch that starts the machine… Seriously, did Fight Club teach you anything? We all know that projectionists are capable of just about anything, including forming revolutionary anarchist movements and splicing single frames of pornography into family films. I think they could do a little framing, if neccesary. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fire-the-boom-mic-operator/368246.md?page=2)