With the trend towards ever-longer takes and increasingly complex shooting setups, employing dual Boom Operators (1st AS) is not only vital for protecting crew health and wellbeing but also for maintaining the highest standard of on-set sound. This practice reduces reliance on ADR, supports multi-camera shoots, and ensures productions meet established safety guidance.

AMPS Chair George Foulgham said, “AMPS promotes ‘Excellence in Sound’ through its annual awards and actively advocates for best practices and current safety standards to all its members. Safety Bulletin #45 is a benchmark for the industry. AMPS recommends that all film productions follow these guidelines during pre-production and filming, regardless of setting.”

Following consultation with the UK’s leading Production Sound Mixers, AMPS has released the following statement:

AMPS Statement on the Use of Two Boom Operators

The Association of Motion Picture Sound (AMPS) strongly supports the employment of two Boom Operators on productions operating on a continuous working day.

The practice of using two Boom Operators (1st AS) is well established in the UK, but recently some producers unaware of the health risks of boom operating without breaks have questioned why this is necessary given that in the US it is customary to have a sound team with one boom operator.

In the UK, a continuous ten-hour working day is common practice on almost all major motion pictures. It has enabled increased productivity and an uninterrupted workflow ending the previous long-hours culture that still prevails in US where trade union custom and practice restricts working a continuous day.

Using two booms enables the sound team to record both on-screen and off-screen dialogue at a quality that reduces the need for ADR or wild tracks. It helps to record sound more effectively when using multiple cameras, avoiding reliance on radio mics.

The shift from shooting on film to digital acquisition has significantly increased the potential length of takes. Film rolls typically limited the length of takes to around 10 minutes, but digital acquisition now allows takes to run commonly for 45 minutes to an hour, often with multiple re-sets. Directors will commonly shoot multiple actions or re-sets without cutting the camera, which puts physical and mental strain on the Boom Operator. This is unmanageable on continuous working days when there is no opportunity for a break.

This practice aligns with the guidance outlined by Contract Services (CTASF), the key provider of safety programmes and provisions of collective bargaining agreements between Hollywood Film and TV Unions and Producers, in ‘Safety Bulletin #45 - Guidelines for Long or Successive Takes’.