Sound

Career ladder

From first job to head of department

"Sound recordist" is the factual grade name and is common in conversation. Post sound is in Editorial and post.

Production sound

Entry grade Sound traineeAlso: third assistant sound Cables, batteries, the cart, helping the assistants.
Step 2 Second assistant sound Radio mics, timecode, the second boom, the sound cart.Watch and read
Step 3 Boom operatorAlso: first assistant sound The main boom, and the department on the floor.Watch and read
Top of the ladder Production sound mixer Recording, mixing and the sound report; head of department.Watch and read

Grade by grade: what you need before moving up

Production sound
Grade	What you do	Before moving up
Sound traineeAlso: third assistant sound	Cables, batteries, the cart, helping the assistants.	Credits and safe handling of the kit.
Second assistant sound	Radio mics, timecode, the second boom, the sound cart.	Confident radio mic fitting and booming practice.
Boom operatorAlso: first assistant sound	The main boom, and the department on the floor.	Credits as boom operator and a mixer's trust.
Production sound mixer	Recording, mixing and the sound report; head of department.	A body of work and a production that wants you.

Bectu production sound rates, April 2026 · Every department's ladder: Careers A–Z · Getting work · Working freelance

Safety first

Hearing, radio mics, cables and power lines

Sound protects everyone else's ears and its own. The department's hazards are noise, cable runs, long poles near power, and fitting mics on other people's bodies.

Start the safety module Take the safety check

Watch first

Module 1 of Production sound. Mark them done there to track your progress.

The hazards

6

What hurts people in this department on UK sets, and what keeps them safe.

Your hearingYou listen on headphones all day, and some scenes are loud (SFX, vehicles, crowds, music playback). Keep headphone levels sensible, take the hearing protection you're offered on loud scenes, and tell someone if your ears ring. The Control of Noise at Work Regulations 2005 set action levels at 80 and 85 dB(A).
Fitting radio mics: consent and dignityAsk before you touch anyone. Explain where the mic and transmitter will go, offer to let the performer place it themselves, and work where they're comfortable (often in the costume truck, with costume). With children, the chaperone is present. On a closed set, follow the intimacy coordinator's plan.
Boom poles and overhead linesA boom pole is long, and carbon fibre conducts electricity. Look up before you raise it outdoors; stay well clear of overhead power lines and rail lines.
Cables and the cartRoute cables along walls and edges, tape or cover them where people walk, and never across a doorway or fire exit. Sound carts are heavy on rough ground and ramps: two people.
Radio frequenciesRadio mics use licensed frequencies: the mixer arranges the Ofcom programme-making licence. Don't change frequencies or add transmitters without the mixer.
Batteries and long daysSpent and charged batteries in labelled bags; lithium cells handled like camera batteries. Booming is hard on shoulders and backs: rotate, rest the pole, and warm up.

Who is responsible

The production sound mixer is head of department and holds the radio licence.
The boom operator runs the floor for sound; the sound assistant runs cables, radio mics and batteries.
The 1st AD and armourer or SFX supervisor tell sound when a scene will be loud and what protection to use.

As a trainee, never

Never fit a mic on anyone without asking and explaining first.
Never raise a boom pole near overhead power lines.
Never run cable across a doorway or fire exit.

Anyone can say stop. If something feels wrong, say so to your head of department or the 1st AD.

Where this comes from

HSE: noise at workThe Control of Noise at Work Regulations 2005: action values at 80 and 85 dB(A), and hearing protection.
HSE GS6: avoiding danger from overhead power linesWhy long poles, booms and ladders stay well away from overhead lines.
HSE: electrical safetyThe Electricity at Work Regulations 1989.
Ofcom: programme-making and special events (PMSE) licensingThe licences that cover radio mics and in-ear monitors in the UK.
The Children (Performances and Activities) (England) Regulations 2014Licences, chaperones, hours and breaks for children on set. Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland have their own rules.
Bectu: health and safetyThe union's health and safety guidance and reps.

Checked 13 November 2026. This is awareness, not a safety qualification: follow your production's risk assessment and your head of department.

AI in film and TV

How AI fits this department

AI dialogue clean-up, transcription and voice tools are already in edit suites. Consent for any voice work is written and specific, and AI-generated music is rarely cleared for broadcast; ask the production first.

Learning path: AI in post The AI channel Consent and credit

What sound does

Production sound records dialogue and sound on set. It's small, often three people, and the only department entitled to stop a take for a noise nobody else can hear.

Production sound mixer: leads, and records from the cart.
1st assistant sound: usually the boom operator on UK drama.
2nd assistant sound: radio mics, timecode, cables and the cart.
Sound trainee or 3rd assistant: supports them.

Who sound works with

Camera, on the slate, timecode and where the boom can go. Lighting, on boom shadows. Costume, on hiding radio mics. The 1st AD on lock-ups and quiet. Locations, on noise at each location. Post-production, which receives the sound files and reports.

Kit and vocabulary

Boom and boom pole: a directional microphone on a pole above the actors.
Radio mics: small microphones hidden on actors, with transmitters.
Sound cart: the mixer's recorder, mixer, receivers and monitors.
Timecode: the clock that syncs sound to picture.
Wild track / buzz track: sound recorded without picture for the edit.
Room tone: the silence of a location, recorded for post.
Sound report: the record of every take and track.

How to get in

Formal entry routes into production sound are thin. Many people start as sound trainees after audio training or a music, theatre or broadcast background. ScreenSkills publishes skills checklists for each grade. The Association of Motion Picture Sound (AMPS) represents the craft.

Pay: Bectu production sound rates, April 2026.

Where Futures in Film helps

Our production sound course (dates soon: register interest) is taught by crew working in sound now. On a production simulation week you hold a sound grade on a crewed unit.