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Learning path · Sound

Production sound

Clean dialogue on set: boom operating, radio mics, recorder levels, timecode and the sound department's day.

Free films in teaching order, for one craft. Watch, tick them off and test yourself. It's practice that prepares you for an Academy course. This one prepares you for the sound course (coming).

19 lessons · About 3 hours · New to set to working crew · Not started

Lesson 1

HSE Hearing Protection demonstration

Solutions from HSE · 1:28 · original on YouTube

You will learn: Fit hearing protection properly so it works.

Watch for: From HSE's science arm. Notice how much a badly fitted plug lets through.

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.

The hazards

  1. 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).
  2. 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.
  3. 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.
  4. 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.
  5. Radio frequenciesRadio mics use licensed frequencies: the mixer arranges the Ofcom programme-making licence. Don't change frequencies or add transmitters without the mixer.
  6. 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

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

Check yourself

4 situations. Get them all right.

Pass the safety check before the rest of the path. One wrong safety answer means try again. It's practice, and your answers stay on this device.

Question 1: You need to fit a radio mic on a performer before a take. They seem uncomfortable. What do you do?

Question 2: Exterior, a quiet lane. There are overhead lines above the actor's mark. What do you do with the boom?

Question 3: The armourer says the next scene will be very loud. You're on headphones. What do you do?

Question 4: The quickest cable route to the sound cart crosses the fire exit corridor. What do you do?

By the end you will be able to

  • Operate a boom with correct positions and choose the right mic and wind protection
  • Wire radio mics on performers respectfully and without rustle
  • Set levels, jam-sync timecode, log metadata and write sound reports
  • Record room tone and wild tracks, and work to on-set sound etiquette

Test yourself

Could you do it on a set?

4 real situations, one for each thing this path teaches. It's optional practice, not pass or fail, and your answers stay on this device.

In a mid shot, where does the boom mic go?

You need to fit a radio mic on an actor. What do you do first?

What does 'jam sync' mean?

When do you record room tone?

Next: do it for real

Sound course: coming.

There isn't an Academy course for sound yet. Register interest and we'll tell you when it opens. Meanwhile, Day One covers safety and how a set runs for every department, and experienced crew can book a competency check directly.

Register interestStart Day One

How learning with FIF works

Learning path. Free films in teaching order, for one craft. Watch, tick them off and test yourself. It's practice that prepares you for an Academy course.

  1. Learn onlineFree films, paths and Academy coursesYou are here
  2. Competency checkA short check with us, online or in person
  3. In-person practicalOn our unit at Pinewood or 3 Mills
  4. FIF CertificateFrom the practical only

The FIF Certificate comes only from the practical. How it works · Book a competency check

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