Careers A–Z · Sound
Sound recordist
The production sound mixer — commonly called the sound recordist — is head of the sound department on location. You record the dialogue the whole film is built on.
Get it wrong and the fix is ADR, which costs money, time and performance. Everybody knows this except the people asking you to hurry.
The basics
Also known as, and where the grade sits.
| Sound recordist | |
|---|---|
| Also known as | Sound recordist, production sound mixer, location sound. AMPS after a name is society membership, not a qualification. |
| Level | Head of a small department, usually two or three people. |
| Reports to | The director and the producer; on the floor, the 1st AD. |
| Comes after | Sound assistant, boom operator, or your own factual work. |
| Leads to | Larger drama, or across to post sound. |
The job
What does a sound recordist do?
You read the script for sound problems before anybody gets there, recce for noise, and warn production about the road, the flight path and the extractor fan nobody can turn off.
On the day you place radio mics, set levels, mix live to a multitrack recorder, keep timecode locked to camera, and write the sound report the editor relies on. You also decide when a take is unusable.
The unglamorous end: you are the department that asks for quiet and is resented for it. Rain covers, wind, generators, costume rustle, and a great deal of standing still with headphones on.
The requirement
What is a sound recordist good at?
Ears, patience and the confidence to interrupt a set full of people in a hurry.
Listening
Hearing the problem before it reaches the recorder.
Technical fluency
Radio frequencies, interference, phase and gain structure.
Diplomacy
Asking a hundred people to stop, without becoming the enemy.
Judgement
Knowing what post can fix and what it cannot.
Paperwork
Sound reports that make the edit faster months later.
Kit
Tools of the trade.
| What | The actual items |
|---|---|
| Recorders and mixers | Sound Devices or Zaxcom multitrack recorders, a control surface, and a bag or cart build. |
| Microphones | Shotguns such as the Sennheiser MKH 416 or Schoeps CMIT, hypercardioids, and plant mics. |
| Radio mics | Wisycom, Lectrosonics or Sennheiser transmitters and receivers, lavaliers, and a frequency plan. |
| Timecode and comms | Timecode boxes, sync to camera, Comtek or similar for the director, and cabled comms. |
| Consumables | Rycote windshields, moleskin, topstick, batteries by the box, rain protection. |
The unit
Who does a sound recordist work with?
| Who | What passes between you |
|---|---|
| Boom operator | Placement, coverage and what the mic can physically reach. |
| 1st AD | Quiet on set, running order and how much time you get. |
| Camera | Frame lines, so the boom stays out and the mic stays close. |
| Costume | Where a radio mic can hide without rustling. |
| Post sound | Reports, tracks, sample rate and how the material arrives. |
Routes in
How do I become a sound recordist?
Sound is a small, well-networked department. Most people are trained by somebody.
Sound assistant
Entry grade on drama: bags, batteries, cable, radio mics.
Factual and news
Own your kit, shoot documentary, learn fast on smaller crews.
Live and music
Live sound and studio engineering transfer well.
A degree is not required, though sound is one of the areas where a technical course helps — audio engineering more than film studies. It is still a route, not the route.
Owning reliable kit and being recommended by another recordist is what fills a diary.
Nearby
The grades either side of this one.
The department is small, so read the whole of it.
Sound department guide
Production sound and post sound, kept separate, with the free route through both.
Never been on a set? Start here. Offered a first day? Read this first. Want to know where this grade leads? Where people have gone names people who trained here and the productions they went to.
