Students from the NFTS Production Sound course have ben practicing boom operating on the Downton Abbey television set at Ealing Studios, thanks to permission from the production company Carnival Films.
Here the course tutor Fraser Barber writes about the experience and what makes the NFTS Production Sound course unique.
"One of the hardest things to teach on a sound course is boom operating. While it is possible to teach technique in a classroom, it is almost impossible to create the problems that need to be overcome on a real film set or location. Apart from keeping the mic, boom and themselves out of shot the boom operator has to deal with shadows and reflections and learn how to get round these problems, often with help from the lighting department, cinematographer and art department.
"Since I have been running the sound course at the NFTS I have been trying to find a way of giving the students a more realistic experience to practice in. A few weeks ago I approached Chris Croucher the producer of Downton Abbey to ask if there was any chance that we could use their set at Ealing Studios while the production would be away on location at Highclere Castle. Chris’s immediate response was really positive and he managed to get permission from the production company Carnival Films for us to go ahead.
"We had a full day on set and filmed mainly in the kitchen, which is quite a tricky set for a boom, so was ideal for our purposes. I think all of the students were surprised at how difficult it was to cover the sound. We were shooting a scene with two marvellous and very patient actors, Ciaran Kellgren and Abigail Andjel. All of the issues were eventually resolved and the end result was excellent.
"Although we were there for only one day, the learning experience was invaluable. Apart from booming, important lessons were also learned about set etiquette and being careful with props and respect for the set and the expensive furnishings in them.
"The Production Sound course at the NFTS is a unique course and with the co-operation of forward thinking production companies like Carnival Films who want to help the next generation of sound recordists, we are giving the students real world training in an environment that would be far too expensive for any film school. It is a learning experience that none of them will forget."
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