Can Boom Poles Be Replaced With Wooden Poles? at DVinfo.net

Drew Meinecke · July 15th, 2005, 04:13 PM

Hi, I am a low budget filmmaker and I heard that you can use cheap wooden poles instead of boom poles for holding your shotgun mics. Does this work? Is it recommended?

Eric James · July 15th, 2005, 04:48 PM

Hey Drew,
Sure you can use wooden poles. You can use whatever you want. The most important thing is a good shockmount. You can even make your own shockmount out of a small piece of 2" PVC pipe and some rubberbands, costs less than $2 for the whole deal.

Thanks,
Eric James

http://www.expertmagic.com/

Owen Dawe · July 15th, 2005, 05:19 PM

Try a search on mic boom poles and you will find people make them from a variety of poles. I've used a wooden roller or broom handle many times. Paint it black and it looks quite the real thing. I have a professional one as well. It's main advantage is it extends out quite long, is light and durable. Large hardware retailers and Paint shops have cheap extendable poles for paint rollers which can be adapted. Good luck and have fun.

Mike Teutsch · July 15th, 2005, 05:30 PM

Drew,

Is is part a post I did a couple of weeks ago. The only real problems with wood is the weight and the fact that they don't fold up to be up away.

As I was walking down the isle(at Home Depot, there was a display for the light bulb changing helpers. You know the kind that extend out and hold the bulb, like for high ceiling fixtures. I bought one for $19.95. This very light weight, (scale says just over one pound), because unlike a painting pole, it does not have to resist the pressure of pushing on a roller.

This rod is in four twist and lock sections. It extends to 11 Feet and collapses back to only 40 inches long. It has a nice rubber handle on it and it will make a great boom mic pole. And, of course you can change light bulbs too!

Mike

July 15th, 2005, 04:13 PM	#1
Drew Meinecke Regular Crew Join Date: Jan 2005 Location: USA Posts: 53	Can Boom Poles Be Replaced With Wooden Poles? Hi, I am a low budget filmmaker and I heard that you can use cheap wooden poles instead of boom poles for holding your shotgun mics. Does this work? Is it recommended?

July 15th, 2005, 05:19 PM	#3
Owen Dawe Major Player Join Date: Jun 2004 Location: Lake Tarawera, Rotorua, New Zealand Posts: 244	Try a search on mic boom poles and you will find people make them from a variety of poles. I've used a wooden roller or broom handle many times. Paint it black and it looks quite the real thing. I have a professional one as well. It's main advantage is it extends out quite long, is light and durable. Large hardware retailers and Paint shops have cheap extendable poles for paint rollers which can be adapted. Good luck and have fun. __________________ Owen

July 15th, 2005, 04:48 PM	#2
Eric James Regular Crew Join Date: Jan 2005 Posts: 126	Hey Drew, Sure you can use wooden poles. You can use whatever you want. The most important thing is a good shockmount. You can even make your own shockmount out of a small piece of 2" PVC pipe and some rubberbands, costs less than $2 for the whole deal. Thanks, Eric James http://www.expertmagic.com/

July 15th, 2005, 05:30 PM	#4
Mike Teutsch Inner Circle Join Date: Oct 2004 Location: Port St. Lucie, Florida Posts: 2,614	Drew, Is is part a post I did a couple of weeks ago. The only real problems with wood is the weight and the fact that they don't fold up to be up away. As I was walking down the isle(at Home Depot, there was a display for the light bulb changing helpers. You know the kind that extend out and hold the bulb, like for high ceiling fixtures. I bought one for $19.95. This very light weight, (scale says just over one pound), because unlike a painting pole, it does not have to resist the pressure of pushing on a roller. This rod is in four twist and lock sections. It extends to 11 Feet and collapses back to only 40 inches long. It has a nice rubber handle on it and it will make a great boom mic pole. And, of course you can change light bulbs too! Mike