The Art of Run ’n Gun Sound

Using a Boom Pole and Portable Mixer

There’s an art to capturing clean audio while staying invisible in the frame. It’s called run ’n gun sound—part hustle, part finesse, and all heart. If you’ve ever been a one-woman (or one-man) sound crew with a mixer strapped to your hip and a boom pole dancing above your head, then you know what I mean.

I didn’t start out as a sound expert. In fact, my very first boom pole gig was at San Diego Comic-Con in 2001, and let’s just say… it left an impression. On Lucy Liu.

Comic-Con 2001: Boom Pole Baptism

We were in the press room at Comic-Con, a whirlwind of talent and media. Lucy Liu was there in a quiet corner, promoting Ballistic: Ecks vs. Sever, a movie she had made with Antonio Banderas. She was warm, patient, and completely unflustered by the media madness swirling around her.

I was determined to do a good job capturing clean sound—but a little overzealous. As I reached out with my boom pole, I misjudged the space and—bop—tapped Lucy Liu on the head with the microphone. My heart stopped. But Lucy looked up with grace and smiled. She was so nice about it, completely unfazed. I’ll never forget her kindness in that moment. And I’ve never forgotten to double-check my mic clearance since.

From Accidental Bops to Tactical Brilliance

Fast-forward to a recent shoot with YouTube’s infamous Dr. Disrespect. It was a corporate project where I had to lav up seven individuals—including the Doc himself—and run backup sound with my boom. I wore my portable mixer like a toolbelt, constantly monitoring levels and chasing clear audio amidst the chaos.

Every mic had to be perfectly placed. Every signal had to stay clean. And since Dr. Disrespect is all about high production value, there was no room for error. I remember thinking: This is what all those Comic-Con bumps and bruises prepared me for.

Steel and Sound: USS Stennis and NASSCO

Then there are the jobs where the set is floating on the ocean.

Aboard the USS Stennis, we were embedded with the crew for an overnight shoot. I captured interviews in radar rooms, footage on the bustling flight deck, and even karaoke night in the mess hall—where I sang “White Rabbit” to a roomful of sailors. I stretched my boom pole into the cockpit of the Greyhound aircraft during a flight just to grab clean cockpit audio. That aircraft had no portholes, and we flew backward. I couldn’t see a thing—but the mic was pointed right.

At NASSCO, San Diego’s shipbuilding powerhouse, I chased sound in a jungle of grinding metal and clanging cranes. Communication was nearly impossible, so intuition became my compass. You learn to read lips, body language, and shadows to anticipate a speaker’s next move.

The Mixer Is Your Lifeline

My trusty portable mixer has been through it all—Comic-Con, tech expos, the flight deck of a nuclear-powered carrier, and deep inside industrial shipyards. With it, I’ve learned how to ride gain levels like a DJ, fight wind noise, dodge cables, and juggle wireless frequencies in real time.

Run ’n gun sound is not for the faint of heart, but it’s deeply satisfying work. You get one chance to catch the moment—no second takes, no re-dos.

Final Thoughts

Run ’n gun sound is a dance. It’s knowing when to move, when to hold steady, and when to pivot (hopefully without bumping any celebrities on the head). Whether I’m mic’ing up a shipyard worker or filming with influencers, I bring the same determination to catch crystal-clear sound in imperfect conditions.

Because in the end, sound is half the story. And in this crew, I’ve got ears on everything.