Patrushkha Mierzwa, one of the first female boom operators in Hollywood, has worked on over 80 movies and television projects for major directors including Robert Rodriquez, Quentin Tarantino, James Gray, and Robert Altman. She has been a judge for the Emmys, an IATSE Local 695 Director, and given workshops globally over her long career in the industry. Ad Astra and Once Upon a Time…in Hollywood.

Patrushkha takes you from the first work call to the final wrap, explaining the order of the work and the details that her decades of experience provides, so you can avoid mistakes that can sabotage your career before it’s even started. This book describes the job of the UST (Utility Sound Technician), or 2 nd AS in the UK, a career almost invisible, yet extremely interesting, exciting—and paying up to six figures a year.

This book details how to act, how to relate to the crew, how to deal with and solve problems that are not just about sound itself—things you don’t learn at film school.

• Discover tricks for microphone placement.
• Understand how the UST interacts with the director, actors and producers.
• Learn why you can know a lot about film yet still not sustain a career.
• Pick up pointers for managing life in a freelance world.