Sound away.

As I am the sound recordist I wanted to update myself on the equipment and the do's and dont's.
I have never operated with sound and thought I would give it a go, instead of being ignorant and watching other people operate with it I wanted to do it first hand and solve the problems that I will come face to face with. Sound isn't something that I am wanting to do but I know sound is a crucial part to any film making.

Possibly not important but I looked in to the pick up direction of different types of microphones.

Microphone Types

Lapel Mics;

Lapel mics create high quality sound, they are consistent and sound rejecting. An interviewee should have their own lapel mic in the correct position.

The disadvantage is that they are slower and more difficult to set up. Also, if the mic position does happen to go awry, the interview may have to be interrupted to fix it.  

Boom Mics;

Microphones placed on a boom arm are very versatile and are used in both studio and mobile settings. The main advantage is that the interviewee participants don't need to be rigged for audio or worry about mics, and the sound operator is in full control. The microphone is usually a shotgun (very directional) mic which can easily be pointed to any speaker or other sound.

The boom operator and camera operator need to work together to make sure the mic stays out of camera shot.

From my experience the only disadvantages of a Boom Mic is the amount of wiring needed to coil around the boom pole, it can become loose and is very annoying. Also, the wiring can sometimes swing knocking the boom pole and this sound can be picked up.

PZM (Pressure Zone) Mics

PZM mics are useful when a number of participants are seated around a table. The mic is placed in the middle of the table and can pick up all speakers.

Radio Mics

This type of microphone can be plugged into a small battery-powered radio transmitter and sent to a receiver at the recording end. This frees the interviewer and guest from the restraints of audio cables. It also means the participants can be a long way from the camera (which would obviously be on a long zoom).

Built-in Camera Mic

This sound was recommended but only in desperate situations. I would advise anyone not to use this kind of mic as it is unlikely to produce good interview sound.