In film- and television-making, the boom operator is the member of the sound crew in charge of moving the boom microphone -- often colloquially known as the "big fuzzy thing on the end of a stick"; actually a microphone attached to a long pole, often with a wind shield to keep the extraneous noise down and account for the "fuzzy" look -- close enough to the onscreen noise source (actors, for example) to pick up the desired sound without getting the pretty microphone in the picture.

Also known as a sound recordist.

One has to wonder... do boom operators often brag about their "boom sticks"?