A shotgun microphone is a 'barrel' shaped mic with a hypercardioid pickup pattern that's used extensively in film and TV production to isolate the sound coming from a specific direction. Shotguns may be mounted on the camera, so they target the sound that the lens is pointing at, or attached to a telescopic boom pole. The boom allows them to be placed as close to the source as possible, while keeping the mic itself just out of frame. The mic is suspended on a shock-absorbing mount, so the boom can be moved and the mic directed at the sound source without creating any handling noise.