In a dark, cavernous underground studio, men and women run, fight, jump, punch, break bones and rattle chains. No, it’s not a league of superheroes in a secret battle to save the world, but a group of Foley artists hard at work.
Foley is the exciting art of adding sound effects to a movie or television show in a recording studio. Sounds such as walking, punching, floors creaking and alien heads exploding (to name just a few), are all sounds the Foley artist often add long after the actors have gone home and long after the cameras have finished rolling.
Considered the unsung heroes of film and television, Foley artists, sometimes called “walkers” or “steppers”, are usually armed with various props and a “rough cut” of the movie they are working on. Underneath their feet is a floor that comes apart in sections, exposing various surfaces like gravel, concrete, wood, on which the Foley artist can walk or run exactly as the actor does on screen.
Scene after scene, the Foley artist recreates the movements of the actor, mimicking their actions perfectly. They wear the same fabric as the actor; they walk, run and jump at precisely the same time, performing the actor’s part in the movie without once showing their faces on the screen.
A Foley artist will also sometimes record other sounds called “specifics”, where he will smash fruit on concrete to sound like a punch, or pour water over leather to simulate rain dripping on the brim of a hat. Need the sound of a broken windshield wiper in a storm? Try jumping jacks in a pair of wet jeans.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UNvKhe2npMM
Now that you know of the existence of Foley, you can begin to watch movies differently. Imagine how dull your favourite movies would sound without the Foley artist’s work. The menacing click of Darth Vader’s boots as they approach Luke on the metal scaffolding? Gone.
To a Foley artist, finding something useful in the garbage is like winning the lottery. An old ladder, a chair, or a link of chain may come in handy in the studio. When stuck for a sound that cannot be recreated by normal standards, a Foley artist often has to use skills of imagination.
YOU CAN TRY IT TOO
These common actions are used to make certain realistic sounds!
Banging empty coconut shells: Galloping horses
Thumping watermelons together: Punching
Breaking celery in half: Bigger bones snapping
Crushing dry pasta: Smaller bones breaking
Squishing oranges: Blood spurting
Crunching cassette or video tape: Bushes or leaves
Walking on cornstarch: Snow crunching
Foley artists may not be your average hero, who fights super villains or super viruses, and they may not be saving the world by flying, but they are undoubtedly saving our movies from sounding dull. By simply doing their job, they are heroes of a different sort.