Saturday 21 May 2016

A&D P.2 - Foley


A Foley Artist 'recreates' sound effects for film, television and radio productions on a Foley Stage in a post production studio.

Using many different kinds of shoes and lots of props - car fenders, plates, glasses, chairs, and just about anything I find at the side of the road - the Foley Artist can replace original sound completely or augment existing sounds to create a richer track.

Almost every motion picture and television show you have ever seen contains a Foley track!

On a film set nothing is real - the sword is made of plastic, the marble floor is painted plywood. Foley replaces or enhances that live sound; the result is a sword that rings like metal and floors that echo like marble!
During filming, the location sound recordist tries to capture only the dialogue. Microphones are keenly positioned on set to record even an actors slightest whisper without the background noises from camera and crew. Foley helps to add back in that layer of sound to produce a rich and realistic track.

Foley does not cover sounds like car engines, explosions or other mechanical stuff - driving a car around in the studio or blowing up a building is usually not possible although we have tried! We don't do birds, laser blasts, dog barks or rain storms either!

These are the domain of the Sound FX editor who draws upon a sampled Sound FX library and computer technology. Everything from helicopters to thunder can be layered and mixed in to an SFX track.


Philip (n.d) The art of Foley - what is it? Available at: http://www.marblehead.net/foley/whatisitman.html (Accessed: 05 May 2016)

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