Foley

Interview with Foley Artist Amy Kane (Red belt)

2008-11-06T17:30:00.005+01:00

Excerpt from Film Sound Daily

FSD: Foley is such a performance art. What dramatic shooting techniques evolved along with your experience on the stage?

AK: There are still plenty of days (and I've been at Sony for a long, long time) when I still feel like it's my first day on the job, when I feel uncoordinated or unsure, but for the most part, the biggest change in any kind of "performance technique" would simply be the general ease with which I do my job now... I know how to walk differently for a 300 lb. man than for a small child, without having to think about it or looking too hard for the right pair of shoes...

The best thing I've ever learned is that it doesn't pay to cheat the sound, even if you are in a hurry. The sound of a fork on an empty plate just never sounds the same as a plate with a big mound of spaghetti (or whatever magic thing we use to sound like spaghetti) on it, that fork pushing through the food to hit the plate. An empty glass will always sound like an empty glass, so just fill it up for Pete's sake, even if it takes an extra five seconds. In playback, your ears will thank you.

FSD: What is one of your favorite props? How often does it appear in shows you do?

AK: I love leather... wait, that sounds wrong. We have a leather tool belt that Anita brought in that I love dearly. It sounds great for anything, whether it's a cop belt, to add to the sound of, say, branches swaying in the wind on a spooky night, or to add to a great saddle that we have. We also have a real pay-phone that we got when they finished the final show of "Party of Five." We don't use it often, but when we do, there’s nothing like it. From the sound of the disconnect, to the latch-thing, to the sound of coins dropping into its belly... Nice.

>> Read the complete article

Walter Murch on DIY Foley

2008-11-03T15:48:00.003+01:00

“When I started working on features,” says Walter Murch, “the idea of doing Foley was very exotic and nothing that we could afford. On The Rain People, Francis [Coppola] was shooting on location with the actors, and they were traveling across the country. At the end of the day, he would ask the actors to walk through all of the moves they made without saying anything. On THX [1138, George Lucas' first feature], I would put the Nagra somewhere and walk around duplicating the footsteps in a real space. We did versions of that on The Conversation and American Graffiti.

“On Godfather II,” Murch continues, “we'd figure out the rate at which the principal was walking, and we had a little portable electronic metronome, which we would set at that frame rate. I remember doing the footsteps for Fanucci where he comes up the stairs before he's killed by DeNiro [young Vito Corleone], and we found the marble staircases in the old Zoetrope building were very much like the staircases in that actual location. So, I set the metronome and I had my assistant at the top. I walked a couple of flights up, so you hear these footsteps coming from far away. They get closer and closer, which is the whole idea of the scene, and then I stopped, as Fanucci stopped, at the top. I said Fanucci's next line, and when we took the track and sunk it up, all of the footsteps sunk up. On the Foley track, you can hear my voice, and it exactly syncs with the lips of Fanucci.”

>> Excerpt from Foley goes to Sea by Michael Axinn Mix Magazine Aug 2001

Foley Recording

2008-11-03T15:26:00.004+01:00

Film Sound's Misunderstood Art
by Blair Jacksob Sept 2005 Mix Magazine

One of the most critical, yet underappreciated links of the film sound chain is Foley recording. You probably know the basics. It was named after the great Universal Studios sound man Jack Foley and covers an incredibly wide range of sounds that are added in post-production: everything from car door slams to footsteps, to garment rustles, to jingling keys, sloshing water, furniture moving, sword hits; you name it. Basically, Foley is everything that isn't covered by sound effects or through the production track. Occasionally, the Foley department will also supply the base sound materials for effects editors.

And though the work may seem simple as compared to, say, recording the sounds of Sherman tank treads on location (an effects task), it's actually a very demanding and precise job that, when done well, adds immeasurably to the success of a film's soundtrack. Recently, Mix spoke with three of the best Foley artists in the business to get a sense of the demands and peculiarities of this important craft.

>>Read the complete article

Interviews with foley artists John Roesch, Marnie Moore Marko Costanzo

Foley in King Kong

2008-11-03T11:58:00.004+01:00

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Foley on a Shoestring

2008-10-31T20:47:00.002+01:00

By Fred Ginsburg C.A.S. Ph.D.

The post-production process known as "Foley" refers to the art of recording "live" sync sound effects to picture. It is akin to looping the dialogue, but instead of recording the actors performing their lines while watching themselves on screen skilled craftspeople known as "Foley artists" will walk, run, and act out any sync sound effects to match what the actor is seen (or implied) doing in the picture.

Back in the golden era of Hollywood cinema, this was done routinely for three reasons. First off, because the microphones deployed on those early sound stages lacked sensitivity, and were lucky enough to just pick up the loud dialogue of the actors on the set. And yes, in those days, the actors performed all of their lines in a robust "stage voice". Even the "whispers" could be heard across the room! As for the quieter sounds (sound effects) that the actors made, such as footsteps, guns cocking, pens scribbling, pages turning, and so forth the mics could barely pick them up from the distances above the actors heads where the mics were positioned.

Secondly, due to the insensitivity of these early mics, or due to loud background noise the dialogue was often "looped" back at the studio. The looping or ADR process replaced the voices, but not the sound effects of the scene. So all of the sync sound effects had to be added to the soundtrack.

The third reason for Foley is somewhat related to the second, in that studios wanted to edit their films with foreign distribution in mind. If you dub an actor's voice from native English to anything else, then you will need to replace most of the sound effects as well. (at least any of them that were recorded simultaneously under the dialogue).

Adding Foley sound effects will add dimension and texture to your soundtrack. Sometimes, the sound itself becomes a critical part in the storytelling. For example, we see an actress hiding for her life in a closet. But we hear the footsteps and creaking floorboards of the intruder

If you are a major studio, the process of Foley recording involves a specialized recording studio known as the Foley Stage. The Foley Stage includes some manner of projection (film or video), along with the ability to record audio in sync with the picture. The studio itself features acoustic wall panels that are hard surfaced on one side (so that "interior" scenes will have some "hardwalled edge" to the sound) as well as a non-reflective soft side (for echo free "exteriors"). The floor of the studio is divided up into a grid pattern of Foley pits.

Foley pits are small areas covered or filled with a particular "surface", so as to be able to simulate footsteps. Examples of Foley pits would include carpet, hardwood, marble, cement, loose wood planking, metal sheeting, ceramic tile, loose dirt, gravel, sand, and water.

In addition to the pits, Foley stages also contain an assortment of common props and hardware, including doors, latches, light switches, drawers, and a ton of miscellaneous "toys" for simulating any noises that appear onscreen.

All that is wonderful if you have a large production budget. But what can be done without renting an elaborate facility?

Let's break down what we need and how to achieve it.

To start with, the heart of recording sync sound effects to picture is to be able to SEE the picture. Some computerized editing systems have the capability of allowing you to record audio while playing back the timeline. However, unless your edit bay is a private suite, that's not going to help you all that much. You will need a quiet and spacious environment to record in. A small edit room may be too cramped to work in, and the noise of the computer & cooling fans may pose serious obstacles.

So let's get the heck out of Dodge, as they say. For picture playback, you could use a portable laptop computer. Even better if your editing software will work on it, and if your software allows you to record audio while watching the picture. In that case, you would connect the line output from a mixing panel to the line input on your laptop, and record audio directly to the editing program.

But if your editing setup is not that sophisticated, there are ways around the problem.

A simple way to screen your picture for the foley artist is to make a DVD copy. Break the timeline into short segments, and make each of these its own "book" so that it is easy to re-play each segment. Play back your DVD on a laptop, or use a small DVD player and a portable video monitor (TV set with RCA inputs!).

To record your new sync soundtracks, use a camcorder along with a small mixing panel and some sensitive microphones. Shotgun mics are a good choice. We are re-recording your playback video (which might even include timecode numbers on screen) along with the new audio so that it will be easy for you to line up the Foley with your original timeline later on.

If your picture playback system (DVD or laptop) can provide an RCA or S-Video "analog" video feed to your camcorder, then we will set the camera to VTR mode and re-record your picture playback via the external A/V inputs. Do not use the firewire in/outs, as that will not allow you to bring in separate audio from picture!

If we are bringing in the picture via the external A/V inputs, then we have to use a mixing panel because the audio side of the A/V inputs wants to see LINE LEVEL audio, not mic level. In order to have the most control over the audio recording, I strongly recommend that you use a small mixing panel so that you have lots of gain (volume) for your mics (you are recording very subtle sounds) and some tone controls to make the recording sound "dramatic" when desired.

When you use the external A/V inputs in the VTR mode, the camera lens and the normal XLR or stereo mini EXT MIC inputs of the camera are disengaged. The camera acts strictly as a recording deck, and will only record what is connected to the A/V inputs!

If you cannot patch the output of your video playback directly into the camera (say, because the only video output of your computer is for a VGA or DVI computer monitor), we will go to Plan B.

Do not switch your camcorder to the VTR mode. Leave it in CAMERA mode. Just aim the camera lens at the computer screen or video monitor (TV set) to record your playback. Patch your audio into the normal XLR MIC inputs of your camera.

Now this is where you need to be careful. If you are plugging your microphone directly into the camera, just use the regular mic input settings. If you are plugging the output of the mixing panel into the camera, then set the MIC INPUT selector switch to LINE INPUT.

But if your camera does not have a switch for mic/line selection, then you have to use an audio adapter to reduce the output level of your mixing panel down to mic level. Some mixing panels offer you a choice of output levels via a switch. If not, then use an AUDIO ATTENUATOR (a small XLR to XLR barrel that will reduce your audio level by minus 40 or 50 dB).

If your camera does not have XLR inputs, but only has a stereo mini mic input, then you can use the audio adapter boxes such as those made by BeachTek or Sign Video to easily bring in an XLR LINE level signal.

Or, if you are using a simple XLR to stereo mini adapter cable, then you could use the ATTENUATOR described above to go between the output of the mixing panel and the camcorder.

Note: For more information on adapting mics and mixers to feed into camcorders, visit www.equipmentemporium.com.

Alright, then. We have a way of projecting our picture, and a way of recording the new audio in sync with that picture. Let's talk about some tricks for creating Foley.

Unless you are working with a very talented and agile dancer, it is usually a lot simpler to re-create footsteps, dancing, martial arts, or fancy footwork with your hands or fingers! Put the shoes over your hands rather than on your feet!

The sound of multiple actors is often best simulated by using your finger tips! If you need more texture, wear metal thimbles, baby shoes, or doll shoes.

Your desktop Foley pit only needs to be a small surface. One foot square single tiles work very well. For the sound of wood, try a large "grilling plank" normally used for cooking fish.

The sound of footsteps in the forest can be achieved by walking your fingers atop a bowl of uncooked rice. Add the sound of leaves and twigs by sprinkling some corn flakes over the rice, and then "walking" your fingers thru the mixture.

As you can imagine, you will want to keep your mics very close to the desktop, within several inches at most. Monitor carefully through a good pair of headphones.

Here are some more Foley tips.

Body stabs can be inflicted by driving a knife into a soft fruit, such as a grapefruit or small cantaloup.

The unsheathing of a sword can be enhanced by the sound of drawing the blade across a sharpening rod as the actor draws his weapon. (Sorry, but in real life, unsheathing is silent.)

A gun being cocked sounds like a ratchet wrench clicking.

A metal dog leash rattles just like chainmail.

Boiling oatmeal sounds like bubbling volcanic lava.

Electric fans can sound a lot like airplane engines.

Velcro can sound like clothes ripping.

You would be amazed what sounds can be created from just the junk in your desk drawer. Use your imagination and be creative. Close your eyes and listen to the audio from the headphone jack of your mixing panel or camcorder. Play with the tone controls.

Remember, that if you are planning to slow down a sound effect later on, all of the original audio will lose the high frequencies and gain in the bass range, so start off with more highs and very little bass when you record it.

Foley Artists perform live sounds while Craig Ferguson reads a children's book.

2008-10-20T09:01:00.007+02:00

Foley Artists James Moriana and Jeffrey Wilhoit show their Art.

Dennie Thorpe Foley Artist in Jurassic Park 1

2008-10-18T00:03:00.001+02:00

Monique Reymond - Foley Artist

2008-10-17T23:46:00.002+02:00

How do you define Foley?

I sit in a room with a microphone and an engineer records me making sounds for use in television or film. At a minimum, I cover all of the human sounds, by this I mean footsteps, hand pats and grabs, and props that the folks onscreen handle. This does not preclude animal sounds, we do animal footsteps and movement as well. There are sounds that are covered mainly by foley, and others by a sound editor that may be cut from a library. Who covers what is dictated by: time, budget and available resources. Sometimes, both Foley and effects will cover a particular sound and the re-recording mixer will use a combination of both. If it’s a big sound like a car crash, our tendency in Foley is to cover the debris from the crash as opposed to the actual impact, which a sound editor would cut in as a hard effect. If I have the time I may help the impact along, but I won’t be able to get as large of a sound as an editor can cut in from a library. We don’t generally do sounds like engines or motorized sounds.

I think most people would be surprised at the amount of Foley that gets done. How much Foley will you do on a feature? Do you do all the human sounds?

On a standard feature we do all of them. Some of the Foley “legends” will do far more than just the human sounds. They will do huge impacts for example, I heard about a foley artist that covered the sound of a train chugging along and screeching to a halt on the tracks for a film that featured a very long train sequence. The fact that they covered the train in foley instead of recording an actual train blew me away. Part of the reason they can do this is because they are very talented, but also it is because they have a stage that affords them a lot of space and a lot of really great large props, also they have the time to experiment and figure out how to create something as involved as that. They may have a month to do a film, which is generally not the case with me. Usually I do a feature length project in five days. I don’t have the time or the resources to experiment with that kind of thing. But it can go far beyond human sounds if you’ve got time.

Read the complete Interview at woody's sound advice

The importance of Foley

2008-10-12T02:20:00.004+02:00

What is Foley and Why Should You Care?

Here's everything you need to know about Foley.

Foley effects are sound effects that are easier and more efficient to perform to picture. You project the movie in a studio and one or two people actually perform the sound effects to the picture. The sound effects are recorded live and are used in the final movie.

The most common Foley sound effects are foot steps and clothing rustle. Some specific effects are actually much easier to do in Foley than cutting them individually. In Finding Forrester, there were lots of scenes with basketballs. The main character was a high school basketball player. It was much easier for us to have the Foley artists do the basketball dribbling for the movie then to sync each basketball hit by itself.

Foley is used mostly when you have to deliver a foreign mix of your movie. You use Foley footsteps when you can't use the footsteps on the production recordings because you have to remove the dialog so that it can be dubbed into whatever language a particular country uses.

We had the basketball effects on the dialog (or production) tracks and they were in sync. If there was any conversation going on during any of the dribbling, then when it came time to deliver the foreign version of the sound mix, we couldn't use any of the production basketball effects. There was dialog on it.

>> Read the full article at Angry filmmaker rants

Saving the movie with foley

Film Mix 1980's Quad Eight Console

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Foley Sound from Videomaker

2008-10-12T02:07:00.004+02:00

Videomaker - Foley Sound Basics

Mark covers the basics of recording foley sound.
videomaker.com

Videomaker - Foley Sound 2
Jennifer shows you how to make sound effects free of royalties and copyright problems