Foley (filmmaking)

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A Foley artist at work, dropping a bowling ball onto a hard surface to create a heavy thud. Foley Room at the Sound Design Campus (cropped).jpg
A Foley artist at work, dropping a bowling ball onto a hard surface to create a heavy thud.

In filmmaking, Foley [a] is the reproduction of everyday sound effects that are added to films, videos, and other media in post-production to enhance audio quality. [1] Foley is named after sound-effects artist Jack Foley. [2] Foley sounds are used to enhance the auditory experience of a movie. They can be anything from the swishing of clothing and footsteps to squeaky doors and breaking glass. Foley can also be used to cover up unwanted sounds captured on the set of a movie during filming, such as overflying airplanes or passing traffic. [3]

Contents

Places where the Foley process takes place are often referred to as a Foley stage or Foley studio. A Foley artist recreates the realistic ambient sounds that are portrayed in the film. The props and sets of a film often do not react the same way acoustically as their real-life counterparts, requiring filmmakers to Foley the sounds. [3] The best Foley art is so well integrated into a film that it goes unnoticed by the audience. [3] It helps to create a sense of reality within a scene. Without these crucial background noises, movies feel unnaturally quiet and uncomfortable.

History

An early sound effects man (center right) adding effects to a live radio play in the 1920s. He holds an effects board with which he can simulate ringing telephones and closing doors. Broadcasting a radio play at NBC studio.jpg
An early sound effects man (center right) adding effects to a live radio play in the 1920s. He holds an effects board with which he can simulate ringing telephones and closing doors.

What is now called Foley originated as adding sounds to live broadcasts of radio drama from radio studios around the world in the early 1920s. Phonograph recordings of the era were not of sufficient quality or flexibility to faithfully reproduce most sound effects on cue, so a sound effects person had to create all sounds for radio plays live. Jack Donovan Foley [4] started working with Universal Studios in 1914 during the silent movie era. When Warner Studios released The Jazz Singer , its first film to include sound, Universal knew it needed to stay competitive and called for any employees who had radio experience to come forward. [4] Foley became part of the sound crew that turned Universal's then-upcoming "silent" musical Show Boat into a musical. Because microphones of the time could not pick up more than dialogue, other sounds had to be added in after the film was shot. [4] Foley and his small crew projected the film on a screen while recording a single track of audio that captured their live sound effects. [4] Their timing had to be perfect, so that footsteps and closing doors synchronized with the actors' motions in the film. Jack Foley created sounds for films until his death in 1967. [4] His basic methods are still used today.

When Warner Brothers introduced the Vitaphone, allowing for sound to be synchronized to the moving picture, it included a musical score and sound effects in its 1926 film Don Juan . [5]

Modern Foley art has progressed as recording technology has progressed. Today, sounds do not have to be recorded live on a single track of audio. They can be captured separately on individual tracks and carefully synchronized with their visual counterpart. [6] Foley studios employ hundreds of props and digital effects to recreate the ambient sounds of their films.

Uses

Foley complements or replaces sound recorded on set at the time of the filming, known as field recording. The soundscape of most films uses a combination of both. A Foley artist is the person who creates this sound art. Foley artists use creativity to make viewers believe that the sound effects are actually real. The viewers should not be able to realize that the sound was not actually part of the filming process itself.

Foley sounds are added to the film in post-production after the film has been shot. [7] The need for replacing or enhancing sounds in a film production arises from the fact that, very often, the original sounds captured during shooting are obstructed by noise or are not convincing enough to underscore the visual effect or action. For example, fist-fighting scenes in an action movie are usually staged by the stunt actors and therefore do not have the actual sounds of blows landing. Props, sets, and costumes are often constructed of relatively cheap and lightweight materials that visually resemble but do not actually sound like more expensive materials. Crashes and explosions are often added or enhanced at the post-production stage. The desired effect is to add back to the original soundtrack the sounds that were excluded during recording. By excluding these sounds during field recording, and then adding them back into the soundtrack during post-production, the editors have complete control over how each noise sounds, its quality, and the relative volume. [8] Foley effects add depth and realism to the audio quality for multimedia sources. [1]

Foley artists review the film as it runs to figure out what sounds they need to achieve the desired sound and results. Once they gather the material and prepare for use, they practice the sounds. When they accomplish the desired sound, they watch the film and add in the sound effects at the same time. This is similar to the way actors re-record dialogue, lip-syncing to the video or film image.

Scenes where dialogue is replaced using dubbing also feature Foley sounds. Automatic dialogue replacement (ADR) is the process in which voice sounds are recorded in post production. This is done by a machine that runs the voice sounds with the film forward and backward to get the sound to run with the film.[ citation needed ] The objective of the ADR technique is to add sound effects into the film after filming, so the voice sounds are synchronized. Many sounds are not added at the time of filming, and microphones might not capture a sound the way the audience expects to hear it. [9]

The need for Foley rose dramatically when studios began to distribute films internationally in countries that mandated dialogue to be dubbed in their respective language. As the actor's voices are muted in order to make way for the voice actors, all incidental sounds recorded on-location are lost as a result of them being captured with the same equipment as the dialogue.

Creation

Foley is created by the sound artist mimicking the actual sound source in a recording studio. [3] Often there are many little sound effects that happen within any given scene of a movie. The process of recording them all can be time-consuming.

Foley art can be broken down into three main categories — feet, moves, and specifics. [3]

Feet

A set of wooden stairs used by foley artists on a Greek radio station Stairs hard sound effect device.JPG
A set of wooden stairs used by foley artists on a Greek radio station

This category entails the sound of footsteps. [3] To make the sound of walking down a staircase, Foley artists stomp their feet on the floor or a much smaller staircase while watching the footage to remain in sync with the actor. Foley studios carry many different types of shoes and several different types of floors to create footstep sounds. [6] These floors, known as Foley Pits, [10] vary from marble squares to gravel and rock pits. Creating just the right sound of footsteps can greatly enhance the feel of a scene. Foley Artists are often referred to as "Foley Walkers" or "Steppers" when working in the "feet" subset of Foley. [11]

Moves

The "moves" category makes up many of the more subtle sounds heard in films, such as the swishing of clothing when two actors walk past each other, for example. [3] This sound is created by rubbing two pieces of the same material together near the microphone at the same rate that the actor's legs cross. [6] Cloth is not always used and tends to be recorded at the discretion of the dubbing mixer who ultimately controls the final outcome of the audio post-production process.

Specifics

Foley can also include other sounds, such as doors closing and doorbells ringing; however, these tend to be done more efficiently using stock sound effects, arranged by sound editors.

Foley effects help the viewer judge the size of a space. For example, a large hall has strong reverberation, while a small room may have only slight reverberation. [3]

Common tricks

In Star Wars , Ben Burtt introduced a number of custom effects used for the franchise. The light saber buzz was a film projector motor mixed with television picture tube hum and further mixed. Blasters were based on the sound of taut radio tower guy-wires being struck with items such as small wrenches, Darth Vader's breathing on a diving regulator. The TIE fighter swoosh is a mix of slowed-down elephant herd noises and cars driving through water, Chewbacca's voice includes the moaning of a walrus stranded in a dry pool along with other animal vocalization, and R2-D2's booping talk includes Burtt's own voice mixed in with the synthesized sounds to humanize its robotic affect. [12]

The Firesign Theatre, a comedic radio play troupe, occasionally broke the fourth wall to poke fun at these conventions ("It had been snowing in Santa Barbara ever since the top of the page and I had to shake the cornstarch off my mukluks"), [13] as did comedy players Monty Python in their film Monty Python and the Holy Grail , which included a running joke of knights pretending to ride horses as squires followed behind, clapping coconut halves. [14]

See also

Notes

  1. ↑ "Foley" is capitalized because it is the last name of Jack Foley. It is capitalized in the Merriam-Webster dictionary and the Oxford dictionary. Foley - Merriam-Webster Dictionary, Foley - Oxford Dictionary

Related Research Articles

A film crew is a group of people, hired by a production company, for the purpose of producing a film or motion picture. The crew is distinguished from the cast, as the cast are understood to be the actors who appear in front of the camera or provide voices for characters in the film. The crew is also separate from the producers, as the producers are the ones who own a portion of either the film studio or the film's intellectual property rights. A film crew is divided into different departments, each of which specializes in a specific aspect of the production. Film crew positions have evolved over the years, spurred by technological change, but many traditional jobs date from the early 20th century and are common across jurisdictions and filmmaking cultures.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Voice-over</span> Non-diegetic speech in media

Voice-over is a production technique used in radio, television, filmmaking, theatre, and other media in which a descriptive or expository voice that is not part of the narrative accompanies the pictured or on-site presentation of events. The voice-over is read from a script and may be spoken by someone who appears elsewhere in the production or by a specialist voice actor. Synchronous dialogue, where the voice-over is narrating the action that is taking place at the same time, remains the most common technique in voice-overs. Asynchronous, however, is also used in cinema. It is usually prerecorded and placed over the top of a film or video and commonly used in documentaries or news reports to explain information.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sound effect</span> Artificially created or enhanced sound

A sound effect is an artificially created or enhanced sound, or sound process used to emphasize artistic or other content of films, television shows, live performance, animation, video games, music, or other media.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Voice acting</span> Performing voice-overs to represent a character or provide information

Voice acting is the art of performing a character or providing information to an audience with one's voice. Performers are often called voice actors/actresses in addition to other names. Examples of voice work include animated, off-stage, off-screen, or non-visible characters in various works such as films, dubbed foreign films, anime, television shows, video games, cartoons, documentaries, commercials, audiobooks, radio dramas and comedies, amusement rides, theater productions, puppet shows, and audio games.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Audio mixing</span> Combining input sources to output channels

Audio mixing is the process by which multiple sounds are combined into one or more audio channels. In the process, a source's volume level, frequency content, dynamics, and panoramic position are manipulated or enhanced. This practical, aesthetic, or otherwise creative treatment is done in order to produce a finished version that is appealing to listeners.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Production sound mixer</span> Member of a film crew or television crew

A production sound mixer, location sound recordist, location sound engineer, or simply sound mixer is the member of a film crew or television crew responsible for recording all sound recording on set during the filmmaking or television production using professional audio equipment, for later inclusion in the finished product, or for reference to be used by the sound designer, sound effects editors, or Foley artists. This requires choice and deployment of microphones, choice of recording media, and mixing of audio signals in real time.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Recording studio</span> Facility for sound recording

A recording studio is a specialized facility for recording and mixing of instrumental or vocal musical performances, spoken words, and other sounds. They range in size from a small in-home project studio large enough to record a single singer-guitarist, to a large building with space for a full orchestra of 100 or more musicians. Ideally, both the recording and monitoring spaces are specially designed by an acoustician or audio engineer to achieve optimum acoustic properties.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Clapperboard</span> Device used to aid in the syncing of audio with a moving image

A clapperboard, also known as a dumb slate, clapboard, film clapper, film slate, movie slate, or production slate, is a device used in filmmaking, television production and video production to assist in synchronizing of picture and sound, and to designate and mark the various scenes and takes as they are filmed and audio-recorded. It is operated by the clapper loader. It is said to have been invented by Australian filmmaker F. W. Thring. Due to its ubiquity on film sets, the clapperboard is frequently featured in behind-the-scenes footage and films about filmmaking, and has become an enduring symbol of the film industry as a whole.

A sound editor is a creative professional responsible for selecting and assembling sound recordings in preparation for the final sound mixing or mastering of a television program, motion picture, video game, or any production involving recorded or synthetic sound. The sound editor works with the supervising sound editor. The supervising sound editor often assigns scenes and reels the sound editor based on the editor's strengths and area of expertise. Sound editing developed out of the need to fix the incomplete, undramatic, or technically inferior sound recordings of early talkies, and over the decades has become a respected filmmaking craft, with sound editors implementing the aesthetic goals of motion picture sound design.

Sound design is the art and practice of creating soundtracks for a variety of needs. It involves specifying, acquiring or creating auditory elements using audio production techniques and tools. It is employed in a variety of disciplines including filmmaking, television production, video game development, theatre, sound recording and reproduction, live performance, sound art, post-production, radio, new media and musical instrument development. Sound design commonly involves performing and editing of previously composed or recorded audio, such as sound effects and dialogue for the purposes of the medium, but it can also involve creating sounds from scratch through synthesizers. A sound designer is one who practices sound design.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sound stage</span> Soundproof, hangar-like structure, building, or room, used for theatrical film-making

A sound stage is a large, soundproof structure, building or room with large doors and high ceilings, used for the production of theatrical film-making and television productions, usually located on a secured movie or television studio property.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Lip sync</span> Matching a speaking or singing persons lip movements to an audio recording

Lip sync or lip synch, short for lip synchronization, is a technical term for matching a speaking or singing person's lip movements with sung or spoken vocals.

Filmmaking or film production is the process by which a motion picture is produced. Filmmaking involves a number of complex and discrete stages, beginning with an initial story, idea, or commission. Production then continues through screenwriting, casting, pre-production, shooting, sound recording, post-production, and screening the finished product before an audience, which may result in a film release and exhibition. The process is nonlinear, as the director typically shoots the script out of sequence, repeats shots as needed, and puts them together through editing later. Filmmaking occurs in a variety of economic, social, and political contexts around the world, and uses a variety of technologies and cinematic techniques to make theatrical films, episodic films for television and streaming platforms, music videos, and promotional and educational films.

Television crew positions are derived from those of film crew, but with several differences.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Field recording</span> Audio recording produced outside a recording studio

Field recording is the production of audio recordings outside recording studios, and the term applies to recordings of both natural and human-produced sounds. It can also include the recording of electromagnetic fields or vibrations using different microphones like a passive magnetic antenna for electromagnetic recordings or contact microphones, or underwater field recordings made with hydrophones to capture the sounds and/or movements of whales, or other sealife. These recordings are often regarded as being very useful for sound designers and foley artists.

Wild track, also known as wild sound and wild lines, is an audio recording intended to be synchronized with film or video but recorded separately. Generally, the term "wild track" refers to sound recorded on the set or location of a film, such as dialogue, sound effects, or ambient or environmental noise gathered without cameras rolling. Wild tracks of dialogue are often recorded if dialogue could not be properly obtained during filming due to the presence of devices that produce noise, such as wind machines.

Audio post-production is all stages of audio production relating to sound produced and synchronized with moving picture. It involves sound design, sound effects, Foley, ADR, sound editing, audio mixing, mastering, etc.

A re-recording mixer in North America, also known as a dubbing mixer in Europe, is a post-production audio engineer who mixes recorded dialogue, sound effects and music to create the final version of a soundtrack for a feature film, television program, or television advertisement. The final mix must achieve a desired sonic balance between its various elements, and must match the director's or sound designer's original vision for the project. For material intended for broadcast, the final mix must also comply with all applicable laws governing sound mixing.

Wylie Stateman is an American sound director, supervising sound editor, sound designer, and post production media entrepreneur. Stateman has supervised over 150 sound projects, resulting in 9 Academy Award nominations, 6 BAFTA Awards, 3 Primetime Emmy Awards, and over 30 Motion Picture Sound Editor Awards. He also received a Science Technology award from the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences in 1994 for Audio Track’s Advanced Data Encoding (ADE) System. In 2021 he won an Emmy Award for his sound design in Netflix’s original series The Queen's Gambit.

A mixing engineer is responsible for combining ("mixing") different sonic elements of an auditory piece into a complete rendition, whether in music, film, or any other content of auditory nature. The finished piece, recorded or live, must achieve a good balance of properties, such as volume, pan positioning, and other effects, while resolving any arising frequency conflicts from various sound sources. These sound sources can comprise the different musical instruments or vocals in a band or orchestra, dialogue or Foley in a film, and more.

References

  1. 1 2 Stinson, Jim (July 1999). "Real-time Sound Effects: The Foley Way". Videomaker.com. Archived from the original on 7 September 2009. Retrieved 20 May 2010.
  2. ↑ Almo, Laura (1 February 2016). "Why Is It Called 'Foley' Anyway?". Cinemontage. Archived from the original on 13 June 2018. Retrieved 13 June 2018. The art remained in the shadows for many years. A function of history and tradition, Foley artists, as they came to be named, never received screen credit. Around the 1970s, sound editors were doing their own syncing (as it was called before becoming officially known as Foley), and realized they could hire outsiders to do this time-consuming and specialized work.
  3. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 Singer, Philip R. "Art of Foley". Marblehead Publishing Co. Web. 1 July 2010. "Art of Foley". Archived from the original on 9 August 2012. Retrieved 9 August 2012.
  4. 1 2 3 4 5 All Things Considered. "Jack Foley: Feet to the Stars Archived 15 September 2017 at the Wayback Machine : NPR:" National Public Radio: Mar.–Apr. 2000. Web. 2 July 2010.
  5. ↑ Wiener, Anna (23 June 2022). "Noisemakers". The New Yorker. 98 (19) (published 4 July 2022): 29.
  6. 1 2 3 Bloom, Leslie. "YouTube – Leslie Bloome – Foley Artist." YouTube – Broadcast Yourself. Nov.–Dec. 2009. Web. 1 July 2010. Video on YouTube
  7. ↑ Sound Ideas. "What is Foley? by Skevos Mavros". Sound Ideas. Archived from the original on 3 June 2010. Retrieved 20 May 2010.
  8. ↑ Sound Ideas. "Mavros, Skevos. "Sound Ideas – What is Foley?." MavArt Productions 2000 Web.10 Jul 2009". Sound-ideas.com. Archived from the original on 3 June 2010. Retrieved 20 May 2010.
  9. ↑ Pramaggiore, Maria, and Tom Wallis. Film: A Critical Introduction. 2 ed. London: Laurence King Publishing Ltd., 2008. Print.
  10. ↑ "Foley Construction – Noah Bonds". npbonds.com. Archived from the original on 8 December 2015.
  11. ↑ "The Art of Foley – Feet". marblehead.net. Archived from the original on 17 January 2016.
  12. ↑ Grierson, Tim (24 February 2016). "How 6 of Star Wars' Iconic Sounds Were Conceived". Popular Mechanics. Retrieved 17 February 2021.
  13. ↑ Tiano, Mike (22 June 2015). "Phil Austin of the Firesign Theatre (1941–2015): An Appreciation". Something Else. Retrieved 17 February 2021.
  14. ↑ Hutchinson, Sean (16 June 2015). "15 Facts about Monty Python and the Holy Grail". Mental Floss. Retrieved 17 February 2021.
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