Foley Sounds

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Foley is a term used to describe the re-created sounds caused by characters as they move around in a scene. The name originates from the man who invented the process, Jack Foley, who worked for Universal Pictures during the transition from silent movies to the early "talkies." Foley would be called in to record sound effects tracks for silent movies that were being converted into talking pictures. As the silent movie had no audio to begin with, Foley would have to create all the action sounds for the entire movie. His technique of watching the film and reenacting the action moves is the basis for foley recording as we know it today. Figure 2.3 shows what a foley studio looks like.

Figure 2.3. Enterprise Post's Foley Studio. Notice the pits used to contain different materials used for making footsteps and other sounds.

Foley Artists and Stages

In order to add these re-created action sounds to a scene, you first need a person capable of simulating the scene using props that will make the correct sounds. These people, like Philip Singer, pictured in Figure 2.4, are called foley artists . Next, you need a space filled with the appropriate props where the foley artist can view the scene while recording footsteps, clothing sounds, door openings, and such. This is called the foley stage and it can be quite an interesting place to see. For instance, during the recording of a fight scene you might see telephone books used for body punches or a staple gun used to imitate a real gun. We'll explore the foley stage in depth in Chapter 4, "Getting Started with Pro Tools and Video."

Figure 2.4. Philip Rodrigues Singer, a foley artist, hard at work on the foley stage.

Creating Foley with Sampling and FX Libraries

When budgets are tight and you don't have access to a foley stage, sound effect libraries can help you put a foley track together. However, it can be quite tedious to use the same 14 footsteps on a CD for an entire movie! Placement of each footstep must be done one by one. Samplers can be used to make the most of pre-recorded sounds. For instance, a sampler can pitch footsteps up or down to provide variations and help them sound more realistic. Samplers can also be played in real time, allowing for quicker placement to the picture.

Foley from Wild Production Audio

Often it can be advantageous to gather foley sounds on location at the film shoot in order to capture the ambience of that space. This way, footsteps and other foley elements will have the same ambience as the dialog for that scene. Plus, you can use unique items such as very large doors or fixed mechanical items that cannot be brought into a studio. Be aware that sets might not be built out of material that sounds right. For example, plywood floors might be painted to look like marble, but onscreen you want to hear the footsteps as if they are walking on marble. Real life locations like the one in Figure 2.5 provide the best opportunity to capture ambience and sounds that will match the scene that was shot there.

Figure 2.5. Here I am on location, gathering sounds of American bison for use in a museum exhibit in Florida. I recorded these sounds directly to a laptop computer for easier importing into Pro Tools.

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