Foley
Definition
Foley is the art of creating and recording sound effects in a studio to replace or enhance the sounds that were not captured adequately during production. Named after Jack Foley, a pioneer of the craft at Universal Pictures, Foley artists use a wide variety of props and surfaces to recreate sounds like footsteps, clothing movement, door creaks, and the handling of objects. The Foley artist watches the picture on a screen and performs the sounds in sync with the action, recording them in a specialized Foley studio equipped with different floor surfaces (wood, concrete, gravel, carpet) and a vast collection of props.
Contextual Usage
The sound designer discusses the Foley requirements with the Foley artist: "The protagonist is a soldier, so we need very specific footsteps for each surface — boots on concrete, boots on gravel, boots on mud. We also need a lot of gear and equipment handling sounds — the rustling of the tactical vest, the sound of the rifle being handled. Let's spend the first session just on the footsteps and get those right."
About this section
Sound is arguably the most emotionally powerful element of the cinematic experience. Research consistently shows that audiences are more forgiving of poor picture quality than poor sound quality — a t...
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