THE UNSUNG ART OF FOLEY

Props used for the art of foley

The sound effects of everyday life that we hear in movies, videos and other media is called FOLEY. It is basically added in the post-production stage to enhance the audio quality of the video/film. These sounds are used to create a sense of realness within a scene. Without these important background scores, movies feel incomplete and uncomfortable.

History of Foley

History

A wide range of live sound effects were developed in the early 1920's for live broadcasts of radio dramas in radio studios across the globe. These sound effects are now known as Foley. These sounds were created live by a sound effects person since there were no effective recording mediums back in the day.

The first movie to include such sounds was Warner studio’s The Jazz Singer, which was done by Jack Foley and crew, who recorded a single track of these sound effects live while projecting the movie on screen. This is the same technique used in today’s time

Jack Foley

Foley: The Man Himself

The creation of live sound effects was first devised by Jack Donovan Foley, a pioneer in this field and hence the technique is named after him. Before he was hired by the Universal Studios in 1914 during the silent movie era, Foley worked in the radio industry for many years. Jack used to record all the sound effects for a given reel at one time. “Jack would add the footsteps, various other sounds, movement in one track. He would use a cane and his own feet to create the sound of two or three people walking. He simulated movement sounds with the help of a large cloth.” In the span of his illustrious career Foley received many awards including the Golden Reel Award, voted by his fellow sound effect practitioners and members of the Motion Picture Sound Editors. Jack passed away in 1967.

Modern Day Foley

Modern Foley

Till date the basic principle of Foley’s work still remains the same even with all the improvements and advancements in recording technology. Sounds can now be captured on individual tracks and then synchronized with the visuals. Foley studios has hundreds of props and digital effects to recreate the sounds of their films.

The Use Of Foley

Sometimes the original sounds during shoots are often blocked by noise or not convincing enough, hence they need to be replaced or enhanced post-production to justify the sequence on screen .The editors have complete control on how each noise sounds – quality and volume wise during post production which lifts the feel of the visuals.Foley effects add realism and depth to the audio and simplifies the synchronization of sounds

Creation

Foley art comprises of 3 main categories – feet, moves and specifics. They are created by carious sound artists duplicating the actual sound source in recording studios

Feet: The category comprises the sound of footsteps – either of 1 man or several people walking together. Moves: The “moves” category makes up many subtle sounds heard in films, for example, the swishing of clothing when two actors walk past each other, a paper crumbling, wind blowing etc Specifics: Foley also includes other sounds that are created with the use of props.