Foley-ing Around

News flash: rarely are sound effects and foley shot during the film recording. It was added after the video was captured and recorded in a separate location by a specific person in charge of recording them (audio mixer, music mixer, and sound effects mixer). This kind of audio can be broken up into a few different categories: Ambience (background noise), library effects (sound effects that can't be recorded on the set for one reason or another), and foley (sound effects of character actions/props). Foley originated from Vaudeville which was a series of theatrical performances that used drums and other instruments to add emphasis to movements. Later, Vaudeville was replaced by radio and moving pictures which used similar methods to help tell a story. Sound effects in moving pictures were revolutionized during the transition from silent film to talking film. Audiences began demanding sound from movies when Warner Bros. released the talking film Jazz Singer. There were issues however. Timing and synchronization were an issue. Jack Foley had a solution. He watched the films and recorded live sound effects to go along with them on a single track, since multiple tracks were unheard of at the time. Foley's process was called Direct-to-Picture before it was later renamed Foley in 1962. Now, the people in charge of the sound effects and foley meet with the director and discuss what needs to go where and when. This is done through cue sheets. Foley artists often record in special offices that contain various different types of surfaces to walk on and shoes and props, etc. Foley artists even use a variety of tricks to simulate the sounds that they can't (or shouldn't) make such as celery for breaking bones and coconuts for horse hooves (how did they get it? Birds?). Remember, sound is an important part of any production. You could have the best footage in the world but if the sound is crud, then the film will be crud too. Remember, effective use of audio can separate an amateur home movie from a piece of cinema.

 The article was informative and useful. I learned about the history of sound effects/foley and how to create such things. How difficult is it to sync up audio when it is clearly off sync? Audio is everywhere and it is hella important. Take just as much care of you audio as you do your video.