Foley sounds

Foley

 

Foley is a technological process by which sounds are created or altered for use in a film, video or other electronically produced work. It requires a Foley artist who is situated in a studio and recreates or alters the sound projected in a film.  Foley requires major attention to detail, for example the type of shoe presented in the scene such as trainers of high heels presented on the type of textured ground seen in the clip i.e. grass, mud, concrete, brick or laminate flooring etc. All these different types of sound that would be created are re-recorded to really amplify the sound so when put into perspective within the film it adds such an effect, building texture, timbre and dynamics. For what typically could be expressed as an empty scene without works of Foley, now when Foley is fully applied, subtle sounds such as the touching of clothing, hands on tables and the different surfaced objects, we are able to amplify the effect and the impact in which sound engineers aim to create within film is for filled.

 

 Foley sounds are added to the film in post production after the film has been shot. 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 thwarted by noise or are not convincing enough to emphasize 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.

 

 The imitation of daily sound effects which are added in post production to improve the quality of audio for films, television, video, video games and radio, in the best quality productions is suppose to be so well integrated, that it goes unnoticed by the audience.  Without these crucial background noises, movies feel abnormally quiet and uncomfortable, therefore the Foley artists look to recreate the realistic, natural ambient sounds that the film portrays. The viewers should not be able to realize that the sound was not actually part of the filming process itself.

 

 

 

 

 

The props and sets of a film do not react the same way acoustically as their real life counterparts. Foley sounds are used to enhance the auditory experience of the movie.  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, its effects add depth and realism to the audio quality.

 

An animated film that features the works of Foley in its entirety is presented within 'Ratatouille'. This film really expresses the art of Foley, as when extracting the background music as well as the voice over’s, we are able to really identify how much Foley impacts the film as all the different sound effects that come together, such as the simple walking of the rats upon the different textured surfaces, the touching of the different surfaces such as table tops, food, hair etc, altogether with the aid of Foley helps to amplify and create a sense of reality within scenes as we able to capture the pragmatism of a cartoon based movie.

 The “Feet” category entails the sound of footsteps. so in example when we see the chase of the 'man' and ‘rat’ down a concrete road in Italy, in actually fact the audience hears are two Foley artists stamping their feet on a concrete slab in a recording studio, using shoes for the man and a thin metallic object to create the scratching effect of the rats claws on a hard dense façade. This is completed whilst watching the footage to make sure that their foot strikes happen correspondent to the actor’s steps on the screen. Foley studios carry many different types of shoes and several different types of floors to create the footstep sounds. These floors vary from marble squares to gravel and rock pits. Creating the right sound of footsteps greatly enhanced the feel of this scene as it helped the audience get a better sense of the realism created within the animated film. Ratatouille directed by Brad Bird's, is a family adventure movie, it is a rare animated film that could just as easily captivate an audience full of childless adults. Granted, the world of haute French cuisine is an unlikely setting for a kid-friendly flick, but Bird’s makes it irresistible.

 

 

 

 

The story doesn't have the emotional depth of The Incredibles or Finding Nemo , but the animation is every bit just as impressive. Every scene of the chefs shredding, peeling, dicing, and stirring is vibrant and layered with the help of Foley. it helps create moments within the film which really captures the audience’s attention. For example:  the moment Ego tastes the  dish, due to the works of Foley every hint of movement and sound emulated at this point in the film , the audience is able extract a visual reference that exerts the surprise of the astounding, delicious taste that ‘birds’ wanted the audience to sense.

 

 

 

A non animated film that features that work of Foley is presented within ‘Kick ass 2’. This dramatized film features hints throughout all scenes to fully implode a chaotic effect towards the audience.  The small hints of Foley throughout all scenes are done to maintain a sense of realism in the film and suspend the audience's disbelief. The effect that Foley brings to ‘Kick ass 2’ is that it amplifies movements, sounds and actions shaped by the actors to magnify the drama happening. The smaller hints of Foley helps de-clutter lost actions and sounds and help the audience identify the important parts of the film because it is an energetic, upbeat film with a lot of effective dramatic scenes so with the work of Foley small parts of the film that would go unseen and unnoticed are given the opportunity to be known. This helps altogether affect the film to be one of the best, wild films yet that makes the audience want to experience it for themselves.

 Director ‘Jeff Wadlow’ aimed to create this experience for the audience and with Foley in scenes such as (0.21s) when the girl is kicking the guy in a play fight experience, we are able to hear a blown up sound which was rerecorded to capture the sound of the trainer shoe knock against the boy’s body. It creates the same effects just like when seen in animation as it helps fill the scenes are make all sounds, movements and actions noticed to a non action thriller based film.


 

Another example of Foley within Kick ass 2, is at (0.36s) where we are able to hear the sound of the ‘numb chucks’ pound onto thick jackets. This sound heard is deeper and louder to what would be actually heard in real life. This is due to the rerecording of the ‘pound’ in a studio and because of the material of the jacket; the sound is quite muffled and doesn’t resonate/vibrate far. This effect helps capture smaller elements such like this one, to help bring the actions and movements of sound back and give them the energy they would have lost through the filming stages.

 

 

 

 

 

Lastly the effect of Foley is also presented with ‘Cat woman’. This action adventure film by Director ‘Pitof’ fully captures the artistry of Foley because it demonstrates each different action and sound by increasing the volume, pitch and dynamic of the sound through rerecording. For example, Foley is at work at the scene where ‘Halle Berry’ (Cat woman) walks across a building roof where we can hear the sound of her high heeled shoe step onto a concrete textured surface floor. This dramatizes the scene, isolating that sound of her footsteps to fill up that particular scene to create suspense and tension for the audience as they watch in awe as they watch her confidently walk on the edge of a high raised building.

 

 

 

 

A bad example of Foley not fully in use with ‘Cat woman is at 0.01 (Cat woman vs. Laurel Hedare) where towards the end of the film at the last fight scene when character ‘Laurel Hedare’ enters the room, where we are able to hear the work of Foley isolating the sound of her heel on top of a marbled surface floor. This effect helps build up the tension but is shortly removed and no longer heard once cat woman enters at (0.21) whereby the sound of ‘Laurels’ heels are not heard at all. This shortly distracts the audience from a once filled dramatic scene, to an empty’s lost scene with no footsteps or narrative or speech. By doing this is looses the effect and empties the scene, losing the audiences capture to it and their suspense.  Therefore by not fully adding the works of Foley throughout all scenes is can irritate the audience as it builds up other motions and movements but not all therefore subtracting other great moments in film and sound.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Overall Foley is used effectively to create enigma for the audience. It can be said that the Foley is a hyper-realistic sound, as it is over exaggerated to confuse the audience/ and remind the audience that something else is occurring. The nature of this hyper-realistic sound not only makes the clip enigmatic but also links to the media narrative that is in use. It can also be said that the Foley is a point-of audition sound, as it reveals the sounds that the actors can hear.