The Art of Foley

The Art of Foley

Foley is the reproduction of everyday sound effects which are added in post-production to enhance the quality of audio for films, television, video, video games and radio. Everyday sounds including footsteps and the cracking of glass can be replicated after with sound specialists making the sounds in a studio using objects and themselves. The best Foley art is so well integrated into a film that it goes unnoticed by the audience. It helps to create a sense of reality within a scene. Without these crucial background noises, movies feel unnaturally quiet and uncomfortable.

Foley artists look to recreate the realistic ambient sounds that the film portrays. 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. Foley can also be used to cover up unwanted sounds captured on the set of a movie during filming, such as overflying airplanes or passing traffic. In the locations that me and my group will be filming in, there will be a significant amount of unwanted noise including cars and other background noise however with Foley being used within the editing, the unwanted noise can be erased and other sounds that have been recorded afterwards can be included instead.

I believe that if used in the right way, Foley can be extremely effective in a production such as an opening sequence as it can change a piece of filming from an average standard to a piece of high quality in a matter of hours.