Foley Evaluation
For this work/project I had to do some research on Foley work and artist. I did this because it gave me the information on how Foley works differently in all medias like games, music, tv shows and in the film industry. What went well with this research is that it gave me a good idea on how Foley works and how Foley artist produce different sounds. To get this information I had to look at various different sources to see how Foley artist produce different sounds. The issue I had with this is that I was trying to look for more sources to look at and finding different source material to further enhance my research. This helped a lot because I found a few videos online that show how foley works and it gave me information on how they make the sounds even if it’s complex.
For the practical side of the work I had to record audio sounds and put them on a software called Garage Band. The equipment I had to use was an Audio Recorder and I also worked with other people as a group. What went well with this is that we could make sounds out of different objects and making a variety of sounds. What didn’t go so well with this is that we were running out of ideas but what did go well is that we had recorded a variety of different sounds. We used different objects and materials to work with for example we used a pencil to make drawing/shading sound and we would use a chair and move a it around to make sound like tractor noise and using tin can and putting a rock in it and shake it to make a rattling sound. After we finished recording the sounds, I had to re name each sound that I recorded to what I thought it sound like. The issues for this was that the group I was in recorded a lot of sounds and it took a lot time by listening to each sound and re naming what each recording sounded like. To fix this we could’ve record the sounds that we need instead recording a lot sound because it would’ve saved a lot time. Another issue we had is that for the recording part of it was that we had to make sure the recording of the sound was on point and making sure there weren’t any background noises or sounds that effected the recording part of the practical because some of the sound that we recorded had some background noises. In order to fix that after we finished recording, I cut certain section of the sounds to remove any background noises and when we were recording, we could’ve just gone into certain areas of the college where there are no sounds and is just quiet.
After renaming each sound I had to get a video file from Microsoft Teams and put it into Garage Band and I had to match each sound to the video. What went well with this is that I could choose any of the sound that I recorded and match it with the video. What didn’t go so well is that I had to look for different sound and see which one fit right and I also had to make the sound in sync with the video so I had to trim the sounds that I used and match it to each frame of the video. Another issue I had was that some parts of the video didn’t sound too good. To fix this problem I had to modify some parts of the sound and modify it to make sound effective. For example, I added a distortion effect to the moving chair sound to when the character is moving to make it sound more realistic and I also changed the pitch to make it deeper (Tin can sound). I also added little intricate details to make it sound more in sync and realistic. The problem I had with this whole editing process is that I had a huge variety of sounds to choose from. The problem was that I only used certain sounds and after I had finished editing the there were some I had to delete because they weren’t of any use for example, I had recording of a piano sound that didn’t come into use.
After adding the sound into the video, I had to upload my finished project to digital space. What didn’t go so well with this is that the file was too big and it wouldn’t let me upload. To fix this I had to upload the video file to YouTube and then using the link and putting into digital space. The problem I had with this Is that once I had uploaded it, I tested the video to make sure that everything was alright but the audio from the video was missing and I had uploaded the wrong file. To fix this is that I had to re upload the right file and put it into digital space and this time the audio wasn’t missing and everything had worked out fine.
If I were to re do this project what I would’ve done differently is that I could look more into the research element for this project and going into different sources to get more information about Foley and add a lot more source material to my research. Another thing I could’ve done differently is that when recording the foley sound I would make sure there were no background noises or sound so that the Audio recorder that I used would only capture the sound that I would make or want. What I also would do differently is that I would record less sound instead of having variety of sounds and recording the sound that I need because this way it would save a lot of time.
Foley research
Foley are used in the film industry to make sound effects in a scene. There several examples by making sound effects when it comes to Foley experiment like a door slamming and opening, clothes rustling, clinking, and folding paper. There are three types of categories when it comes to Foley experiment and that’s footsteps, movement, and props according to this website (Rothstein, 2020)Footsteps are the type of sound effects you use when the Foley artist use the same surface with similar shoes to recreate the footsteps. Prop are also used in films and tv shows as well as commercials. They use this because it has more of an effect on the scene and it is also creative because you can use any props to make it sound realistic for example if it’s raining you can use a carrier bag scrunching it you can make it sound like it’s raining or you could turn on tap at full max and making it sound like heavy rain. This makes it sound a lot more effective and realistic. It’s important to have a Foley artist to create sounds for movies, tv shows, games and music because it would feel a lot more effective and realistic and they do this because it can be done in a more creative way in all media. It’s important because if there were no Foley artist and no sound it would feel empty and blank.
Robotic sound: robotic sounds are another way to use as foley as you can use different sound in the film industry. Foley artist in film use a variety of props for a robot sound design to sound realistic and using more than prop to make it sound more effective and also they further enhancing this by recording the sounds and modifying it digitally by adding different effects and adding little intricate details to make sound more realistic and making fit with the character’s movement. (Insider, 2020)
How does foley work in the film industry: foley artist in the film industry are used in post-production. Post production in the film industry is a stage where filming the scenes are done and they start to edit those scenes. According to (Studio Binder 2020) Foley artist are used to make and create sound by using different props to enhance the audio. They do this because it makes sound more effective and realistic. Also after recording each foley sound they can add different effects to it to make fit with the scene.
Foley artist in games: Foley are also used in the games. Much like films foley artist are used in the post production of games to enhance the audio and quality but it’s a lot more harder according to (Amp.Amsterdam, 2020) Because it takes a lot more than just sitting in one studio and mixing track to get the exact audio for a specific type of sounds so they have to manually use objects to make a non-existing sound for example creating a sound for mythical giant creature that’s where foley artist can create their own idea because there is no existing sound for it. Foley artist can also use more than one and mixing the sounds together and adding effects to it to make it a lot more realistic.
Foley in music: Foley in music is also used because not only you are using instruments to make melody you can also use other props and objects to create different sounds, beats, and instrumentation. (Mancuso, 2020).You can also create certain sound design in music and make it work/in sync with the instruments and having a rhythm. (Mancuso, 2020)
How Foley are used for animal sound design: in movies Foley artist are used for sound design but it can be complex when sound designing for animals. This is done by using different props because you can match the movement and interaction with the sounds. When creating sounds for animals Foley artist usually use different props to make the sound. for example when creating sounds for a horse running Foley artist use rocks on a hard surface to catch the sound of a horse running or taking off. Foley artist also use coconut shells to make the sound of a horse galloping. Another example that Foley artist use for creating sound is for smaller insects like a fly. Creating a sound for a fly Foley artist usually use a hand held fan creating a buzzing sound to make it sound more like a fly flying away. To make this more efficient and effective and matching the insect movement is that they place their finger on the blade to make it sound more realistic and effective. They do this because they can adjust variation and movement of the fly. When creating sounds for animals it can be different because in some scenarios because in a movie the animal can grow overtime. For example a dog can grow overtime and the sounds can be different. Foley artist do this by using different props for example they would use a smaller collar for a smaller dog and matching it’s head movement and using a bigger chain for a big dog. For giant animals like mammoth Foley artist will use larger props like a log to match their footsteps. To do this Foley artist would have to create multiple sounds like gathering pebbles and twigs and using grass and the log to make it sound more realistic and capturing the sound of what the animal is stepping on. to further enhance this they layer each sound on top of each other making sound more realistic and effective. another example for creating a sound for animals is birds. Foley artist use feathers to capture the sound of the bird flying away also they would use gloves if there are more than one bird in a scene making it sound like a flee of birds flying away. To make this sound more effective they layer each sound and adding effects to it and mixing some of the sound making it sound realistic. (Insider, 2020)
How Foley were used in Horror movies: in horror movies Foley are used by using different props and equipment but the most notable horror movie that has used Foley is a quiet place. A quiet place is a movie about post apocalyptic world and there are monsters who are sensitive to sound. The way Foley was done in this movie was that they had make subtle sounds like footsteps. To do this the Foley artist had to stand on a soft surface of sand and making footstep noises that weren’t too loud. They had to do this because so that it creates more tension and suspense and it feels more realistic. In other scenes they had to make subtle footsteps sound by standing on pieces of wood to capture the sound and movement when the characters are walking. In other scenes the Foley artist had create sounds for the monsters movement and other and any other interaction the monster has. To do this they had to be more creative because they had to use certain props the captured the movement of the monster. By doing this the Foley artist had to use crab legs and twisting it around making a scrunching sound/cracking sound to match the movement of the monster walking. They also had to make the sounds for when monster ears opening. To do this they had to use celery/lettuce scrunching it producing a sound for when the monster ears open. To create the echo location sound for the monster the Foley artist had to use a stun gun to a patch of grapes creating a buzzing sound. To modify the sounds during the sound they had to manipulate the sounds and make the feel more realistic and effective. To some of the sound they had to make sounds go deeper by changing the pitch and making it sound more scarier as well as realistic and effective. (Insider, 2020)
Reference:
Rothstein, A., 2020. Foley Techniques And Sound Effects: A Sound Design Guide – IPR. [online] IPR. Available at: <https://www.ipr.edu/blogs/sound-design-for-visual-media/foley-sound-effects-sound-design> [Accessed 6 October 2020].
- 2020. Foley: The Art Of Sound Design. [online] Studio Binder. Available at: <https://www.studiobinder.com/blog/what-is-a-foley-artist/> [Accessed 10 October 2020].
- Amp. Amsterdam. 2020. How Foley Greatly Improves Your Gaming Experience — Amp. Amsterdam. [online] Available at: <https://amp.amsterdam/insights//how-foley-is-making-your-gaming-experience-a-lot-better#:~:text=It%20takes%20a%20lot%20more,or%20character%20to%20be%20making.&text=Foley%20artists%20spend%20hours%20on,sounds%20for%20the%20game%20world.> [Accessed 10
- Youtube.com. 2020. Insider. [online] Available at: <https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RRM–iEWGGo> [Accessed 8 December 2020].
- R., 2020. Rudy Mancuso. [online] YouTube. Available at: <https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iQaPHK1IrVg> [Accessed 8 December 2020].
- Mancuso, R., 2020. Rudy Mancuso. [online] Youtube.com. Available at: <https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t_mB7JkIlJE> [Accessed 8 December 2020].
- Youtube.com. 2020. Insider. [online] Available at: <https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l2WCrXc7J-I> [Accessed 15 December 2020].
- Youtube.com. 2020. Insider. [online] Available at: <https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WnozP8OWeik> [Accessed 15 December 2020].