The Art of Foley

Making in Cinema
-Vineet Bhave & Shirisha Varma
 What is Foley?
Foley is a sound effect technique used in filmmaking
to describe the reproduction of everyday sounds
added to movies, videos, and other media in post-
production.
Typically, the original sound recorded during filming
is focused on the dialogue and is not very clear for
spot effects, such as props being used or footsteps.
That’s where Foley comes in.
 Where is it done?
A post production house is typically where you
will find what you call a foley stage.
Foley stages are typically large recording
studios equipped with thousands of objects,
textures, and surfaces known as foley pits that
artists use to recreate the sounds to the film.
As Foley artist Caoimhe Doyle told Film Ireland,
“Technology has given foley editors great
flexibility to manipulate sound effects, but foley is
still done ‘in the same way it has been performed
since the 1930s when Jack Foley first did it’: we
stand in front of the microphone and watch the
screen and do it when the actor does it.”
 Jack Foley
Jack Donovan Foley (April 12, 1891 – November
9, 1967) was an American sound effects artist
who developed many sound effects techniques
used in filmmaking.
He is credited with developing a unique method
for performing sound effects live and in
synchrony with the picture during a film's post-
production.
Accordingly, the technique of ‘Foley effects’ is
named after him and individuals engaged in this
trade are called ‘Foley artists’.
 Career
He worked on pictures such as Melody of Love (1928), Show Boat (1929),
Dracula (1931), and Spartacus (1960).
For his work in Hollywood, Foley received the Motion Picture Sound Editors’
Golden Reel Award.
He worked for Universal City Studios in various capacities, from a stuntman to
a silent movie director.
He himself calculated that he had walked over 5,000 miles (8,000 km) making
sounds for films, and his work and legacy are still remembered to this day.
According to his granddaughter, Catherine Clark, Jack Foley was full of fun
and loved the challenge of thinking up new ways to reproduce sound.
 Steps of foley-making
Watch: Review the locked picture.
Identify tasks: Determine the Foley that needs
to be recorded.
Assign them: Having identified the tasks
involved, meeting with the team to divvy them
up and build a post production sound schedule.
 Steps of foley-making
Prop arrangement: Gather necessary props and
materials from the studio’s warehouse or storage area.
Record the Foley: This generally involves two sound
team members – the Foley recordist and the Foley
assistant.
Get final approval: Throughout the production
process, we send files to the client to keep them in the
loop.
 Division of Work
Footsteps: Foley artists utilize specific types of shoes and
floor surfaces to recreate what’s in the scene.
Movements: An actor's movements with the
environment, eg. The swishing of jeans or rustling of a
jacket.
Specifics: Various objects in the environment and their
sounds, eg. A squeaky door, a sword being unsheathed,
or glass breaking
 Difference between foley
and sound effects
Foley is the technique for creating a sound whereas
sound effects are the results
Foley is applied as a part of post production while
sound effects are applied throughout the process
of production
Foley is used for specific sounds while sound
effects can be general
 Indian Foley Artists
1) Karnail Singh Virdi-
He is an Indian film Foley Artist and Sound
Supervisor.
He won MPSE Golden Reel Awards for Best
Foley Artist with Oscar winner Resul Pookutty
for BBC short Film India's daughter released in
2016.
He started his career in 1979 with Natraj
Studios which was in partnership with great
legends like Shakti Samanta, Ramanand Sagar,
F.C Mehra, Pramod Chakraborty and
Atmaram.
 Indian Foley Artists
2) Karan Arjun Singh-
Karan Arjun Singh is a renowned Foley Artist
and has been working for Bollywood for more
than 35 Years and has worked on more than
3000 films to his credit.
He has his own sound Post-Production Studio
called ‘Just Foley Art’ with the most talented
Foley Artists, Sound Engineers, Sound Editors
and Sound Designers Based in Mumbai, India.
Using new age technology in Foley and Sound
Design 'Just Foley' promises to make the
sound post production easier, smoother and
the best.
Anecdotes from Bollywood Movies

1) Dangal- Foley of movements

2) Singham- Foley of footsteps
3) Krrish 3- Foley of objects
4) Parinda- Foley of objects
‘Shabdo’ (Sound) is a 2012 Indian
Bengali film directed by Kaushik
Ganguly.
The film revolves around the life of
Tarak, a Foley artist from a Bengali
film.
Tarak's job is to create ambient sounds
for films, but, he gradually gets
trapped in his own world, a world full
of sound (i.e. Shabdo).
It won the 60th National Film Awards
for Best Feature Film in Bengali and
the Best Audiography.
 Role of Foley Artists
To be well-versed in various audio production
techniques and keenly understand music, rhythm,
and sound.
The audio for a project can sound lackluster
without the expertise of a competent foley artist.
Foley artists are responsible for creating and
enhancing the ordinary, everyday background
sounds of a film during postproduction.
Storytelling and Foley

Foley is an art
 References
https://www.storyblocks.com/resources/blog/foley-sfx-everyday-household-objects
https://www.backstage.com/magazine/article/foley-artist-guide-70700/#section2
https://www.shure.com/en-US/insights/everything-you-need-to-know-about-foley-recording
https://www.adobe.com/creativecloud/video/discover/foley-sound-effects.html
https://www.masterclass.com/articles/film-101-understanding-foley-sound-and-why-foley-
sound-is-important
https://c-istudios.com/the-art-of-foley-creating-realistic-sound-effects-in-post-production/
https://thebetterindia.com/256049/dangal-to-baahubali-mumbai-artist-uses-mundane-items-to-
create-magic-in-3000-movies/#google_vignette
https://www.aradhanafilms.com/
https://soundpartistudios.com/about-us/
https://www.acmi.net.au/stories-and-ideas/the-strangest-foley-sounds-in-cinema/
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sound/articleshow/65456955.cms
https://www.premiumbeat.com/blog/art-of-making-sound-effects/