What is a Foley Artist?

If you’ve ever recorded a video, and then watched it later on. You know that some of the sounds that you may have expected in the video are simply too quiet or they cannot be heard at all. Perhaps you even noticed that without certain sounds. Even the best video is not as exciting to engage in? Whether it’s footsteps being heard upstairs. Or the door knob squeaking as it turns in an otherwise silent home in the dead of the night. These tiny sounds are often missed in initial video capture. And without them the audience may become bored. But a foley artist can be called in to help. If you’re new to filmmaking, you’re probably wondering, “What is a Foley artist and how can they help?”

What is a Foley Artist?

A Foley artist is an individual that is responsible for recreating sounds for videos and film in the post-production process to ensure the final audio is realistic and that the sounds you would expect to hear are appropriately delivered.

The Foley artist comes in during post-production to re-create various sounds for the film to enhance your film’s audio quality and provide an engaging experience for your audience. 

A Sound Magician

Remember those sounds we discussed in the opening paragraph? The footsteps heard upstairs and the door knob turning? Those sounds would almost certainly be missed in production, but if they were captured and included in the video, they sure would enhance the narrative, wouldn’t they?

This is where a Foley artist comes into work his magic! Foley artists can replace many of the sounds that either couldn’t be recorded properly on the set or that cannot otherwise be heard in the original audio.

Not only do Foley artists recreate original sounds, they also create the realistic sounds that you might expect to hear in a particular scene such as a door knob squeaking, stairs creaking, footsteps, or various other noises.

What Types of Sounds Do Foley Artists Create?

Foley artists create a variety of different sounds. While they often re-record the sounds that we’ve already discussed above, they also may create sounds specifically for film enhancement.

For example, a Foley artist might create the sound of clothes rustling or a glass breaking or some other kind of movement taking place such as footsteps along the street. 

There are three types of Foley sounds which include:

• Footsteps – This includes recreating footstep sounds on various surfaces including concrete, water, wood, stairs, etc.
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• Movement – This includes recreating sounds that would relate to very tiny movements. Such as someone casually crossing their legs, as well as very large movements, such as jumping up and down.
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• Props – This includes the creation of sounds that apply to actions and props within the scene. Such as the sound of a witch coming through the woods. The sound of bones breaking in a fight or accident, and the sound of a stun gun being used. 

Creative Masterminds

You’d be surprised at some of the ways that Foley artists create the sounds that we hear on videos and films. They get incredibly creative in the Foley studio. Using a variety of props and different gear to create the desired sounds.

Through much trial and error, Foley artists truly go the extra mile when it comes to recreating sounds. That will enhance the audio quality of a film.

Hear more about foley from a foley artist themselves, in a wonderful video from The Intergalactic Nemesis!