Foley (filmmaking) - Uses

Uses

The purpose of Foley is to complement or replace sound recorded on set at the time of the filming (known as field recording). The soundscape of most films utilizes a combination of both. A Foley artist is the person who creates this sound art. Foley artists use creativity to make viewers believe that the sound effects are actually real. The viewers should not be able to realize that the sound was not actually part of the filming process itself. 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 obstructed by noise or are not convincing enough to underscore 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. Crashes and explosions are often added or enhanced at the post-production stage. The desired effect is to add back to the original soundtrack the sounds that were intended to be excluded during recording. By excluding these sounds during field recording, and then adding them back into the soundtrack 23 during post-production, the editors have complete control over how each noise sounds, its quality, and the relative volume Foley effects add depth and realism to the audio quality for multimedia sources, and they simplify the synchronizing of sounds that would otherwise be tedious or indie or downright impossible to manage.

The Foley artist reviews the film as it runs to figure out what sounds are needed to achieve the desired sound and results. Once the material is gathered and prepared to be used, the Foley artist practices the sounds. When the desired sound is accomplished, it is the Foley artist's task to watch the film and add in the sound effects at the same time. This is similar to when actors have to add dialogue over the movement of the lips in filming.

Scenes where the dialogue is replaced using dubbing will also have to feature Foley sounds. Automatic dialogue replacement (ADR) is when voice sounds are recorded in post production. This is done by a machine that runs the voice sounds with the film forward and backward to get the sound to run with the film. The objective of the ADR technique is to add sound effects into the film after filming, so the voice sounds are synchronized. Not only are many of the sounds not added at the time of filming, the microphones may not capture the sound the same way the audience would predict to hear. The need for Foley rose dramatically when films began to be distributed internationally and dubbed in foreign languages. As dialogue is replaced, all sound effects recorded at the time of the dialogue are lost as well.