Foley Footsteps Performance And Recording Techniques
Think of a war scene. A wide plain, the wind swaying the blades of grass, an eagle circling high in the sky. On one side, on a hill, an army in formation, of fierce horsemen armed with spears and shields. On the other, and, now, galloping at full speed, an army of Mongols ready to fire a cloud of arrows. And then, a battle to the death.
As this scene takes place, the viewer will hear an enormous number of sounds, none of which are real; not even the sound of a horse putting its bridle in its mouth, but all of which sound stupendously good. That’s the magic of Foley.
Even if you like world travel documentaries, rest assured that the sound of the waves on that Greek beach has also passed through a recording studio. Don’t be disappointed: that’s what the cinema you’ve seen all your life has been like, and you’ve loved it in large part because of this technique.
Let’s remember what Foley is. It is, in a nutshell, the technique of creating sound effects in the post-production of a film or television program. The technique is named after Jack Foley, a sound engineer who developed it in the 1920s. The Foley technique involves recording specific ambient sounds and effects in a recording studio and then synchronizing them with the picture in the sound editing process. Examples of Foley effects include footsteps, doors opening and closing, objects breaking, and other ambient sounds (like the eagle or the wind in the previous example).
Let’s talk about some techniques, but first, let’s point out a couple of things. The first is that this beautiful art has more in common with playing an instrument than simply making sounds. Timing is everything because the better you play with your video, the less editing you need to do to make it all fit together. The core of foley lies in having the room and inventory to play and record. Full disclosure: you will need an ample supply of stuff, embellishments, and general parts with which to produce your sounds. In addition to a good shotgun microphone, and an isolated environment, gather an inventory of objects of different sizes, textures, materials, densities, etc. Nuts, bolts, screws, metal sheets and plates, ball bearings and wheels, glasses, bottles and bowls, pots and pans, metal pipes, metal ropes and wires, wooden planks and sheets, rubber and metal hammers, pillows, and cushions, hoses, lots of shoes, etc.
To synchronize your foley, you must have a video monitor where you play your video proxy, transport controls, and a regular counter so you can time and execute all your moves. Honestly, that’s half the fun, and it feels like a musical performance by having to play along with so many elements, overcoming the need to make mistakes during the recording. That done, let your imagination run wild.
Although there are many sound banks (free, even), many sound designers prefer to create their own; especially if the artistic proposition of the production they are working on is unique (as in the second part of Avatar, for example). If you work in this industry, you should learn how to make your own Foleys.
If you want to create your own water sounds, you can run water in a pan or other container. You can also use a hose and experiment with different sounds by changing the waterfall from the hose. If you need bubble sounds, you can blow with straws of different intensities or different sizes.
To make fire sounds, try crumpling aluminum foil or cellophane slowly, as well as anything crunchy (even potato chips); and don’t forget the sound of the air that feeds that fire: blow into the microphone directly, and gently.
If you need fighting sounds, hit pillows or cushions (a punching bag can also work). Try different sizes and densities of pillows to get different sound qualities. The sound of wood cracking or creaking can be used to add additional weight to a particularly unpleasant thump. You can get an excellent sound by cracking a thick stalk of celery.
Now, as for the steps, keep in mind that these deserve their own section because of their importance in creating and maintaining a setting by conveying scale, texture, and rhythm. Look for at least five discrete sources of steps. With five or fewer, you will need to provide a distinct but uniform sound for each person during that scene. Larger numbers should maintain proportion in terms of rhythm, quantity, and level. Ten people don’t need perfect timing and ten pairs of sounding feet, but they will still need to sound like ten people and not a hundred of them. To make these sounds much more realistic, think about whether the actors are walking heavily in heels, always keep in mind what kind of footwear they are wearing, and what kind of surface they are walking on. You can emulate footstep sounds (for example, with a cardboard box) or record footstep sounds with different types of shoes.
There are many possibilities and possible combinations. The important thing is to experiment, be attentive to all the sounds you perceive, and, above all, do not stop studying.
If you need help with the creation of your Foleys, or with any other aspect of your audiovisual project, don’t hesitate to contact us. Enhanced Media Sound Studio will be happy to take your production to a professional level.
