There are a lot of different types of sound that go into a film to help enhance the audience experience. One type of sound that is created for a film is foley. This is something that creates a more well rounded environment for your audience giving it depth. For instance say you have a scene on a boat you may add in the sounds of the water hitting the boat or the wind through the sails in post rather than trying to capture them on the day.

The art of foley sound is something that I have recently become more interested in, adding to a scene giving it the richness and feeling of you as an audience actually being there. I have recently watched some videos on YouTube illustrating the art of sound through Foley artists. These artists will take objects to replicate sounds that were not picked up on the day of the shoot. In one scene there was a plane that flew overhead so they muted the clip and recreated the sounds that would have been in the scene.

One example they show is the use of a thick leathery sheet and a small pool of water. They project the scene on the wall and as the scene is shown they physically create and record these sounds to add that element of narrative sound to the scene. It is really fascinating to me to see how they can use these every day objects to recreate and imitate the sounds of animals, cars, trees, rain, anything really.

With Foley sound it may not be something that you would hear normally in the situation but by adding the dimension to the film it deepens the environment for the viewer. Another example in the video is from a documentary where there is a man with a hat walking through the woods in the rain. They use drops of water hitting a rain boot to simulate the sound of the rain hitting the man’s hat. When you watch the scene you would not know that sound was added in post because it has a real authenticity enhancing the imagery you see.

Along with foley sounds the use of effects, music, silence, even the voice itself that go into making a successful soundscape in a film. Sound is added to compliment the image and the image to compliment the sound setting the tone of how an audience will perceive the scene. Sound is a powerful element in creating a film and can make or break the success of it.

-Bec

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