Introduction to Foley and Sound Effects for Film

Very little of what you hear in the movies is real – in this lab we take a look at the art of Foley, how to classify it, the history of the man who started it all and take a demonstrate on our own silent film. The it’s your turn to make a sound effects driven film with Foley.

If you have any further questions be sure to check out our questions page on Filmmaker IQ:

[filanfyretracker]

Foley is honestly one of the most interesting arts in Cinema.  It is amazing how much sound can be made from everyday objects and when properly handled in mixing can become something exotic.  

[milindj]

Hard to believe such people, channel exists which shares knowledge not only free of cost but also explains it in the most interesting way and to the point.

[PauloRocka]

Thanks a million times for sharing your knowledge here, for free, for us.
Cheers!

[boozarr]

This is a great intro to sound design!  

A friend just finished a horror film and I praised him on his sound design for the film. The sound effects he uses (all recorded wild and added in post like: crackling campfire, twigs breaking in the woods, leaves rustling, along with his music ques) made the film scary.  He's a veteran film maker but most new film makers overlook the power of sound in a film.

[thewiseman]

been recording foley all week for my new short film. sometimes even directly watching the footage and replicating the sounds. its been really fun! 

[dakinariten]

These videos are a godsend. Clear, concise and give the perfect amount of information to get you going. The terms are introduced and further research can be done. Please keep up the good work - very impressed!

[ThisLittleShow]

Your videos are fantastic man, hope you never stop making them. Love the high production value you give to them.

[hawksoob]

Great vid!

I recently had the pleasure of working with a professional, former Hollywood, sound designer on a horror short that I directed. The shot was 100% MOS and no dialog. He built the sound from the ground up with a mix of library sounds and Foley. It was really awesome watching him put it all together, and the final product really sounds amazing. Since then, I've been trying to put a lot more effort into that sort of thing. Sometimes the subtlest of sounds can make a huge difference in a scene. 

[VIPDARUA]

This video is EXACTLY what i needed. I'm post-processing a short-film for college and... well... almost every single sound is recorded "out of set". Thanks for the nice video. 

[luminarywisp]

I LOVED the short movie! The writing inside the book was HYSTERICAL. Amazing use of irony too!

[sudhindrak]

Must confess that I never knew about any of this .. and thanks for a superbly done video, loads of info that I can boldly walk with!

[carlpasha]

Most enjoyable and informative. Many thanks.

[peterbetts]

This is why I sometimes find it easier to concentrate sitting at a busy restaurant than a library. At the library you hear every little detail, but at the restaurant it's just a whiteout of noise

[DoubleMrE]

I saw some Foley artists in a documentary a few years back and they said that after you have seven voices singing together, people can’t tell the difference with the sound no matter how many voices you add after that. He specifically mentioned the famous Coca Cola commercial where a whole bunch of people are singing “I’d Like to Teach the World to Sing” on a hillside. He said there were only seven foley artists actually doing the singing for the ad.

[lddevo]

That's awesome that you cited Track Stars! Probably one of the most entertaining behind the scenes short films of foley artists at work.

[AlexanderMarsh]

Thanks for the video. I love how you put so much information into such a limited amount of time. 

[ashmuryode]

15:20 Thank You John Hess for making this great tutorial

[sparkybluefox]

Mr. Hess,

This video on Foley effects was over the top awesome! I bow to you folks who produce such 'to the point' video's about film making aspects!

BRAVO!

Great work!


sbf

[montage]

Amazing the effect Foley has on productions.
Thanks for the post.

[JoeBetro]

Absolutely brilliant and hilarious Foley short you made!