FOLEY PROJECT
Performing sounds in order to add realism to a scene.
Tools Required
Garageband, Final Cut Pro. Optional: microphone, camera
Helpful Resources
www.freesound.org (free sound effects)
Explanation Video
Skills Learned
Sound Editing, Video Editing
Basic Steps
- Create a 30 sec sequence of film using a video camera and Final Cut Pro. This sequence or clip can be, for example, of someone walking down a hall, opening doors, dropping an object, etc... You may wish to use an existing clip and mute the entire audio for the clip.
- The “Foley” process will now add the sound of the foot steps, the door opening, the object falling. These are all things that perhaps were not properly captured (sound wise) in the original footage.
- Record - using Garageband, Final Cut Pro, your video camera and/or an external microphone - the audio for these actions. You can record one footstep or if in Garageband, use the video clip and practice timing a sound for each step, as an example.
- Import everything into Garageband or Final Cut Pro: whichever tool you prefer to use for this project. Now, sync all of the sounds to the video.
- Depending on the original video, you may need to mute that track if the audio is not good or it is distracting.
- When complete, export your project and hand it in your Google Drive folder.
Evaluation
Foley Project Evaluation
Clip Choice
Did you choose an appropriate clip? Try to find something around 30 seconds. Does the clip have enough "action" or events to create Foley sounds? Is there not enough events in the clip? 5 Marks
Sound Quality
Did you take the time to make sure your Foley recordings are high quality? Did you try using a studio with no background noises? Did you use an external microphone to help capture your sounds? Did you properly sync the video and audio so that the sound is in sync with the action or events on the screen? 20 marks
Layering
Did you think of all the necessary layers of sounds for the clip? Did you only make one level of sounds? For example, you only did the foot steps but forgot other logical sounds in the clip? Try to put yourself in the situation... what are some of the sounds you would hear in that scene/clip? 25 marks