Banging on a Bathtub

I've been doing a lot of research on sound design lately in order to be as ready as possible to record on set, foley, and then do our final mix. Arturo helped me by sending me some links to really cool articles and videos; one of them--that inspired the title of this blogpost--is below.

Foley is all about replacing, repairing, or enhancing the sound for a film. Ben Burtt was one of the first few sound designers to foley by combining sounds produced by real objects instead of using electronic sounds. His work in Star Wars Episode IV: A New Hope pioneered a new method of sound design in sci-fi films. One of the most well known sounds from the Star Wars films, Darth Vader's breathing, Burtt created by recording himself breathing through a Dacor scuba regulator.

I find this combination and editing of different (and sometime random) sounds so interesting. I don't understand how people even come up with some of this stuff. Even Burtt himself said that a lot of times you discover the best sounds by accident.

Foley artists seem to have developed a skill so unique, the only thing I can kind of compare it to lyrical dancing...but even that's a stretch. Foley artists usually work in pairs and they have to interpret a film completely in sound. Lyrical dancers have to interpret the lyrics of a song in movements. The equipment foley artists use is also very low-tech compared to the equipment other post-production departments use.

Greg Barbanell, a foley artist, at the Warner Brothers' foley stage. 

According to my research, most foleying can be divided into three parts: cloth, feet, and props. Foley artists will then playback every shot of every scene at least hundreds of times to get all the cloth, feet, and props in each one. It is very time consuming, and probably frustrating for a while until you develop the skill.

Foley isn't just used in fictional productions, though. Earth Touch is a global news network for wildlife and nature that focuses on education and preservation--even they foley sound in their films of wild animals. This is especially important for Earth Touch because it's dangerous for crew to get close to some animals. (This is the same reason they use HUGE zoom lenses). It is also necessary because the footage they collect may be from different parts of the day/week/month/year, which causes the ambient sound to change. When editing these shots together, the natural sounds are jumpy and jarring, so they add a different ambient track and then foley the sounds the animals make. This process of repairing and layering foleyed sounds enhances the film so it grabs the audiences attention.

One Does Not Simply Record Nat Sound

Sound is important. Like really important. I think it is one of the most underrated fields in contemporary cinema, simply because if it is done well you shouldn't even notice it. That's sort of the point; no average viewer walks out of the theater complimenting the foley artist, they are the unsung heroes of a great film. If the sound design is believable and helps immerse the audience in the story world, then it has done its job. Sound design and foley has always really interested me, and after talking about it in class today it made me really excited to have some kick-ass sound in our horror short Dollhouse. But more on that later.

I wanted to focus more on some awesome sound design goodness. The Lord of the Rings trilogy has a really intense and creative sound design Led by David Farmer. The sound design has a lot of one-of-a-kind "original" sounds you would expect from a fantasy epic. Movies like LOTR pose a particular challenge because of the fantasy element in the story; it's hard to foley sounds for fictionalized,mythical creatures. It take a lot of creativity to be able to make these crazy, fantastical sounds from everyday objects and even human voices. Unfortunately, I was unable to find the video that I wanted to share that goes in depth about the sound design of LOTR (damn copyright laws), but here is the next best thing that still gives you an in depth look at the creativity behind the sound design. It also goes into a little bit about ADR and the challenges they faced with changing frame rates throughout the film, but that's all just bonus. It says that about 98% of LOTR Fellowship used ADR. Ouch. 

Here's the video:

 The creativity and skill that goes into the sound design of a film really blows my mind, especially on such an ambitious project like LOTR.  Not only are you responsible for every sound on screen (thats every footstep, every arrow shot, every armor clink), but to also be able to use everyday objects to produce fantasy sounds with limited digital manipulation is no easy task; it requires an in depth understand of the physics of sound as well as the overall "vision" of the sound in the film. For example, the voice for the tree character (specifically an "Ent"-thanks wikipedia) was created by building a resonant chamber with specifically calculated bends and turns to produce a very hollow, echoed sound when spoken into. With relatively little digital manipulation, the sound team was able to create a really cool, unique sound. 

As far as our sound design for Doll House, I see the potential for a lot of cool opportunities. I think when used effectively sound can be one of the scariest elements in a film because it forces the viewer to imagine what is/could be making that sound, resulting in a personalized mental image that hopefully scares the shit out of you. Unlike a visual image, it lets your sub-conscious make decisions, bringing out what each individual finds terrifying and bringing it to life. For most of our "spooky scenes" I think creaks and moans from the hardwood floor will really play well with our location, paired with an intense score to really bring out the tension and helplessness in the scene that will (hopefully) makes the audience squirm in their seats. That being said, I think silence also plays an important role in a horror film, helping to highlight the visual element and making your imagination run wild within the frame. I delicate balance is needed, and I am excited to help Sam with the sound design after we wrap production and my duties as AD are essentially over. 

Its going to be a challenge, but in the end I think sound design will really help set Doll House over the edge.

Sound Foley With Foods

We already watched a video about professional sound foley. But, I came across a video that had a short 3 minute segment about sound foley for a quick fight scene by hooking the microphone up to your laptop and running it right through Final Cut Pro. Above the roomtone, they recreated the sounds of the door opening, footsteps, punches and shaking hands. The punches were done by hitting celery on top of a pillow and the rest just mimicked the actual actions.

The segment is from 4:25-7:45 (ignore the rest of the video, it's a little strange)

On the opposite end, here is a quick video about the sound foley for a dinosaur hatching during Jurassic Park. While these two productions are on opposite ends of the spectrum, they both use simple, every day foods to create sounds that have nothing to do with each other. But, the sounds end up fitting the scene perfectly.

This last video shows, again, how many different kinds of produce and other foods you can utilize to make sounds to fit a scene (starting around 40 seconds).

For other ideas for sound effects, there is a whole list of resources here.