Foley artist

What does a foley artist do?

Foley artists create the physical sound effects on films, TV programmes, animation, video and games. 

Sound effects come from many different sources. Some are recorded on location specially for a production, while some general background sounds – such as birdsong, distant heavy traffic or an aircraft taking off – can be found in off-the-shelf recordings libraries.  But many specific sound effects, like footsteps or a door slamming, need to be very precisely timed and performed in a way that exactly matches the action on film. Sometimes, these effects aren’t recorded on location but added in post-production – which is where the Foley artist comes in.  The Foley artist re-creates these sounds in a studio with a vast collection of objects designed to make just the right effects.  

Footsteps are a big part of the job, so the Foley artist – also sometimes known as a Foley walker – will have shoes of many different types and a wide range of floor surfaces, such as gravel, paving stones and floorboards, to walk on. They need to be something of an actor as they will have to match many different walking styles: is the film actor slow and overweight? Have they just been badly injured in a fight? Are they trying to remain silent by being on tiptoe? All these elements need to be considered when creating the sound effect and have to be precisely synchronised to the footsteps on screen. A Foley artist might also make sounds off-screen such as that of a door slamming. Again, they will need to reflect the mood of the character – should the door be slammed in anger or closed gently so as not to disturb anyone? 

Every Foley artist will know how to create sounds that can’t easily be recorded in real life – like a head being guillotined, which can be achieved by slicing a cabbage, the breaking of bones by snapping celery and skulls being crushed by smashing pistachio nuts! Often the sound is then pitch-shifted, layered with other sounds and enhanced to give the effect more impact. 

The name Foley comes from the sound effects pioneer Jack Foley who worked on many films including Stanley Kubrick’s Spartacus.

Many Foley artists are freelance but some might be on the staff of a large studio or post-production house.

Watch and read

• What is a Foley Artist — How to Bring Movies to Life with Sound
• The art of sound in movies: What is a Foley artist?

What’s a Foley artist good at?

• Understanding sound: know how acoustics work, create a close match between sound on location and sound in the studio 
  
• Acting: be able to get inside a character well enough to be able to create the noise – shutting a door or running away – just as the screen actor has done 
  
• Creativity: imagine new ways of creating sounds using available materials 
  
• Recording sound: understand the different types of microphones, be able to select the best one for the effect being created, be able to use audio software
  
• Collaboration: work with the sound recordist and sound editor to make the sound effects fit the pictures 

Who does a Foley artist work with?

Foley artists often work as part of a team with other Foley artists. They work closely with the sound recordists and report to the supervising sound editor.