Foley Editors are responsible for the post-synchronised sound effects on a film sound track that are added during the sound editing process, excluding any special sounds which are usually created by the Sound Effects Editor or Sound Designer. “Foley” is normally defined as sounds related to movements, whether pertaining to a character or an object (footsteps, fights, fist banging on a door), or to the result of an object’s movement (pouring wine, shards of glass falling from a broken window). Named after Jack Foley (an innovative pioneer of the art at Universal Studios), Foley is recorded in specialised sound studios working to projected pictures.

It is a means of adding the subtle sounds that production microphones often miss, e.g., the rustling of clothing or the squeak of a saddle when a rider mounts his horse; or of enhancing explosions or crashes which give scenes the realism that other effects methods cannot provide. Foley Editors are either employed by Audio Post Production Houses, or work as freelancers who are employed directly by film production companies and use dry-hire rooms close to the other Sound Editors. They work on film and television productions, and the hours are long.

What is the job?

Depending on the scale of the film, Foley Editors usually start work at the end of picture editing. If the film includes a great deal of action, (e.g., war or horror films), they start work earlier in the process. The Foley Editor, the Supervising Sound Editor and usually the Director and/or the Picture Editor attend a Spotting Session - a creative meeting where the film is viewed, stopping whenever necessary to discuss what the Director wishes to achieve in different scenes (e.g., how violent a fight scene should sound).

Every Foley effect required in the film is noted and organised into tracks. This could amount to thousands of effects, including breaking glass, footsteps on different surfaces (e.g., carpet, gravel, grass) etc. When a particular specific Foley effect, e.g., the sound of a 1940s typewriter, is required, Foley Editors use their initiative to track down a real vintage typewriter.

This preparation may take several days or weeks.

Foley Editors make and record all these sounds in specialised sound studios. This process can take from 5 days to 5 weeks, depending on the budget and scale of the film. In the studio, the Foley Editor works closely as part of an inventive team with the Foley Artist (the person who actually creates the sounds in front of a projected picture), and the Foley Mixer who records the sound.

Foley Artists may try several different ways to produce each single specific sound required by the Foley Editor to make the scene more believable. Foley Mixers record each performance and are responsible for the positioning of the microphones and the perspective of the recorded Foley. Foley Editors must keep track of the many thousands of Foley elements recorded, and monitor the overall feel of the combined sound as the session progresses.

After the Studio recording, Foley Editors fit all the Foleys to the images in perfect sync, working meticulously in cutting rooms using Digital Audio Workstations (DAWs). As with all other sound, the Foley tracks are smoothed-out (cross faded) before the Re-Recording Mixer undertakes the Final Mix.

Typical career routes

This role requires extensive on-the job creative experience gained over many years. Many Foley Editors begin their careers working as runners in Sound Studios or Audio Post Production Houses, and progress to become Assistants, working with in-house Sound Editors or Foley Mixers. Working in junior roles in Audio Post Production Houses can also provide opportunities to make valuable contacts with freelance Sound Editors, who may employ Assistants on a film by film basis.

Essential knowledge and skills

Foley Editors must have excellent knowledge of acoustics, and sound recording and audio post production processes (analogue and digital).

Key Skills include:

Ability to manipulate and work sound for the moving image

Excellent aural skills

Excellent visual skills

Ability to work efficiently under pressure

Excellent communication skills

Good organisational skills

Ability to work to strict deadlines

Knowledge of the requirements of the relevant Health and Safety legislation and procedures

Training and qualifications

Foley Editors are usually graduates of Arts, Music, Electronics, Maths, or Sound Technology courses, who have also specialised in Sound at post-graduate level. Sound is one of the best served areas for film and television training in the UK with provision ranging from specialised short courses, to qualifications at HND, BA and post graduate levels.

Individual course accreditation in certain subject areas is currently being piloted. As part of Skillset’s and the UK Film Council’s Film Skills Strategy, A Bigger Future, a network of Screen Academies and a Film Business Academy have been approved as centres of excellence in education and training for film. For more information, please log onto the Skillset website.

Where to go for more information

Skillset is the Sector Skills Council for Creative Media. The first sources of information for all jobs in the industry are the National Occupational Standards. For information about training, links to the Skillset network of training partners, and access to the comprehensive Skillset/BFI course database, visit the website www.skillset.org. Skillset Careers is the UK’s only specialist media careers advice service; for detailed media careers information and advice, visit the website www.skillset.org/careers

Websites-

An invaluable resource for sound and film Film Sound

Sonic Arts Network sonic arts network

For innovations in sound recording technology zaxcom

The Institute of Broadcast Sound Institute of Broadcast Sound

The Association of Motion Picture Sound Association of Motion Picture Sound (AMPS)

The Association of Professional Recording Studios Association of Professional Recording Services (APRS)

The Audio Engineering Society, an US-based website with a thriving UK section Audio Engineering Society

Publications

Sound Design: The Expressive Power of Music, Voice and Sound Effects Cinema. Edited by David Sonnenschein (Michael Wiese Productions)

Film Sound by Elizabeth Weis and John Belton (Columbia University Press)

Audio-Vision : Sound on Screen by Michael Chion (Columbia University Press)

Sound on Sound magazine Sound on Sound

Music Tech magazine Music Tech Magazine

Audio Media magazine Audio Media Magazine