Issue link: http://digital.copcomm.com/i/1335010
70 W I N T E R 2 0 2 1 I C A S Q U A R T E R L Y Thoughts from Foley Artists and Mixers on a Genre-Specific Approach Foley as Sound Design W hen motion pictures began to use sound, Jack Foley's primary goal was the same as the Foley artists who carry out his work today. He was not solely focused on creating effects in sync; rather, he understood that the art of acting sound to picture required a finer attention to detail. One colleague, Joe Sikorsky, quoted Foley as saying, "You have to act the scene… You have to be the actors and get into the spirit of the story the same as the actors did, on the set. It makes a big difference." Foley teams have evolved far beyond Jack Foley's humble beginnings on the stages of Universal, expanding the art of what's possible. Beyond the technical leaps and bounds that have been made, there is now a boom in available content requiring the customized sound effects that only Foley artists can provide. With this expansion in material, new questions arise for directors and sound supervisors. Where should Foley live in their film? What key moments does Foley have to greatest serve the picture? Here, we'll focus on one of these questions in further detail: Does genre matter to Foley artists? In an attempt to answer these questions, I have reached out to Foley artists, mixers, and editors that have worked on films of various genres. These questions encourage them to share their approaches to Foley and what criteria, if any, cause them to deviate from their standard workflows. In these short interviews, I am joined by members of Foley teams from around the world: Foley One in Toronto, H5 Film Sound in Finland, and Happy Feet Foley based in Los Angeles. b y C A S A c a d e m i c M e m b e r M a t t M u l v i h i l l Heikki Kossi of Finland's H5 Film Sound performing Foley to help moving images come alive.