Issue link: https://digital.copcomm.com/i/1538144
M OT I O N P I CTU R E S O U N D E D I TO R S 67 A lot of attention has to go into scene transitions—especially when moving between linear cinematics and gameplay. For example, if a character walks on a metal surface in a cutscene, then continues walking on that same surface in-game, the Foley needs to blend seamlessly in terms of levels, EQ, and texture to maintain immersion. This highlights the importance of consistency in mic placement, prop usage, and implementation. As more cinematics are now rendered as in-engine cutscenes that react dynamically to gameplay parameters, that seamless integration is even more critical to sustaining the illusion between gameplay, in-engine cut scenes and linear cinematics. Tools of the Trade "Minimal signal processing during Foley recording is best, as you want to retain the flexibility to process the sound later." Could you share some of your go-to tools or unconventional methods that have proven effective in game Foley work? Caron: With Foley, a lot of experi- mentation is key—just trying things out, recording different props, different mics, and different combinations of surfaces. Since Foley for games is usually played at a louder level than in film, close miking is important, as you don't want to record too much sound of the "room," and you need to have a good signal-to- noise ratio. I find minimal signal processing during Foley recording is best (or recording one version raw and one with processing baked in), as you want to retain the flexibility to be able to process the sound later when more of the sounds are implemented in the game. Also, Foley sessions for games are usually recorded out of sequence, with many of the cinematics not being ready until near the end of the schedule. So, you don't want to do some processing on one character that was recorded months ago that you can't replicate or recall later. On the Foley editing side of things, once I have done an editing pass, I de-noise areas as needed and use EQ, some compression, and lots of clip gain/ level balancing to even things out. I will sometimes adjust the pitch of part of a sound in order to make things sound larger or stand out more in the mix. I like Pitch 'n Time for pitch adjustment and iZotope RX for de-noising specific areas. I find in games there is usually a lot of material to record on the stage in a day, which requires a fair amount of time spent editing all the material— especially all the in-game Foley. Also, since in game development the cinematics aren't locked timing-wise until the eleventh hour, this results in doing multiple Foley (and dialogue and FX) conforms without a traditional guide track or picture change notes. In what ways have advancements in audio technology influenced your Foley recording/editing and implementation processes in games? Caron: I have found with Foley that it all starts with a well-thought-out creative approach, a good performance by the Foley artist, and a high-quality recording process. The Foley editing is super important too, as that is where everything is shaped and pre-mixed before it gets implemented into the game engine. On projects I have been involved in, the in-house audio team has done the majority of the in-game Foley implementation, as they want to have final control over it, along with the rest of the sound design. For the cinematic Foley, I have delivered edited and pre-mixed tracks in Pro Tools sessions and handed them over to the cinematic audio lead for final integration and final mixing with the FX, music, and dialogue. What editing software and plug-ins do you use? How about middleware? FMOD? Wwise? Caron: I mainly use Pro Tools for editing. However, I think this will finally be the year I switch to Reaper on the sound design side, due to the audio scripts that are readily available to automate many time-consuming tasks. Reaper also directly connects with Wwise, which makes implementing sounds a lot more efficient. Caron in the mix studio editing Foley for the film Chasing the Rain 2015