Part of Lesson Plan: Introduction to Sound for Film and Video

Activity Overview / Details

Focus Lesson:

After viewing the video "Laser Blast Foley", the teacher explains that the video demonstrated the process called Foley Art.  The man in the video used a Slinky to create Foley to used as laser blasts and explosions.

The definition of Foley:

Foley – is the reproduction of everyday sounds for use in filmmaking. These reproduced sounds can be anything from the swishing of clothing and footsteps to squeaky doors and breaking glass. The best Foley art is so well integrated into a film that it goes unnoticed by the audience  It helps to create a sense of reality within a scene. Without these crucial background noises, movies feel unnaturally quiet and uncomfortable.

Foley artists look to recreate the realistic ambient sounds that the film portrays. The props and sets of a film do not react the same way acoustically as their real life counterparts.  Foley sounds are used to enhance the auditory experience of the movie. Foley can also be used to cover up unwanted sounds captured on the set of a movie during filming that might take away from the scene at hand, such as overflying airplanes or passing traffic.

(NEXT- Play 2 videos, "Foley Sound" and "The Sound  of Avatar."