What really caught my eye while reading up about Sonic Arts (my course) during my O' Levels was that there was a module on foley, as well as the access to a whole foley studio.
What got me interested in foley from the get-go was how it was implemented in movies to create sounds for scenarios that could not possibly happen in our reality, such as the unsettling sounds of the 'Death Angels' we see in 'A Quiet Place', with nothing less than the use of celery and lettuce.
I've always considered myself a weirdly creative person, and oddly that creativity seems to be able to be expressed in foley. I've genuinely enjoyed the process of constantly thinking of new ways to create realistic sounds, having a laugh while recording the weirdest objects, and the surprise that follows after realizing it actually sounds good.
Well enough about that, here are my experiences recording foley!
For melee weapon sound effects, I had to get creative and think of methods to achieve clanging metal and the general sounds of weapon movements. In reality, objects the same size as a sword don't produce a satisfying swoosh, so I experimented with smaller things such as a clothes hanger.
As for the sound of metal clanging when swords make an impact with each other, I used a metal pole and hit a metal hook suspended from a boom arm. It did not work out and sound how I wanted it to, but that's the part of the process that makes it fun!
Here, me and my team were experimenting with a box of twigs to create the sound for a wooden crate being broken and destroyed, for our Wwise game project. The one that sounded the best to us was when I took a hammer and hit the twigs with it while shifting it around. What we did was record multiple takes of that, and layer them on top of each other to create more depth.
Here is the final result implemented into my game project through Wwise.
For our footstep sounds in the game, our team recorded each other with our different shoes on different surfaces, to find out which was the best possible combination.
For a few of our modules here in Sonic Arts, we've had the chance to use the Zoom F8n multi-track field recorder and boom microphones for location sound recording as well as live interviews within the campus.
I have always loved the concept of recording audio from a location in real-life, to replicate the environment as close as possible for a deeper immersion, in media such as films and games.
I am currently working on a project that involves field recording and the process will be documented and shared here soon!
I have always loved the concept of recording audio from a location in real-life, to replicate the environment as close as possible for a deeper immersion, in media such as films and games.
I am currently working on a project that involves field recording and the process will be documented and shared here soon!
On our Student Overseas Trip to Thailand, we visited Kantana Studios. We received a tour of their various studios where they mixed with Dolby Surround Sound, and their Foley Studio as well. Their Foley Studio was really impressive, as they had a large collection of objects that I am sure would make the process of recording really interesting. Here is a picture of me and the CEO of Kantana Studios that I had the privilege of talking to.
