Foley Walker

[robinlandseadel at comcast.net]

D'oh!

Of course, the purpose of a Foley Walker is to 
"shadow" the footsteps of an actor walking in a 
film, trying to get just the right sound and precisely 
synchronize the sounds with the sight of another 
actor's walking.

            Foley: Live Sound Effects

            Live Performance

            In performances before studio audiences, foley adds 
            considerable visual interest. A foley walker for such 
            a set-up needs stage presence, showmanship and a 
            good ear. S/he also must know when to give and take 
            stage, for a real hambone working the sound effects 
            can easily upstage the actors. Perhaps that explains 
            why radio sfx personnel in the old days belonged to 
            AFRA, an actors' union. 

            Typically, the foley gear is arrayed on and around 
            a table off to one side of the stage or performance 
            area. One mike covers the table and another the 
            floor.  The table mike never sits on the table but is 
            shock mounted on a floor stand high enough to 
            capture vocal effects, such as dog barks, hoot owls, 
            raspberries, gurgles, bubbles and assorted moans 
            and groans. One or two foley walkers, more if needed, 
            do all the live sound effects. 

http://www.natf.org/wad/foley.htm

            A Foley artist is sometimes called a 'Foley Walker' or 
            'Stepper' because one of the most important elements 
            we provide is the sound of the footsteps. When the 
            original dialogue is replaced, due to noise or bad 
            performance, the sound of the actors walking also 
            needs to be redone.

            Every footstep for each character is covered; you 
            must match the sync of the steps, the surface (wood,
            marble, dirt etc.) and the feeling (heavy, fast, angry, 
            panicked etc.) of each step!

            Feet are very difficult to perform. It takes a lot of practice 
            to get the exact feeling and timing while standing 
            stationary - you can' t walk across the room because 
            the microphone needs to be fixed and besides, you 
            don't have that much room!

            Before You Begin...
            You will need many kinds of well worn shoes - a trip 
            to the Salvation Army store will yield many treasures 
            (cowboy boots, pumps, hard and soft souled shoes) 
            at a reasonable price. You may need to 'gaff tape' 
            any squeaky or loose ornamental bits so they don't 
            clutter the sound of the steps; remember you are 
            trying to record a clean, rich sounding footstep and 
            it doesn't matter what the shoe looks like!

            You will also need several surfaces such as wood, 
            concrete, metal and gravel. A Foley Stage is specifically 
            built to accommodate these needs by having insulated 
            'pits' which are several feet in width and filled with these 
            floor materials.


            How To Record A Foot Track...
            You will need a track for each main character in the film             
            as well as several for background or 'b.g. feet'. We 
            generally group tracks by Male or Female so that the 
            mixer can set the EQ (Equalization) consistently 
            (pumps are sharper than running shoes!)

            The microphone should be placed about three feet in 
            front of the Foley Artist when the scene is outdoors 
            (tight miked) and placed six to ten feet away when the 
            scene is indoors (loose miked). This technique allows 
            the mike to breath and provides a roomy sound for 
            indoor vs. a tight sound for outdoors.
 
            We often use a second mike on a boom, placed high 
            in the room, to capture the ambient room sound - this 
            mike is mixed into the single track while recording. 
            Using a second mike allows the Foley recordist to mix 
            fades and perspectives during the recording session, 
            but this is very tricky - the problem is that you are 
            limiting the mixer to what you recorded with no chance 
            to 'fix it in the mix!'
 
            You will need to 'ride the level' as characters enter or 
            exit a scene but be gentle and let the Foley Artist work 
            the fade as you do (this takes teamwork!)
 
            If you have to 'punch into the track' (the artist missed a 
            footstep) you will need to get the rhythm of the steps 
            and punch in between footsteps! This requires 
            extreme precision, teamwork and practice! Whenever 
            possible, try to punch on a scene cut or break in the action.

            How To Perform A Foot Track...
            You will need to select the appropriate shoes and surfaces 
            required in the film (boots, pumps, marble etc.) Watch the 
            picture carefully and remember that sometimes what you 
            hear on guide (the production recording) is only a film set 
            and its up to you to create the best sounding footsteps:

            You will be standing still (not actually walking!) and you 
            will be using one or two feet.

            My Favorite Pumps
            The action is "heel / toe". While you are doing this you 
            must roll your foot from heel to toe, so as to create the 
            sound illusion of forward movement. The best technique 
            I have found is to roll from the outer heel to the inner toe 
            of your foot. Running requires a quicker and shorter 
            heel / toe action as does climbing stairs! When the actor 
            comes to a stop, there is usually a definitive step or 
            weight shift which you must capture (this give a feeling 
            of closure to the movement.)
  
            To get "in sync" with the actor, you must try to watch 
            their shoulders (not their feet!) - if you watch their feet 
            then you will never be in sync because this technique 
            is too reactionary. The shoulders however, will give you 
            the sense of movement about to happen and when you 
            sway and move as the actor does, the feet just tend to
             naturally sync up!
 
            When the sync gets hard (some actors just do strange 
            things while walking!), count steps and get a pattern - 
            step, step, step, skip, stop. This you can rehearse and 
            then record.

            (For an excersise in frustration, try doing Jack Nicholsons 
            feet in "As Good As It Gets" when he walks down the 
            sidewalk never touching the cracks - Wow! Hats off to
             Andy Malcolm the artist!!!)
 
            B.G. Feet are a wash of foot tracks that fill the background 
            characters. Pick a person(s) on screen and follow them - 
            after a while of practicing, you will be able to do several 
            people at once!

            The End Result...
            When all the steps are recorded (this can take several 
            days or weeks!) the foots track should sound distinct 
            and natural. Every character should be recognizable 
            (even when you don't see them on screen) and the 
            feeling of movement and action should be captured.

            There is no doubt that doing feet is the hardest 
            technique a Foley Artist has to learn! Maybe that 
            is why dancers make such good Foley Artists!

http://www.marblehead.net/foley/feet.html