Foley Walker

[bekah]

Great catch!   Thanks!

Bekah

At 3:33 AM +0000 3/25/07, robinlandseadel at comcast.net wrote:
>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