As noted in earlier chapters, motion pictures are filled with sounds, both natural and unnatural. Every sound from chirping crickets to cars crashing to electrical wires humming is enhanced and perfected by a sound specialist. A finished film will include a wide range of sounds that have been recorded or manufactured by these individuals. As a filmmaker, you need to pay special attention to the sounds associated with every scene of your film. No matter how big or small your budget, you need to have someone who is adept at recording, editing, and mixing sound (or at least a friend with a tape recorder).

Individuals who compose the sound department, including editors, recordists, and foley artists, are skilled technicians. They work with film editors and the music department to give you the best possible sound and sound effects for your film. In Chapter 14 you learned about the science of sound. In this section, you'll learn about perfecting sound at the postproduction phase.

Ambience and Dominance

Sound effects can be classified in several different ways. Background sounds, commonly referred to as ambient sounds, are recessive noises that you can hear throughout a film — the soft gurgle of a brook during a hiking scene, or frogs croaking, or wind blowing. By contrast, there are dominant sounds that relate to something you're seeing onscreen, like a gun being fired or cars crashing. Manufactured sounds are the type you would expect to hear in a science fiction movie in order to create a certain unnatural aura. Specialized sound effects such as paper crumpling or cloth ripping are created by a foley artist.

You Don't Know Jack?

Chances are you've never heard of Jack Foley, but you've definitely heard his work. A true motion picture legend, Foley developed many of the techniques used for sound effects in film. Having begun his career in silent films as a screenwriter and stand-in, Foley later helped Universal Pictures revolutionize the world of sound as we know it today. Because of his pioneering efforts, sound effects professionals are known as foley artists. Watching a foley at work is a fascinating study. Part artist and part inventor, these individuals work in studios surrounded by all types of everyday implements, articles of clothing, weaponry, and even various foods.

Foleys are unique specialists who usually come on board during the postproduction phase. Most of the sound effects you hear during a film are the result of a foley artist's innovative work. These sounds run the gamut from footsteps to doors opening and closing to leaves rustling to the unnerving crack of bones breaking.

Snap, Crackle, Pop

All of the sound effects created by foley artists are unique and can be tailored to any movement, action, or dialogue. The sound of horses' hooves, for example, is made by hitting together a pair of hollowed-out coconut shells. To create the sound of bones breaking, the artist snaps a stalk of celery. The sound of hitting a watermelon becomes the sound of one actor punching another. All of these sounds are recorded and given to the sound editor, who mixes and compiles all the sounds during postproduction.