LO2: Role of a Foley artist

In any form of digital media that uses sound, a foley artist is required to create realistic everyday sound to be added to media in post production to enhance audio quality and engage the audience and make them feel as if the are really there. 

A large part of being a foley artists is having to create walking sound effects, so they have to recreate the way the actor walks and acts out many different walking styles. When creating foley, the artists are in large sound studio with the big screen of the media product in front of them, that way it makes it easier to try create the sound with the variety of instruments and equipment they have. This is to help create verisimilitude for the audience and is a key part of creating a media product and bringing the project to life.

The equipment they use includes a high quality microphone to capture clear and crisp audio to match the product. They may also use a sound mixing board so they can put the audio together as they sometimes layer sounds to create a certain sound/noise. To create these sounds foley artists have to use a wide range of different instruments and everyday items in order to mimic the perfect sound in a studio setting. Examples of often used sounds that need to be recreated are 'thin sticks to create whooshing sounds', 'old chairs for controlled creaking' and 'rolled up large phone books for realistic body punches'. 

An example of a famous foley artist is Ben Burtt, who is most well known for his work on WALL-E and Star Wars. He created the iconic blaster sound effect by hitting guy-wires with a wrench until it created the right tone at the Los Angeles radio towers.