Introduction to Foley Art

• Breaking Bad Season 4 scene example - meth cooking under industrial laundromat
• Sounds (handcuff jingling, footsteps, key twisting, elevator lurch) added in post-production, not recorded on set
• Greg Barbanell - Foley artist for 46 years
• Foley artists create smallest, subtlest sounds in film/TV (pants swishing, coffee cup clinks)
• Job remains hands-on in increasingly digitized Hollywood

Sound Effects Categories in Film Production

• On-set filming only captures dialogue audio
• Sound effects added later in two categories:
  • Hard effects: honking cars, thunderstorms, crickets, gunshots, explosions
    • Digitally produced or from sound libraries
  • Foley effects: sounds matched to character movements on screen
    • Footsteps, cup placement, clothing movement, gun handling (except firing)
    • Everything "faked" and re-recorded after filming

History and Origins of Foley

• Art traces back to late 1920s when sound was new in film
• Jack Foley (Universal Pictures assistant director) built special stage with props
• Added sound effects to films in post-production
• Drew inspiration from radio producers using coconut shells for horse hooves, fan in metal tub for car engines
• Profession largely unchanged since Foley's era

Greg Barbanell's Career Path

• Started 1970s at California Institute of Arts
• Initially wanted to be actor, told he "pretty much sucked"
• Moved behind scenes, worked on Western film senior year summer
• Tasked with sound effects: footsteps, horse hooves, metal spurs
• "Had a knack for it" - continued 5 decades
• Worked for Walt Disney Studios, Warner Brothers, NBC Universal
• Nearly 600 credits including Breaking Bad, Walking Dead, The Revenant, My Cousin Vinny

Foley Process Workflow

• Supervising sound editor timestamps every cue needing sound effect
• Specific instructions: "reel 1 at 14ft 23 frames - character footsteps from here to here"
• Barbanell works in Foley studio (Burbank, California)
• Sessions include second Foley artist, sound mixer in separate room
• "Thousands of cues" per feature film making sessions "huge"

Creative Sound Solutions and Props

• Little Miss Sunshine VW bus example:
  • Used car hood, car door, metal objects stacked
  • Stepping on pile created "incredible metal deep metal groan"
  • Perfect for bus pushing scene
• Job involves embellishing beyond realistic sounds
• "Make it more dramatic or scary"
• "Film is its own reality - can make machine sound however the hell I want"

Specialized Equipment and Props

• Studio lined with plastic boxes: tools, guns, suitcases, old telephones
• Years scouring metal junkyards, swap meets for strange-noise contraptions
• "Hammy the meat grinder" - old school countertop grinder
  • Plastic sleeve rotates, used for bathroom taps, animated wagon wheels
• Leather armchair sounds - old ammo pouch from surplus store
• Screen door opening - 1960s pogo stick
• Machinery sounds - flour sifter used in Spirited Away basement scene

Gore and Violence Sound Effects

• The Walking Dead zombie sounds required special tools:
  • Wet shammy (thin calf skin) - "incredible sounds when squeezed"
  • Walnuts under foot, slowly crushed for bone snap sounds
  • Dry lasagna noodles out of box
• Fight Club (1999) - chicken carcasses hit with baseball bats
• Historical examples:
  • E.T. - raw liver and Jello for alien body sounds
  • Jurassic Park - crushed ice cream cones + hand in juicy melon for hatching eggs
  • The Exorcist - twisted leather wallet for rotating human head
• Barbanell no longer uses actual meat: "got half a pig, stunk up stage forever, wasn't worth it"

Clothing and Fabric Work

• Critical for scenes with retracked dialogue (lost ambient sounds)
• Intimate scenes require subtle cloth manipulation following character movements
• Uses long sleeve shirts with all buttons removed (no clicks/ticks)
• Specialty clothing rack with coats, jackets, leather, raincoats, silk
• "Super subtle things most people wouldn't even hear"

Footsteps - Most Important Skill

• "What separates the men from the boys in Foley world is how you do footsteps"
• Studio equipped with every surface: concrete, metal, grating, wooden boards, hollow wood deck, dirt
• Peak shoe collection: "garage half filled with shoes"
  • Favorite work boots, fireman shoes, general men's shoes, tennis shoes, ladies flats, ladies heels
• Footsteps convey personality and emotion, not just technical addition
• "Takes years to develop subtlety - nail not just character but emotion of character"

Challenging Projects

• Jackie Chan movies described as "utter freaking nightmare"
• Fighting scenes with complex surface changes
• Chan bounces between buildings, fire escapes, window sills, car hoods
• Each foot hits different surface: fire escape (right foot) → metal pipe → brick wall
• Instead of uniform "boom boom boom" requires breaking into "minute little pieces"
• "Literally wanted to check into asylum" after completion

Production Timeline and Industry Challenges

• Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse: 20-30 days, multiple sound crews
• Breaking Bad: 2-4 days per episode
• Studios attempted replacement with:
  • Advanced sound banks
  • Digital layering
  • Software programs
• 2020: University of Texas San Antonio developed "AutoFoley"
  • Uses deep learning and neural networks
  • Analyzes film, creates accompanying sound effects
  • Not yet used in commercial production

Future of Foley Art

• Hollywood currently sticking with humans over AI
• Studios "would love to do away with this if they could"
• Human element irreplaceable: "we walk the character - frightened or arrogant"
• Performance aspect: "put that into our performance"
• Prediction: Lower budget TV will go digital, "dumb down audience"
• Higher-end shows and big budget movies will maintain human Foley as "specialty craft"
• Pride factor: "this Foley was done by humans"