Friday 19 February 2016

Foley and the followers of his art - Part One

The Sound Of Footsteps - Barnaby Smyth's shoe colllection

Barnaby Smyth, foley artist on many, many TV series and films (Downton Abbey (2010-15), Dickensian (2015-16), Suffragette (2015), explains some of his techniques for the seemingly simple task of recording footsteps.

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The sheer of variety of footwear he carries is amazing. His attention to detail is equally impressive.

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You can hear a short interview with him at the start of this edition of Radio 4's The Film Programme (8th October 2015).

Apart from employing a a huge range of boots and shoes (all with a specific purpose) he also demonstrates techniques for changing the sound to emulate characters of differing stature. One of the more interesting observations is that it is not sufficient to record a straight rhythmic footstep but the scuffs, turns and idiosyncrasies that make the audience believe.





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