So I’ve got to come up with something I want to investigate in terms of filmmaking.

When we were given the task to think of what we’d like to experiment and play with – nothing came to mind. I didn’t know exactly what I wanted to investigate; all I knew was that I wanted to come out of this semester as a better overall filmmaker.

So I thought long and hard over these past few days about what I want to be better at. And then it hit me. Audio.
Recently, I did a blog post about the power of foley and the potential it can bring to a table when creating a film. I noted in that post that I had NEVER worked with creating my own foley – or even thought about doing it, because it’s so much easier to just google a sound effect and download it.

But the idea that audio makes up the majority of your film is something that I can’t avoid – so what better way to improve my own films, by improving my audio quality.

So how can I improve my foley recording technique? And how can I experiment with it over the semester?

I don’t think there will be a tried and true way to be a master foley artist – so I think the best way I can improve is just practise, experiment, and learn from the pros themselves.

I think the first thing I’ll need to do is be more observant – but with my ears… earservant? Hearservant? Whatever.
I need to watch (or listen) to films where the sound effects are plenty, but simple. I need to observe characters walking, picking up an object, getting into a car, ordering a coffee. While doing this, I need to note:

• What actions is the character performing?
• What sound effects accompany that characters action?
• How do I think that sound was produced?
• How in-depth are the sound effects? (Do the sounds of their sleeve ruffling up have their own sound effect?)
• How can I replicate that sound?

By asking myself these questions as I listen to sound effects in movies – I think I might be able to make this work. By doing this, I can apply what I learn from the pros, and hopefully that will result in an improvement of my filmmaking capabilities.

I think one more way I can improve on this skill is to just be versatile. If I’m going to make a film about a guy getting stabbed, there is NO WAY that I’ll be able to replicate that sound using a person’s body and a sword. However, if I can think outside the box, maybe I don’t need to murder someone to get that perfect sound effect. I could squash a watermelon on the ground for the flesh impact, I could drag a spatula across a knife to get the sword sound effect, and so on. There are so many way to get a single sound effect, so I just have to experiment.

Audience will overlook mediocre video quality, if the audio is on a whole ‘nother level. That, will be my investigation.