Sound Design: Foley - How Movie Sound Effects Are Made

Ever wonder why the intricate sounds in movies sound so clear and without microphones picking up all that direct sound? Welcome to the world of foley. Foley is the art of creating sounds that the characters on screen interact with. Everything from footsteps to clothing rustle to picking up and putting down objects is done on a foley stage by a foley artist.

What makes foley very interesting is that often times the sounds you hear on screen were created by using totally different objects. The video below shows an overview of the life of a foley artist.

Foley artists make many of the movie sound effects you hear in your favorite films. Here's a look at how they do it. Gary Hecker (Django Unchained, Hancock, 300), Dawn Lunsford (Whiplash, The Hunger Games: Mockingjay - Part 1, Transformers: Age of Extinction) and Alicia Stevenson (The Hunger Games: Mockingjay - Part 1, X-Men, Transformers: Age of Extinction) take viewers through their post-production process.