Foley Effects
Foley effects are sound effects added to the film during post production (after the shooting stops). They include sounds such as footsteps, clothes rustling, etc. The technique is named after Jack Foley, who established the basic modern techniques still used today. Like most terms that are named in honour of a person, it is customary to spell Foley with a capital "F". The boom operator's job is to clearly record the dialogue, and only the dialogue. At first glance it may seem odd that we add back to the soundtrack the very sounds the sound recordists tried to exclude. But the key word here is control. By excluding these sounds during filming and adding them in post, we have complete control over the timing, quality, and relative volume of the sound effects. The Foley artists can clearly see a screen which displays the footage they are to add sound fx to, and they perform their sound effects while watching this screen for timing. The actions they perform can...