The Mind-Blowing Art of Foley Sound

It's almost become a cliche to rant and rave about just how important sound is to a film, but then a video like this comes around and reminds us all that there simply isn't enough wild praise to lavish on the mad geniuses that somehow manage to breath true life into a series of photographs projected in rapid motion onto a large screen. Anyone who has seen a work-in-progress print of a movie without finished sound can tell you that -- despite film being a visual medium -- it's up to the sound guys to ease you into the world of the film.

The subject of this all-too-short behind-the-scenes portrait is Gary Hecker, a Foley artist whose filmography may very well make your brain explode. His job is simple in concept, but amazingly complex in execution: He has to look at the finished film and recreate every single sound in the film, from footsteps to horse hooves to crashing cars. As you will see in the video, it's not a simple task, and Hecker truly has to "perform" to achieve each and every sound to give it proper authenticity. Watching him slowly "build" the sounds of a horse riding past the camera for a brief sequence in Ridley Scott's 'Robin Hood' is a sight to behold. This is real movie magic.

If you care about the art of film production in any way, this is five minutes worthy of your surely valuable time. Check it out after the jump.

SoundWorks Collection: Gary Hecker -- Veteran Foley Artist, from Michael Coleman on Vimeo.

(Via Neatorama)

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