The Power Of Sound

On Sunday, October 30th 1938 America was sent into a state of panic thanks to War of the Worlds. This was due to the belief in what was being presented, thanks to sound and imagination being the only medium.

The Foley Artist

• Often called spot effects.
• Created and developed by Jack Foley (1927)
• First move to use spot effects was show boat.

Here are some classic Foley sound effects:

• Punch - thumping a watermelon, smacking a piece of meat with a meat tenderizer, a heavy telephone book rolled and taped up
• Bones Breaking - Breaking a bunch of celery, a head of frozen romaine lettuce
• Footsteps in snow - squeezing cornstarch in the bow or in a leather pouch
• Kissing - kissing the back of your hand
• Flapping bird’s wings - a pair of gloves
• Grass or leaves crunching - balled up audio tape (walk on it)
• Creaking sound - use an old chair that creaks, a water soaked rusty hinge placed against different surfaces
• Crackling fire - cellophane
• Gun - a heavy staple gun and a piece of metal
• “Whoosh” - swinging a thin stick or arrow
• Horse’s hooves - coconut shell cut in half and stuffed with padding
• Wet Squishy Sounds - Flubber, gelatin, dish soap
• Voice - any sound you can make or imitate