Lesson Four - SFX; Foley and Recorded

Foley

At ARTC there are three different parts to the Foley team: Foley Master, Foley Artist, and Foley Mixer.

Foley Master: The Foley Master will be coordinating the Foley Team. They usually do this as either an artist or a mixer, but I did work one show (non-ARTC) where there was just one person calling all the SFX cues and that person was a blend of the Sound Designer and the Foley Master.

The Sound Designer will create a Sound Design. The Sound Design is a single sheet of paper with all of the SFX cues listed in order by line number. It will have each SFX cue assigned. It should look like this:

The Elephant's Child
Line #	Description	Assigned to	Notes
Line 109	Boing	Foley
Line 133	Fly Buzz	Actor
Line 135	Slap	Actor or Foley
Line 143	Snap	Foley	Celery, Carrot, or apple slice?

The Foley Master will create a Foley Script based on the Sound Design. You start by printing out a clean copy of the script from the ARTC script archive. Make sure you’ve got the most up to date version of the script possible.

At the top of the Title Page, write Foley in big letters. On the Title Page find a large blank space. Put the words “Prop List” at the top of the Blank Space. As you determine what props will be used by Foley in this script, list them here.

Go through the Foley Designated script and mark each cue with a F, R, M, or A to denote if it is Foley, Recorded, Musician, or Actor. Then  highlight the Foley designated cues with yellow highlighter. You will use yellow highlighter because yellow does not prevent you from being able to read the words if you have to make a black and white copy or scan of the Foley Script later. It is likely that you will need to make a scan or copy.

Then it’s time to make a visit to your prop room! Currently ARTC has the Foley Closet. Take your Script Design with you and find props to use for all the Foley designated cues. List the props on the front of your script under the words, “Prop List.”

Trying out a sound: If you are unsure which props will make the best sound for the cue, gather a couple of choices and hold a tryout. You will tell the director you need to have a tryout. During the rehearsal, the director will give you time. Describe to the people at the rehearsal what the sound cue is and how many options you have for it. Then have them close their eyes and clearly say “option one” and perform their first choice, repeat with the corresponding option numbers until you have exhausted all your options. Instruct them to open their eyes. They will give their opinions on what options sounded best and the director will make the final call for which option to use.

Now either the Director, the Sound Designer, or the Foley Master will assign the Foley Actors and the Foley Mixer. The Director will delegate who will assign the Foley crew. Once The Foley Crew is assigned, The Foley Master will decide on the Foley Setup.

For Most Shows the Foley Setup includes a six foot folding table, 3 shotgun mics, one floor mic, and an under table floor surface. The first shotgun mic (1) will be pointed at one half of the surface of the folding table. The second (2) will be pointed at the other half of the surface of the folding table. The Third (3) will be pointed off to stage left of the folding table. Usually it will be pointed at a the Foley Door since most scripts call for doors to open and close at some point. The Floor mic (4) will be on the floor pointed at and as close as it can get to the floor surface.

Diagram:

IRL Examples: