Curious Minds Podcast: How Sound Artists Make Movie Magic

When we watch movies and TV, we've come to accept, and expect, green screens and special effects.

But there's more than meets the eye. Because while you’re watching a fight scene, listening to the characters land blows and break bones, what you’re probably hearing is a Foley artist manipulating dried lasagna noodles or celery.

It turns out that Foley, what we call those custom sound effects, made with often unconventional props, plays a larger role than you might realize in bringing movie magic to life.

But where did this industry come from, and if it’s truly so important to storytelling, why is it often taken for granted?

In our third episode of Curious Minds we explore the cinematic history of sound with Vanessa Theme Ament, author of “The Foley Grail”, and speak with Emmy-award winning Foley artists Joanna Fang, Ronni Brown, and Alyson Dee Moore about how they trick your ear and if sound libraries can ever truly compete with sound artists.

You can download the transcript of this episode at the end of this article.

“It's like playing Dance Dance Revolution. But everything is a dance path,” says Joanna Fang of Alchemy Post Sound, describing how Foley artists work.

Because not only do they need to figure out what props can be manipulated to make a desired sound effect, they also need to watch and act out that sound in perfect sync with the scene.