Jack Foley: Film sound magician
Back in the early days all sound in film was added in postproduction. Aiming to synchronize sounds to the exact pace of movements in a film, Jack Donovan Foley, starting in 1927, would recreate sounds in postproduction to accompany the film. That approach is still used today, and those who do that job are now known as Foley artists.
With the evolution of technology, it became possible to film while simultaneously recording sound. Yet catching voices is the main emphasis of live sound recording, leaving sounds created by movements, such as footsteps, the flipping of newspaper pages, the shutting of doors or the sound of eating to be captured during postproduction by Foley artists. Although it may look easy, a Foley artist’s job is not something that just anyone can do well. “Foley artists need to be very familiar with what’s happening on screen and have quick reactions,” explains Hu. “What’s more, getting the timing just right is absolutely key. That’s the hardest part.”
He uses a wide array of tools to create sounds. He pinches Styrofoam, applying pressure and then relaxing his grip, to create the sound of loads swinging on carrying poles. He uses a pudding cup on a board to reproduce the clip-clop of horses’ hooves. How did he discover these sound sources? He relies on constantly observing and touching things: “Don’t touch what you shouldn’t, but put your hands all over what you can.”
It’s not just imitation: the work can also involve re-creation. Wang Wan-jo recalls an anecdote about pig’s ears. One day, she was sitting at her desk at Central and saw a plateful of pig’s ears with a note on which Hu had written: “Left over from work, please enjoy.” They sparked Wang’s imagination: “I thought he might have been using them to make the sounds of children’s fingers being eaten for a film version of the Chinese fairy tale ‘Tiger Auntie.’” That made Hu laugh. “It was because the actors in the film ate pig’s ears, so the Foley artist had to eat pig’s ears too. Pig’s ears have cartilage in them, so the sound of eating them is different from the sound of eating meat.” It was a demonstration of just how precise a listener he is.
At the special screening of A Foley Artist, senior sound mixer Tsao Yuan-fong, who was once Hu’s apprentice, said: “Foley techniques are all artifice, so creativity is the most important skill to have in the profession. An important part of a Foley artist’s work is studying the quality of sounds.” He cited The Last Painting (2017), the Chen Hung-i film that kicked off this year’s Golden Horse Fantastic Film Festival. When the leading man pulled out the leading woman’s eyes, they relied on the Foley artist to produce convincing sounds that would enable audiences to suspend their disbelief.
The Foley artist for The Last Painting was none other than Hu Ding-yi. After racking his brain about how to produce the needed sounds—a symphony of squishy viscous liquids, crushed bones, and torn muscles—he brought a fish head to the sound room to produce something quite true to life.
Hu’s workbooks are full of notes about the actions in a film and the sound effects that are needed to accompany them.