3 Personal Qualities That Will Help a Beginning Foley Artist

SELF-MOTIVATION

I met people who came to the industry just because being a Foley artist seems "cool and fun" to them or because it's an unusual and rare profession. It's worse if a person comes solely for money (it's better to choose the career of a football player). None of them stayed long because, over time, they never showed extreme curiosity, excitement, thirst for constant learning, and no fiery eyes. They weren't ready to work hard either. On Instagram, it may look like being a Foley Artist is fun, but it is diligent and responsible work in real life.

It's good if someone will teach you the craft at the beginning of your journey. Anyone who can suggest the proper techniques and lay an artistic vision in you acquires a cinematic taste and instill standards. But without dedication, zeal for knowledge, and high self-motivation, in one direction, it will not work for a long time, and there will be no growth, which will become a burden to all participants in the process.

SELF-DISCIPLINE AND RESPONSIBILITY. DEADLINE IS A KING

Your excellent work, in which you have invested all your soul and efforts, is valuable if it is delivered on time!

Recording Foley is just one of the stages of post-production, and each department has its degree of responsibility and deadlines for sending material to other departments. Even if your work is not perfect enough but delivered on time, it is much better than your work as a perfectionist will be sent sound effects editor with a delay. It is unlikely that he will enthusiastically appreciate the quality and creativity. Still, they will feel that their timeline before sending the material to the re-recording mixer has become shorter.

It is essential to remain self-disciplined to have time to send the material on time and not to put your colleagues from other sound departments in an uncomfortable time frame or to make them nervous. It's challenging when you have a constant flow of projects.

Creativity and quality certainly play a significant role. But many sound effects editors and mixers work in conveyor conditions. And you, as an artist, need to give out all your creative potential within the agreed and approved deadlines. Respect and follow deadlines. Always.

BE READY FOR A TEAM GAME

Foley Artist is one of the key players in audio post-production… As well as Foley mixer/recordist, Foley supervisor, Foley editor and all those involved in the process.

I had to meet novice Foley Artists who believed they were doing everything right and their opinion was the only correct one. Artists who did not listen to the opinion of the recordist and especially did not consider the wishes of the sound effects editor.

As an experienced Foley mixer, no one else knows how well the sound fits into the picture, how the sound perspective works, and what needs to be changed in the sound to get a more organic result. Therefore, I would even call Foley mixer/recordist the leading player in recording Foley, but Foley Artist is a “tool” for the Foley mixer. But it all depends on the experience of both.

Request for the specific notes/wishes of the sound effects editor or re-recording mixer before starting work on the film. Always listen to the Foley recordist's opinion during recording. From a different perspective, he can see how well Foley sounds, especially if you work without headphones as a Foley Artist.

CONCLUSION

Having all these three personal qualities are not a guarantee of success, but will help a beginning artist quickly get used to the industry, gain trust and get fast and productive professional growth.

I will deliberately leave the point of "creativity" aside, as this is a self-evident quality that a person in any creative profession should possess, to which the craft of Foley certainly belongs.

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