Mumbai1 hour agoAuthor: Virendra Mishra/Abhinav Tripathi
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The work of a foley artist is creative. These foley artists use sugar or rice grains to create the sound of rain in films. They are dropped on the umbrella, which develops the sound of rain.
The art behind making the background sound of films realistic is called Foley Sound Art. You must have heard the sounds of thunder, gunshots, rain and vehicle accidents in films. The sound is produced in a room that looks like a small junkyard. Those who develop these sounds are called foley artists. For this they use nearby objects like rice, sugar, paper, glass, sandals, shoes, umbrellas and wood.
The work of a foley artist is very creative. These foley artists use sugar or rice grains to create the sound of rain in films. They are dropped on the umbrella, which develops the sound of rain. How do foley artists work? What household items do they use to produce sound? In the new episode of Reel to Real we have talked about these points.
For this, the team of Dainik Bhaskar reached Aradhana Sound Studio located in Andheri East, Mumbai. Three sound engineers Rajendra Gupta, Karnail Singh and Sajjan Chaudhary, who had done foley and sync sound work in hundreds of films, were present there.
In earlier films, only original sound was used, when technology improved, dubbing started.
In the initial times, only original sounds were used in the films. Meaning that only the sound made during on-spot shooting was used in the films. His dubbing was not done separately. Till that time there was no technology that could filter the sound. Gradually as technology improved, dubbing started.
After dubbing, Foley Sound started. Separate sounds for the activities taking place in the background of films also started being produced. In such a situation, the scenes started looking more original than before.
This is a symbolic photo. Sequences ranging from horse riding to fighting are shown in films. The horse sequences are also mostly created with VFX. In such a situation, the role of foley artist increases for its sound.
Real plates are broken in the studios, only then can natural sound be heard in films.
Understand who are foley artists and what is their work?
All the sounds used in the background of films like breaking of glass, running, punching someone, sound of horses and elephants, all these are made with a special technique. These are not natural, but are extracted with the help of foley sound. The person who works on this is called Foley Artist.
Most of the things used in films are fake. Suppose an actor hits a wall during an action sequence. Now obviously that wall is not real. To make the sequence look real, the sound effect of hitting the wall is created. This work is done by foley artist.
The foley artist also has to pay attention to how the actor is wearing shoes.
The work of a foley artist is very challenging and creative. The Foley artist even has to pay attention to what kind of shoes the actor is wearing in the scene. If it is a leather shoe, then it will make a different sound. Apart from this, if there are sports shoes, sandals and slippers then the sound will keep changing. Apart from this, attention has to be paid to the condition of the ground surface. Meaning, if the actor is walking on the floor, road or in a hilly area, a different sound has to be made. For this, all types of shoes and slippers are available with Foley Artist.
Karnail Singh and Sajjan Chaudhary told that if you want to make the sound of slap, then hit a pair of ladies slippers against each other very fast. This makes the slap sound exactly like the original.
To create the sound of Ghunghrus, Foley artists record the sound by wearing real Ghunghrus in the studio. For this, he also watches the movement of the actress's feet carefully.
Rice and sugar are used to make the sound of rain
In films, rice, sugar and an umbrella are used to make the sound of rain. A folly artist holds rice or sugar in both hands and drops it on an umbrella. It makes exactly the same sound as if it is raining.
If there is a sequence of light rain then the quantity of rice or sugar is kept less and it is dropped slowly on the umbrella. Whereas if the sound of heavy rain is to be made then a full handful of thick grains of rice or sugar is dropped on the umbrella.
The original gun shots and car sounds are pre-recorded
We often hear the sound of gunshots in films. How is this sound produced? In response, Rajendra Gupta said, 'Actually a library is already maintained for this. In this library, the sounds of all types of guns of the world are pre-recorded. Apparently, AK-47, pistol and revolver produce different sounds while firing.
During shooting, dummy gun shots are shown. Meaning the sound produced in it is not used in films. Whatever gun is used in that particular scene, we mix the sound of that gun from the library according to the scene.
The car model used in the film is searched and its sound is recorded.
The same thing applies in the car sequence also. The original sound of the car that is used in the sequence is used during dubbing. Suppose, a Mercedes car has to be shown in a scene. Now the sound engineer will search the model of that car. Then the original sound of that car will be recorded and placed in the background of the scene.
In a scene from the film Sholay, Hema Malini runs away from the dacoits by driving a tanga. The sound emanating from the horse carriage in that scene was prepared by Karnail Singh and Sajjan Singh sitting in their studio.
Hema Malini was seen driving a tanga in the film Sholay.
The sound of fluttering pigeon is made by using wallet and paper.
If pigeons are flying in a scene then how will the sound of their fluttering be made? Karnail Singh said, 'We will take the leather wallet. Will keep a paper in the middle of the wallet. Then you will open and close the wallet very quickly. Its sound will be such that it will seem like pigeons are fluttering.
It is most important for sound engineers to check the expressions of actors.
What is the most important thing for a sound engineer to keep in mind? In response, Karnail Singh said, 'We have to understand the emotions of the scenes and the artist. How the artist is behaving in the sequence, how he is reacting, what is his activity, all these things have to be kept in mind.
Suppose, in a sequence, if the actor is angry, he will drink water and bang the glass on the table rapidly. In such a situation, we will have to make the sound of keeping the glass slightly louder. Whereas if the actor is behaving normally, then slow sound will have to be made accordingly. Overall, it becomes most important for the sound engineers to check the expressions of the actors in the film.
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