As we began to overview sound it is interesting to understand the extent to which it is naturally occurring or if its being artificially fabricated. The mini documentary “The unsung art of Foley” https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UO3N_PRIgX0 exposes how foley artists replicate noises in such a realistic manner. The mixer Mary Jo Lang refers to this process as a dance which made me think of how sound is not purely recorded, rather, it is performed. The so-called “natural” sounds we hear in a movie are just a combination of layers meticulously thought of.
This idea directly resonates with the week’s feature Singin in the rain that exposes Hollywood’s obsession with synchronization and illusion. Additionally the sound in the movie is hyperbolized in every sense and there would be no way to grasp that solely from recording the movie. for example: even though the iconic song was recorded on a real water flooded set, the audio was recorded separately. Foley artists lend authenticity to images that would otherwise feel empty or flat — just like Kathy Selden “ghost-voices” Lina Lamont.
In the documentary, Alyson Moore says: “People take sound for granted, but you would miss it if it wasn’t there”. This emphasizes how if well done, sound is meant to be unnoticed. The layering process is an effort towards achieving the most natural noise possible, and in musicals, layering parallels harmony as multiple elements bled together in a single experience. In musicals layering is exaggerated through dialogue, song, dance, ambient sound, rhythm and more.
In essence, both dancers and foley artists rely on rhythm, timing and a combination of movements to succeed. Foley artists dance behind the scenes mirroring the dances on the screen (as exposed on the documentary). By recognizing sound as a choreography we begin to understand that what feels natural in films is sometimes the most artificially constructed elements.
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