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Daniel Jewel's "The Secret World of Foley"

Three minutes into this docu short and I already knew I had to write about it. The Secret World of Foley follows the journey of British Foley artists: Sue Harding (Les Misérables, The Imitation Game, and Philomena) and Peter Burgis (V for Vendetta, Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, and The Danish Girl) as they perform the art of Foley for a film titled Clovelly. Throughout this thirteen-minute short, we see the pair perform all sorts of sounds to match that of what is going on in Clovelly, a fishing village in England. The Foley studio where the magic is seen happening is inside the prestigious Pinewood Studios (if you're not a sound nerd, but you love Star Wars then you might recognize this name!).

Left to Right: Sue Harding and Peter Burgis
There is no better representation of what goes on inside this section of the world of audio post production than this documentary short. When I first hit play I started to listen to it through my laptop speakers, but I quickly had to pause it and ran to get my professional headphones. This is pure ear candy from beginning to end. 

Everything about it is perfection; I saw it as more than a tribute to everyone that is part of the Sound Department in the entertainment world. The way they perform each single movement with detail, and the imagination behind the items/props used to recreate such sounds, this what Foley is. Yes, a fish swimming inside a wooden crate may seem as a fish swimming inside a wooden crate. In reality it may just be a hand moving inside a basket full of water.

I haven't done Foley since I was in college and that's because I missed the Foley sessions of a short film me and a friend were working last month which still makes me upset. Watching this made want to go back to some good old times, and of course it makes me want to watch this all over again. I recommend you look into the list of credits of this two talented individuals for the purpose of studying the Foley in their films, even if you've seen them already. I guarantee you that you will not see those films the same way.

"This film shines a light on a little known film art form and is a testament to magic and wonder of Cinema itself."

That being said, you can watch "The Secret World of Foley" here





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