Showing posts with label foley. Show all posts
Showing posts with label foley. Show all posts

The Foley Grail: The Art of Performing Sound for Film, Games, and Animation Review

The Foley Grail: The Art of Performing Sound for Film, Games, and Animation
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The Foley Grail: The Art of Performing Sound for Film, Games, and Animation ReviewI'm giving this book three stars, but I really didn't like it. For the past two decades, I have made my living, exclusively, in the sound for motion picture business. Because I am so passionate about it, I feverishly snatch up every book on the subject. The business is so complex, there is so much information, after twenty years, I still thrive on learning something new. And I do, almost every single day.
For years, I have been looking for a book specifically about foley. I'm fascinated by the many sounds that come out of various objects. I understand that experimentation is the name of the game, but the most fun thing about foley is finding out what items are used to create what sounds. I probably shouldn't give a book a bad review just because it wasn't written the way I wanted. But the fact is, I wanted a recipe book. I was disappointed because that's not what this is.
To be fair, this book contains a lot of information. It covers everything you could ever want to know about the history of foley and pays homage to several great foley artist. That's all great. Foley artists are under appreciated, and the work they do is incredible. Foley artists should get all the credit they deserve, and they deserve a lot.
There is also a great deal of information about what, in my opinion, has gone wrong with the Hollywood system. I'm speaking, specifically, about heavy-handed departmentalization. Without getting into it, I'll just say I found it very discouraging, even depressing. Not a quality I look for in a book, especially a book so closely associated with what I do every day.
This book is relatively expensive. A college student or a struggling, young filmmaker would be better off spending the money on something else. Despite what the title implies, "The Foley Grail: The Art of Performing Sound for Film, Games, and Animation," is more like a history book. The technical information isn't there. If technical information is what you're after, you'll have to look somewhere else.
By the way, when I bought this book, I also purchased "The Sound Effects Bible," by Ric Viers. So far, I've read only about half of it, scanning, quite a bit, over a lot of information I already know. But I can tell you this; Ric's book is full of very good, very useful technical information. It's presented in a positive, entertaining way with lots of nice pictures and useful diagrams. It's actually inspiring. I plan on reviewing Ric's book (I'm calling him by his first name, as if I know him, but we've never met), and I will give it five stars.
The Foley Grail: The Art of Performing Sound for Film, Games, and Animation OverviewCreate custom sound effects that are the mainstay of soundtracks for films, broadcast, animation and games.Learn how Foley is designed, crafted and edited for any project- right down to the nuts and bolts of spotting, cueing, and performing sounds. An array of techniques is illustrated with artists presenting their own methods for selecting and handling props, "walking" various characters, and other tricks of the trade. Various renowned artists, editors and mixers contribute stories and perspectives on what is necessary for a film or media project, and how technology has changed the craft over the years.The Foley stage is discussed in detail, with illustrations to assist you in designing your own stage, whatever the size. The companion DVD includes video demonstrations of Foley Artists at work, along with illustrated techniques for the novice.Key Benefits: * A concise, creative guide to the art and technique for producing Foley sound for films, video, animation and games.* Alternative Foley stage designs are illustrated and interviews of renowned artists shed light on essentials.* Companion DVD video demonstrates a variety of techniques that Foley artists use to perform cues.

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Sound for Film and Television, Third Edition Review

Sound for Film and Television, Third Edition
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Sound for Film and Television, Third Edition ReviewSound is the most neglected part of filmmaking, and yet it is so very important for effectively conveying the narrative structure in any motion picture. "Sound for Film and Television" (Third Edition) is a very technical book. In film school, I have taken college-level courses for audio and sound and this is a very professional level book that is more technical than any of our current textbooks. It is definitely on the level of what you would expect from someone who works for THX / Lucasfilm. There are really not a great many illustrations in this book. The reader will have to have at least a little basic knowledge on how sound works, and if you are looking for a weekend filmmaker's how-to type of manual for doing things on the cheap, this book is not it.
All of this having been said, as in the introdction, depending on who you are and why you are studying the book, there are various approaches to the text. If you have to be on the set before sunrise the next morning, a thorough study of chapter 4, Capturing Sound, can get you to a place where you are at least reasonably competent. Subjects such as psychoacoustics and getting the most effect out of sound in film and television are also covered early on in the book. The chapter on editing is quite extensive and covers basic micing of both film and television sets for sitcoms, dramas, snd includes pre-mix operations for sound editors as well as a very good section on documentary and reality production. The eleven commandments of film sound are quite enlightening and give a really good insight as to the dos and don'ts. Keeping the sound in synch with the picture is the surest way to tip off the audience that they are dealing with amateur filmmakers. Silence is rarely found in the natural world and should not be found in film. It is the balance of dialogue, music and effects is of paramount importance and although these elements may shift in importance on the screen, it is the effective film editor that can bring out the narrative in the editing process. Sound for Film and Television covers the most effective ways to make all the pieces work together in the final sound edit. Tomlinson Holman adroitly shows these things in depth and does his best to explain them and eliminate confusion for the reader.
There is an included DVD can be played on stereo or surround sound systems. There are setups snd tests for signal present checks, demonstration of full or dramtic fall of and direct sound, boinks, 400Hz tone with a variety of waveforms such as square or triangle waves. Radiation patterns of the voice shown by multiple recordings of simultaneous angles.
Again, this book is very helpful and it is very succinct, but you need to have a strong focus on the importance of good audio engineering and sound editing. You definitely have to have your mind on what you are reading and possibly with your hands on the equipment itself to get the most out of the book.Sound for Film and Television, Third Edition Overview
Sound for Film and Television, Third Edition provides a thorough introduction to the fascinating field of recording, editing, mixing, and exhibiting film and television sound. It strikes a fine balance between aesthetic and technical content, combining theory and practice to approach sound as both an art and a science. This new edition has been completely updated to reflect the latest advances in HD technology, new hardware and software systems, new distribution methods, wireless sound capture, and more. Also, analog-related content has been reduced and transferred to the chapters covering historical techniques. Sections on troubleshooting and FAQs have been added to help you avoid common pitfalls in sound production.

Written by one of Hollywood's leading sound experts, Sound for Film and Television provides a solid grounding in all aspects of the sound process. Basic principles are presented with illustrations demonstrating how they affect the day-to-day activities on a film or television set, in the editing room, and in the mix room.

The accompanying audio DVD contains more than 50 tracks that demonstrate practical, real-world examples of key concepts presented in the book.

A companion Web site provides further resources and information:

http://booksite.focalpress.com/companion/Holman/SoundforFilmandTelevision/

Please use the access code located in the beginning of the book to register for access to the Web site.
*The only text to present sound design as both an art and a science*Accompanying audio DVD contains examples demonstrating key concepts*Bridges the gap between production books and design engineering books

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