Showing posts with label sound fx. Show all posts
Showing posts with label sound fx. 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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The Sound Effects Bible: How to Create and Record Hollywood Style Sound Effects Review

The Sound Effects Bible: How to Create and Record Hollywood Style Sound Effects
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The Sound Effects Bible: How to Create and Record Hollywood Style Sound Effects Review[...]
Review by: Sable Jak
This is not a book to simply glance through and then put on your shelf and pull out now and then. If you're involved in sound at all, I doubt you could do that. This is a book to carry with you in the field, have next to your computer, in your editing suite and taped to your cereal box so you can read it while you have breakfast.
There is so much information in this thing I don't even know where to begin, so I'll tell you a little set-up information first:
I recorded my own audio drama serial last year (2008) and I wish I'd had this before I started. It sure would have helped stop a lot of stumbling and fumbling around. At the same time, it's more than a little nice now and then to find a piece of information in it that lets me know I did something right... on occasion.
Viers knows his business. He's worked in film, radio, television and video games for years. According to his bio he's one of the world's largest independent providers of sound effects, with over 150,000 sounds and 150 sound libraries. He's also created sound libraries for large companies.
He's taken all that experience and crammed it into 326 fully-loaded pages. He starts out by explaining what sound effects are, from natural to manufactured to designed. Why start with such a basic? Because he's all about understanding what you're doing. So, if the chapter on the science of sound may seem like it's reiterating an old science class, remember; who among us can't benefit from a refresher course?
Not being mechanically/technically inclined I appreciated his information on microphones and their accessories, and even how to put together a portable recording package. In addition to helping you build your own Foley stage (complete with pictures, yippee) he covers studio equipment, recording in the field, recording Foley and working with a database. There's so much information it's hard to absorb it all. I'd like to say it's best taken in small increments, and for someone who works best by doing, it is, but at the same time, there's so much here you want to keep reading in case the next page contains something vital to your current project. However, keep in mind the book is laid out so you can quick reference specific needs without having to wade through unrelated information.
I have to say, some of the hard core technical information is a little hard for me to understand, even though it's written very clearly. But the more I read, the more I work on projects and the more I use this book, the more I will, and do, understand. I say this because to me it seems that Viers knows that having a good reference guide at hand is always a help, no matter how much you do or don't know.
In short, I highly recommend this book.
Sable Jak
Author: Writing the Fantasy Film
The Sound Effects Bible: How to Create and Record Hollywood Style Sound Effects OverviewThe Sound Effects Bible is a complete guide to recording and editing sound effects. The book covers topics such as microphone selection, field recorders, the ABCs of digital audio, understanding Digital Audio Workstations, building your own Foley stage, designing your own editing studio, and more.

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