Sound Design Workshop

Sound Design Workshop: Music and the Art of Foley

In November, our upper school musicians and music faculty traveled to Orlando to participate in the Sound Design Workshop: Music and the Art of Foley at Universal Studios. This unique hands-on workshop was designed by renowned composer and music educator Robert W. Smith to allow orchestra, band, and choir students to experience life as working movie musicians performing original underscores, performing voiceovers, creating Foley sound effects, and selecting digital sound effects for a scene from Illiumination’s animated movie Despicable Me.

In the weeks leading up to the workshop, our students learned and rehearsed the film score so they were ready to perform and record the score in a real soundstage with high-end recording microphones, a producer, and multiple audio and video engineers. The professional production team led our students step by step through the recording and audio engineering process to record the score, voiceovers, and Foley sound effects that were paired with movie footage. They learned about Foley sound effects which are tailor-made sounds that are created and recorded live in the post-production process to enhance films, TV shows, and video games.

“We are so proud of the musicianship, courage, professionalism, and character our students displayed both during the workshop and over the course of the trip,” said Director of Fine Arts Leslie Niessner. “We have already seen God’s hand in blessing their experience with growth that we know will continue to blossom in years to come.”

“The entire Sound Design: Music and the Art of Foley workshop, from the preparation through to the final performance, was a very rewarding experience for our students,” shared Orchestra Director Jessica Taylor. “Our students were challenged with new music during rehearsals to work up the tempo as required to record. Then to see it all come together as they performed on the sound stage at Universal Studios with full support of professional audio engineers, producers, and equipment was an experience we won’t soon forget. This program allowed our students to be exposed to music careers and opportunities that they have not experienced before and it has broadened how music can impact their lives. We were able to take the experience from the classroom to a professional stage, and our students were able to shine!”

“I had never experienced voice-over acting before and it was very challenging. I learned that you can use lots of objects to make sound effects like crinkling paper to emulate a crackling fire.” - Freshman Magnus Ibbetson

“There are a lot of moving pieces that make movies and video clips so realistic between all the people involved, the different sounds from Foley art, and the perfect timing it takes. I learned how much work and time it takes to make one scene or sound in a movie or video, and truly how much fun it is!” - Freshman Kendyl Meisel

“Watching my peers try voice acting revealed some hidden talents I hadn’t seen before and they might not have known they had either. I went into the workshop with some assumptions that recording sound effects was easy, but I left with a greater appreciation for the timing, editing and acting ability required.” - Sophomore Evie Thompson

“We saw what it would really be like to produce music at a high level with one of the most prominent production companies in the industry and I loved seeing exactly what voice actors and recording engineers do to create voice-overs and really bring animated movies alive.” - Freshman Andre Cox