WORKING LIVES
BBC
Killing Eve: a ‘fantastic experience’ for a Foley artist
F
Foley artist
oley artist Ruth Sullivan has been adding sound to TV programmes for more than two decades, most recently to Killing Eve. In post-production, she mimics the actors’ steps and actions – and, for the BBC thriller, the gruesome murders – to add authenticity to the sound. Her craft is named after Jack Foley, who pioneered performing effects live and in sync with the pictures on early Hollywood talkies. What does the job involve? We get a feel for a programme and then record a “moves track”. I stand in
8
front of a microphone holding different pieces of cloth such as denim, cotton and silk, moving the material to match the movement of the actors on screen. Then we mimic footsteps, using different shoes, and work on spot effects, such as closing a door, making tea or shuffling paper. So, you’re trying to recreate the sounds made by actors? We can also, say, recreate the sound of leaves blowing in the wind. We are informed by what’s on the screen and try to recreate everything that makes a sound in a scene. Then it’s up to the sound mixer to decide if the Foley
effect is needed to accentuate a sound or movement, or whether to stick with the location sound. Where do you work? Largely in dedicated Foley studios, which have the props and the surfaces you need to create the effects. I bring my suitcase with me, which is mostly filled with different types of shoes. We take about three days to record the effects for an hour of drama. Why not use pre-recorded effects? A sound effects editor does that, creating and bringing in sounds for a full track of sound effects. But, for the
