In the world of cinema, sound often plays as big of a role as visuals do. Sometimes it’s the most memorable piece of a scene: the crack of Indiana Jones’ whip, the whoosh of a Hattori Hanzo samurai sword, even the familiar ‘clip-clopping’ of horse-hoof coconuts. These sounds not only immerse the audience deeper into their scenes, but they create a more colorful world for their story as a whole. But as many of you know, it isn’t always easy (or even possible) to capture certain sounds on set, so a special team of audio wizards are required to come in and make things sound just right in post-production. We call this magic ‘Foley.’ Back in the day, radio broadcasts used basic sound effects, all of which were created live on the air. Soon after, when the movie studios began releasing talking pictures, they called on radio pro Jack Foley. Given his effect-laden background, he was able to do what microphones couldn’t, and he began to create strikingly realistic sounds for the silver screen. He assembled a team of ragtag radioheads, and voila! Foley in film was born. Doors creakin’, glass breakin’, heels struttin’— you name it, Jack Foley and his friends tackled it. These recreated sounds totally changed the game in early cinema and transformed films into the super immersive experiences that they are today. To this day, movie makers are still using Foley to reproduce and enhance sound. And the imagination behind Foley has become seemingly limitless. Most Foley artists are so good at what they do, their work is totally unnoticeable by the audience. Talk about a thankless job! But we’re thanking you now, Foley friends! You tinker and play to recreate reality … and in the end, you make it sound way, way better. If you’re seeking more sonorous lessons, jam out to our sound-related posts, where you can brush up on common sound termslearn how to create a sound-mixing spacerecord natural sounds, and heaps more.