Foley professionals Barnaby Smyth and Balázs Győri share all you need to know about the unique practise of using everyday objects to make incredibly realistic sound effects.

When watching TV, the sounds we hear are just as important as visuals. A show can draw us in from the realism of what we hear, like the creak of a door or rustling leaves. This is especially true for nature documentaries, where hearing animals creates a bigger sense of immersion. But what if you learned that most of the noises you heard weren’t from animals at all, and were recreated by artists? 

When the elements of capturing audio become too difficult for producers, with unclear microphones or a sound that just doesn’t sound quite right ruining a scene, sound engineers replace and enhance noises in post-production. That’s where Foley comes in. 

What is Foley?

The history of Foley as a practice goes as far back as the 1920s. Jack Foley (1891-1967), an American sound effect designer, was working for Universal Pictures as an assistant director in 1927. This was when Warner Brothers released the first feature length film with synchronised dialogue. To compete with revolutionary film giant, Universal began to redevelop their sound effects. Operating with simple sources of sound, such as everyday objects, people’s voices, and clothing, Foley’s sound technicians used a skilful method of recording the noises alongside the visuals on screen, in order to create a more immersive experience for American audiences.

Foley never received any on-screen credit for his work during his 33 years at Universal Pictures, yet he is credited with developing the unique craft. His approach was so effective that professionals who chose to get involved in the craft became known as ‘Foley’ artists. The name has stuck today. 

The first steps

Bafta and three-time Emmy nominee Barnaby Smyth has been working with Foley for around 30 years now. He explained how Foley is mostly a stepping stone for sound engineers to get into the world of sound production. For him, it was the craft he fell in love with. 

In 2016, Barnaby set up his own studio, The Laundry Foley Studio in Essex, where he works with a team of skilled artists. They’ve worked on many big projects in TV and film, including Downton Abbey, Baby Reindeer, and Snow White. Most recently, Barnaby was nominated in the 2025 Bafta Television Craft Awards category for ‘sound: fiction’ with his work on House of the Dragon.

Hungary-based Foley artist and sound designer Balázs Győri became involved in the profession following his career as a musician. He fell into mechanical engineering work, where he mixed records for ten years.

However, finding work in the music business was on the decline in Hungary. For Balázs, a career which he found “creative, exciting, inexplicable and unique (and a little less serious)” was on the horizon: foley.

His first film “Fever at Dawn” released in 2015, which told the true story of two holocaust survivors. He set up his own studio “TheFoleyArtist” during the pandemic, where he’s since produced his own work.

“What excites me most about foley work is how I can use steps to enhance a person’s character, create real intimacy through sounds, and create a more authentic ‘reality.’ And all this has to be done in a way that the viewer can’t think that this was done in post-production. We’re practically trying to drag them into the scene,” he says.

Inside the studio

Coming up with ideas for a range of sounds (everything from rain to breaking bones) seems challenging. For Barnaby, who has been in the craft for around 30 years now, it’s all about experience. 

“Between myself and my engineer and my other foley artist, we can discuss, and we’ll shoot stuff in the studio. Then we often lay location recordings,” he says.

For interesting sound acoustic, the team will record in stately homes or big halls. One of the common recordings in productions is footsteps. For Barnaby’s team, recording trainer footsteps on a sprung, gym-like wooden floor can often be most effective.

“I suppose it’s sort of embedding the foley into the scene wherever you are, whether you’re in a field or in a castle or in a hall, just so it doesn’t sound like it’s a closely recorded footstep that doesn’t belong to that scene.” 

The challenges of Foley

Like any profession, Foley can be as challenging as it is fun. Finding the right prop can be difficult and take up to two hours. But it’s not something to be rushed.

“It’s hard, because you can record a sound like someone sitting on a leather chair. You’re like, oh, that sort of sounds right, but the chair’s not quite right. There’s a bit of a weird creak, or the leather’s making a bit of a guffy air sound, or the mic’s too close,” Barnaby says.

A sound mixer will work with the artist, guiding them in their recording. To ensure the sound mixer has an easier time making the recording sound good, Foley can take a while to perfect. The artist and engineer know the sound they’re trying to create, so it becomes a matter of recognising when they’ve made that sound.

For Balázs, he finds tasks become easier when sounds are broken down into layers in his head.

Six to seven layers of sound can bring a visual scene on screen to life. One example of how he breaks a visual down into sounds is a horse and carriage. For the horses, he will produce a rhythm by using coconuts beat together. For the carriage, he will combine a chain, wooden planks, and a leather strap. 

“Fortunately, our eyes deceive us so much that we quickly believe that we hear what we see.”

Finding your feet in post-production

For a foley artist, having a good ear and understanding rhythm is important. Barnaby stresses how as an artist, you’re following and mimicking the screen. As well as having good hand-eye coordination, appreciating the sounds you hear is important. 

“Does that sound work nicely within the context of the scene you’re doing? Like a glass placed down on a table. There could be 20 different versions of that sound, but knowing what the right one is, it’s a combination of having a good ear and then doing it thousands of times.”

Balázs shares that getting involved in the media production industry offers a way for creative minds to flourish.

“What I think is the most exciting and best thing about filmmaking is that every type of person can find their own area where they can use their own skills and find their connections with the world around them. If they like working in a community, if they like being alone, if they like being quiet, if they like being loud. If they like images, sounds, light, people, imagining new worlds, writing, reading- whatever it may be.”

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