If you're interested in getting into the world of foley design, you'll need a suitable audio visual setup. Foley is the art of creating human made sounds, whether it's the sound of footsteps or the closing of a spaceship door. Having a decent rig will enable you to create high quality audio that is well synced with the video it is representing. Home studios are becoming ever more cost-effective, and this guide will help you in your quest to becoming a good foley artist for film.
Screen Time
Having a good PC with plenty of processing power, a decent sound card with audio inputs and a strong video card are all key. You can get these custom built online with the specifications you need to run the audio software required. However, when creating foley, you'll also need to be aware of your visual setup. Having two or even three flat screens is ideal. You be able to have the film open in one screen with your digital audio workstation (DAW) open in the others. This will save you lots of time so that you won't need to constantly tab between screens to reset the film or test effects. Time saved equals more takes, which equates to a better selection of samples.
Mic Me
To record the sounds for the film, you'll also need a decent selection of microphones with a variety of stands. When recording foley, you may need the mic to be high up for ambience or close to the floor to capture clean recordings. A decent stand will hold the mic steady and again save time when setting up. As for your mics, a large diaphragm mic will be great for picking up ambience, whereas a cardioid will be durable and great as a general-use mic or if you want to minimise ambience. For those quiet sounds like breathing, a ribbon mic will be fantastic, but these are often expensive and easily broken if dropped.
Monitor Me
Finally, you need some monitor headphones. These look like regular headphones but have a flat neutral response. This means they won't amplify certain frequencies so you can get a much more accurate representation of your recording. They come in a variety of over ear styles, with some being fully enclosed for noisey studios, and others being semi-open for quieter studios. The more open they are, the more accurate the sound will be.
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