Whole-y Foley: The World of Performative Film Sound

In this episode, Dr. Vanessa Theme Ament, Author of The Foley Grail and Foley artist on such films as Die Hard, Platoon, and Predator, catches up with Foley artist Ellen Heuer, who has worked on such films as Iron Man, Who Framed Roger Rabbit?, Fatal Attraction, Purple Rain, as well as Michael Jackson's 2 Bad Music Video. Over the course of the conversation, Ellen shares how she got into Foley aft...

In this episode, Dr. Vanessa Theme Ament, author of The Foley Grail and Foley Artist on such films as Die Hard, Platoon, and Predator, discusses the film Young at Heart with Dr. Dana Polan, professor at NYU's Scorsese Department of Cinema Studies. Vanessa and Dana share their thoughts on Warner Bros.'s 1954 musical, Young at Heart, starring Doris Day and Frank Sinatra. Of particular interest, the...

In this episode, Dr. Vanessa Theme Ament, author of  The Foley Grail  and Foley Artist on such films as  Die Hard, Platoon, and Predator , discusses the Carney Awards and Cats Don't Dance with Movie Producer Jim Katz. Vanessa and Jim start the conversation by discussing The Carney Awards, a ceremony, co-started by Jim Katz, that honors character actors. Then Vanessa and Jim return to the film Cats...

Welcome back for Part Two of this excellent and detailed behind-the-scenes discussion focusing around the gifted post-production sound team that created the aural atmosphere that animates the characters and enlivens the environments that power the wonderful cinematic experience of the animated musical,  Cats Don't Dance (1997). Supervising Foley Editor Vanessa Ament and Supervising Sound Editor Da...

Supervising Foley Editor Vanessa Ament and Supervising Sound Editor David E. Stone return to one of their favorite movies that they ever worked on, the animated film  Cats Don't Dance (1997). This film is now a lost animation classic, the first film directed by Mark Dindal ( Emperor's New Groove and Chicken Little ). The voice acting is top notch, with major stars taking even minor voice roles. Th...

This is part two of two part episode: Supervising Foley Editor Vanessa Ament and Supervising Sound Editor David E. Stone return to one of their favorite movies they ever worked on, the now Disney classic, A Goofy Movie (1995). This film which has found a large and enduring audience was made by Disney Television Animation and was not expected to be a big hit. Ament and Stone share behind-the-scenes...

Supervising Foley Editor Vanessa Ament and Supervising Sound Editor David E. Stone return to one of their favorite movies they ever worked on, the now Disney classic, A Goofy Movie (1995). This film which has found a large and enduring audience was made by Disney Television Animation and was not expected to be a big hit. Ament and Stone share behind-the-scenes stories of the making of the sound fo...

In this episode, Dr. Vanessa Theme Ament, author of  The Foley Grail  and Foley Artist on such films as  Die Hard, Platoon, and Predator , shares stories about several Foley Artists she worked with at the beginning of her career. In this oral history, Vanessa recalls three Foley Artists in particular: Kim Fowler, John Post and Robert Rutledge. Intertwined with these tributes, Vanessa also mentions...

In this episode, Dr. Vanessa Theme Ament, author of  The Foley Grail  and Foley Artist on such films as  Die Hard, Platoon, and Predator , speaks with Dr. Gabriel Paletz, a film teacher, scholar, and programmer at the Prague Film School in Prague, Czech Republic. Gabriel recently published an article entitled "Writing sound in the screenplay: traditions and innovations" in the journal The Soundtra...

In this episode, Dr. Vanessa Theme Ament, author of  The Foley Grail  and Foley Artist on such films as  Die Hard ,  Platoon , and  Predator,  talks with Kylee Pena, who is Product Marketing Manager for Professional Editor at Adobe. The podcast begins by recapping Kylee's journey from college through her careers in Atlanta, at Netflix, and now at Adobe, working on among other products, Premiere Pr...

In the second part of this two part episode, Dr. Vanessa Theme Ament, author of The Foley Grail  and Foley Artist on such films as  Die Hard ,  Platoon , and  Predator, continues her conversation with Sara Pinheiro. You can learn more about Sara at her website: sarapinheiro.com. If you missed part one, please listen to Episode 27 first which sets up the second half of this discussion. As you will...

In the first part of this two part episode, Dr. Vanessa Theme Ament, author of  The Foley Grail  and Foley Artist on such films as  Die Hard ,  Platoon , and  Predator,  talks with Sara Pinheiro. You can learn more about Sara at her website: sarapinheiro.com. As you will learn upon listening to this podcast, Sara straddles the world of sound designer, sound experimenter, and an academic exploring...

In this episode, Dr. Vanessa Theme Ament, author of  The Foley Grail  and Foley Artist on such films as  Die Hard ,  Platoon , and  Predator,  talks with Julie Rose Bower, sound scholar and artist, who works with Foley and ASMR. In this fascinating conversation, Vanessa and Julie delve into the world of ASMR, which stands for Autonomous Sensory Meridian Response. The term, coined by Jennifer Allen...

In this episode, Dr. Vanessa Theme Ament, author of The Foley Grail and Foley Artist on such films as Die Hard , Platoon , and Predator , talks with Sound Mixer Greg Curda. A Hollywood-trained sound mixer, currently teaching at Nord University in Norway, Greg shares his journey from his roots in Chicago to the Disney mailroom in Burbank to mixing Foley to working in production sound for Reality TV...

In this episode, Dr. Vanessa Theme Ament, author of The Foley Grail and Foley Artist on such films as Die Hard, Platoon, and Predator, converses with Foley Artist Martin Langenbach. In addition to Vanessa and Martin discussing his work in film and television, Martin shares his reasons and goals for starting a consortium of European sound professionals on his website: https://foleyartists.eu/en/mit...

In this episode, Dr. Vanessa Theme Ament, author of The Foley Grail and Foley Artist on such films as Die Hard, Platoon, and Predator , converses with Sound Designer and Re-recording Mixer Gary Rydstrom about his work on Director Steven Spielberg's adaptation of a Broadway musical and classic film, 2021's West Side Story . Vanessa and Gary share their insights and thoughts on the magic of sound in...

In this episode, Dr. Vanessa Theme Ament, author of The Foley Grail and Foley Artist on such films as Die Hard, Platoon, and Predator , converses with German Foley Artist Bastian Gerner, who is also known as the Foley Teacher. Vanessa connects Bastian's career as a rap artist with his improvisational approach to Foley, which leads into a discussion of his work performing Foley for video games, and...

In this episode, Dr. Vanessa Theme Ament, author of The Foley Grail and Foley Artist on such films as Die Hard, Platoon , and Predator , talks with ADR editor Bobbi Banks about her long career in postproduction sound as an ADR Editor and Supervising Sound Editor. Bobbi emphasizes the importance of building long-lasting relationships and nurturing careful communication with colleagues in the workpl...

In this episode, Dr. Vanessa Theme Ament, author of The Foley Grail  and Foley Artist on such films as  Die Hard, Platoon , and  Predator , discusses another International approach to Foley with Foley Artist Gadou Naudin and his son Foley Mixer Louis Gaudin. Beginning with a description of their custom-built studios in the south of France called Malakoff Studios, Gadou and Louis reveal how Foley i...

In this episode, Dr. Vanessa Theme Ament, author of The Foley Grail and Foley Artist on such films as Die Hard, Platoon , and Predator , explores the use of Foley in live theatre performances and in operas with British Foley Artist Ruth Sullivan. Highlighting the Foley skills, props, and approaches that Ruth uses in live performances of Mozart's opera  The Magic Flute , Vanessa and Ruth discuss ho...

In this episode, Dr. Vanessa Theme Ament, author of  The Foley Grail  and Foley Artist on such films as  Die Hard, Platoon, and Predator , delves into Kathie Talbot's entry into designing sound for movie and television trailers. Kathie is a sound designer who uses sound effects, music, and vocal effects as her soundscape. Exploring her design work in such trailers as Jordan Peele's movie  Get Out...

In this episode, Dr. Vanessa Theme Ament, author of The Foley Grail  and Foley Artist on such films as Die Hard, Platoon, and Predator , digs deep into the world of AI creativity in music videos with Professor Michael Filimowicz from the School of Interactive Arts and Technology at Simon Fraser University. Using examples of Michael's own music videos, available on YouTube under his pseudonym Myk E...

In this episode, Dr. Vanessa Theme Ament, author of The Foley Grail and Foley Artist on such films as Die Hard, Platoon, and Predator, , speaks with Larry Benjamin, a television re-recording mixer. Larry's credits include the shows The Good Wife, Ozark , and Better Call Saul . Vanessa and Larry discuss the craft of re-recording mixing. They share their thoughts on technological and business change...

In this episode, Dr. Vanessa Theme Ament, author of The Foley Grail and Foley Artist on such films as Die Hard, Platoon, and Predator, , catches up with Midge Costin, Professor of Cinematic Arts and Kay Rose Endowed Chair in the Art of Sound and Dialogue Editing at USC in Los Angeles. Vanessa and Midge share their experiences in higher education teaching the art of sound design. Midge shares her v...

In this episode, Dr. Vanessa Theme Ament, author of The Foley Grail and Foley Artist on such films as Die Hard, Platoon, and Predator, , sits down with Greg Crawford, an ADR mixer at Smart Post Atlanta. Vanessa and Greg share their experiences in Automated Dialogue Replacement, more commonly known as ADR. Greg describes the massive expansion of the film industry in Atlanta, highlighted by the grow...