Footsteps With Character the Art and Craft of Foley
Heikki Kossi is a renowned Finnish Foley artist who has worked on 100s of films – and in this in-depth interview, he shares his insights, workflow, and lessons learned from decades of doing Foley sound. The theme for this interview is 'International', and marks the first contribution from Doug Siebum.
Written past Doug Siebum, photos courtesy of Clas-Olav Slotte and Jukka Lehojärvi
Doug Siebum (DS): Hi Heikki, and thanks for like-minded to do an interview. First of all, can you lot tell us about your groundwork and how yous became involved in sound and films and what led y'all to become a foley artist and start your own business?
Heikki Kossi (HK): Hello Doug and thanks for request for the interview. Back in the 90's I worked equally a professional musician for six years playing electrical and upright bass with roots and dejection bands. Betwixt tours I would rent movies from the video rental shop downstairs and see a bunch of different films. And so I watched a lot of films, but I didn't take any idea that I was going to work with films ane twenty-four hours. I was satisfied just to be able to enjoy the films.
Then I noticed that they started a new program in the studies of sound pattern for the radio and web at Turku Christian Institute in 1997. I became interested. During my first year I did sound effects by hand for radio features and later I heard about the art of foley. I became actually interested in this way of creating sounds with my hands. Later I did all of my grooming periods at movie sound studios. After I graduated in 2001 they started working on an animated television receiver-show chosen The Aristocrats. Information technology was a xiii infinitesimal episode once a calendar week, and every bit we all know, animation needs foley. Through that, I started to explore the art of foley and I'yard still doing it today. At that time in that location wasn't a full time foley artist in Finland.
DS: Our electric current topic is "international" and I sympathise that yous've worked on films from many unlike places. Tin can you talk a little about how you became involved in the international film market place and how you established yourself?
HK: From the network that I have now, there is an enormous amount of work, but also luck. Finding international contacts started pace past step. First there were a few curt films from Sweden, but peradventure one of the almost remarkable projects was BERBERIAN SOUND STUDIO by Peter Strickland (UK 2012). Supervising sound editor Joakim Sundström got in contact with me and he mentioned that he had heard some proficient things about my work. Actually that is the main point. Every task yous do needs to be your all-time at its time. Good work can produce more than practiced projects. And every project is unlike.
Some of the International projects are co-productions which means that there needs to be some work in Finland, merely most of the projects come up considering people want to piece of work with us. I'thou really happy about that! I very important step was coming together sound designer Peter Albrechtsen from Denmark. We have now worked together on over 50 projects and on one feature project called Danny's Doomsday. I likewise met supervising sound editor Tim Nielsen from Skywalker Ranch who later invited me to work on The Little Prince.
Video feature on the audio for The Little Prince
DS: Was it a lot of work to network and meet people? What has that process been like?
HK: The Film Arc project started in 2009 here in northern Scandinavia. The goal of the project was to strengthen the audiovisual industries in the creative industries in Northern Sweden, Northern Republic of finland and Northern Norway. I was invited there past Anne Laurila, and we had actually useful masterclasses and workshops about how to behave with colleagues and customers, creating a business plan, etc. Picture Arc was a actually big assist in the beginning. The project didn't requite directly instruction on foley, but provided useful tools for understanding the international picture manufacture. With the support of Moving-picture show Arc I was able to invite re-recording mixer Dominick Tavella to come up here to Finland for one week, and later I visited Sound One studios in New York. At the same time, I too met Jay Peck, foley creative person of Audio 1. I visited the C5 foley stage and met keen Marko Costanzo and George Lara. That New York visit was very important to my understanding of the foley work flow.
For foley artists, ane projection is mayhap one of 30 other projects during the yr, but for the director or supervising sound editor it's perchance simply one, or one of the few projects during the year. That'southward a fact I need to understand.
I have felt that the best way to keep menstruum going is to respect every project and every story. For foley artists, ane project is perchance one of 30 other projects during the twelvemonth, but for the director or supervising audio editor it's peradventure only one, or one of the few projects during the year. That's a fact I need to sympathise. And I need to beloved and respect each story and other picture show makers.
DS: Did you do all of your work from Republic of finland or have your traveled for your piece of work?
HK: Almost of the projects I've done at my own studio here in Kokkola. I've done just 3 projects during the concluding 10 years in Denmark, because of the co-production rules. I'yard open up for both options, only of course my ain studio is the identify where I have my own rooms and props.
DS: What are some of the various countries that your projects take come up from?
HK: There are all the same a few local projects from Finland, just let's say 90 % of our projects are international from countries like Denmark, Sweden, US, Britain, Norway, Columbia, Iceland amid others. A few years ago we also did one documentary from Republic of korea.
DS: Tin can yous tell us virtually your workflow? What is your process on a typical film?
HK: My outset footstep is reading the script. I want to exist gear up when the projection starts. When information technology's time to starting time the actual foley work, I approximate our workflow is pretty much the same equally other studios. Spot foley cues, walk, edit, premix and evangelize to customer. Projects vary, then erstwhile I only walk for the foley cues that were spotted by the sound designer. Of course watching the earlier cuts of the film, if possible, is a keen role of the process. One of the challenges that nosotros are facing, is to be able to maintain the creative process. For me doing foley is art and role of the creative procedure which can actually help the storytelling. Then in the get-go, it's also good to think about what we are able to practise within the resources of each project. Every pic is dissimilar, with dissimilar budgets, but still there are a lot of possible means to tell the story.
DS: Can you talk a little virtually your work on films such as Birth of a Nation and IO?
HK: Both projects were such a dandy collaboration with Skywalker Ranch and supervising sound editor Mac Smith. These two projects were also quite dissimilar from each other. The Birth of a Nation was an epoch drama dealing with pretty heavy things concerning slavery. One of the chief things foley wise was to make a sonic divergence between slaves and white people apropos their anxiety, housing, everything. I tried to create different textures, which tells about the poor situation of slaves and how hard life was next to the cotton wool fields.
IO was quite the opposite, located in the future where sound wise at that place are memories from nowadays, but also textures that nosotros oasis't heard all the same. I really enjoyed creating some of the sound textures for the abandoned city, like rusty metal rattling with the wind. Also for ambiences. The texture of a location which is abandoned means dusty, muddy and rattling to me. At the same time, I need to be aware of the things which are not old and rusty. Similar some additions for the future machinery.
Basically with both of the films it was the same challenge, tell the story with foley and give the sense of realism.
Sound Featurette on 'The Happiest Day in the Life of Olli Mäki' which Heikki Kossi did Foley on
DS: Dealing with such emotionally heavy material as in that location was in Birth of a Nation, did you find it mentally or emotionally exhausting to work on the film?
My job is to go under the skin of the characters and the story.
HK: Yes, y'all're correct. Birth of a Nation was one of the heavy ones. And also the documentary Last Men in Aleppo besides, which took place in Syria in the middle of the war. And many many others. When I watch the upcoming projection for the commencement fourth dimension, I try do it without thinking near any foley. I merely try to feel and carry these feelings with me through the projection. When doing the actual work I employ these feelings equally my guide.
One time I read that Jack Nicholson has said that he has lived equally many lives as he has had roles. I feel that it's the same matter with doing foley. My job is to go under the peel of the characters and the story. Doing that is emotionally rich, but also difficult sometimes. At the same time, it is nearly impossible to practice expert foley if I'm not able to feel the story and the characters. And I have also thought that if I'thou non able to feel the story as one of the film makers, it's impossible for the audience to feel that mode as well. I call up that I've been blessed to see so many unlike stories and I have learned a lot about life.
DS: Can you tell u.s. virtually your work on The Beguiled?
HK: The Beguiled was supervised by Richard Beggs. It was such a pleasure to work with Richard as well. I call back it was first time in my career that we spent quite a lot time talking about the sound of material rustle. Nosotros wanted to make the sonic difference between characters with the unlike kinds of dresses that the principal characters were wearing. And they should sound like the correct kind of cotton fiber, woolen and silk when needed. Non just generic rustling. I felt that The Beguiled was kind of a chamber moving picture with silent scenes, where there is room for many details. The feeling of a wooden business firm, which should likewise sound like a business firm where only women alive, with no men around taking care of the daily things. War has taken all the men away. These kind of things are what I'm thinking nearly when doing foley.
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DS: The Distant Barking of Dogs has been very well received at moving-picture show festivals. Can you talk a picayune about the sound for that movie?
HK: The Distant Barking of Dogs (DBOD) is one of my latest projects. It was as well unlike considering I was working as a supervising sound editor together with Peter Albrechtsen and Pietu Korhonen. Not but as a foley artist. Of class my angle to my sound designing side comes through foley. I love the way I tin can make sounds organic like foley and integrate foley with other audio FX. DBOD was besides a special project considering it was the first project that I worked together with Peter Albrechtsen as audio designers. Before this I did foley for more than 50 projects for him. All three of us audio designers were really happy about the collaboration. And one large affair was to be able to piece of work with the dandy director Simon Lereng Wilmont, who is really into sound.
Here again, creating the sounds with DBOD, nosotros talked a lot about the textures similar the village where everything happened. The small-scale village Hnutove is located in the center of a war, in Eastern Ukraine. It'due south like a ghost town. Only dogs are barking. Everything is rattling, dirty and broken. Life should sound fragile. Too there is great music on this moving picture by Uno Helmersson and Erik Enocksson that sounds similar that equally well.
DS: Does your process or workflow vary from country to country?
HK: Basically not. I just try to adapt each project through the story. My job is to create feelings and I call up feelings are universal.
DS: I run across that you did the foley on The Little Prince, how does your choice of sounds in blitheness differ from a alive action picture?
HK: With animations we tape more with closeup miking and by and large with one mic. Supervising sound editor Tim Nielsen fabricated a really good spotting session, picking upwardly great ideas and small-scale details. One of them was to create the stop-motion world with ii foley layers: naturalistic and paper layers. Animation requires quite oftentimes more characteristics and sweepy sounds. Exaggerating is as well preferable. But as I said earlier, there are no rules. Every projection is different and rules are for breaking.
DS: What is the about challenging pic that y'all have ever worked on and can you tell us about information technology?
HK: This is a question I've been asked for many times. Or which is the virtually difficult sound to make? Sometimes projects where there is something you haven't seen earlier, similar something from the future, might feel challenging, but information technology can besides be relieving. But really the most difficult thing is to make sound that fits what we see. And information technology fits with the story and characters. It'south a challenge that I love and I face up information technology everyday.
DS: Do you intendance to share any tips or techniques for doing foley with our readers?
HK: Respect the story!
DS: Is there annihilation else that you would like to add?
HK: Ane of the latest projects I'm really happy almost was to piece of work with my French brother Nicolas Becker. He supervised an upcoming picture show titled Sound of Metal (directed by Darius Marder). Nicolas has his own personal mode of doing sound, and that also related my foley work. Trying new crazy microphone techniques has been then inspiring. I would like to talk more than about this after the pic is out ;) Let the film and story talk first.
Acquire more about Heikki's work on IMDB hither, and find his visitor page here
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Source: https://www.asoundeffect.com/heikki-kossi-foley-art-craft/