Where the Sounds From the World's Favorite Movies Are Born

(spring rebounding)

[Announcer] John Roesch makes weird sounds.

(light wind chimes)

All day long.

(rotary dial clicking)

It's his job, and he's been doing it for nearly 40 years.

Yeah, it's true.

This job is a lot of fun.

[Announcer] He's worked on everything

from E.T. to Interstellar.

John is a Foley Artist, Skywalker Sound.

And this

is his amazing, sonic studio.

This is from Braveheart.

This is one of the swords that we utilized.

It was a very large sword,

which you used two hands on, so,

we want to make sure what we're doing had that same sound.

(hands slapping wood)

So with this, I can (slaps wood)

I can make it sound big.

Detail is our business.

We want to make sure that whatever we see on that screen,

we are making the most honest

representation thereof, sonically.

When I look at a scene, I hear the sounds in my head,

so all I have to do is figure out well,

okay, that sound I hear in my head?

How do I actually get that down on tape, if you will.

[Announcer] The place may look like a hoarder's garage,

but everything has a purpose.

Even the building is important.

It was constructed just for the demands of Foley.

It has a floor that goes all the way down to Earth,

for solid thuds and footsteps,

and a splash pool that holds hundreds of gallons of water,

just the thing to make aquatic sound effects.

Now in the back room, this is where all props are stored,

and there is a method to the madness, believe it or not.

It's funny, you see this as,

okay, a little kid's glove, right?

Well, actually, we used this in a video game recently,

for a footstep

of a weird character. (leather slapping)

So, what you see is not necessarily what you get.

Again, that's the trick.

Feather dusters, right?

Just feather dusters?

Well, not necessarily.

Let's see.

Quiet guys, thank you.

It could be a bird.

(flapping feathers)

And this is all the way from Helsinki, Finland,

from Heikki Kossi, the most famous Foley artist in Finland.

It's called Vita, and well, I'll

have her sing to you now, you ready?

(door creaking)

First and foremost, Foley is one of the most fun jobs

there can be, and yet, of course it's the most difficult.

Good evening.

There are more astronauts in the world

than there are Foley artists.

(metal stamping)

But who would have thought, robot feet?

This is one of my favorite props.

In Back to the Future, Marty

borrows a scooter,

pulls part of it off and turns it into a skateboard.

(wheels rolling on concrete)

When I go to a movie, if the sound job is wonderful,

I get lost in the film.

In fact, that's what we all want.

You know, we want to go just have the popcorn,

sit back and be taken away, whatever aspect where we are,

and that's a wonderful thing.

It's what I love about this business.

(upbeat music)