CONFESSIONS OF A FOLEY ARTIST: Yes, we are called Foley Artists, those who specialize in the creation and manipulation of sound effects. I have literally walked in David's steps in "The Visitor". When you hear him walk across the floor, it is my size 13-D's. Likewise, my wife Lynne is Maureen when it comes to donning the -- literally -- bunny slippers. What keeps audio drama from being talking heads is a lot of opening cabinets, unscrewing jars, slamming doors, and sitting in creaky wooden chairs. And we are doing it as The Visitor comes close to wrapping up.
To hug David, I used a large bolt of rubberized cloth which had just the right amount of give and chiff, and you think that would be my most emotional success, but no. There was one part where Dewdrop, afraid of losing Davy, starts to "sob uncontrollably." That isn't in the dialog track and happens in the background, so I did it as foley art. I cried my eyes out into the microphone, then used Little Alter Boy to push the pitch and formants into the little girl range. What happened next was unexpected: I listened to the final recording and heard a child...my child...sobbing in terrified grief. Once you've been a parent, you'll understand what happened. Tears--real tears--welled up in my eyes.
Despite your imagining me in a 1930s broadcast booth with a cowbell, dry stick, and aaougha horn, the most important sounds to creating life are the...pardon me Simon and Garfunkel...the SOUNDS OF SILENCE. Moving air, distant footsteps, breathing, clothes rustling, chairs creeking, and clocks ticking. All the things that talk when everyone shuts up. That's called a "shush track," and in today's world you'd be surprised what can interfere with capturing it, not only because it is extremely quiet, but because refrigerators are keeping your milk cold, cars drive through the neighborhood, and the guy down the street is mowing his unruly spring fescue.
And then there's the cat. Officially Mabel, functionally "Squink," who picks the most inopportune times to get very mouthy about the cat food we buy for her. On mic. And as much as I love her, those are the moments I want to worship her FROM AFAR.
More as the final editing takes place. Peace.