You’re launching 44 new Foley instruments. Can you give a brief overview of what types of sounds these cover?
Of course! After several mails and feedback received from our existing customers, we have put a big effort into launching these 44 new instruments.
We have recorded footsteps on surfaces we didn’t have in our first pack. Some of these surfaces are dirt, rock, sand, grass, wood tiles and old wood. Some of these instruments come from previous suggestions submitted through our ASK YOUR INSTRUMENT section. This is the best way to request any surface/shoe you need for your personal projects.
We have also recorded more cloths and add-ons like Winter Jacket, Plastic Raincoat, Military Vest, Woman Bags and Collars.
Our instruments are modular which means that you can – as an example – mix woman heels, a plastic raincoat, different collars and bags to make a special Foley character sound. Imagine how many possibilities you can achieve with all our instruments.
Are the instruments created from scratch, or built on previous libraries?
Yes, we have recorded all the samples in the studio, edited them and created all the instruments from scratch.
We started this project last year, and the feedback has been really important for us. People have asked us about their own instruments, the best workflow, and of course, they’ve asked for MORE surfaces. With these new packs, I think that we have released what people have been waiting for from us during these months.
The Foley Collection has been simplified by gathering the smaller instruments into bundles
You’ve also simplified the Foley Collection catalog – how does it work now?
Last year, we launched the Complete Foley collection pack. This was our first release, and it included 22 instruments. In the following months, we did several extra products, like Mountain Bike Riding, Olivetti Typewriter etc.
We were asked about a TOTAL pack, so people could get all the instruments at a special price. This is how FC999 was created. Today, it’s our best seller, so we think that making it bigger was essential. With the launch of FC101 and FC102, (COMPLETE PACKS 2 & 3), we wanted to keep making smaller packs available to our customers too.
So today, our catalog consists of three COMPLETE PACKS and one EXTRA PACK. Combined, these make up the FC999 TOTAL FOLEY COLLECTION PACK. To get a €50 discount on the purchase of the new FC101 & FC102 packs together, use the promotional code: “PRERELEASEFCTOTALPACKS2014”
How come you decided to go with the instrument approach, rather than stand-alone .wav files – and what advantages does the Kontakt platform give the user? Can the sounds be used without Kontakt?
We have been in the Foley world for 5 years now, and we know how important Foley is for post services.
Today, some projects can’t afford Foley sessions although they really need them, so editors pick up sample libraries, editing and syncing them – wasting a lot of time in this process. The Foley Collection is the easiest way to PLAY real Foley in real-time. We designed our instruments to make them sound real, natural and without sample repetitions.
Kontakt is the best platform to deliver these instruments because of its sampler engine. And of course, we think Kontakt is the standard tool for sampled instruments. In the future, we are planning to release an audio library with samples that can be used as a regular sound library – although Kontakt is the heart of the project.
Foley recordings in progress
What’s been your recording setup with these instruments?
Our studio is based in Madrid and we work with Pro Tools 11 HD now (although the instruments were recorded and edited in PTHD10).
We recorded them with a Neumann U87 through a 1073 DPA Stereo Mic Pre from NEVE.
We’ve kept the original dynamics and have kept in mind that further EQ, compression and reverb will be added later in each user’s mixing process. We think that our instruments are just a Foley artist replacement in low budget projects. And you will need to mix the sounds to fit each individual project.
In essence, Foley Collection products are sound editor tools. We always talk about low budget projects because we think that REAL FOLEY is a MUST in a normal sound post-production workflow.
What has it been like working on the sound effects?
I’ve been wearing a LOT of different footwear for these projects – but my friends didn’t believe I could walk in high heels. So to prove them wrong, last Halloween I spent all night in them. Unfortunately, that ended me up in hospital with a sprained ankle…
They really think that I have the stupidest job in the world!
So a word of warning to my fellow Foley artists out there: If you think you’ve got control of your feet, don’t be too sure… Heels are evil!!
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