My current middle school performing arts unit is on Film Sound and traditionally students demonstrate their knowledge of Foley sound by recording a short video and adding sound effects to it.
This year we’ve utilised the rich diversity that is youtube and made use of the many silent movies, musicless videos and bad-lip reading videos available.
PS. Please watch the sample videos below before using with your students.
Silent Movies
There’s any number of silent-movie era films on youtube. The Charlie Chaplain films are particularly useful with clear, well-defined action and readily followed plots.
My students practised their Foley skills by creating sound effects live as the video played on a laptop. The video and sounds were recorded for playback on an iPod. A little crude but quick and surprisingly effective.
Musicless Music Videos
It’s easier to explain this new mashed up genre by watching one. But for a short explanation:
- Select a music video.
- Remove the music soundtrack.
- Add sound effects as appropriate.
Bad Lip-Reading
Similar to the Musicless Music Videos, but with dialogue rather than sound effects:
- Select a short scene from a film, sports training video or TV show.
- Remove the soundtrack.
- Re-dub the dialog with words and phrases that match the lip movements of the actors, but which are funnier.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HacXlrw01zE
All three activities have proved popular with the students and all provide an excellent framework i which to practice or demonstrate skills.
Australian Curriculum Links
Media Arts Year 7-8
- Develop and refine media production skills to shape the technical and symbolic elements of images, sounds and text for a specific purpose and meaning
- Plan, structure and design media artworks that engage audiences
Media Arts Years 9-10
- Experiment with ideas and stories that manipulate media conventions and genres to construct new and alternative points of view through images, sounds and text
- Develop and refine media production skills to integrate and shape the technical and symbolic elements in images, sounds and text for a specific purpose, meaning and style
Tags: Bad lip reading, Foley, Musicless Videos, Silent Movies, Sound editing
I really enjoyed your explanation of the Foley sound effects. Thank you for sharing.