Foley Artistry
Show the video in the student chapter How Sounds are Faked for Nature Documentaries. You can either have them answer the questions in the Structure Strip below in writing, or take the questions up as a whole class after viewing the video.
The questions and answers are below:
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Now have students look around the classroom and identify things that can make noise. (Example: Chalk, a clock, windows opening or closing, door hinges, pencil sharpener, etc.)
Ask:
- Which of these could you use to make a different sound? (For example, swinging a metre stick makes a “whoosh” sound that could be a bird’s wings)
- What are some ways you could make these sounds if you didn’t have access to the real thing? (For example, you might click a retractable pen to make the ticking sound of a clock.)
Have the students work together to make a brief (5-10 seconds) “soundscape” that would tell viewers or listeners that a scene is set in a classroom.
- Which of the sounds they identified would most clearly say “classroom” to a listener?
- Which sounds can they perform with the real thing?
- Which sounds will they have to make in some other way? (For example, students might identify a bell as essential, but you can’t make the bell ring on command. How else could you make that sound?)
