# Foley

Source: https://storiara.com/glossary/foley
Last updated: 2026-09-14
Author: Nick Harty, Storiara

> Foley is the everyday sound in a film that is performed and recorded in sync with the picture after the shoot: footsteps, clothing rustle, keys, cups, punches. Foley artists watch the scene on a stage and perform the sounds with props on different surfaces. It is named after Jack Foley, a Universal sound editor who developed the technique.

## What a Foley stage looks like

A Foley stage is a quiet room facing a projection screen, with pits in the floor filled with different surfaces: concrete, wood, gravel, sand, tile, a patch of carpet. Shelves hold shoes, doors on hinges, old car parts, and boxes of cutlery and fabric. The artist watches the scene, rehearses a pass, then performs it while the Foley mixer records, often with one microphone close and one further back to match the camera perspective.

Foley is usually recorded in passes. Footsteps for each character are separate tracks, then a cloth pass (a jacket rubbed near the mic in time with the actor's movements), then props. Separate tracks let the mixer turn Maya's boots down without losing the key she drops.

## A cue list example

For a four-minute scene, EXT. PARKING GARAGE - NIGHT, the Foley editor might log:

| Track | Character or item | Surface or prop | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| FS 1 | Maya | Heeled boots on concrete | Echo added in mix, record dry |
| FS 2 | Joe | Work boots on concrete, stops at car | Matches pace change at 00:02:14 |
| CLOTH 1 | Maya | Leather jacket | Heavy on turn |
| PROPS 1 | Keys | Maya's keys, drop and pick up | Hero moment, several takes |
| PROPS 2 | Car | Door handle, door open and close | Layer with library effect |

Hero moments get extra takes. A dropped set of keys in a tense scene carries story, so the director may want to choose between versions at the mix.

## Common mistakes

Low-budget productions skip Foley and plan to use library effects for everything. That works for cars and ambience but falls apart for footsteps, since library steps never match the actor's weight or pace. The bigger cost shows up at delivery: a distributor's QC will fail [M&E tracks](https://storiara.com/glossary/m-and-e-tracks) with holes where production sound was removed, and filling those later costs more than recording Foley properly the first time.

Another mistake is recording Foley before [picture lock](https://storiara.com/glossary/picture-lock). Any cut change after the Foley session means re-syncing or re-recording. If the schedule forces it, lock reels in order and send Foley the locked reels first.

## How it fits with the rest of sound post

Foley needs are discussed at the sound [spotting session](https://storiara.com/glossary/spotting-session), where the supervising sound editor marks which scenes need full Foley and which can rely on production sound. Lines replaced with [ADR](https://storiara.com/glossary/adr) almost always need Foley under them. In the budget, Foley stage days, artists, and the Foley mixer sit in the post sound accounts next to ADR and the final mix. When planning a post schedule, the [post-production supervisor](https://storiara.com/roles/post-production-supervisor) typically books Foley after lock and before premixes.

## Frequently asked questions

### What is the difference between Foley and sound effects?

Foley is performed live to picture by a person, so it matches each movement on screen. Sound effects are usually cut in from libraries or recorded separately, such as a car engine, a gunshot, or city ambience.

### Why not just use the sound recorded on set?

The production mixer's priority is dialogue, so footsteps and props are often faint or buried. And whenever dialogue is removed for the M&E or replaced with ADR, the sounds attached to it go too.

### What does a Foley team consist of?

Usually two Foley artists (sometimes called walkers) who perform, a Foley mixer who records, and a Foley editor who cleans up and syncs the tracks in the edit before the mix.