There is no dialogue in this film, which is apt since it is a documentary capturing the work of foley artists – those people in the sound department who recreate noises for films and television. These include the footsteps you hear so clearly, the head being cut off in a horror movie, the slap of a scorned lover, or, in the case of this short film, some fishermen going about their day in Clovelly Village, Devon, UK.
We see the fishermen intercut with the three foley artists doing their work, and it is pretty fascinating to watch. Sound work is generally one of those things that you don't notice unless it is bad; I cannot think of any time where I have watched a film and been really impressed by the accuracy of the foley work – my brain normally just assumes it is all in-camera. So seeing the technique, the concentration, and then hearing how effective it is, really works as an idea. Indeed, even seeing them do what they do, whenever the camera cuts to the fishing footage, it is still easy to assume that the noises must have been captured at the time. And this is what makes the film engaging – to constantly hear sounds that seem to fit so perfectly with what we are seeing, but yet also having the visual evidence that they were added in post. It could have maybe run a few minutes shorter and been as good, but it is still a very engaging film that lets our ears tell us the importance of the craft.
We see the fishermen intercut with the three foley artists doing their work, and it is pretty fascinating to watch. Sound work is generally one of those things that you don't notice unless it is bad; I cannot think of any time where I have watched a film and been really impressed by the accuracy of the foley work – my brain normally just assumes it is all in-camera. So seeing the technique, the concentration, and then hearing how effective it is, really works as an idea. Indeed, even seeing them do what they do, whenever the camera cuts to the fishing footage, it is still easy to assume that the noises must have been captured at the time. And this is what makes the film engaging – to constantly hear sounds that seem to fit so perfectly with what we are seeing, but yet also having the visual evidence that they were added in post. It could have maybe run a few minutes shorter and been as good, but it is still a very engaging film that lets our ears tell us the importance of the craft.
