What is Foley?- Behind the Scenes of Zootopia

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Zootopia is impressive in so many ways, from its animation to its writing and its voice acting.  But there is so much more that goes into making an animated film than just that.  So, lets take a step back and thank some of the people behind-the-scenes and give them some recognition for the work they do.

This time, let’s give a warm round of applause to the people responsible for Zootopia’s Foley!  No, that’s not a typo, it’s a specialized form of Sound design!

Sound Design is crucial to the overall success of an animation.  It has to bring you, the person sitting in the audience, into a world that does not exist in any physical form, and believe it exists- at least, for the duration of the film.  When people online make animations, they usually use some sort of royalty-free sound effect library for the noises you hear in the background, such as someone taking a step, or shutting a door.

But who makes those sound effects?  There’s no way for anyone to physically go to Zootopia and record the sounds Judy makes as she walks around her apartment.

That job is done by people known as Foley artists.  They’re the ones responsible for creating the sound effects we all take for granted, but without which the movie would feel… off.  It’s hard to explain, but… well can you imagine how different a movie would be if it wasn’t done by professionals?  They’d sound something like this.

A little while ago, WIRED actually made a video demonstrating a little bit of the Foley work that went into one scene from Zootopia.  It’s very interesting, so check it out after the break, along with the names and place to thank those who did Zootopia’s Foley effects!

And if you want to learn more about Foley and movie sound effects, click here!