# What's a "foley" in screen credits? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [August 18, 2003, 6:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-a-foley-in-screen-credits/196016 "2003-08-18T18:44:52Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 11\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Aalborg](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/a3d4f5/32.png) [@Aalborg](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Aalborg)\ **Post date:** [August 18, 2003, 6:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-a-foley-in-screen-credits/196016/1 "2003-08-18T18:44:52Z")
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**Author:** ![godzillatemple](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/49beb7/32.png) [@godzillatemple](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/godzillatemple)\ **Post date:** [August 18, 2003, 7:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-a-foley-in-screen-credits/196016/2 "2003-08-18T19:01:58Z")
A Foley Artist is somebody who creates the “normal” sound effects for a movie, such as footsteps, doors opening, etc. Barry ---
**Author:** ![Otto](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/bbe5ce/32.png) [@Otto](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Otto)\ **Post date:** [August 18, 2003, 7:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-a-foley-in-screen-credits/196016/3 "2003-08-18T19:03:39Z")
[Foley](http://www.audiotheater.com/foley.html) artists create all the incidental sound effects that you hear in the movie. Crunching leaves, fists hitting faces, champagne corks popping and the like. ---
**Author:** ![randwill](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/a3d4f5/32.png) [@randwill](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/randwill)\ **Post date:** [August 18, 2003, 7:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-a-foley-in-screen-credits/196016/4 "2003-08-18T19:09:18Z")
The foley artists are the people who do the sound effects like footsteps, spines being crushed (celery is good for this) and horse hooves (cocoanut halves, in the old days). Basically any sounds that aren’t recorded at the time of filming. ‘Looping’ is the recording of the actor’s voices, frequently done after filming. Explosions, gunshots and screeching tires, things like that, are usually taken from sound effects libraries. But the foley artists are watching the film and trying to match the noises they are creating (walking, clicking, clacking or crunching, ect.) with the on-screen actions. ---
**Author:** ![Zeldar](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/b77776/32.png) [@Zeldar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zeldar)\ **Post date:** [August 18, 2003, 7:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-a-foley-in-screen-credits/196016/5 "2003-08-18T19:13:10Z")
Although you’ve gotten good answers already, you might look at [http://us.imdb.com/Glossary/F](http://us.imdb.com/Glossary/F) for their explanations. ---
**Author:** ![Achernar](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/e274bd/32.png) [@Achernar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Achernar)\ **Post date:** [August 18, 2003, 8:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-a-foley-in-screen-credits/196016/6 "2003-08-18T20:12:40Z")
Today’s UserFriendly Link of the Day happens to be [Art of Foley](http://www.marblehead.net/foley/index.html). I haven’t read it, but it looks informative. ---
**Author:** ![Chefguy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chefguy/32/138_2.png) [@Chefguy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chefguy)\ **Post date:** [August 18, 2003, 9:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-a-foley-in-screen-credits/196016/7 "2003-08-18T21:44:26Z")
Well, I learned something new today. I was afraid it was the person in charge of catheters. ---
**Author:** ![Zeldar](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/b77776/32.png) [@Zeldar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zeldar)\ **Post date:** [August 18, 2003, 10:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-a-foley-in-screen-credits/196016/8 "2003-08-18T22:11:41Z")
**Chefguy** , I can’t pass up the opportunity to be straight man for you. Just what connection did you see between _foley_ and catheters? ---
**Author:** ![Chefguy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chefguy/32/138_2.png) [@Chefguy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chefguy)\ **Post date:** [August 18, 2003, 10:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-a-foley-in-screen-credits/196016/9 "2003-08-18T22:25:18Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Zeldar \* > \*\ ***Chefguy** , I can’t pass up the opportunity to be straight man for you. Just what connection did you see between _foley_ and catheters? \*\* A Foley Catheter is a tube that drains urine from the bladder. Hey, you know how weird those Hollywood types are… ---
**Author:** ![Zeldar](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/b77776/32.png) [@Zeldar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zeldar)\ **Post date:** [August 18, 2003, 10:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-a-foley-in-screen-credits/196016/10 "2003-08-18T22:27:12Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Chefguy \* > \*\*Well, I learned something new today. \ \*\* Me, too! 😃 ---
**Author:** ![DMark](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e68b1a/32.png) [@DMark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DMark)\ **Post date:** [August 18, 2003, 10:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-a-foley-in-screen-credits/196016/11 "2003-08-18T22:34:01Z")
I was Foley confused, but now I Foley understand. AwFoley nice of you guys to clarify that.