In the first part of this two part episode, Dr. Vanessa Theme Ament, author of The Foley Grail and Foley Artist on such films as Die Hard, Platoon, and Predator, talks with Sara Pinheiro. You can learn more about Sara at her website: sarapinheiro.com. As you will learn upon listening to this podcast, Sara straddles the world of sound designer, sound experimenter, and an academic exploring the role of sound in media. In terms of film and video-art, Sara does sound recording, editing, foley and...

In this episode, Dr. Vanessa Theme Ament, author of The Foley Grail and Foley Artist on such films as Die Hard, Platoon, and Predator, talks with Julie Rose Bower, sound scholar and artist, who works with Foley and ASMR. In this fascinating conversation, Vanessa and Julie delve into the world of ASMR, which stands for Autonomous Sensory Meridian Response. The term, coined by Jennifer Allen in 2010, refers to a sensory experience some people experience listening to ordinary, even mundane,...

In this episode, Dr. Vanessa Theme Ament, author of The Foley Grail and Foley Artist on such films as Die Hard, Platoon, and Predator, talks with Sound Mixer Greg Curda. A Hollywood-trained sound mixer, currently teaching at Nord University in Norway, Greg shares his journey from his roots in Chicago to the Disney mailroom in Burbank to mixing Foley to working in production sound for Reality TV shows from Hawaii. Greg and Vanessa use their experiences in the industry to highlight the...

In this episode, Dr. Vanessa Theme Ament, author of The Foley Grail and Foley Artist on such films as Die Hard, Platoon, and Predator, converses with Foley Artist Martin Langenbach. In addition to Vanessa and Martin discussing his work in film and television, Martin shares his reasons and goals for starting a consortium of European sound professionals on his website: https://foleyartists.eu/en/mitglieder/ Additionally, Martin expands on how he records his Foley remotely with his two Foley...

In this episode, Dr. Vanessa Theme Ament, author of The Foley Grail and Foley Artist on such films as Die Hard, Platoon, and Predator, converses with Sound Designer and Re-recording Mixer Gary Rydstrom about his work on Director Steven Spielberg's adaptation of a Broadway musical and classic film, 2021's West Side Story. Vanessa and Gary share their insights and thoughts on the magic of sound in musicals focusing on the updated and reimagined version of West Side Story. Gary reveals how the...

In this episode, Dr. Vanessa Theme Ament, author of The Foley Grail and Foley Artist on such films as Die Hard, Platoon, and Predator, converses with German Foley Artist Bastian Gerner, who is also known as the Foley Teacher. Vanessa connects Bastian's career as a rap artist with his improvisational approach to Foley, which leads into a discussion of his work performing Foley for video games, and his enthusiasm for the creative and technical aspects of the art of Foley. This lively...

In this episode, Dr. Vanessa Theme Ament, author of The Foley Grail and Foley Artist on such films as Die Hard, Platoon, and Predator, talks with ADR editor Bobbi Banks about her long career in postproduction sound as an ADR Editor and Supervising Sound Editor. Bobbi emphasizes the importance of building long-lasting relationships and nurturing careful communication with colleagues in the workplace, especially as a woman of color. Welcome to the Wonderful World of Performative Film Sound. 

In this episode, Dr. Vanessa Theme Ament, author of The Foley Grail and Foley Artist on such films as Die Hard, Platoon, and Predator, discusses another International approach to Foley with Foley Artist Gadou Naudin and his son Foley Mixer Louis Gaudin. Beginning with a description of their custom-built studios in the south of France called Malakoff Studios, Gadou and Louis reveal how Foley is a family tradition, started by Gadou's father André and including Gadou's brother Julien. Gadou and...

In this episode, Dr. Vanessa Theme Ament, author of The Foley Grail and Foley Artist on such films as Die Hard, Platoon, and Predator, explores the use of Foley in live theatre performances and in operas with British Foley Artist Ruth Sullivan. Highlighting the Foley skills, props, and approaches that Ruth uses in live performances of Mozart's opera The Magic Flute, Vanessa and Ruth discuss how their training in dance and acting is beneficial to being a Foley Artist during a live theater show...

In this episode, Dr. Vanessa Theme Ament, author of The Foley Grail and Foley Artist on such films as Die Hard, Platoon, and Predator, delves into Kathie Talbot's entry into designing sound for movie and television trailers. Kathie is a sound designer who uses sound effects, music, and vocal effects as her soundscape. Exploring her design work in such trailers as Jordan Peele's movie Get Out and AMC's TV series Sanctuary: A Witches' Tale, Vanessa and Kathie reveal the art and craft of...

In this episode, Dr. Vanessa Theme Ament, author of The Foley Grail and Foley Artist on such films as Die Hard, Platoon, and Predator, digs deep into the world of AI creativity in music videos with Professor Michael Filimowicz from the School of Interactive Arts and Technology at Simon Fraser University. Using examples of Michael's own music videos, available on YouTube under his pseudonym Myk Eff, Vanessa and Michael share their thoughts on the future of AI and its appropriate role in art....

In this episode, Dr. Vanessa Theme Ament, author of The Foley Grail and Foley Artist on such films as Die Hard, Platoon, and Predator,, speaks with Larry Benjamin, a television re-recording mixer. Larry's credits include the shows The Good Wife, Ozark, and Better Call Saul. Vanessa and Larry discuss the craft of re-recording mixing. They share their thoughts on technological and business changes in the world of post-production sound and the artistic skills and emotional intelligence required...

In this episode, Dr. Vanessa Theme Ament, author of The Foley Grail and Foley Artist on such films as Die Hard, Platoon, and Predator,, catches up with Midge Costin, Professor of Cinematic Arts and Kay Rose Endowed Chair in the Art of Sound and Dialogue Editing at USC in Los Angeles. Vanessa and Midge share their experiences in higher education teaching the art of sound design. Midge shares her views on the changing terrain of how post-production sound is currently being taught in film school...

In this episode, Dr. Vanessa Theme Ament, author of The Foley Grail, sits down with Greg Crawford, an ADR mixer at Smart Post Atlanta. Vanessa and Greg share their experiences in Automated Dialogue Replacement, more commonly known as ADR. Greg describes the massive expansion of the film industry in Atlanta, highlighted by the growth of film studios that have become literal cities and the film productions happening all around the gorgeous and lush landscapes in Georgia. In the second part of...

In this episode, Dr. Vanessa Theme Ament, author of The Foley Grail, engages in a lively discussion with composer, trumpeter, and sound designer Daniel Nissenbaum. Moving beyond performative sound in film and television, Vanessa and Daniel get into the sound aspects of today's podcasting, and one of Daniel's most recent podcast projects, Discovering Dad. Often riffing in the spirit of jazz improvisation, the two reflect and trades observations on the relationship between sound design, music,...

In this episode, Dr. Vanessa Theme Ament, author of The Foley Grail, talks with Miguel Barbosa from Spain, a Foley Artist who began his career as a Sound Editor. Vanessa and Miguel discuss the differences between the Hollywood system of Foley versus the European system. In particular, the conversation covers the distinction and challenges between Foley mixed in the studio and "Foley on location." Additionally, they share observations about the importance of cueing for the Foley artists....

In this episode, Dr. Vanessa Theme Ament, author of The Foley Grail, connects with Rune van Deurs, a Foley artist from Fjellstrand, Norway. Fjellstrand is a small town across a fjord from Oslo, where Rune is the owner of Quickstep Foley. Vanessa discusses Rune's innovations in Foley to establish a more efficient and responsive workflow in alignment with the needs of his clients. Vanessa and Rune go in depth on how Rune executes his particular vision for Foley recording and mixing. The second...

In this episode, Dr. Vanessa Theme Ament, Author of The Foley Grail, speaks with Academy Award winning (for Bram Stoker's Dracula, 1992) Supervising Sound Editor David E. Stone. In this conversation, Vanessa and David discuss Stone's new sound film history website, "Sound of a Shot" (soundofashot.com). Sound of a Shot provides detailed analyses of lesser known early sound films such as Act of Violence, Across the Pacific, Jamaica Inn, A Man Escaped, 3:10 to Yuma, He Walked by Night, and...

In this episode, Dr. Vanessa Theme Ament speaks with Steve Lee, the developer of The Hollywood Sound Museum (hollywoodsoundmuseum.org) who is also a sound effects wrangler, sound editor, writer and historian. Vanessa and Steve cover the changing terrain of Foley from its earliest days in cinema to a conversation about new technologies and even the coming impacts of artificial intelligence in sound design. Recalling the influence of Disney's Jimmy MacDonald, a pioneer in creating sound gadgets...

In this episode, Dr. Vanessa Theme Ament, author of The Foley Grail, has a lively conversation into the art and craft of Foley with Serbian Foley artist Misa Jakovljevic. Misa works in multiple cultural contexts and on different media projects--both in television and film--from Israel, Turkey, the UK, and his home country of Serbia. Misa and Vanessa engage in a grounded discussion on the philosophies of and debates involving technology and performative film sound. Misa's Foley work has both a...

Dr. Vanessa Theme Ament discusses the current state of Foley with Rick Owens, Foley Artist and Owner of 331 Sound, Inc. A major focus of their conversation is celebrating and remembering Foley artists that came before them and who generously shared their excellence and expertise through mentorship of others, including legendary Foley Artists Bob Rutledge and John Post. Vanessa and Rick delve into contemporary Foley and highlight how there are risks around "watering down the craft" by not...

In this episode, Dr. Vanessa Theme Ament interviews Foley editor Anna Gramlich. Anna works at Sony Studios in Culver City, CA, on various television shows, including The Morning Show, Justified: City Primeval, and The Goldbergs. Vanessa and Anna discuss the importance of footsteps in defining character, and the unique workflow at Sony Studios, utilizing editorial and Foley performance in partnership. Anna walks us through several key scenes in her Foley work where she details how the changes...

In this episode, Dr. Vanessa Theme Ament, Foley Artist and Author of The Foley Grail, talks with Chilean Foley Artist Mauricio Castañeda. Mauricio discusses a wide range of topics that cover highlights of his twenty year career and his work as founder of The Foley Crew. Mauricio delves into emerging Foley practices outside the Hollywood system, such as the use of Foley in reality television in Latin America. They also discuss how Foley can be used to highlight issues of class through sound...

In this episode, Dr. Vanessa Theme Ament, Foley Artist and Author of The Foley Grail, speaks with Annie Taylor, Foley Editor at Alchemy Post Sound in Peekskill, New York. Annie describes her journey from a sound design student at Savannah College of Art and Design to an intern to a Foley Editor. Annie discusses her Golden Reel award-winning work on the Hulu series The Bear, and the film Prey (2022). They end the podcast addressing how AI might affect the future of Foley.