A new dedicated Foley studio named The Laundry has opened in Essex at Feet First Sound, where an Audient ASP4816 mixing console sits in ‘incredibly quiet recording chain’.
The compact, analogue desk keels the company of a 3m x 1.7m projection screen with NEC 4k projector, and JBL 3678 loudspeakers driven by two Crown DSI amplifiers. According to owner Barnaby Smyth, patience, musicality and articulate direction are prerequisites for the job they are used to do: ‘It’s hard work, but hugely fun,’ he says. ‘If you want to good Foley you have to immerse yourself in the scene or character you are performing. Half-hearted Foley is all too easy to spot.
‘The challenge is trying to achieve good recordings for a huge dynamic range of sounds – from face touches to car crashes,’ he continues. ‘I have a lot of go-to objects, but each project usually throws up new situations in which we have to create new sounds. This often involves sourcing new props – something that I’m now in a better position to do, having my own studio. We tend to perform with the scene onscreen, but we record a lot of wild tracks – not to picture – which are useful in the edit.’
The edit suite is located upstairs from the main studio, which where the Audient desk is now at home: ‘It’s been fantastic. Great, clean mic pres and the EQ is very versatile,’ Smyth reports. ‘It’s small but very flexible, with a great number of returns from Pro Tools available.’
Surrounding the desk is an array of seemingly disparate items all of which help create sound effects. The company website shows row of shoess, a butler sink, an alarm clock, a chest of drawers and numerous floor coverings, ensuring The Laundry has the capability to produce ‘a range of sounds from rickety old house, to plush stately home’.
With a credit list including The Night Manager; Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy and Downton Abbey, Smyth and his colleague, Emmy nominated Foley engineer Keith Partridge are the team behind the venture. Between them, they have a broad professional network to draw on, especially for TV work. ‘Clients, editors and mixers I have worked with and have a good relationship with, bring return work. Films are slightly harder to come by, but I usually do a few a year.
‘Now that I have my own place, the best thing about my work is that I can do what I like with the studio and develop and improve as I need to,’ Smyth says. ‘We are being creative all day.’
