Ruth Sullivan’s recent foley lecture furthered my inspiration post Karolina’s foley workshop. Both individual artists hold their own in the industry of foley for film however it was Ruth’s live foley work which had intrigued me greatly.
Her work in theatre using live foley broke down beams and barriers between post-production sound and live performance. Unlike other artistry within the post-production world – foley is the closest medium to live performance. Ruth’s ability to further this into performance work truly stimulated me with the thought of live sound work. John Cage famously stated:
Composing’s one thing, performing’s another, listening’s a third. What can they have to do with one another?”
He discusses the notion of performance in itself and its power to override composition. To perform is to create and it should be respected as a piece of art separately from what is being performed. Although noise music and performance art have taken the reins within the sound arts world using foley within performance breaks down the idea that it is even foley at all and instead creates this magical piece of sonic performance art. When watching Foley on screen it is urged that this should not be noticed at all – instead compliment the picture so subtly that it seems natural and real. When using live foley performance for the stage – this creates a juxtaposing effect and instead enhances your sonic ear towards the foley itself. One notices the sound at a higher rate than one would if this was performed for the screen. Her live Foley influences an appreciation to the audience for what it adds to the storytelling and visual performance – not to mention the sheer skill and practice this must take.
I was motivated by this and chose to explore the idea of performing other post-production mediums live. I felt that creating live scoring or sound design synth work could make a beautiful piece of artistry that could enhance a sonic reaction.
As a result of this, I want to explore this further as my Alternative Project – Project C and search into the realms of live sound design paired with a pre-recorded piece of screen work.
Further Inspiration: