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For Grown-Ups

Foley Fun: Make Movie Sounds with Stuff from Home

Kids learn how Foley artists make movie sounds with everyday objects, then perform their own sound effects for a short story. The site's Sound Studio page is a good warm-up for listening.

Learning goal
Kids will explain that sounds come from vibrations and that everyday objects can copy other sounds for a movie.
Ages
6-11
Time
20-30 minutes
Group
2-10 kids, working at stations or taking turns

Print this guide (PDF)

Materials

  • Two coconut halves, or two plastic cups or small bowls as a stand-in (horse hooves)
  • A thin metal baking sheet held by the edges (thunder)
  • An old pair of gloves, leather if you have them (bird wings)
  • Cellophane or a crinkly plastic wrapper (crackling fire)
  • Dried beans or rice sealed inside a plastic container or a cardboard tube taped shut at both ends (rain)
  • A towel or tray to clop on
  • A device to open the site's Sound Studio page (optional)
  • A phone or tablet to record and play back (optional)

Before you start

  • Set out each sound maker at its own spot and label it with a sticky note: hooves, thunder, wings, fire, rain.
  • Seal the bean container or tube with tape before kids arrive. Check it doesn't leak.
  • Check the baking sheet edges for sharp spots.
  • If you'll use the Sound Studio page, open it and test the volume first.
  • Write a 4-line story to read aloud, for example: A horse trots into town. A storm rolls in. Birds fly off the fence. Everyone warms up by the campfire.

Step by step

  1. Ask kids: in a movie, do you think every sound was recorded at the moment it was filmed? Then explain Foley: people who perform sound effects in sync with the picture, often using ordinary objects. It's named after Jack Foley, an early sound-effects pioneer in film.
  2. Warm up by listening. Open the site's Sound Studio page and play a few sounds, or have kids close their eyes while you make sounds. Guess what made each one.
  3. Hooves: clop the coconut halves or cups on the towel or tray in a da-da-dum rhythm. Try slow for walking and fast for galloping.
  4. Thunder: a grown-up or older kid holds the baking sheet by two edges and gently wobbles it. Foley artists and old theaters used big thin metal sheets for thunder.
  5. Wings: grab the gloves by the cuffs and flap them together fast.
  6. Fire: crinkle the cellophane slowly and softly. Foley artists use cellophane for crackling fire.
  7. Rain: tip the sealed bean container slowly from one end to the other. Rainsticks were traditionally filled with beans or pebbles to copy the sound of rain.
  8. Feel the vibrations: put a hand flat on the baking sheet while it rumbles. Sound is things shaking the air, and the air shaking your eardrums.
  9. Perform the story. A grown-up reads each line and points to the kid whose sound comes next.
  10. Record it and play it back if you can. Ask: which sound fooled you best?

Safety

  • Dried beans and rice are a choking hazard for little kids. Keep them sealed in a taped container and supervise siblings under 4.
  • Never put beans, rice, or small objects in ears, noses, or mouths.
  • A grown-up checks the baking sheet for sharp edges and handles it with younger kids.
  • Keep sounds at a comfortable volume and never make a loud sound right next to someone's ear.
  • Wash hands after handling the sound makers.

Talk about it

  • Which homemade sound sounded most like the real thing? Why do you think so?
  • What did you feel when you touched the baking sheet during the thunder sound?
  • Why might a movie crew make a sound by hand instead of recording the real thing?
  • What everyday object could you use for footsteps in snow or a creaky door?
  • How would a scary scene sound different from a funny scene if you used the same objects?

Make it easier

Use just two stations, hooves and wings, and let the grown-up give cues by pointing. Skip the story and play a guess-the-sound game instead.

Take it further

Invent a sound for something that doesn't exist, like robot footsteps or an alien sneeze, and explain what you used. Or test fillers for your rain maker: rice, beans, and pasta, and vote on which sounds most like rain.

No screen? No problem

Skip the Sound Studio page. Play a closed-eyes guessing game with sounds made from things in the room: tapping a pencil, crumpling paper, pouring water, jingling keys.

Printables

Sources

  • Foley (filmmaking), Wikipedia (en.wikipedia.org)
  • Foley sound, ACMI (Australian Centre for the Moving Image) (www.acmi.net.au)
  • Inside the World of Foley, The Los Angeles Film School (www.lafilm.edu)
  • Expert comment: The animal sounds in most nature documentaries are made by humans, Northumbria University, Newcastle (newsroom.northumbria.ac.uk)
  • Mechanical Sound Effects, Prop Agenda (Eric Hart) (www.props.eric-hart.com)
  • Rainsticks, Science World (British Columbia) (www.scienceworld.ca)
  • Sound, Science World (British Columbia) (www.scienceworld.ca)

Source web addresses are listed as text on purpose, so the club doesn’t link children to outside sites.

These activities aren’t tied to any curriculum standard. Adapt them to your group.