cloth foley

[eastwestaudio]

forgive me if there has been a past thread (no pun intended) about this. i tried searching DUC.

this is a question for any of you out there engineering/performing cloth foley.

i am not an expert in this area - but can get by pretty well engineering most foley work.

when recording cloth passes, is there any distict advantage or disadvantage to using a live sounding room vs a dead sounding one? i often am struggling to make the cloth passes i've recorded sound deeper, yet still detailed. i've tried using heavier fabrics/articles of clothing but that hasn't totally solved my issue.


regards

-greg-

[Phil Jeffers]

Hi, for moves tracks for TV, it's like; press record and sit back (on about +78dB!). It's about the texture. For film; sure you can get more detailed. I have recorded 40+ tracks of moves for Chinese features. Always a dead room mate. You don't want annoying reflections at the record stage. And whatever you do, please don't start recording foley with your mouth! (i.e. SFX via human mouth - I can't take it!)

[minister]

try an omni pattern in a deader room. i find that cardioid is often not the best pattern for this kind of thing.

(boy, lots of textile joke potential here)

[eastwestaudio]

try an omni pattern in a deader room. i find that cardioid is often not the best pattern for this kind of thing.

hmm. interesting idea. i usually end up using a u87 or a schoeps mk41 both in cardiod - i wish i had a modified u87 w/ higher output... i have never really tried an omni.

any other advice or tricks? i try to use my ears as much as possible, but the fact is i've never had the privilege of watching an expert foley artist and recordist do cloth passes. (though when the budgets of the projects i work on get big enough, will take it to them to handle)

meanwhile...

-greg-

[KingTor]

I'll second everything said so far, and add some thoughts on mic placement: being too close could get too much detail and crisp ugliness. Backing off a bit might help. You can also experiement with where the mic is in relation to the cloth walker's hands. If there's more cloth between the hands and the mic, I think you'll get more of what you want and less of what you don't.

[aprilpsw]

You can also try a shotgun from a foot or two away.