dog footsteps

[viaspiaggia]

Hi all, will be recording the footsteps for a dog in a film this week.

I'll go through my usual experiments to find the right thing to use, but thought I'd see if anyone had tips or suggestions for what to use. I'll be starting with leather gloved hands with perhaps some zip ties on the fingers... It's a real dog in a live action kids-comedy-family-adventure feature, so while it can have a little comedy to it it needs to play more or less "real."

Thanks!

[peter5992]

What if you recorded a real dog, live? 'Syncing' to picture is not going to work probably (unless you have an exceptionally well trained dog with ADR experience but that may not be all that critical as long as the general pace matches that of the picture.

The surface is important, dogs have toe nails that make typical clicking sounds especially on wooden surfaces (hardwood floors) but which may be inaudible on soft carpet etc.

Dogs make other noises too (besides barking or howling), sniffing, growling, licking; some snore when they sleep; some 'whimper' a little when they dream (you can tell when their legs twitch). Many dogs have collars which have tinkling tag for owner ID, rabies shots, etc.

I used to record my own dog and other dogs too, on the beach and elsewhere; it is fun to do.

[viaspiaggia]

yeah I wanted to get the dog in for all the efforts and barks, but so far distance has made that impractical and I've gone with library stuff.

it's the nails that I'm concerned about duplicating, in this case there is some concrete, some wood (dock on a lake!), sand, and more, all of which will react a little differently to those nails...

[capt kirk]

its all in the tone and the meter of the walk cycle. i just finished 13 episodes of animated dogs.....now i'm onto horses...weeeeeee.........

[viaspiaggia]

luckily the dog is at a medium or distant shot most of the time, not too many CUs on the feet. so I don't need to hit each step, but the reminder about pacing is always appreciated.

what did you use to perform the steps for your cartoon? what cartoon (out of sheer curiosity!)?

[The Recordist]

I remember a news show clip back in the 1990s that showed foley being performed for a Lassie movie and the foley artist used gloves with small paper clips taped to each finger. He also used multiple fingers hitting the surface depending on the intensity of the action. Sounded great.

Frank

[viaspiaggia]

leather work gloves with short drywall screws worked well to perform for some tests today, we'll see how it mixes.

[JT916]

add in a little collar noise and dog breathing that will do

[zoing123]

I use garden gloves/ leather gloves with small/ medium buttons glued at the fingers. sound good in dirt as well / in grass use same gove type, no buttons Dog tag tinks are a feel thing. Watch out for tinking in dialog....

[david liversidge]

Can I just big up Sound Ideas HD collection here? For years dog footsteps were my bugbear but WOW, I love SI's footsteps. Well worth it.

David