Turn on a nature documentary. You watch in awe as animals you’ve never seen in real life hunt, play, and raise young. It’s a completely realistic, objective portrayal of wildlife, right? Well, not quite.
While the images might be filmed in the wild, what you hear was likely produced by humans. Footsteps, chewing, scratching, and panting were probably recorded by a Foley artist (someone who creates sounds for video) in a studio.
Why? Much wildlife documentary footage is shot using telephoto lenses. The cameras can zoom in on subjects from far away. But crews typically can’t get close enough to capture clear sound without disturbing the animals. Plus, the sound is often muddied by background noise. And sometimes animals make sounds of a frequency or volume that microphones can’t capture clearly.
Once a documentary team has footage, Foley artists decide which of the animal’s actions or movements need sounds and what those should be. This might involve consulting the wider production team and the show’s director.
Foley artists get creative. Here are some of their techniques:
- knocking coconut shells against stone slabs to make the clip-clop of horse hooves;
- thumping rocks against a straw-covered tub of soil for elephant steps;
- splashing fingertips in water to mimic fish jumping across the surface of a lake;
- swishing a bundle of VHS tape around a large water tank for a shoal of fish moving through the ocean;
- ruffling a pair of leather gloves for the flutter of a bird’s wings.
Most artists create the sounds of creatures chewing, panting, or yawning with their own mouths. The artist watches the footage while creating the sounds. The effects must perfectly match the actions they’re paired with.
Animal cries and roars are more complex. Most of those come from previous recordings.
Filmmakers use editing, sound, and other effects to put together a story. Film lecturer Damien Pollard points out that the sounds that are attributed to animals can influence how we view them.
A slithery, slimy sound may be matched to the image of a snake—even though a human would be unlikely to hear anything in real life, and even though snakes aren’t usually slimy. Watchers may feel unnerved. A soft yawn with a close-up of a tiger cub may focus the audience on that animal’s cuteness and vulnerability instead of its strong jaws and sharp teeth. But are these impressions accurate? Even a wildlife film is an opportunity to use discernment.
Why? Sound can change your perception of a film’s subjects. Foley artists and film directors use sound to tell a story—even in nature documentaries. Think critically!
