Foley Mixer

Sound makes up a huge part of a movie, and not just in obvious ways like dialogue or a door slamming. The little things—keys jangling or paper rustling—can really make a viewer feel like they’re part of the scene. A Foley Mixer is an important part of the team that adds in these sounds to movies.

The job of a Foley Mixer involves a lot of collaboration. As a Foley Mixer, you work closely with the likes of a Foley Artist and a Foley Editor. Your job comes in during post-production, after filming but before editing. You and the others on your team add needed background or detail noise to make a completed scene feel real.

You start the process by watching the scene and making note of what sounds have to be added. Then you brainstorm ways to make this happen. After a plan of action has been decided on, you get to work.

It’s your specific job to record the noises the Foley Artist makes. This means you need to know how many microphones are required and where to set them up in order to catch the noise. Put a microphone too far from a bucket of hand soap (it makes a great squishing noise) and no one will be able to tell what they’re listening to. Too close and they’ll just be grossed out.

In this job, you need to really understand the equipment you’re working with. Aside from recording sounds, you’re the one who replaces parts and fixes any malfunctioning equipment.