Ambience, effects & Foley · Core

Foley

ELI5

Everyday sounds performed and recorded to match actions on screen.

“The footsteps feel weightless; Foley can give them more character.”

Synchronised performed sound effects recorded while watching picture, commonly footsteps, cloth and handling.

Here “Foley” means: Synchronised performed sound effects recorded while watching picture, commonly footsteps, cloth and handling.

You may encounter “Foley” in sound, music & voice conversations or materials.

Why it matters: Explains dialogue, effects, atmosphere, music, voice and the technical work of making them intelligible.

Sound effectFoley is performed in sync to picture, often for human movement and props; sound effects can be recorded, designed or library-based and need not be performed live.
Sound designFoley can supply designed performance and object detail.
Foley artistComputed from definition language and shared taxonomy. This indicates proximity, not synonymy.

Sources & evidence · 4

Supporting source families. This entry is an editorial synthesis rather than a quotation from one canonical glossary.