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NEED HELP Designing Foley Stage


xStix99x

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Hi Everyone,

 

I am a Sound Editor at a post sound studio in Hollywood, and we are in the process of building a new space. I was put in charge of designing our foley pits, and I don't really have any experience with the design and construction of them. This is a legitimate foley stage, so please don't give me ideas for portable pits. We are going to have one small pit in our ADR room, and then a larger pit for our theater. I have a few questions about the construction of these foley pits for anyone who might know.

1) How deep do the pits need to be?

2) For surfaces like tile, wood, and carpet, do I need dig out the space and pour concrete to put the tile and carpet on, or can I place the tile on the preexisting concrete without digging out the space?

3) I'm assuming the pit is one large hole, but each surface is divided by wood. What kind of wood and how thick does it need to be?

4) What is the ideal size for each surface?

5) I plan on pouring the concrete into a hole that is at least 4 feet deep to prevent it sounding hollow, but is there a way to keep the concrete surface from sound clicky?

We aren't going to have a water pit, because there isn't enough budget to add plumbing to drain it. Any help you guys can give me would be much appreciated.

 

-Matt

 

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Don't forget the space floor and water bottle (as demonstrated in the second half of this instructional video):

 

 

Sorry. I'm not much help. Oh hey, my hazy memory and Google reminded me of this exchange (or another similar one) led by Gary Gegan. It's from a few years ago, but there's some stuff towards the end about how much concrete makes sense:

https://www.gearslutz.com/board/post-production-forum/197234-diy-foley-pit.html

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You're asking a bunch of guys/gals who specialize in sound however your questions, in my opinion, are more along the lines of construction.

I have a bit experience in this field as I've been swinging a hammer since I was 2 and now finalizing a renovation for a client of mine.

 

First off, what's your budget? I'm guessing since they're asking their sound guy (you) to undertake something like this that it's not too much. No offense, but when it comes to construction, as many other things, you want the most qualified person your budget allows for. With that said, if you're budget is more then what I think then I personally would be calling other production houses and asking to refer the person who built theirs. I would do this until I had at least 3 names to call. Now, the thing about phone calls is that anyone can say whatever they want so long as they accomplish one thing, get your money. So, you'll want to see their work in person or have them take you to a current project since anyone can take photos and say, " I did this". Once you found your winner you write up a solid agreement that allows you to hold back pay until you are satisfied with the work. But, the problem here is that you won't know if they really did a good job, which is a condition of your satisfaction, until you've done this many many times before. It comes full circle now. 

 

What was that saying again? Oh yeah, "it takes years of experience to gain years of experience". 

 

Good luck.  

 

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Thank you for the responses. I actually don't know the budget. I was just told to get a design together and they would give it to the contractor. I have tried getting in touch with other studios with quality foley stages, but I can never get any straight answers. I've also tried calling contractors who specialize in sound facilities, but they don't want to give me free information. I'll try posting this over on Geartslutz

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Both Ric Viers in his book "The Sound Effects Bible" and David Yewdall in "Practical Art of Motion Picture Sound"  have several pages on the design of foley pits. You might want to look at those to get some pointers.

There's also another book solely devoted to foley that I don't have ("The Foley Grail" by Vanessa Ament) that I would be willing to bet has some more useful info.

Good luck!

 

 

Edited by sarcanon
typo
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