ABSTRACT
Starting out as a stunt double in the silent era of the mid-1920s at Universal, Jack Foley found himself working as assistant director on several pictures filmed on location in Owens Valley and then shooting inserts and shorts back at the Universal lot. Artisans such as William Hitchcock, Ronald Pierce, Jack Bolger, Gordon Sawyer, Roger Heman, and Clem Portman overcame more than just new creative challenges--all also overcame the problems presented by the new technology of sound, dealing with constant changes in new equipment variations and non-standardization. A few sound editors spent more time walking Foley cues for other editors, slowly evolving into full-time Foley artists. The advent of optical sound allowed editors to cut an ever-increasing number of sound effects, including footsteps in precise sync to the picture. If sound editor wish to perform various props and/or non-cloth movement cues as cleanly as possible, sound editor will do anything to achieve the desired level of sonic isolation necessary.
