Richard Crouse visits Footsteps Studios in Uxbridge, Ontario, where award-winning Andy Malcolm and his team of Foley artists create live sound effects for movies. Instead of digital files, they use things like a chicken carcass, a honey separator, and dry rigatoni twisted in a wet chamois. Jack Foley started creating sound effects in 1929 transforming silent movies, and his name lives on in the term Foley effects. Sound is a vital part of movie making today. Andy created the Foley sound for productions such as Sarah Polley’s recent movie “Women Talking” and del Toro’s “Cabinet of Curiosities”. Props in his storage space, a collection of everyday things, are the tools of his trade. Good sound creation – the invisible art – is magical, requiring acting ability and adding believability to films.

Andy started his 40-year career as an assistant sound editor and gambled by staying in Canada. His bet paid off and he has helped raise the bar for Canadian film production.