The Twickenham Film Studios-based Foley team has given Nub News a fascinating insight into the significant behind-the-scenes technical contribution it made to the production of the latest Bond movie blockbuster, No Time to Die, which is breaking all records at the box office.

Foley is the part of a soundtrack of a film or TV show that was performed by an artist to match the action on screen. The Foley artists are similar to musicians in that they can take an object, such as the shoes an actor is wearing, to an oven, to large piece of sheet metal and 'play' it in time with the action on screen to produce a sound that enhances the story.

The Twickenham team was made up of Adam Mendez, Oli Ferris and Sophia Hardman - with long time freelance collaborators Sue Harding and Andrea King, who provided the Foley, under the guidance of Hugo Adams, working for Oliver Tarney who is one the most accomplished Sound Supervisors in the business.

In explaining the role of the Foley, Oli Ferris told Nub News: "We've been fortunate enough to work on some pretty big films, including 1917, The Martian and The Last Duel and we recently finished work on House Of Gucci which we are very excited to see released.

"The most fundamental part of the work we do involves the footsteps of the characters in a film.

"The goal is to make a sound that blends in seamlessly with all the other sound elements but also adds something to the story.

"In Bond, for example, when he is in the classic Bond tux he needed to sound smart, yet also dangerous. Anna de Armas' character, Paloma, similarly needed to sound elegant but also deadly so that you believe it equally when she is walking through the party or running at an assassin.

"This means that in the studio we chose the shoes and surfaces that give us the right sound to enhance the soundtrack. We work under close supervision from Oliver Tarney and the sound team who give us the work-in-progress sound track to play back the Foley against so we can make sure we're giving them the best elements."

Sophia Hardman added: "Sounds like explosions, gunshots, car chases are all created by sound designers from a mixture of raw recordings and library effects. We can augment these moments by adding any details that might sound better performed by a human.

"For example, in No Time To Die when the hi-tech thieves abseil into a top secret lab we recorded the sounds of their footsteps on the glass building, their ropes slowly pulling through carabiners which blend in around the laser glass cutters and eventual explosions.

"Later, when Bond and MI6 agent Nomi are stalking the tunnels of Safin's lair picking off a small army, we performed sounds for their tactical kit and feet through the puddled water that sit in between the gunshots. Our role is really to provide the human element amongst these wonderfully crafted effects."

Aside from the excitement at being involved in such an iconic franchise, the Twickenham team had the added buzz of the long delay of its release caused by the pandemic.

"We actually finished our work on this project around Christmas 2019, so it was great to finally be able to see it hit the screens!"