May 223 min read

ARTICLE: From Libya To The UK - A Foley Success Story

Hafeed's audio journey has taken him from Libya, all the way to the UK. We sat down with him to hear how the Creative Foley Workshop with Pete Burgis empowered him to stand strong and overcome performance nerves, inspired confidence in his approach to the industry, and shaped his general creative thought process and approach to Foley Artistry.

Introduce yourself, and tell us about your experience with foley before the course:

"Hey! I'm Hafeed, I'm a masters student at Leeds Beckett University and I was really lucky to take the Creative Foley Workshop course with Mr Pete Burgis. So, I have a background in Foley already. I've done a couple of films and TV shows, but the week I've had with Pete and the 344 team was absolutely life changing. I think that this one week equals years of self learning in Foley, it was really helpful for me."

What were some of the most important lessons that the course and pete taught you?:

"Something that really stood out to me is that Pete helped us to be more free with our performances, and that was really powerful. Because I think all 3 of us were a bit tense when it comes to performing, especially with footsteps. We needed to lose our muscles, lose ourselves, and become the actor, become the actress. And we learned a lot of fun things like, walking dogs and walking animals...that was really fun to do! Another great thing for me is that Pete helped us to create a sound library in our heads which is something I'd never thought about, and it's something that I'll continue taking seriously when I'm trying to discover new ways of making sounds. Also, he told us a lot about the industry. So he didn't just show us how to do Foley and how to record Foley, he told us about the industry and how to approach the industry in different ways. This is something that's really important to me."

What would you say is your favourite moment or memory from the course?:

"A real 'Wow' moment that happened to me was when Pete showed us how to make dragon fire with nothing but a bin bag! I remember Alan looked at me and was like 'what's going on here?', and I was just in true shock."

Would you recommend the course? If so, why?:

"I'd definitely recommend the course, and I'd recommend it to anyone. If you don't know anything about film, and you want to get into the world of film and foley, or you are a senior or veteran foley artist. I think you will gain something from Pete, that's 100% certain. It's really something powerful, it's just one week but as I said, this week equals years of your life trying to figure these things out. And whoever is coming to take this course with Pete, you should prepare all your questions, have a think and anything that pops into your head, write it down because everything had an answer...you just have to ask the questions."

Are there any final thoughts you'd like to add?:

"I'm really thankful for Pete and the 344 team; Alex, Ryan and Danny for this chance. I will definitely remember this for my whole life, and my whole career...It's really something meaningful, and it changed how I see myself, and how I see myself in this field and that's really important. So I'll forever be grateful for that, and I hope to see you in the Foley Workshop!"