Next year will be my 20th season doing the final sound mix for W5. I have seen every story the series has produced in that time, but I had never actually pitched a story idea to the producers.
That, I assumed, wasn’t really in the cards for the sound person. But W5 is a bit of a different atmosphere and when I asked Avery Haines if I could run some ideas past her, she not only listened, but she set me up to pitch my thoughts to the whole team.
I told them about a Canadian sound person that was doing amazing things, but almost no one knew about it.
In quiet Uxbridge, Ont., north of Toronto, there is a farm house that looks no different from all the others on its rural side road.
This particular house plays a major role in countless Hollywood films year after year. It is the home of Footstep Studios and specifically, Andy Malcolm. He and his entirely-Canadian crew have provided so-called Foley sounds for just about every director’s films you can think of.
Foley – named after sound effects pioneer, Jack Foley back in the 1920s – is the creation of real sounds that are then matched to film to create a clean and often uber-real sound experience to match the action.
Crushing a piece of rigatoni can be dubbed over the shot of someone’s nose getting broken. Tearing open a chicken carcass could be a mainstay of a show like "The Walking Dead," where guts need to be spilled.
Andy Malcolm's resume gives you an idea of how good he is. From massive blockbusters such as "Dune," "Planet of the Apes," "Blade Runner 2049," "Ford v Ferrari" to Academy Award best picture nominees including "The Big Short" and "The Greatest Showman," to broad comedies like "The 40 Year Old Virgin" and "Bridesmaids," Andy has a credit on nearly 700 films.
In addition to all those grand accomplishments, he was also a major influence on my life and career, even though he had no idea who I was at the time.
When I was growing up, I always wanted to be a record producer. I loved music and the idea of working in a recording studio and thinking about sound all day was a dream.
Then in my grade 10 media studies class, back in the 1990s, we were shown a Canadian short film called "Track Stars” that showed how Foley artists made films come to life with sound, creating all the sound effects in a studio space.
Wood was being smashed, metal bins were crashing to the ground, and heads of lettuce were being ripped to shreds. It was the coolest thing I had ever seen and I immediately switched my focus from music to sound for film.
The main Foley artist featured in the film "Track Stars" is Andy Malcom who, since the film’s creation in 1979, has gone on to be one of the greatest Foley artists in the world.
Andy Malcolm, left, shows W5 correspondent Richard Crouse how breaking apart a stalk of celery can be used as a sound effect (W5).
He is also a funny and charismatic person and a bit of a risk-taker. Instead of moving to Hollywood, Andy took a gamble by asking Hollywood to come to him. And his bet on Canada and himself has paid off. By staying in Canada he has helped raise the bar for all Canadian film production.
I have won multiple Canadian Screen Awards for my sound work over my 25-plus year career and it all goes back to Andy Malcom starring in the film that opened my eyes to the creative possibilities that a Foley soundtrack can add to a film, series or video game.
I hope there is a whole new generation of kids that will see this profile on Andy and his team and they will be awakened to the possibilities that sound can open up for them too.
Sound Editor Tim Muirhead wanted to be a record producer until he saw a Canadian short film called "Track Stars” that showcased how Foley artists made films come to life with sound, creating all the sound effects in a studio space. Muirhead wrote this article for W5.
Watch the documentary 'Sound Farms' in the video player at the top of this article or on our official YouTube channel.
A wayward and unresponsive business plane that flew over the nation's capital Sunday afternoon caused the military to scramble a fighter jet before the plane crashed in Virginia, officials said. The fighter jet caused a loud sonic boom that was heard across the capital region.
Russia says it thwarted a large Ukrainian attack in the eastern province of Donetsk, though it's unclear if this was the start of a Ukrainian counteroffensive.
France will be sending firefighters to aid Quebec as the province continues to battle massive forest fires, French President Emmanuel Macron announced.
Prince Harry is set to testify in the first of his five pending legal cases largely centred around battles with British tabloids. Opening statements are scheduled Monday in his case.
Mosquitoes have always been pesky, but this spring it seems the bloodsuckers are thirstier than ever, a trend one expert says is increasing.
Although remote work has cleared the way for workplace flexibility, allowing employees to work in various locations (and climates), a new study suggests it’s taking a serious toll on work-life balance.
The Nova Scotia government says it is investigating the theft of personal information stolen through a global privacy breach to a third-party file transfer system the province was using.
Quebec provincial police (SQ) have identified the adult victim of a fishing incident that claimed five lives over the weekend, most of them children. Keven Girard, 37, was among a group of 11 people swept up by the tide late Friday night while fishing along the shore in Portneuf-sur-Mer, a village about 550 kilometres northeast of Montreal.
A wildfire that tore through homes and businesses in the Halifax area is 100 per cent contained, but a historic fire in southwestern Nova Scotia remains out of control.
Quebec provincial police (SQ) have identified the adult victim of a fishing incident that claimed five lives over the weekend, most of them children. Keven Girard, 37, was among a group of 11 people swept up by the tide late Friday night while fishing along the shore in Portneuf-sur-Mer, a village about 550 kilometres northeast of Montreal.
France will be sending firefighters to aid Quebec as the province continues to battle massive forest fires, French President Emmanuel Macron announced.
The Nova Scotia government says it is investigating the theft of personal information stolen through a global privacy breach to a third-party file transfer system the province was using.
Allowing new Canadians to take the oath of citizenship by clicking a box online is a disgusting idea that will cheapen the process and open the door to fraud -- or a forward-thinking notion that will help decrease a backlog of citizenship applications, depending on who you ask.
A wildfire that tore through homes and businesses in the Halifax area is 100 per cent contained, but a historic fire in southwestern Nova Scotia remains out of control.
Wildfires in northwestern Quebec prompted thousands to evacuate the area over the weekend, as the number of blazes pushed past 150 and firefighters and the military poured into parts of the province to fight the encroaching flames -- even as that threat eased slightly Sunday on the North Shore.
The derailment in eastern India that killed 275 people and injured hundreds was caused by an error in the electronic signalling system that led a train to wrongly change tracks and crash into a freight train, officials said Sunday.
China tightened access to Tiananmen Square in central Beijing on Sunday, the anniversary of the military suppression of 1989 pro-democracy protests that left a still unknown number of people dead and discussions and commemorations forbidden within the country.
A wayward and unresponsive business plane that flew over the nation's capital Sunday afternoon caused the military to scramble a fighter jet before the plane crashed in Virginia, officials said. The fighter jet caused a loud sonic boom that was heard across the capital region.
Debate surrounding Florida's new restrictions on gender-affirming care focused largely on transgender children. But a new law that Republican presidential candidate and Gov. Ron DeSantis signed last month also made it difficult -- even impossible -- for many transgender adults to get treatment.
China's defence minister defended sailing a warship across the path of an American destroyer and Canadian frigate transiting the Taiwan Strait, telling a gathering of some of the world's top defence officials in Singapore on Sunday that such so-called 'freedom of navigation' patrols are a provocation to China.
At least 15 people have died and another eight are missing after heavy rains unleased widespread flooding and several landslides across Haiti over the weekend, authorities said Sunday.
Natural Resources Minister Jonathan Wilkinson says the federal government is not ruling out finding ways to achieve net zero sooner than the existing 2050 goal, but would not say whether there would be a definitive commitment to move up the target.
Jenny Kwan has been outspoken against human-rights violations by the Chinese Communist Party and often advocates for the country's Uyghur Muslim minority. The Hong Kong-born member of Parliament said in an interview with The Canadian Press that that's what made her an 'evergreen' target of the Chinese government.
Special rapporteur David Johnston has hired crisis communications firm Navigator, his office confirmed on Friday.
The number of people in Canada with inflammatory bowel disease is increasing rapidly and is expected to grow to 470,000 by 2035, according to a new report from Crohn's and Colitis Canada.
New study finds increase in antipsychotic drugs use in long-term care homes across Canada, despite no significant increase in behavioural symptoms – something that may expose a potential area of concern for quality of care, researchers say.
Racial bias built into a common medical test for lung function is likely leading to fewer Black patients getting care for breathing problems, a study published Thursday suggests.
Apple appears poised to unveil a long-rumoured headset that will place its users between the virtual and real world, while also testing the technology trendsetter's ability to popularize new-fangled devices after others failed to capture the public's imagination.
The Nova Scotia government says it is investigating the theft of personal information stolen through a global privacy breach to a third-party file transfer system the province was using.
Constructed by a team at London, Ont.’s Western University, a tiny satellite — roughly the size of a Rubik’s cube — will ride aboard a SpaceX mission bound for the International Space Station.
'Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse' opened in U.S. and Canadian theatres with a massive US$120.5 million, more than tripling the debut of the 2018 animated original and showing the kind of movie-to-movie box-office growth that would be the envy of even the mightiest of Hollywood franchises.
La Pimenterie's Curry Verde is the hot new thing on 'Hot Ones,' a hit celebrity interview show on YouTube.
Kaija Saariaho, who wrote acclaimed works that made her the among the most prominent composers of the 21st century, died Friday at the age of 70.
Asian stocks followed Wall Street higher on Monday after strong U.S. hiring data suggested a possible recession might be further away, while smaller wage gains stoked hopes inflationary pressures are weakening.
Apple appears poised to unveil a long-rumoured headset that will place its users between the virtual and real world, while also testing the technology trendsetter's ability to popularize new-fangled devices after others failed to capture the public's imagination.
Saudi Arabia will reduce how much oil it sends to the global economy, taking a unilateral step to prop up the sagging price of crude after two previous cuts to supply by major producing countries in the OPEC+ alliance failed to push oil higher.
Jessica Tuomela is a swimmer and triathlete, and has been on the podium at the Paralympics, but says the feeling returning a missing person home safely is no comparison.
Constructed by a team at London, Ont.’s Western University, a tiny satellite — roughly the size of a Rubik’s cube — will ride aboard a SpaceX mission bound for the International Space Station.
Staff running pools across Canada are trying to entice people to work as lifeguards amid a shortage, the Lifesaving Society says
Gabe Vincent scored 23 points, Jimmy Butler and Bam Adebayo each had 21 and the Miami Heat evened up the NBA Finals by overcoming a monster effort from Nikola Jokic to beat the Denver Nuggets 111-108 in Game 2 on Sunday night.
The joy Paul Maurice felt on the morning of the start of the Stanley Cup Final was also tinged with sadness. The veteran coach knew there were only at most seven more games left to play.
Karim Benzema converted his penalty kick and received a standing ovation from fans before being substituted at the Santiago Bernabeu Stadium, bringing an end to his memorable career with Real Madrid on Sunday.
America apparently needs more car seats. So, when Volkswagen unveiled the ID. Buzz, a retro-styled electric van, last year, it noted that the version for the North American market would be longer and would have three rows of seats.
DesRosiers Automotive Consultants Inc. says May brought hope after several years of disrupted sales patterns, as vehicle sales rose.
Max Verstappen had warned that his Red Bull team was good enough to win every single race of the Formula One season. On Sunday he took one more step toward that ambitious sweep by easing to victory at the Spanish Grand Prix.
