In this episode, Dr. Vanessa Theme Ament, author of The Foley Grail and Foley Artist on such films as Die Hard, Platoon, and Predator, discusses the Carney Awards and Cats Don't Dance with Movie Producer Jim Katz. Vanessa and Jim start the conversation by discussing The Carney Awards, a ceremony, co-started by Jim Katz, that honors character actors. Then Vanessa and Jim return to the film Cats Don't Dance. As producer of the film, Jim concludes our three-part retrospective into the seldom seen animation film from 1997, Cats Don't Dance. Jim shares behind the scenes stories from the film from casting decisions, to the politics behind the film that has kept this film from garnering its proper popular and critical reception. Welcome to the Wonderful World of Performative Film Sound.

Welcome back for Part Two of this excellent and detailed behind-the-scenes discussion focusing around the gifted post-production sound team that created the aural atmosphere that animates the characters and enlivens the environments that power the wonderful cinematic experience of the animated musical, Cats Don't Dance (1997). Supervising Foley Editor Vanessa Ament and Supervising Sound Editor David E. Stone return to one of their favorite movies that they ever worked on. Cats Don't Dance is now considered a lost animation classic, the first film directed by Mark Dindal (Emperor's New Groove and Chicken Little). The voice acting is top notch, with major stars taking even minor voice roles. The lead male voice belongs to Scott Bakula, who took the role of Danny the Cat during the height of his Quantum Leap fame, and Scott turns out to be a marvelous singer along with his distinctive vocal chops. The songs in the film are written by Randy Newman at the height of his musical powers as the go-to songsmith for major animated features -- Cats Don't Dance was written between his better known work on Toy Story and Toy Story 2 for example. Even the fabulous singer Natalie Cole has a prominent vocal role, singing an unforgettable Randy Newman tune, "Tell Me Lies," which should have been nominated for an Academy Award for Best Song. So why isn't Cats Don't Dance better known? Well, the film got hit by a business transition at Warner Bros., received no promotion, and did very little box office, recouping less than 10% of its costs. However, in retrospect, this film deserves a second (and third, and fourth, etc) look and a deeper appreciation. Cats Don't Dance was one of only two animated films ever made by Turner Feature Animation, a short-lived production company started by Ted Turner that only produced two films, with Cats Don't Dance being the final one. As two of the post-production sound professionals who worked on the film, Ament and Stone share behind-the-scenes stories of the making of the sounds for Cats Don't Dance. Welcome to the Wonderful World of Performative Film Sound.

Supervising Foley Editor Vanessa Ament and Supervising Sound Editor David E. Stone return to one of their favorite movies that they ever worked on, the animated film Cats Don't Dance (1997). This film is now a lost animation classic, the first film directed by Mark Dindal (Emperor's New Groove and Chicken Little). The voice acting is top notch, with major stars taking even minor voice roles. The lead male voice belongs to Scott Bakula, who took the role of Danny the Cat during the height of his Quantum Leap fame, and Scott turns out to be a marvelous singer along with his distinctive vocal chops. The songs in the film are written by Randy Newman at the height of his musical powers as the go-to songsmith for major animated features -- Cats Don't Dance was written between his better known work on Toy Story and Toy Story 2 for example. Even the fabulous singer Natalie Cole has a prominent vocal role, singing an unforgettable Randy Newman tune, "Tell Me Lies," which should have been nominated for an Academy Award for Best Song. So why isn't Cats Don't Dance better known? Well, the film got hit by a business transition at Warner Bros., received no promotion, and did very little box office, recouping less than 10% of its costs. However, in retrospect, this film deserves a second (and third, and fourth, etc) look and a deeper appreciation. Cats Don't Dance was one of only two animated films ever made by Turner Feature Animation, a short-lived production company started by Ted Turner that only produced two films, with Cats Don't Dance being the final one. As two of the post-production sound professionals who worked on the film, Ament and Stone share behind-the-scenes stories of the making of the sounds for Cats Don't Dance. Welcome to the Wonderful World of Performative Film Sound.

This is part two of two part episode: Supervising Foley Editor Vanessa Ament and Supervising Sound Editor David E. Stone return to one of their favorite movies they ever worked on, the now Disney classic, A Goofy Movie (1995). This film which has found a large and enduring audience was made by Disney Television Animation and was not expected to be a big hit. Ament and Stone share behind-the-scenes stories of the making of the sound for A Goofy Movie. Welcome to the Wonderful World of Performative Film Sound.

Supervising Foley Editor Vanessa Ament and Supervising Sound Editor David E. Stone return to one of their favorite movies they ever worked on, the now Disney classic, A Goofy Movie (1995). This film which has found a large and enduring audience was made by Disney Television Animation and was not expected to be a big hit. Ament and Stone share behind-the-scenes stories of the making of the sound for A Goofy Movie. Welcome to the Wonderful World of Performative Film Sound.

In this episode, Dr. Vanessa Theme Ament, author of The Foley Grail and Foley Artist on such films as Die Hard, Platoon, and Predator, shares stories about several Foley Artists she worked with at the beginning of her career. In this oral history, Vanessa recalls three Foley Artists in particular: Kim Fowler, John Post and Robert Rutledge. Intertwined with these tributes, Vanessa also mentions other Foley Artists she worked with and their contributions to the art and craft of Foley. Welcome to the World of Performative Film Sound!

In this episode, Dr. Vanessa Theme Ament, author of The Foley Grail and Foley Artist on such films as Die Hard, Platoon, and Predator, speaks with Dr. Gabriel Paletz, a film teacher, scholar, and programmer at the Prague Film School in Prague, Czech Republic. Gabriel recently published an article entitled "Writing sound in the screenplay: traditions and innovations" in the journal The Soundtrack. Delving into the main theses of this article, Vanessa and Gabriel explore the many reasons why screenwriters and the most common master form of the screenplay has often overlooked or eschewed the inclusion and aesthetic elements of the film's aural and musical qualities. Furthermore, Gabriel shares how he teaches an original course called "Learning from Awful Films." Importantly, as Vanessa and Gabriel share, from both a pedagogical and practicioner's point of view, even awful films are more awful with bad sound and bad foley. This conversation makes a very powerful case for screenwriters and above the line personnel to include sound elements in the screenplay and as part of a film's pre-production. Welcome to the Wonderful World of Performative Film Sound. 

In this episode, Dr. Vanessa Theme Ament, author of The Foley Grail and Foley Artist on such films as Die Hard, Platoon, and Predator, talks with Kylee Pena, who is Product Marketing Manager for Professional Editor at Adobe. The podcast begins by recapping Kylee's journey from college through her careers in Atlanta, at Netflix, and now at Adobe, working on among other products, Premiere Pro. Vanessa and Kylee share their views on being women in the film industry, particularly in post-production workflows. They discuss their common mission of empowering women to take their creative and technical space in this male-dominated profession. Kylee also addresses how changes with Generative AI and other new techologies have the potential to revolutionize the performance of sound. Welcome to the Wonderful World of Performative Film Sound. 

In the second part of this two part episode, Dr. Vanessa Theme Ament, author of The Foley Grail and Foley Artist on such films as Die Hard, Platoon, and Predator, continues her conversation with Sara Pinheiro. You can learn more about Sara at her website: sarapinheiro.com. If you missed part one, please listen to Episode 27 first which sets up the second half of this discussion. As you will learn upon listening to this podcast, Sara straddles the world of sound designer, sound experimenter, and an academic exploring the role of sound in media. In terms of film and video-art, Sara does sound recording, editing, foley and mixing. In her solo practice, Sara also makes acousmatic pieces, usually for multichannel performances, radio broadcasts or installations. Her work crosses practices of sound design for film with concrete and acousmatic music. It blends natural and artificial soundscapes via field recordings, foley practices and signal processing. Sara is currently pursuing a PhD in music and media, and her research-based practice can be found under the name "Acousmatic Foley." In the second part of this two-part podcast, Vanessa and Sara discuss the various filmmakers and films that have inspired their creative work in sound design and music. They discuss various projects they have each worked on that advance the idea of sonology and the acousmatic spectator. Sounds themselves--and not just music or dialogue--can be used to develop the story or to advance an emotion in a film. Join us for a unique and penetrating journey into the World of Performative Film Sound!

In the first part of this two part episode, Dr. Vanessa Theme Ament, author of The Foley Grail and Foley Artist on such films as Die Hard, Platoon, and Predator, talks with Sara Pinheiro. You can learn more about Sara at her website: sarapinheiro.com. As you will learn upon listening to this podcast, Sara straddles the world of sound designer, sound experimenter, and an academic exploring the role of sound in media. In terms of film and video-art, Sara does sound recording, editing, foley and mixing. In her solo practice, Sara also makes acousmatic pieces, usually for multichannel performances, radio broadcasts or installations. Her work crosses practices of sound design for film with concrete and acousmatic music. It blends natural and artificial soundscapes via field recordings, foley practices and signal processing. Sara is currently pursuing a PhD in music and media, and her research-based practice can be found under the name "Acousmatic Foley." In the first part of this two-part podcast, Vanessa and Sara delve into the importance of the concept of sonology, which can be defined as the study of sound in multiple disciplines, and investigating the idea of the acousmatic spectator, a formulation which priveleges the role of sound design, active listening, and careful hearing in visual media. In their exchanges, Vanessa and Sara expand beyond the idea of sound as an additive or complementary process in media-making and focus instead on how expressive sound creations can transform the very act of spectatorship and deepen our appreciation of the omnipresent soundscapes that exist all around us. Join us for a unique and penetrating journey into the World of Performative Film Sound!