The “Interview” series is a series of interviews with various interlocutors from film production.
In an interview with Martin Langenbach, the Finnish foley artist Heikki Kossi, who has been working for Skywalker Sound in California since the beginning of 2023, answers questions about his career and the differences between European and American working methods.
The first part of the interview with foley artist Heikki Kossi is about his beginnings – from starting in a small “studio” in Helsinki to becoming an established foley artist with a large studio in Kokkola.
It’s about loud and quiet sounds, the new way of working in the larger studio and the work process of making foley in general.
In the second part of the conversation, Heikki Kossi talks about his experiences with spotting and cuing, the American way of defining the sounds to be recorded using a marker track. He talks about the need for a clear focus, about unnecessary and important sounds – and about low budget and higher budget films in general.
In the third part of the conversation, Heikki Kossi talks about working in the team – with his new foley-partner Shelley Roden, with whom he has been working since the beginning of 2023.
It’s about optimized work, taking time to listen and good preparation.