From “The Empire Strikes Back” to “Robin Hood”, award-winning Foley artist Gary Hecker of Todd-AO says it takes “timing and a huge creative mind” to be the man behind the sound. Here, he shares tips and tricks he’s learned during a career that has spanned more than 200 films.

Hecker also recently joined CSS Studios’ Todd-AO in late 2009. One of the most accomplished Foley artists in Hollywood. Among his recent credits are 2012, The Taking of Pelham 1 2 3, Angel & Demons, Watchmen and the Spiderman trilogy.

SoundWorks Collection: Gary Hecker – Veteran Foley Artist from Michael Coleman on Vimeo.

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From the autor…

“Test run of my (d)iskette (O)rgan doing Toccata & Fugue.

People have made floppy drives sing before, but this is my personal take on it.

Features two 3 1/2″ drives and two 5 1/4″ drives connected to a PIC18f14k50 microcontroller. It interfaces to any MIDI source via MIDI over USB. Straight MIDI would also be possible with an additional small circuit and some minor firmware changes. This initial version can respond to all 128 MIDI notes, and pitch bends +/- 2 semitones.

As it can produce only four simultaneous notes, and each drive has a different range and tonal characteristics, best results are obtained by arranging compositions by hand. However, it features two modes of operation: in one mode, MIDI channels 1 through 4 are played directly on floppy drives 1 through 4. In the other mode, all 16 MIDI channels are read, and notes are “intelligently” divvied out on a first-come, first-serve basis. “Note stealing” ensures that melody lines sound, but chords are often cut short. One or the other produces acceptable results for many unmodified MIDI files straight out of your favorite media player.

I apologize for the poor video quality. ”

[FunToTheHead]

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ThinkGeek is releasing an Electronic Music Synth Shirt. It’s a must have!

This fully-playable, t-shirt-based music synthesizer features professional quality sounds in a unique wearable format. With eight-voice polyphony, high-quality sampled sounds and stylist retro amp box, you’ll be jamming like Thomas Dolby and Kraftwerk in no time. Just be forewarned: Your neighbors will complain, but it’s only because they can’t stand the reminder of just how much more awesome you are compared to them. Be kind and turn your volume all the way down to 10. We should also note that wearing the Electronic Music Synth Shirt may result in an overwhelming surge of emails, text messages and phone calls, strangers sending you their underpants, and paparazzi photographing your trip to the comic book store. Such is the life of a rock god – get used to it.

get it now!

If you play guitar get this one

and this is for drummers yey!

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Customise your own “Barbara Streisand” song

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