Creating Cinematic Soundscapes: Inside the World of Peter Burgis and Foley Farmers

The list of films Burgis, a two-time Emmy winner, has worked on seems endless: “007 Quantum of Solace,” “Sherlock Holmes,” “Bohemian Rhapsody” and “I Wish I Was a Millionaire,” among many others. Whether it’s the screeching From a door, footsteps across a puddle, or bullets going through a full aquarium, you must find a way to generate sounds that are as believable as possible. To do this work you need to be surrounded by silence. That’s why Peter Burgis and his studio team, Foley Farmers, relocated from roaring London to the plains of northern Germany.Though for now, silence only comes at night for Peter and his colleague Franziska Treutler, as cement mixers, chainsaws roar alongside them during the day and drills. Peter Burgis built his new studio in a former sheep barn. And soon the largest water stage in Germany will be ready, an eight by five meter covered pond for recording sound in which it will even be possible to record boats. These film professionals hope that, with the enthusiastic collaboration of the town’s residents, the works will soon come to an end.