A foley artist creates custom made sound effects for a film by recording a performance that generates sound effects, while watching the film play. Foley artists work on a Foley Stage, using props and surfaces to create a wide variety of sounds, which commonly include among other things, footsteps, door squeaks, and clothing rustle.

A foley artist’s work is performed while watching the picture. This is different than the work of a sound editor that cuts in a sound from a library of previously existing sound effects, or from a sound editor that cuts in sounds from a library of sound effects custom created for the film, but not recorded while performed to picture.