The world of post-production provides the pitter patter of steps and the creak in doors. Foley artist Marko Costanzo has provided the sound in such films at Silence of the Lambs, Men In Black and The Age of Innocence and says his work has led to his practice of magic and love of video games. He will be a guest speaker at this year’s PINC conference in Sarasota today. 

Is it important to make sounds as realistic as possible or is it better to exaggerate them on film? Costanzo: Foley artists must create sounds that suit the actions taking place in any given film. I like to make sounds that are as realistic as possible (sonically a little bigger and louder). I strive to make the foley match exactly the quality of sound you would expect to hear on screen. We listen to the background sounds, the dialogue and the music, then create foley effects that blend in with those elements. Of course on the occasions when an action in a film needs to be highlighted with sound, we will exaggerate those individual moments or reoccurring actions to the hilt. We provide the sound effects for editors to use how they feel fit. Sometimes sounds need to be exaggerated to emphasize a big moment (like the sound of a body hitting the floor). Dropping a large wooden crate onto a carpeted hollow wooden floor will give you a huge low-end (bass) sound. Played simultaneously with the body hitting the ground will make you feel the impact and the pain.

Why do we impart such important emotion to the sounds associated even with mundane activities? When typing that question did you hear the key strokes from the keyboard? Did someone walk by your office door, peek in, say hi or knock on the glass? How about that fluorescent bulb humming overhead? The refrigerator being stocked? Foley artists create reality through sound. All the sounds you hear in any given location help to create the environment of that location. Most films are shot on a sound set. The sounds of people doing everyday things are what sell the film environment. These sounds are missing and are created to give realism to an otherwise soundless background. Imagine someone walking down the street. A businessman on his way somewhere. I will create foley footstep tracks by walking briskly or sluggishly or even inebriatedly. Whenever an actor is on screen, I mimic the emotions they exude. The emotion I see in the actor is the emotion I carry into my performance of that actor's footsteps. We do this because footsteps will sound more realistic if the same amount of energy is put into making them. The same energy, the same cadence, the same degree of emotion. So with this concept in mind, a foley artist performs this with every character on screen. Footsteps, body movements and actions. 

Men and bracelets don’t usually play well together. Yet, in an effort to revolutionize gender roles, Whitney Howard Designs created the DUDE cuff, a perfect gift for the fashionably conscious and mindful man in your life. The cuff features an intricate (yet manly) arrow design that symbolizes the continuous journey to keep focused on the path ahead and, most importantly, move forward. Sold at Rusty Crickett's Boutique in Bradenton, the cuff presents the perfect opportunity to take aim at one of those names on your christmas list. 

Rusty Crickett’s, 615 15th St. W, Bradenton, 941-745-3131.

Since its inception in 2009, Pop Craft has aimed to create mouthwatering, wholesome small-batch frozen confections. Selling its variety of pops at local farm markets and special events, Pop Craft has gained extensive popularity—enough to expand throughout the country. Inspired by food items that can be easily attained seasonally and locally, owner Donna Tortorice creates innovative flavors that will surely hook you. “Peppermint is a flavor that is always attached to the Christmas season,” says Tortorice. “This is a flavor we only do during the holidays.” Pop Craft creates a peppermint patty flavor pop concocted from dark Belgian chocolate peppermint coated with white chocolate peppermint, making for a cool, breezy bite. A frozen treat so delightful—a combination of buttery white chocolate, hints of peppermint and rich mousse-like chocolate filling—it’s an inside-out peppermint patty on steroids and there is no going back.

Pop Craft, 2095B Siesta Dr., Sarasota, 941-706-3231.

Pop Craft is a member of Nosh, the SRQ magazine content marketing program for local restaurants. 

Pop Craft

Sarasota Memorial Hospital is the first hospital on Florida’s Gulf Coast and among the first in the nation to offer a breakthrough treatment for peripheral artery disease (PAD). Avinger’s Pantheris Lumivascular atherectomy system is an image-guided therapy that allows physicians, for the first time, to see and remove plaque simultaneously during atherectomy, a minimally invasive procedure used for years to cut plaque away from the artery and restore blood flow. Recently approved by the FDA, the device minimizes risk of damage to the artery walls and fundamentally alters how physicians can treat PAD.  

Sarasota Memorial Hospital

Venice Regional Bayfront Health is giving new, hands-only CPR training kits to heart patients thanks to an anonymous donor’s bequest to the American Heart Association (AHA). The donor provided funding to the AHA to give Venice Regional 382 kits for learning hands-only CPR for adults and CPR for breaths for children. The kit includes a personal, inflatable Mini Anne CPR mannequin that clicks when you’ve pushed hard enough, bilingual instructions, materials and video, a CPR skills practice DVD that can be used to refresh skills and train other and a skills reminder card to carry with and review as needed.  

Venice Regional Bayfront Health

Neal Communities, southwest Florida’s premier, private homebuilder, sold 81 homes in November, bringing the firm’s year-to-date total to 1,037 sales. Nationally, housing demand decreased in October and November, and while Neal saw decreases in traffic last month, home sales stayed relatively strong in the presidential election month. Notable communities for Neal Communities in November included Grand Palm in Venice with 13 sales. In addition to an increase in home sales, the company has seen growth in the team at Neal Communities during 2016 with more than 70 new employees since the beginning of the year. 

Neal Communities