gunfire effect

[kk01]

1. ever since i was young i have always wondered how photo-tricks like gunfire was achieved...is this an effect or it's actually a real shoot but using blank bullets...it even looks too real when the artiste actually shakes as if he is shoot a real gun or pistol...

2. another thing i wana know is...how do actors or viliens get blood stains after they are shot...

3. can someonehelp me with a website that sells DVDs of 'the making' of some really blockbuster movies...i have been searching but i have not been able to find one...

thank you very much...

regards,
'kk'

[Scottyg1987]

There are loads of sites on Google - search for something like 'film secrets'

[drjtech]

2. another thing i wana know is...how do actors or viliens get blood stains after they are shot...

Squibs

[j1d10t]

1. ever since i was young i have always wondered how photo-tricks like gunfire was achieved...is this an effect or it's actually a real shoot but using blank bullets...

They used to (a long time ago) use small pieces of chalk (to make the gun "smoke"), now they mainly use blanks, mixing the sound in later during post-production.

2. another thing i wana know is...how do actors or viliens get blood stains after they are shot...

As drjtech said, squibs, but also blood packs.

[kschang]

Nowadays, gunflash could be both blanks or digital. As an example, Blackhawk Down or Saving Private Ryan would have blanks, while Once Upon a Time in Mexico is mostly digital.

Trivia: the entire church shooting sequence in OUATIM is done with live actions, rubber guns, and digital after effects. Says so in the director's commentary and the "making of" featurette.

If you want to know a bit more about how the process goes, go to

http://www.maxpaynehero.com

This film student wrote a short film based on the "Hero" music in Spiderman (or is that Spiderman II?) and wrote a Max Payne scenario around it, and got the blessing of the copyright owners to go ahead. He got the guys who did the FX for "Once a Thief" TV series to help with the guns and squibs and such. Watch the film once, then read the FAQ on the website for a lot of explanations.

[kk01]

O! Lord...I never knew it was that simple tho'...thanks guyz...

but still I have a question to ask you guyz...r u guyz saying real guns are used?

...and if real guns are used how are these guns gotten...from the goverment or where...also the blank bullets too...

phew...I think tere's really a great task ahead...

regards,
'kk'

[drjtech]

I don't know about Nigeria, but in the States you would typically go to a prop provider to rent or purchase:

http://www.stage-props-blank-guns.com/
http://replicagunsswords.com/weapons_gallery/home.php?cat=21
http://www.a2armory.com/blank-guns.html

-drj

[kschang]

but still I have a question to ask you guyz...r u guyz saying real guns are used?

Not necessarily. In fact, you can't fire "pure" blanks from real guns. The muzzle flash looks different, and the recoil won't work quite right. The gun must be modified to work off less recoil (blanks don't recoil as much as real bullets), esp. automatic weapons.

And as I said, in OUATIM resin replica guns are used in most of the sequences, with bullet holes on walls, muzzle flashes, and more added in post-production.

You can buy Airsoft bead guns in most US jurisdictions, and they look like the real thing, albeit lighter. Not sure about your local laws though.

[Bjs]

Real gun's can be used with specialized blank's , however , that depend's on the country and state law's , most use a specially designed looking firearm , and not the real thing , as it would require licensing .

Even some specially designed weapon's just for movies may also require special licensing due to the force the blank's produce ... these are normally associated with having and aquiring an explosive's liscence for this particular purpose and specialized permit's to cover the intend property where such is too be carried out .

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As for the blood pack's , they are refered to as "blood splatter pack's"

Two type's are used :

1 : Self inflicted .

Where the victim is hit by close up gun shot or knife/axe , they grab suspected area , and break the blood splatter pack themselve's , giving what appear's to real and very effect to to the veiwer .

2 : Timed .

These are used where precise timing is required , such as being shot by firearm ... as in these two title's .

Tears of the sun
Pearl harbour

Very effective for mince meat effect's where people get the crapola and chunk's shot out of them .

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These are banned in au ... so dont do it here ... the police have a habit of shooting people here ... victorian police are good at asking question's ... after they have shot you dead ...

[kk01]

phew!...making motion pictures seems to be a pretty difficult task...I still need dome time to really digest all of these...

for thos guyz who rent out guns for movie...do they rent them out to countries outside the US.

[guns1inger]

I would look seriously at these guys for a (relatively) cheap solution. You can do everything their software does in other packages, but theirs is tuned just for this type of work.

http://fxhome.com/

[kk01]

I visited thhe website and I think I prefer http://fxhome.com/ after effect...if I have to change my composite software, I'll have to use the AutoDesk Combustion....

Anyways thansk for the message...

I have seen the max payne demo reel and I think he did a good job....

I am still pondering on how to rent firemarms and blank bullet for future films...it's not gonna be easy for me....

[Jeremiah58]

I have always been impressed by two movie guns, both real things and made specially for those movies.
The first one is the custom built assassin single shot rifle with silencer and scope built for the movie "The Day of the Jackal".
The second is automatic pistol for "Robocop".
Both weapons were made/adapted by master gunsmiths.

Today, most weapons used in movies, are replicas made of aluminium alloy, which can shoot blanks only. Those are not firearms, could be bought and owned without a license or permitt.
There was the famous scene in the "Snatch" where such replicas were the part of the story.

[kschang]

The fully-automatic pistol is a Baretta 93R, I think. It's in Equilibrium as well. And the main guy uses TWO of them together.

[kk01]

jeremiah58...thanks for the tots'...but i must confess to you...yhis is the first time I am seeing the word gunsmith...where can i find one...

[kschang]

Gunsmith is basically anybody who works on guns, and can usually build guns from different parts.

[kk01]

...where can I find one...

[InXess]

Your local business directory (Yellow Pages (?)) or ask local gun store (or hunting rifle/gun store) staff. Gunsmiths repair, maintain, build guns so gun stores have to be working together with someone like that...

[guns1inger]

A quick google turned up this to start with

http://www.kftv.com/product-9703.html

[kk01]

...thank you so much guyz...

[Nelson37]

Some points to consider with prop and real guns.

Brandon Lee was killed on a movie set because they used real guns, and some idiot put real bullets in the real gun. Could not happen with a prop gun.

I forget the actors name, was on a show "Hero" something or other, but he put a blank gun to his temple and fired it for a joke. The bits of paper or whatever the blank is made of penetrated his skull and killed him.

These are not toys, professional expertise is needed. If you don't know what you are doing, don't do it.

[kschang]

Slight clarification: Brandon Lee's death was caused by a real bullet, but the sequence of event is as follows:

1) Someone made "dummy cartridge" by taking out all the powder out of real bullets/shells. The bullet wouldn't fly out as there's no propellant, and it doesn't make that big of a bang as only the "primer" is left at the shell. However, the gun will weigh properly.

2) Someone also made "blanks" by removing the bullet, and substituting fireworks powder for real gunpowder in the shells. These make bigger muzzle flashes than real bullets, and is what Hollywood usually uses.

3) The gun that killed had earlier fired a dummy cartridge. A bullet was left in the barrel, and not cleared. Apparently nobody worried about that.

4) The same gun later was loaded with a blank (no bullet tip) and fired at Brandon Lee. The pressure from the shell pushed the earlier bullet that was "stuck" in the barrel out, and shot Brandon Lee under the navel.

He died in the hospital about 5 hours later after multiple operations in attempt to stabilize him.

So, no idiot loaded "real bullets", but the gun should have been properly CLEARED after each and every use, even if it was only to fire dummy cartridges or blanks.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Brandon_Lee

As for the other incident, you're probably thinking of this much earlier one:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jon-Erik_Hexum

[Jeremiah58]

kschang,

Thanks for the links - very interesting.
I do not believe in those details about Brandon Lee's death. Story that the primer forced the bullet into the forcing cone of the revolver barrel is very hard to believe.

As for the other story of Jon-Erik Hexum - similar death cases using blank cartridges have been described in forensic books as suicides, accidents, even murders.

[Nelson37]

Whatever the precise details, the important point is that two people (at least) were killed with what were suppossed to be "safe" guns. The moral is that there is no such thing as a "safe" gun. Treat ALL firearms as loaded unless you have personnally assured yourself that it is not, and the gun has not left your hands since you checked it. Most accidental firearms deaths are due to shear stupidity.

Just a side note, I knew a guy in high school who let a friend make a .22 with a wax bullet and shoot him in the leg with it. Didn't break the skin, but he had a huge bruise and limped for several days. Still makes me laugh. This is the same guy who lived in a fairly cheaply constructed house, and he bet his friend that he couldn't get up a running start and run right through the outside wall. He lost the bet, plus had to explain the huge whole in the wall to his parents.

[kk01]

...I really dont know what to say..but what I know is..somebody has to make films...may his gentle soul rest in peace...