[big inch]

Has anyone else noticed that the gunshots in almost every movie and TV show sound so fake?

The one exception I can think of would be Open Range. They actually had some fairly good sounding effects in that one. There may be others, but I can't think of any at the moment.

[OF]

Heat would be another exception.

Most directors aren't interested in taking the time (and effort/expense) to produce that level of detail, is my guess.

- Gabe

[dolanp]

Heat would be another exception.

Yup, I was going to say the same.

[big inch]

I don't recall ever seeing Heat. I'll have to check that one out.

Another thing is the lack of technical correctness in general about firearms. Such as, when someone shoots 17 times with a revolver and never reloads. :scrutiny:

[jlwatts3]

Because most movie goers don't give a rats rear end. That and the directors and producers don't have a clue.

[LeonCarr]

I saw a behind the scenes show on the movie Collateral, and they said that they fired live ammo on a firing range, recorded it, and put it in to the movie. Pretty cool.

Just my .02,
LeonCarr

[mbs357]

Tremors (the first, can't remember about the other two) had great sounding guns, especially when Bert could be heard in the distance.

[Glock19Fan]

I agree with Leon, the gunshots in Collateral did sound very real.

BTW most guns are blank firing guns, which are different in just about every way from real cartridges.

[big inch]

Oh yeah, I forgot about Collateral. Good sound effects, and a pretty good movie too.

[Phyphor]

are of the blank firing variety, which generally don't sound much like a real gun (lighter powder load, faster burning, and no projectile to speak of, )
The sounds aren't used from the BFGs, they're dubbed in by the sound editors....and if said editors don't have a clue, they'll just use stock 'gunfire' sound effects....

:banghead:

[Zundfolge]

Most of the movie going public has no experience with real guns.

Real guns (especially handguns) sound like "pop pop pop" not BOOM! so if you did use real gun sounds in a movie you'd end up with an audience complaining about how "unrealistic" the gun sound where because they expect a 9mm to sound like a 12ga.

Of course the movie going public has this unrealitic idea of what guns sound like because of Hollywood ... so its kind of a chicken-and-egg thing :p

[Correia]

The sound was excellent in Black Hawk Down also.

[MAKOwner]

Way of the Gun has great effects as well. I especially love the long range sniping scene with the Galil where you see the shooters muzzle flashes, hear/see the rounds hit at the target, then hear the reports. Don't see that kind of attention to gun details in most movies. It also has a crapload of reloading in the big shootout near the end which is also rare in hollywood. Only small complaint is the poor usage of the Galil in the CQB thing near the end...

If I understand it correctly the director or someone similar went out into the desert and fired the guns to be used in the movie, and recorded the sounds from that...

You can really tell the difference in reports from the handguns and the shotgun and Galil in the movie...

[meef]

While the unrealistic gunshots can be annoying - what really irks my senses is whenever every freaking thing that gets hit by bullets..... throws off showers of sparks!

ANNOYING! :cuss:

I mean I've seen cinderblock walls, car windshields, tires, etc., etc., sparking like the 4th of July when inundated by the obligatory hail of bullets.

Give me a break.

[PromptCritical]

Watch the special features of the T2 DVD. They go into detail about gunshot sounds. They went to great lengths to make them not sound like real gunshots. For instance, Arnold's shotgun sound was a combination of a cannon, a rifle shot, and a couple of other things.

For that matter, I think it would be fun to make a movie with realistic sound VOLUME. Conversations are at a resonable level, gunshots make your ears ring.

[big inch]

For that matter, I think it would be fun to make a movie with realistic sound VOLUME. Conversations are at a resonable level, gunshots make your ears ring.

Open Range comes close. I have several thousand dolars invested in my home theater, and I was afraid my neighbors might call the cops after the final shootout scene. :uhoh:

Hmmm, I am going to have to watch that movie again. I will also check out the special features on T2.

[peacefuljeffrey]

Tonight they broadcast that awful movie Independence Day and I thought about gunshot sounds when they were in the lab looking at the captured alien. When it telepathically attacked the president, a bunch of guys took out their sidearms and shot it. Well, not only did the thing go flying backward to the far wall, nobody seemed to have a problem with all those .45s going off in such an enclosed space with no one wearing earplugs.

Stupid stupid stupid. I mean, what is the point of depicting something that IS real (gunfire) in a way that is utterly not like it really is?

-Jeffrey

[nipprdog]

its like when they have a 4 stroke motorcycle, and they dub in the sound of a 2 stroke, or vica verca.

:rolleyes:

[mfree]

Independence Day: I thought I saw M9s?

[moxie]

Guns do go "boom," depending on where you are in relation to the gun, and what sort of environment is involved. Yes a typical 9mm sounds like "pop, pop" from a distance, but not up close in a confined space such as a room. The old and rare 9mm revolvers make a loud boom off to the side. Etc.

[jefnvk]

Too many variables, and it is not worth their time because most people won't know the difference. I can often tell when the last shot out of a pistol has been shot by the different noise that it makes. Probably 99% of the movie audience wouldn't hear a difference in real life.

That, and I heard somewhere that real gunshots are too high pitch to be to most people's preception of a gunshot.

[dolanp]

Hardly anything is realistic in most movies. Normal cars sound like Indy racers, tires are always squealing, everything explodes regardless of what it is and whether it has anything combustible in it, computers beep repeatedly every time you touch them or ask them to do anything, real guns sound like cap guns, when driving all you hear is cars honking their horns constantly, all bad guys are easily killed or KO'd with one punch unless they are the Bad Guy (who can dodge bullets)....

Sensationalism is the nature of the beast in that industry.

[Steel]

What's funny is the obligatory richochet sounds you hear on many old movies and television shows, even if no richochet or the possibility of them.

[Nitram68]

I never realized how many ricochets are happening until I shot tracers once up in the hills. :what:

[LiquidTension]

I think most of the realistic sounding movies have been covered...Heat, Collateral (both Mann films), Way of the Gun, BHD...how was Equilibrium? I haven't watched it in a while and don't remember how the guns sounded.

[Thumper]

I don't recall ever seeing Heat.

HERESY!!!!!

[nomadboi]

Yeah, it's the same way that you always hear that 'schhhing!' sound whenever anyone draws a sword... films are most often fantasy, not reality... people want fun, not fact.

As for the sparking bullet hits- speaking as someone who has worked on low-budget films where we've had problems with that... we were using home-made 'squibs', the little charges used to set off bloodpacks or small bullet hits on scenery. Problem was the powder they were using when they made them was just too damn smokey and sparkey, so even through they had a condom full of fake blood and a layer of costume over them, they still often had visible smoke and/or sparks when they went off. That's what we get for not being able to buy the real stuff, I guess.

The other low budget alternative is using air pressure, but that has other problems- hiding the tubing, haveing a hole already in the costume, limit on how long the tether can be (lose air pressure over a longer tube), harder to do multiple hits, sometimes problems with premature leakage or a 'misting' effect instead of a nice juicy 'splurt'.

If ya want to know what I'm talking about, the trailer is online at www.bulletsthemovie.com

And yes, the director specifically requested things like the the guy flying over the car when hit by a shotgun blast, etc.

[S Roper]

Sounds in movies are usually chosen to sound cool. Think about the unrealistic metallic screeching sound when swords are drawn in movies.

[Fly320s]

... and when any handgun is drawn there is a sound of it being cocked or unsafed.

[thrifty7]

As I recall from an article that I read several years ago, recording actual live fire doesen't work any better than recording blanks...the recording equipment simply can't handle the range of sound, and the speakers can't reproduce it anyway. What we hear in the theater is a contrived audio effect designed to convince the audience that they are hearing gunfire, which is very different from the actual sound of gunfire. For one thing, if it was loud enough to be realistic, it would cause massive ear damage. If it sounds real to you, that means that the audio tecnicians created a good sound effect, not that they recorded real gunfire. Just my recollection, for what its worth.

[mbs357]

What's funny is the obligatory richochet sounds you hear on many old movies and television shows, even if no richochet or the possibility of them.
Spaghetti Westerns... ^.^

[Feanaro]

Because realistic sounding shots in a movie would leave you deaf when you left. :neener:

[Black Snowman]

No realistic gun sounds in Equalibrium. Not much realistic anything, but a fun movie to be sure! I've seen it 5 times. ;)

[dolanp]

... and when any handgun is drawn there is a sound of it being cocked or unsafed.

LOL yeah. When they point it at somebody they don't even move their fingers and suddenly you hear this "chk-chk" cocking sound as if some special BG-engaging mechanism has been turned on.

[Sunray]

As daft as it sounds, real gun shots don't sound real enough for movies. At least that's how it was explained to me by an SFX guy I knew long ago.
The worst movie sound effect is the click-click-click when an SMG or other FA or semi-auto firearm runs out of ammo.
A sword only makes the sound when being drawn from a metal scabbard. A sabre being drawn makes it, but medieval swords didn't have a metal scabbard. Their's were leather or wood. No noise at all.

[Crikey]

... and when any handgun is drawn there is a sound of it being cocked or unsafed.

Remind me of the movie Phone Booth where he works the bolt of his rifle and says something along the lines of "Why is it in movies just before he goes through the door the good guy cocks his gun? Why doesn't he already have it cocked? Because *that* sound is SCARY AS HELL!"

Speaking of Way of the Gun - Has anyone counted how many magazines the two guys go through with their .45s in teh shootout in the end - they sure seem to be carrying a *lot*.

Cheers,
Mike.

[Hawk]

Why do movies never have realistic-sounding gunshots?
To spare theater goers from having to rent ear protection. :D

[2nd Amendment]

On "sparks": A lot of things such as this, are required to direct the audience attention in various circumstances. You've got a fire fight and there are supposed to be bullets flying. How do you show this? Well, you can poke holes in cars, if you have the equipment and budget. But what about walls, pvmt, etc? Show some sparks. The audience automatically recognizes it as a hit and you've got the elevation of tension you wanted. A puff of dust might work, but maybe not. Sparks are sort of undeniable.

Yeah, ok, it's probably stupid reasoning but it's Hollweird, what can ya say.

[2t2 crash]

thats why I hate Enemy at the Gate. russian MG sounds like a .30 cal.
or when an MG42 sounds like a .30cal or slower rate of fire MG... COME ON PEOPLE! turn a 1200-1500 rpm mg into what sounds like at most 800 :banghead: :banghead: :banghead:

[calzoom]

Didn't you love it when tires squeal on dirt and sandy roads?

[calzoom]

Didn't you love it when tires squeal on dirt and sandy roads?

[dolanp]

Didn't you love it when tires squeal on dirt and sandy roads?

Yeah they even do this on World's Wildest Police Videos. They make you think all these sirens, squealing, and horns honking are part of the video but then you realize you are still hearing the squealing and honking on those dirt roads in the backwoods. :rolleyes:

[mcneill]

Watched Shane (DVD) recently with the headphones on. Was amazed at how loud/realistic the gunshots were. Recalled that it was like that in the movie theater, too.

Jim

[sumpnz]

As hokey as some parts parts of The Bourne Identity were, I was actually impressed that in the scene where the top CIA dude gets killed at the end they got right the sound of the slide and the falling brass with the suppressed 9mm pistol.

[Nitram68]

I suppose a nice surround sound system would help those sounds a bit but like has already been said, some movie makers probably just don't care enough.

[Farnham]

I couldn't tell you what a realistic sounding gunshot sounds like...whenever I shoot without ear protection, I get an "earth shattering kaboom" ala Marvin the Martian, and a persistent ringing in the ears. :D

Personally, I'd rather hear the next five minutes of dialogue than have my head ring.

[Smokey Joe]

with "real" sound: Master and Commander For the cannon fire, I understand they got a bunch of Civil War reenactors out to a Nat'l Guard cannon range, then put movie-grade sound recording gear at various distances downrange. So when the other ship fires on Aubrey's frigate, the firing you hear, and the nasty "swoosh" of cannonballs going over his crew's heads, is the real thing.

Heck of a good adventure story, too. And the books on which the movie is bases are even better if you like reading. Patrick O'Brian is the author, and any library or bookstore can sic you on them if you ask.

[c_yeager]

As hokey as some parts parts of The Bourne Identity were, I was actually impressed that in the scene where the top CIA dude gets killed at the end they got right the sound of the slide and the falling brass with the suppressed 9mm pistol.

And yet in the same movie there was a SMG that made a *clickclickclickclickclick* noise when it ran out of ammo. I like the move, but that bugs the heck out of me everytime I hear it. (its when the guy comes into Bournes apartment to kill him and they are struggling).

[Zach S]

Hollywood generally doesnt care about us noticing all the gun mistakes and added drama. Generally, most people dont care or dont notice when someone get too many rounds off, screws up a tac reload by racking the slide, the cocking glock, or the rapid clicks when a MG runs out of ammo.

Even though it gets on our nerves, they still get paid.

Watch the special features of the T2 DVD. They go into detail about gunshot sounds. They went to great lengths to make them not sound like real gunshots.
I noticed that in the hallway at the mall. And the elevator at the mental institution. I hate the fact they dont sound real at all.

[mfree]

That'd be an interesting scene, wouldn't it? First-person view of someone walking around a house, top of gun just barely in view, threat arrives, you see gun come up, camera sees through sights, muzzle flash, extremely loud reports that get softer and softer, and then the audio is muffled for a while with a faint high-pitched ringing :)

Jeez, I mean, only time I fired a round of .22 super colibri out my kitchen window, in a 3.4" barreled semi and no protection my ears rang for a good minute, and that's like 30gr at 400fps.

---

I can't remember the sounds, but I remember a scene from a movie, I think it was the movie version of the TV show "Aliens" or something, with the aliens that coexisted with us, were correded by salt water, etc... in the opening, I think it was a bad guy with an SAS-12 loaded with slugs shooting at a badly undergunned officer who decided to hide behind a car. They showed slugs passing all the way through the car with a little follower of smoke and a slight woosh. One found it's mark. Cover vs. concealment, effectively shown in a movie. Surprise!

EDIT: Alien Nation was the movie. Heh, talk about your immigration problems...

[TinCup]

The audio you hear on a movie is highly "compressed" in order to capture the sound at it's peak quality. At the same time, loud sounds such as gunshots are also "limited" to a peak decible level. The combined compression and limiting colors the sound and is why gunshots do not sound "true to life".

The actual recording process used will also have an effect on the way a particular sound "sounds", as will the quality of the equipment you hear it on. A movie recorded in THx will sound different than a movie recorded in 5.1 stereo.

Then accoustics come into play. The sound in a large modern movie theatre will sound way better than your home theatre system, the same way your home theatre system will sound way better than the 13" TV in your bedroom.

[nomadboi]

Yeah, one thing I really liked about Black Hawk Down was their bit where one soldier basically goes deaf from his buddy shooting off a half a clip right next to his head... and as I recall, they did muffle out all sounds there for a bit. No fake tinnitis, though. :)

[MLH]

Be sure to get the "Heat" starring Robert D. and not the one starring Burt R.

[Skunkabilly]

What's annoying is the laser sounding sound effect for machine guns.

[jwoods]

You're right about Open Range Daniel. Kevin Costner even had RELOADING in the script! Imagine that, a gun you have to reload.

SEAN

[Gordon Fink]

Funny. I never saw him reload his 27-shot revolver … :D

~G. Fink

[.45TCB]

In Michael Mann's commentary on the Heat DVD, he describes how they originally replaced all the gunfire in the bank robbery scene in post-production as is the ususal practice. When they viewed the scene, though, Mann was not at all satisfied with the sound effects. Due to the canyon-like atmosphere (i.e. surrounded by tall buildings) where they filmed in downtown LA, the gunshot sounds would hang in the air for a few moments and Mann replaced the post-production sound effects with the audio that was recorded on location as the scene was shot.

[iapetus]

Skunkabilly

What's annoying is the laser sounding sound effect for machine guns.

What about the laser sounding effect for laser guns?

[nomadboi]

...or being able to see the beam instead of just the effect?

Ya know, sometimes you just have to make concessions to reality because it's more fun that way. Maybe I like my spaceships to make noise, my lasers to glow colors in space, and my laser blasters to go 'peeeeeew ppeeeeww!'

[Texian Pistolero]

Back in the early spagetti westerns, they had a patented "realistic" sound for revolver fire. It had at least three syllables, ending in a whistle, lasting about THREE seconds!

IMAGINE my disappointnent when i finall fired a cap n, ball, and just got a BANG!

[pezo]

never mind someone beat me to this joke. :(

[TamThompson]

Gunshots, hell, how about just realistic sounding DRAWS? I was watching "Alias" last night (TV show), and every single time those women drew their semi-autos there was a "click-clack" sound, sort of like a very diminutive mini-shotgun racking sound. Folks, I have NEVER heard a safety on a semi-auto make two noises--it's either a soft "click" or "clack." And most LEOs are carrying Glocks these days, anyway...no sound whatsoever on a draw. I guess the directors think it sounds cool. :rolleyes:

[jason10mm]

Yeah, that is the excuse Stephen Sommers used on "The Mummy". Reference the scene with Brendan Fraser sqauring off with the American tomb raiders next to the sarcophagous. Everytime they liftered their pistols, there was a clackety-clack sound. The director was well aware that firearms don't normally rattle like that, but he though it heightened the tension and was necessary to focus the audience.