I've noticed some threads on them here and there, but isn't filming using airsofts a bad idea, because air softs do not look like real guns. Well they do, but when you fire them, you cannot seen casings spit out the side, so doesn't that make it look fake on screen?
Question about airsoft guns.
- Thread starter harmonica44
- Start date
I've learn to shoot a few guns and I could train the actors how to shoot, reload, and hold them myself to save money, if that helps. I learned it all myself so I could do that. Of course a supervisor is still good, but would you need one if it's just airsofts? Another thing about airsofts is that the barrell has a much smaller hole in it than barrel or 9mm or more. Will audiences see this in shots of actors holding guns on actors and keeping it still?
If it's too much money out of my range, then I can do fights with knives, clubs, bunt objects, etc, instead of guns, but I do want at least one gunfight I have planned that is crucial to the story.
My friends said they would not find a fight exciting if it's not a gun fight, and that knives and clubs just don't cut it in the action genre. But I think they can be, if done right, but I could be wrong.
If it's too much money out of my range, then I can do fights with knives, clubs, bunt objects, etc, instead of guns, but I do want at least one gunfight I have planned that is crucial to the story.
My friends said they would not find a fight exciting if it's not a gun fight, and that knives and clubs just don't cut it in the action genre. But I think they can be, if done right, but I could be wrong.
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Sure I'll do that and just have one gunfight. So what kinds of other action scenes should I do then for my kind of micro budget?
Yes, wise thing to do is to have a singular intelligent person manage any weapon props. Armorer is definitely the best if you can afford it. When fake guns look like real guns and the moron grip brings his real gun that get's mixed in with the batch, well, it's bad. Sounds like an unlikely situation, but still. Handle prop weapons just like real ones. Check to see if they're loaded etc, hand it to the actor, take it away as soon as scene is done. Even if someone put a BB in there, don't want to shoot your actor in the face with it and score a nice big welp for the rest of the shots haha. That's much more likely to happen. Goofball grip plays with it between sets, leaves it loaded with bb's.
We use airsoft quite a bit. I always have to talk to extra's about how to use them, and usually we're shooting somewhere (legally) where cars drive by or has some foot traffic so you have to explain that you can't play with the gun. We usually make them put it on the ground between takes. Even with all that, we always end up with a guy start playing with it at some point that we have to politely remind that the passerby's can't tell it's a fake at 30 feet.
Cheap guns maybe, the more expensive metal guns are a straight replica. You get what you pay for. Even the expensive guns are much less and much safer than the actual firearm.
Knife fights generally require tons more CG than gunfights. Most blades in movies nowdays are 3D because actors generally don't like being stabbed, even with a fake blade. Besides, where would the fake blade go when filming a stab? And no actor is good enough to throw a knife and hit a target, let alone with people around. Gunfight CG however is usually totally doable in 2D compositing software.
That's nuts, some of the coolest action scenes are knives and fists (can't remember one with a club, but several with baseball bats). In fact, I'd venture to say that knife fights are scarier or at least make you cringe more. Getting shot sounds like a much less painful way to go haha. Regardless, it's a mix or good choreography with good actors and stunt men, good cg, and most importantly good directing that makes an action scene. Directing action well is hard. You want to let the audience know what is happening all around while directing focus on one aspect/action/character at a time.
I know that's what I told my friends, a knife fight can be more intense. But the question is whether to have more knife and club fights, rather than gunfights for my scrip. I will have both but need to choose which one I should have more of for budget. So knife fights involve more 3D and CGI than guns now... I'm stumped on what to write for action scenes lol. What about doing knife fights the old fastioned way before 3D and CG. I could have the actors wear protective vests under their shirts and i could do shots where even though the knife stabs, you don't actually see it hit. But I still have to do determine if that's cheaper than gunfights.
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For the good guy maybe, but assassins won't bring pens to a kill. Either knives or guns.
Goriillaonabike, great post
Thank you, sir.
I just hope Harmonica44 takes my advice...May I point out this is factually incorrect. The highest profile assassination in the last ten years in the UK was in fact, in a sushi bar and involved neither guns or knives:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Poisoning_of_Alexander_Litvinenko
As this took place in a fish bar, I would suggest fish are no longer original and anyway, sushi is a little high rent for guerilla film making. Instead, you could go to a KFC or similar fast food joint and have 'chicken' assassins. You could call the film 'the drumstick killers' and divide the assassins up by legs, breasts, thighs. I'd personally be a breast man and would be happy to star in the movie.
If chickens are not eggzactly your style (do you like what I did there) you could always go to McDs. Those golden arches would look great in shot and entitle your movie 'the quarter pounder killers.'
I think I'm on to something there.
