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Question about using Action Essentials gunshot VFX.

H

harmonica44

I was looking into using Action Essentials II for the effect of someone being shot, since all VFX artist I have talked to so far, use this.

However, I don't really like the gunshots that come with it, cause it looks too over-the-top. You see the blood actually spew and it looks kind of silly. I asked my friends and they said it does not look serious, and has a real "grindhouse" look to it.

So I was wondering if there is possibly gunshots in other programs, or even different ones in Action Essentials that I am not aware of, that are realistic, yet subtle?

Like check out the gunshots in Malcolm X here at 0:18 into the video:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qSm1t3Uv9QI

Or Patriot Games at 1:18 into the video:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tB9_C5zQLZw

Or Bonnie and Clyde at 0:44:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NrmUpso_xT8

Effective, and convincing when you watch it, but over the top or grindhouse looking. Any gunshot effects like that you can get? Thanks.
 
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For sure, I know that. What I mean is, is their something like Action Essentials, where the VFX does not look as grindhouse bloody? It wouldn't be squibs I am looking for, rather just more subtle VFX. I couldn't find a movie example I know of that was done with VFX instead of squibs.
 
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For the Malcom X one, there's wood blasting around the frame. In Patriot Games, there's fabric or dust flying around. In Bonnie and Clyde, pieces of their clothes and the surrounding dust is flying around the air. You could achieve some of those effects with leaf blowers and simple practical effects. All of the videos you posted were practical as far as I know, and I recommend you try some tests to see if you can pull off the effects VFX-free (or a combination of practical and VFX). And for Action Essentials, I recommend you play around with it. Use different clips, try different sizes, tone them down, tone them up, etc. etc. etc.
 
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Okay thanks. I am only going by the VFX examples, which some artists showed me, but they said that that's all they have as far as they know, and that most filmmakers want the grindhouse style, which is what they are use to doing.

But I will ask them to play around. I don't know how to use Action Essentials myself but I can get it and learn if it has what I am looking for.

As far as doing it without VFX, I need more than dust blowing around though, there is still the clothes, exploding, with a tiny bit of blood spray. There are more gun shots in Malcolm X though as the shooters try to escape. Good idea for the dust though, I can do that separately perhaps!
 
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harmonica44 said:
Okay thanks. I am only going by the VFX examples, which some artists showed me, but they said that that's all they have as far as they know, and that most filmmakers want the grindhouse style, which is what they are use to doing.

But I will ask them to play around. I don't know how to use Action Essentials myself but I can get it and learn if it has what I am looking for.

As far as doing it without VFX, I need more than dust blowing around though, there is still the clothes, exploding, with a tiny bit of blood spray. There are more gun shots in Malcolm X though as the shooters try to escape. Good idea for the dust though, I can do that separately perhaps!
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I also use Action Essentials - It's a strong kit. There are like three dozen muzzle flashes in the kit, and not all of them give off a 'Grindhouse' vibe - Plenty of them are very usable and subtle. If you need to, just key them in smaller or dimmer so they don't look quite as flashy.

The action essentials kit also has a LOT of debris to play with - dust, explosions, gravel, rocks, etc. You have the tools you need, you just to be more creative in your editing to utilize them well.
 
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Okay thanks. I am wanting to try the leafblower idea. However, the leaflblower has to be out of frame. So if I blow dust and pieces of clothing towards a person, it looks like it's flying towards them, rather than out of them.

I was also looking for prop guns, and the website shoryusa sells guns where when you pull the trigger, the gun actually has blowback and the bolts on the automatic weapons actually move back and forth, replicating like the gun is really firing.

But there are no cartridge casings coming out of the gun as it's being fired. You can add this in post as well, but in order to save time and money in post, and do it on set, are there any propguns you can order, that are not real, but are specifically made to spit casings out of the ejection ports, to sell the effect?
 
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