Gun question for SFX

[Nathan Quattrini]

I have an uzi in my film but no uzi sound effects. Which one of theres guns is closest to 'being' an uzi in its firing pattern and sound?

Mac-10
MP5
M-60
M-16
M-3
M-14
MG-34
HK53
Browning
Thompson Sub Machine Gun

Thanks :)

[Perrone Ford]

You're likely going to be better off going with a gun that "sounds good" versus one that sounds accurate. I was recently reading something about a BTS where an on camera gun was used but the sound effects were from a .50 caliber!

If you've got the dough, accurate can be excellent:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=USZARLgMl6o

[Dan Brockett]

Originally Posted by Nathan Quattrini

I have an uzi in my film but no uzi sound effects. Which one of theres guns is closest to 'being' an uzi in its firing pattern and sound?

Mac-10
MP5
M-60
M-16
M-3
M-14
MG-34
HK53
Browning
Thompson Sub Machine Gun

Thanks :)

As someone who has been lucky enough to shoot an Uzi at full auto as well as several of the other guns listed above, I vote for accuracy. The Uzi is an open bolt, blowback design and is mostly made of stamped sheet metal. Other guns in your list are vastly different in size and construction, which gives them a distinctly different sound. The rate of fire between many full auto weapons varies widely, it's going to sound stupid if the rate of fire in your sound effect varies widely from the actual gun filmed.

Many of the weapons you list above are not 9mm, they are other calibers and yes, the other calibers sound and feel quite different. I guess a lot of it would rest upon how clearly and prominently you see the gun in question on screen and how long your shots have the Uzi on screen, cycling through ammo. Full auto or three shot burst?

Have you checked around, I would think that finding an Uzi sound effect would be simple, the Uzi was very popular. Have you checked www.sounddogs.com ?

Dan

[Perrone Ford]

I've handled and shot a number of guns, and am fairly familiar with them. But I'd hazard a guess that the number of people who have a first-hand idea of what an Uzi actually sounds like, and are going to see this movie, are between slim and none.

The average person who actually heard a REAL 9mm go off, even in rapid succession wouldn't be blamed for thinking it wasn't a real firearm. The difference between my 9mm, my .40, and my .44 mag was HUGE.

I like that HEAT was accurate. But honestly, I think those .223s would play just fine if you can find something with a cyclic rate that's even close.

[Dan Brockett]

IMHO, if the guns and shooting scenes are incidental to the plot and are not highlighted and featured very prominently, I would agree with Perrone. If the guns and shooting scenes are very prominent, I personally would be more concerned that the sounds are accurate.

Also, is it serious drama or is it stylized Tarantino-like drama? I think that the more stylized the film, the less realistic the guns need to sound. In some films, the shooting, blood and guns need to appear "real", in others, it almost doesn't matter.

Dan

[Nathan Quattrini]

Well it is a comedy and in slow motion, so I am going with the MP5 and just repeated it enough that it didn`t get annoying. I`m aware the guns are usually designed to shoot in bursts, and they burn through clips fast, but I guess thats where I get away with it. The scene is in the main characters imagination, so it can be off target with reality and still hold its own without being analyzed seriously.

[Dan Brockett]

Originally Posted by Nathan Quattrini

Well it is a comedy and in slow motion, so I am going with the MP5 and just repeated it enough that it didn`t get annoying. I`m aware the guns are usually designed to shoot in bursts, and they burn through clips fast, but I guess thats where I get away with it. The scene is in the main characters imagination, so it can be off target with reality and still hold its own without being analyzed seriously.

For how you are using it, I wouldn't even worry. You are not doing a full action guy film with gun fetishism. If it's a comedy, I would even consider playing against type and putting in a ridiculous gun sound that is totally wrong, it could be kind of funny to hear a Winchester 94 being shot and cycled with the lever through shooting through a few shots. Just an idea.

Dan