The sounds of silence..

scripter1 · Mar 21, 2007

..... ers.

As in the ones you place on a gun.

I've got this scene where a guy bursts into a room and just empties his gun into the villian. When the gun is empty he keeps pulling the trigger, CLICK, CLICK, CLICK.

I wanted to contrast the sound of the empty chamber with the muted sounds of the gun firing.

Any ideas?

clockwork · Mar 21, 2007

Actually, many guns won't continually click, click, click once they are out of bullets. The slide locks back into place preventing the trigger from being fired until a new clip is inserted and the slide released. But assuming yours does, I remember writing something to this effect once before and I wrote something like, "Jon pulls the trigger but the gun is empty, dry-firing over and over."

Regarding the actual sound, movies give the impression that silencers (or supressors as they are more technically known) result in a squeaking sound whereas they are more akin to a sharp snapping sound, in my opinion. More experienced gun-nuts will be able to more accurately describe it.

As for the writing, I see nothing wrong with the click, click, clicks you have.

Meerkat · Mar 21, 2007

Speaking of "silence," welcome back, Chris!

As for the gun, there are many different types of silencers, of various success, so you can play with sounds in print and be right. The clicking on the empty chamber works for revolvers, but not automatics.

dpaterso · Mar 21, 2007

Dozens of fun ways to do this... pick whichever you like best.

Jake kicks the door open and aims his silenced Uzi at Kurt, who claws at his shoulder holster--

Jake SHOOTS, Kurt dances in the stream of bullets until the Uzi's magazine is empty, the slide CLICKS repeatedly.

Kurt has more holes in him than a Swiss cheese. He slides down the wall leaving bloody streaks.

JAKE
That one's for Rembrandt, you son
of a bitch.

-Derek

NikeeGoddess · Mar 21, 2007

sounds of silence

it doesn't matter what sound words you use. just so it's clear what is making that sound. i would go with

POOF! POOF! POOF! for a silencer or something like that sound which compares to the CLICK of an empty gun.

Winterchase · Mar 21, 2007

Uh?

dpaterso said:
Jake SHOOTS, Kurt dances in the stream of bullets until the Uzi's magazine is empty, the slide CLICKS repeatedly.

With an Uzi, or an Ingram for that matter, it ain't gonna happen unless the shooter pulls the slide back to make sure it didn't jam. A clip can be emptied, BTW, in about 1.3 seconds.

With a "noise suppressor," a/k/a "silencer," at best it's gonna be loud enough to wake the dead, or the lady seated nearest the curtain where the shooter is hiding. The problem with silences in real life, even with a Carswell, is that they also tend to blow up in your hand after a few quick rounds because of internal compression which flatens the steel wool, crushes the webbed tubing, which blows out the baffels and directs the energy and little pieces of stray metal out at the weakest point - where it is soldered on to the barrel with the threaded tube - and sends it all back at the person holding the damned thing. Frankly, a flash-hider on a .22 S or even LR works better at keeping the racket down, but it ain't as showy.

dpaterso · Mar 21, 2007

Ah c'mon, this is the movies, whatever looks (and sounds) cool wins!

-Derek

Rich · Mar 21, 2007

Why not just stab the bastard?

Or the good guy. There's a built-in silince in a knife.

Joe270 · Mar 21, 2007

I agree with dpat, but for a slightly different reason. It's the movies, do what they do, what the audience has grown to expect. Silencers make a spitting sound in Hollywood.

But, if you want to know:
1.Only a revolver will go click click click.

2.I fired a silenced .22 a few times. You could not hear the cartridge explosion at all, the slide on the semi-auto was the only sound I noticed. Still, it was louder than I expected it to be.

3.Military suppressed full autos really sound weird. There is a snapping sound, but also a prolonged hiss . . . I suppose that's the gases escaping. Again, I dunno. Seems I don't know a great deal.

A knife seems the perfect option. Still, a hundred movies have used a pillow to effectively silence high-calibre handguns. I doubt it would work in real life very well, but it does in the movies.

icerose · Mar 21, 2007

As Joe said only revolvers can dry fire and it wears on the gun like no other. All other guns that I have come in contact with lock it back.

On the pillow thing, if you bury it into the pillow it will muffle quite a bit of the sound.

And knives work great.

Joe270 · Mar 21, 2007

Jeez, Ice, you're scaring me.

Sounds like experience talking, there.

scripter1 · Mar 21, 2007

Here is the scene.

double post

scripter1 · Mar 21, 2007

Here is the scene.

MOBETTA
Looks like I’m gonna get away
with it. Spliff is next, then
that backstabbin’ 40 Cal, and
just for fun ya little man Swift.
And you know what I think? I
think the cops will pin it on
Casino.

HOTROD
You’re just the man with the plan.

Mo’betta grins. Cocks the gun.
HR dives for cover.

WHAP! WHAP! WHAP! WHAP! WHAP!

Flesh spurts from Mo’s chest.
He takes a step forward. SPASMS.
Empties his gun into the wall.

Falls.

Swift stands in the doorway. Scared spitless.
Pulls the trigger fast as he can.

CLICK, CLICK, CLICK, CLICK, CLICK.

HR gets up.
Looks at Mo. Looks at Swift.

CLICK, CLICK, CLICK, CLICK.

HR pries the gun from his fingers.

Swift throws up.

Several beats.

HOTROD
Welcome to the merry go round.

scripter1 · Mar 21, 2007

So you see,

pillows and knives won't work.

Swift just kind of reacts, then panics and gets stuck.

It's the WHAP that I don't like. I think it should be more of a spit sound.

I really wanted to go for the VISUAL writing of the sounds, to really pound home the image of it happening over and over and over.
That Swift is stuck.

So what I'm really looking for here is a way to articulate the sound.

The shooting happens in an apt where a kickin stero bumps gangsta rap.
(natural cover for the shots.)

Joe270 · Mar 21, 2007

It works. I agree, the whap is wimpy.

Make up the sound, try something akin to: sshtat, schtact, wabap, shtach, chacack. Have some of the sound the slugs stiking the body while the gunshot is a whisper.

Hey, I don't write this kind of stuff, but you're getting me into it. Good job.

The sound of the slugs striking the target louder than the shot itself is cool. Sorta nasty, but sorta Q. Tarentino.

Make it up, you got the talent. Try something new.

scripter1 · Mar 22, 2007

It's Quintinesque?

Ug. Wasn't intentional.
I guess if someone liked it, wanted to buy it for that reason then I would grin and say "Sure it is!"

It's just basic action, in the tone of the story.
The twists and turns of hood life.

Yeah, I think some of your suggestions will work.
Break it up even more.
But I'd still start with the effects on Mo because the scene is from HR's perspective.

Maybe one or two silenced shots when we go to Swift and then the clicks.

Glad you enjoyed it.
Thanks!

NikeeGoddess · Mar 22, 2007

well...

not that i'd know... but since you're all into specifics -- i don't think in this instance that the flesh (or even blood) would spurt. as the bullets enter his chest it would make a cavity inward and out the back.

scripter - i thought you didn't put violence into your scripts. i guess you've had a change of heart

write on!

C.bronco · Mar 22, 2007

icerose said:
As Joe said only revolvers can dry fire and it wears on the gun like no other. All other guns that I have come in contact with lock it back.

On the pillow thing, if you bury it into the pillow it will muffle quite a bit of the sound.

And knives work great.

A plastic 2 liter bottle (empty of course) works as a silencer if you tape it to the barrel, but don't try that at home.
And never, ever fire at a metal plow or other concave metal object; the bullet will come right back at you and you'll shoot your eye out.

And I think the sound is Pfft.

NikeeGoddess · Mar 22, 2007

btw - this ain't nothing like QTarentino - have you seen the previous for his next flick?! they jam a machine gun on this woman's amputated leg and she continues using it as a weapon. how freaky is that?!!!!

dpaterso · Mar 22, 2007

My kind of woman.

-Derek

Bmwhtly · Mar 22, 2007

dpaterso said:
My kind of woman.

-Derek

That's pretty **cked up right there.

Hillgate · Mar 22, 2007

scripter1 said:
..... ers.

As in the ones you place on a gun.

I've got this scene where a guy bursts into a room and just empties his gun into the villian. When the gun is empty he keeps pulling the trigger, CLICK, CLICK, CLICK.

I wanted to contrast the sound of the empty chamber with the muted sounds of the gun firing.

Any ideas?

Leave it to the director

NikeeGoddess · Mar 22, 2007

not your job anyhow

no, leave it up to the sound guys - that actually get academy awards for that.

icerose · Mar 22, 2007

Joe270 said:
Jeez, Ice, you're scaring me.

Sounds like experience talking, there.

Hehe, sorry Joe. I've only shot one person in my life.

As for all this other stuff, I have a close friend who was a navy seal for 8 years, 3 marine buddies, my husband was in the army, my sister was in the air force, and my grandfather grew up in the wild wild west. So I have a whole lot of people to draw from.

dpaterso · Mar 22, 2007

Bmwhtly said:
That's pretty **cked up right there.

Sense of humor intended; it's tough to take a scenario with a woman with a machine gun attached to her amputated leg seriously, that's like something out of a cartoon, not shocking, not horrifying, more meep meep. Yet I have faith that QT will somehow turn it into an amusing and memorable kick-ass action scene.

-Derek

The sounds of silence..

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