marshaul
Campaign Veteran
But knowing a few folks that are in the prop business I've been assured that at least ever since Bruce Lee's kid blew his brains out with a blank they have not been using "real" guns. Also I've been told that "real" guns do not provide the visual effect desired for films and that CGI does.
First of all, Brandon Lee didn't shoot himself, he was shot. Secondly, it was the fault of the blank only insofar as the bore had been left obstructed after a prior special effect shot, thanks to incompetent crew and an armorer who had left the scene. That incident provided no reason to stop using "real" guns; rather it provided a strong incentive to not allow the use of firearms when the armorer is off-set.
Secondly, most purpose-built blank guns look like crap on screen, and tend to be used in low-budget films which have maybe a single gun. Real guns modified to fire blanks, on the other hand, look great and tend to be modified to the minimum extent necessary to cycle from gas pressure alone. This is still far and away the most common solution in big-budget films.
CGI looks the worst, is immediately apparent to anyone with an eye for film and experience with firearms, and is only used when budgets are low (or slashed, such as from the second season onward of The Walking Dead, wherein blanks are only used for season finales, gunfights which are major plot points, etc.).
I think the prop guys you know specialize in Halloween parties.
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