| using guns in a video |
A lot depends on what you're going to do with said fake gun in your
film/video.
In the US, you're generally going to be stuck with an orange muzzle;
that's just the way it goes. If you're buying a BB or pellet gun,
you'll avoid that problem but most of what's out there looks, well,
like a BB gun. Even the few that have a decent heft to them, and are
shaped and colored like a real firearm, will usually have a very
obvious screw on the butt to activate the CO2 cartridge, and that's a
dead give-away.
If all you need is something that's shaped like a gun and doesn't
actually do anything, your best bet is any of the various
spring-powered airsoft guns. They can be found for as little as
$15-$20 and come in an amazing variety of styles. The barrels aren't
plugged (or else they couldn't fire pellets) but the muzzles are
painted orange. Painting over the orange (or scraping off the orange
and touching up the finish) with Trim Black spraypaint from an
automotive supply store is, of course, a violation of applicable laws.
Covering the orange temporarily with a piece of black tape, or spraying
it with black Streaks n'Tips is probably safer, as both are only
temporary.
If you need the gun to actually fire, or do something that looks like
firing, consider airsoft gas blowback pistols. Usually around a
hundred bucks each, these pieces have a removeable magazine that is
charged with something called Green Gas, and when fired (either with or
without plastic pellets loaded) will cycle the action, kick, etc, in a
very realistic manner. The only three things you don't get are a) an
ejecting shell (which doesn't really show), b) a muzzle flash (real
handguns running appropriate ammunition don't have much in the way of a
muzzle flash anyway; unless you're shooting at night it generally
doesn't show) and c) a loud report (you were going to have to add that
in post no matter what, anyway).
Airsoft gass blowback pieces will have the orange muzzle as well; same
advice applies. You can get a wide assortment of styles, flom Glocks
to .45s to even a nice little MAC-10 that fires both semi- and
full-auto. I own a few and have used them on any number of
professional shows; the military guys on the later seasons of Buffy the
Vampire Slayer all carried airsoft blowback Glocks.
The one thing you never want to do is use a REAL gun on your film or
video; even unloaded it's probably a violation of local laws (assuming
you're pointing it, brandishing it, etc). Keep in mind that there's no
such thing as an unloaded gun, and that accidents don't generally
happen when people are worried about something going wrong - they
happen when everyone involved is absolutely sure that every possible
contingency has been accounted for (and who knew that there was still a
round in the chamber, even when the magazine has been removed?).
The other thing you never want to do is use a gun or a gun-shaped prop
in public (including indoors but near a window) without first notifying
the local police and jumnping through whatever hoops it is they need
you to jump through. That's not just the law in most places, it's
common sense EVERYWHERE. Somebody sees a guy with a gun in his hand,
they're going to call the police. When the police arrive, they'll have
real loaded guns and will believe that you do, too. People get killed
that way.
--
Life Continues, Despite
Evidence to the Contrary
Steven
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