Remember the thirty-six shooters fired by Roy Rogers and other old-time cowboys? White hat or black (or Indian), didn't matter: damn few shooters ever ran out of ammo. Then you might like this very, very cool site I learned about from Dean Esmay.
I especially liked the very first item:
Flashing Bullets
The terrorist unleashes a lengthy burst of submachine gunfire as the hero runs along a gangway in an industrial plant. Bullets bounce everywhere. This would be a dramatic event for almost anyone, yet moviemakers feel it must be enhanced. The special effects representing impacting bullets give off bright flashes of light. Normal bullets, especially handgun bullets, do not.
Typical handgun bullets are made of copper-clad lead or lead alloys. They simply don't create bright flashes of light when they strike objects, even if the objects are made of steel. In the chemical industry it's commonplace to limit maintenance workers to copper-alloy or lead hammers when they are working in areas where flammable fumes may be present. Hammers made of these materials do not produce sparks when they strike objects, while steel hammers can. If you've never noticed this phenomenon with steel hammers, don't be surprised, the sparks generally are barely visible even under ideal lighting conditions.
Now as all of you know, it ain't like me to complain. But I spent twelve years in the Marine Corps, during which time I worked with hundreds of soldiers from the army, and sailors from at least three Navy SEAL Teams. Guys, in other words, who enjoy a good action movie. But I never once heard a complaint about this--and believe me, everyone in all three outfits mentioned above has fired a rifle and a pistol at least once, and probably a lot more than once. But they're right, the guys at Insultingly Stupid Movie Physics: it just doesn't happen.
They'll set you right on silencers, too, for that matter, and if you read to the bottom of their page, they rate a whole slew of movies, too: for those of you who do know the difference between a vector and a scalar, you'll be happy to know that they gob-smacked Speed, and not just for that little bridge jump, either. Gripping comments on Spider-Man and a truly charming take on Seven Years in Tibet.
It gets better, though: the whole thing is only a part of a larger site named Intuitor: How to Succeed Through Creative Learning. Well, just what the hell is an intuitor, you ask? They do answer: "Intuitor: (noun) a person with a passion for learning and innovating that is so strong it is often more powerful than the desire to eat, sleep, or seek personal wealth."
Ha. Is there a better way to be?
Check out their argument for Why Now Is The Most Exciting Time So Far in History To Be Alive.
I'll let them have the last word:
At best, flashing bullets aren't needed. At worst, they detract. Serious movies generally don't use them. Subtlety can be far more dramatic. For example, merely hearing bullets thunk against steel beams as the troops waded ashore in the movie Saving Private Ryan was positively chilling.
(Hat tip, as indicated above: Dean Esmay)
Posted by Craig Ceely at August 7, 2004 12:20 AM