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FirestormX · April 26th, 2016, 18:42

People have used my collection in a few short films and photo shoots over the years in the Toronto area. Like others have mentioned, worry about adding in shell ejection, sound, and muzzle flashes, during post production. Anyone with a 30 minute after effects tutorial should be able to do that.

But don't worry about trying to find a "realistic" airsoft gun. Most airsoft imitations are visually "realistic", and well under $600. There aren't really any other aspects that are realistic. (none of the airsoft guns produce the recoil of a .45, or create smoke, or muzzle flashes, or eject brass as quickly and reliably as a real gun, etc)

For conveying realism with guns, a lot of it comes down to the actors, and not so much the firearm. So long as the gun cycles, some brass appears for a few frames as it goes flying away, and there's a small muzzle flash (and not a fireball), no one will think twice about the pistol. But if the actor can't act out recoil, or can't hold the gun correctly, or sticks their finger on the trigger, or absentmindedly points it at their buddy's back, or has some weird stance, then it takes people right out of enjoying the movie.

For people who know nothing about guns, you just need to have a person holding something in their hand that lights up and goes "bang", and they'll be happy.
For those who know something about guns, it's difficult to tell an airsoft imitation from the real version by simply looking at it. So for realism, it's all in how the actor presents and uses the gun.

I don't know what the scope of your production is, but if you've got a weapons master (I think that's the correct term?) in your film crew that knows about firearms, they should be able to help out with this. If you have access to airsofters in your area, you can probably find an experienced individual, or a team, who would be interested in helping you out.

April 26th, 2016, 18:42	#13
FirestormX Trader rating Join Date: Jun 2010 Location: Mississauga, Ontario	People have used my collection in a few short films and photo shoots over the years in the Toronto area. Like others have mentioned, worry about adding in shell ejection, sound, and muzzle flashes, during post production. Anyone with a 30 minute after effects tutorial should be able to do that. But don't worry about trying to find a "realistic" airsoft gun. Most airsoft imitations are visually "realistic", and well under $600. There aren't really any other aspects that are realistic. (none of the airsoft guns produce the recoil of a .45, or create smoke, or muzzle flashes, or eject brass as quickly and reliably as a real gun, etc) For conveying realism with guns, a lot of it comes down to the actors, and not so much the firearm. So long as the gun cycles, some brass appears for a few frames as it goes flying away, and there's a small muzzle flash (and not a fireball), no one will think twice about the pistol. But if the actor can't act out recoil, or can't hold the gun correctly, or sticks their finger on the trigger, or absentmindedly points it at their buddy's back, or has some weird stance, then it takes people right out of enjoying the movie. For people who know nothing about guns, you just need to have a person holding something in their hand that lights up and goes "bang", and they'll be happy. For those who know something about guns, it's difficult to tell an airsoft imitation from the real version by simply looking at it. So for realism, it's all in how the actor presents and uses the gun. I don't know what the scope of your production is, but if you've got a weapons master (I think that's the correct term?) in your film crew that knows about firearms, they should be able to help out with this. If you have access to airsofters in your area, you can probably find an experienced individual, or a team, who would be interested in helping you out.