Actors- Hearing Protection?

[45Guy]

All these movies with gigantic shootouts with literally hundreds or even thousands of rounds being fired got me thinking. Do actors wear hearing protection? I've tried looking for some type of earplug or something but can't see any in the movies. But at the same time, there doesn't seem to be many deaf actors out there. Anyone have any knowledge on this?

Thanks -45Guy

 

[stinky]

pretty sure all the 'bangs' are dubbed in after ...

 

[Thain]

In any film all the sound you here, excepting dialog in most (but by nomeans all) scenes is added in afterword. Gun shots, car engines, footsteps, and rustling fabric...

The mic(s) used to capture dialog doesn't do well capturing the rest of the sound. Plus, the director doesn't want crew guys, random birds, and passing cars to break his carfuly crafted illusion.

Think about it. The WWII action-hero is sneaking along a muddy riverbank, the German soldiers standing above him hear a snapping twig, cock their weapons and look around... its a very tense moment... and a semi-truck roars by on I-9 just off camera, and the food service guy's cellphone rings.

Do a wikipedia search for "Foley" and get the whole scoop.

 

[ScottsGT]

Close friend had a part in Americas Most Wanted about 6 or 7 years back. He was the shooter in the back seat of a patrol car and shot the deputy. Gun handler asked him if he wanted a full load blank or just enough to see a flash out of the muzzle. He went for the full load , even though there was no audio used from the scene. Foley guys dubbed in what they wanted.
I never asked him about the hearing protection.

 

[Tim James]

The gunshot sounds in Heat are from the real blanks. They tried dubbing later but it didn't sound as good, so the kept the original stuff. (God bless them.) [EDIT] They must have done something for the inside-the-car shooting though; I'd think their ears would start bleeding with 3 rifles firing.

The military doesn't offer hearing protection in the field. I always thought a few shots from behind a gun would be okay for an actor every now and then. Physically it would have to damage their hearing, but not enough to matter.

 

[Pitt762x54r]

I agree that most shots are dubbed in later. It does remind me of a scene from an alfred hitchcock movie a while back where you could clearly see a young boy stick his fingers in his ears right before the gun went off. They must have done that scene a few times.

At the same time, it makes me wonder how the people who go on shooting sprees can handle it. Did they pack earplugs? Or were they now expecting themselves to make it through so it wouldn't really matter?



I shot ONE round through a .22 pistol without hearing protection and that was enough!


Brian

 

[Nil]

The military doesn't offer hearing protection in the field.

I've always wondered that. I imagine it'd be dangerous to limit your hearing in the field but then once shooting started, wouldn't the sound permanently damage it?

 

[Justin]

Foley (Film Production)

 

[Kharn]

Thats why Keifer Sutherland is always screaming, he had too much exposure to blanks while filming 24, etc, and now cant hear squat.

Kharn

 

[boomer1911a1]

When using blanks -- YES

If they are using "live" blanks, yes they do. Linda Hamilton permanently lost some hearing in one ear during the filming of Terminator 2 when she either lost one or forgot to put it in.

Probably not when using CGI-rendered muzzle-blasts. For an example, watch the last scene in Equilibrium, when the two antagonal characters each supposedly discharge a full magazine of 9mm within a foot of each others' faces without blinking.

 

[Tim James]

And then when Christian Bale delivers the final shot, play it slow motion and watch him blink with an enormous flinch! Haha, poor guy.