Nerf John Wick is basically a long intense gun fight
The intensity we were able to achieve partially comes from the sound design, and that's what I wanna talk about
I wanna show you how I created the sounds for these nerf blasters in this video
I need to make them as intense as real gunshots. So, I'm gonna have to follow one of the key rules of sound design
It all comes down to the layers and mixing of multiple sounds to create the illusion of a single intense sound.
Now, hopefully after this video you too will be convinced that you don't need the most realistic weapons to make an awesome fight scene for your next project.
All the gear and software that I use to record and mix Nerf John Wick are in the description below
A disclaimer, I do not have a degree in sound design. This is not a sponsored video in any way.
I learned how to do this by doing it. Let's go
And that's the video. Thanks for watching !
Just kidding !
Ok, let's look deeper into that scene.
First, I'm gonna mute some sounds.
So that way you know exactly the sounds that have being used.
Basically, that's a recording of me firing a Nerf gun,
and repeating that sound effect every time Niko fires the gun.
For the darts hitting everybody, I've recorded me flicking a Nerf dart with my finger.
I added some plastic foley sounds from a Nerf gun I recorded, right before the shots start firing
Let's mix that all together quick and see what we have so far.
The sound is great, but it just sounds like a normal Nerf Blaster.
There is no strength, no velocity, no true impact.
So now, I'm gonna add some design elements,
to really amp it up.
First, I'm gonna add some punch sounds.
Can't forget to add a solid slap, to really hit a comic punchline.
And a much more unique dart sound that has a tail on it to really hit that punch.
Now that we've given some strength to the darts, we need to make them more dense
So what I'm going to do is make sure that we have some solid falling sounds, when the goons hit the ground.
Next, we gonna add speed.
I have two types of sounds that I'm specifically gonna add for this.
First, "whooshes".
Some solid PVC "whooshes" that I've got from the FilmRiot Sound Pack.
I love these things.
Then I'll mix in a pre-designed bullet sound,
that implies the idea of a dangerous gun shot.
Now, let's listen to all of them, mixed together and balanced.
As you can hear, reality isn't enough.
It's important to experiment with layering different sounds which can create more depth and complexity.
Sometime, sound design is not about perfectly recreating a sound,
but instead communicating a idea.
Experiment is key, there is no one way to make a sound.