"Shot through a pillow" feel
 

Hi. Newbie here. Hope to get going in here, as long as time allows.

I didn't know how to name the thread, it's kind of rare the effect I'm after. Now here's the situation I've got (please forgive my English, I'm not a native speaker): I have to make a shot sound effect sound like it was shot into a pillow. You know, like when some criminal wants to soften the noise of the gun so he isn't heard killing someone.

Actually, the scene involves two guys holding another, putting the guns to his chest, pushing hard and pulling the trigger. So the sound wouldn't be like the shot in the middle of a field. Oh, and these guys are out on the street, not inside any room.

I'm using Adobe Audition 1.0 to edit the sound, and I was wondering if any of you know a way to accomplish this "sensation" in a shot sound effect.

Hope I have come clear, and if there's anything that's not so, please let me know.

Thanks in advance for any help you can throw this way.

I would start with rolling off the high frequencies and adding gain to 200 hz, Then use a noise gate to quickly attenuate any reverberant sound. Maybe add some close cloth rustling noise to the mix. Then the visual should sell it. Interesting task. Good luck.

Were it me, I'd record secondary/Foley audio. Put a book on a pillow, mic the backside of the pillow, give the book a hard "whack" and record it. Mix it with what you've got already, and it'll fatten up, plus give you more the feel you're after.

Hey, I like that idea!

As Doug said. Or you could go the route you see in the lab scenes on the CSI TV series. Get a field recorder, a good mic, a pig carcass, a pillow, and a Smith & Wesson .357 Magnum ..... <LOL>

Hey guys. Thanks for the answers, Sorry for my late reply. I tried some of what you said, but I don't have the fittest equipment to record "live" sound, which would have been a cool thing to add. Can't get the feeling I was looking for. But I've tried some workarounds, it passes as a shot against a body. Sort of.

Still, it's not a matter of life or death. I'll keep looking, but you reccomendations did improve what I had. I'll try to get a better mic, and then record that book and pillow again.

If only I could get a cheap pig carcass...

Road kill?
A large dog or deer type animal will work.

You should have some filtering capabilities in Audition, not sure though... If you have, take whatever shot-pig-noise you could collect and try altering the cut-off frequency in the filter settings. That'll give you something to start with. Good luck!

Mix in a splat sound with your muffled shot.