Independent research task

I have decided to research into how to properly hold and fire a pistol, as in our opening sequence someone is shot with a gun. We need to make sure our actors know how to show this and it is crucial that this is portrayed accurately and does not make the moment seem 'cheesy,' or 'over the top.' This is because we want the moment to shock the audience, rather than them questioning the moment. 

Firstly, I looked at how to hold the pistol.

Hold your weapon in the firing-ready position. 

Insert the grip (handle) of the pistol into the web of your dominant hand. With your thumb on one side of the handle, keep all of your other fingers curled securely around the other side of the gun just below the trigger guard which is shown in the diagram on the left.

Steady the gun with the other hand, also shown in the diagram on the right.

Secondly I looked at how the actor should 'aim' their weapon and where they should be aiming as they are shooting to kill.

Aim with both eyes open.

The area of which the actor should aim is the 'T' zone on someone's face which is the zone evolving

 both eyes, going down the nose and ending in the center of the upper lip. Shooting anywhere in this zone will kill someone instantly which is the effect we want.

Turn the safety lock off once you have aimed.

Next I looked at how to shoot a gun to make it look realistic when the actor pulls the trigger.

As you squeeze the trigger the gun will fire, but don't release the trigger suddenly or stance or arms. Make sure The motion is followed through.

If the pistol is a semi-automatic, the actor will need to load a round into the chamber by pulling back the slide and releasing it.

Finally, I looked at how far away you can shoot someone with a pistol accurately, the majority of search results said around 3-5 yards which is the equivalent of 2-5 meters. Therefore we would have to make sure that the two actors are not standing too far away from each other when the murder is committed otherwise that would be unrealistic.

Links to the websites I got the research from:

where in the head must you shoot someone to cause a fatal injury?

How to Shoot a Handgun

How far away can you be to get an accurate shot?