tracer fire: cool visual vs. unrealistic and impractical?

[markcheng]

i think tracer fire in movies looks cool and adds excitement, but it's also a bit fake when covert soldiers use them because it gives away their location and is less effective since the tracer bullet is less deadly when you're hit with it.

what do you think?

 

[Filmosity]

I think it depends on the situation.

If you're going for realism, i'm guessing you're right on the whole covert situation.

But we all know about cheating in the movie biz. Sometimes you just have to. If you're shooting at night, you need to be able to see where your guys are shooting, so tracer fire helps the viewer more than the shooter.

Chris