Usually, it’s because of a compressor.
A compressor is a tool used in audio to keep the highs from getting too high (loud), and sometimes the lows from getting too low (too soft). Often because the compressor has to work hard and keep the gunshot at a respectable volume, the sounds afterward get caught in it.
Audio guys will tweak the attack and release to help out with that, but if left unchecked, that is why the sounds following a gunshot are soft.
Also, sometimes it’s an aesthetic effect…it causes the viewer to focus and dwell on the gunshot and how important (or destructive, either physically or emotionally to the story) that gunshot is.
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