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What about "Non-Guns"? [Some of the information below has been extracted from our not-yet-released book - "The Textbook of Stage Violence". All rights reserved] There are replicas of firearms that can make a sound but do not use blanks. Known generally as non-guns, they were supposed to be the final savior for all performers needing to safely fire a weapon. For film use, they’ve been great. Unfortunately for theatre, the hype was greater than the reward, so we don't carry them. Non-guns are battery operated devises that electronically ignite pre-packaged squibs within the housing of the replica. Squibs are very small explosive charges used for a variety of pyrotechnic effects. In the case of a non-gun, an electric circuit is completed when the trigger of the replica is pulled, causing the squib hidden inside to explode. Depending on the manufacturer, there might be some flash visible from the barrel. Because the squib can be packaged using a very small amount of explosive, non-guns are considerably more safe than what had been the film industry standard - using unmodified real guns loaded with blanks. Film makers want the muzzle flash, so have no use for block-barreled guns. But non-guns have five big drawbacks for stage: ¨ They are not safer than using block-barreled stage replica guns firing blanks. The general rule always applies - if you can see a flash, you are exposed to hot expanding gases. Hot expanding gases push solid things out of their way, and if that is the skin of your hand or your partner’s retina, that flesh is going to lose. And the flash can also propel an accidental pebble or splinter, turning it into a projectile as dangerous as a bullet.¨ Squibs are explosives, and most fire marshals require someone to have a pyrotechnic license in order to handle them. Squibs are also more dangerous than blanks when not inside the replica, and explode more easily when exposed to fire or static electricity.¨ Non-guns are less expensive to rent than real guns, but far more than block-barreled stage guns. Non-guns are for the most part financially out of reach for most theatres.¨ Electrically activated squibs are prone to failure at any time, and nowhere more so than in non-guns. All of the components need to be made smaller than for regular pyro effects, for the charges, the wiring, and the battery must all fit inside the replica. So the thin wiring can crack, the connections loosen, and the battery can lose its charge. The non-guns are temperamental enough that they are used only for the scenes where the film actor actually has to fire the gun. For running around and general use, identical dummy guns are used.¨ In the event that a non-fire from a non-gun takes place, the actor has no recourse. On a film set, it simply means that they can take a break, fix the problem, and do another take. Not possible on stage, of course, and the actor can’t just pull the trigger to go to the next blank the way he could with a stage firing revolver.Non-guns also have limitations for film. The replicas are solid shells with no moving parts, so there is no way to pretend to load the gun, no brass cases ejecting after each shot of a semi-auto or automatic weapons, no movement of the carriage of a semi-auto or turn of the chamber on a revolver, etc. After an initial excitement, the major studios are are turning away from non-guns and going back to real guns. Younger directors will often go with completely inert replicas, feeling comfortable with computer-generated imagery adding muzzle flash and sound in post-production. |
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