The Zat Gun: Deceptively Simple

Some forms of movie magic are fairly complicated. Ask any digital composite artist what their hardest job is, and often they will say “rig removal.” This is when there are equipment cables in shots and the artist must go in and digitally erase them. If you do the job right, no one will ever know that the shot was tampered with.

I always assumed the zat’ni’katel, or “zat gun” if you ask Colonel O’Neill, was an extremely complicated piece of machinery. Perhaps no other prop says “Stargate SG-1″ like the zat gun. You push a button on the side and the coiled serpent springs upward, ready to zap an enemy into unconsciousness, death or a cloud of vapor.

I always assumed each piece had an intricate battery-powered motor, giving it its “spring.” Surprise! Well, in the first batch of Hero Zat guns, it was simply air that got them to spring to life.

A tube is inserted into the base of the prop, which is disguised by the actor, either around his wrist or inside his sleeve. A pump at the other end forces air through the chamber of the prop at the corresponding moment, pushing the zat out of “idle” and into its “ready” position. When it’s time for it to shrink, the pressure is released and the gun collapses again. No intricate mechanical components, other than the ones that allow the gun to change position. Just add a little bit of air and you’re good to go.

The zat is a great example of slight of hand being the more cost-effective option than creating a complicated and expensive machine. At the end of the day, all is just an illusion anyway, and the money saved can go to the digital composite artists trying to get rid of those irksome cables.