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SpellbinderEntertainment Inner circle West Coast 3519 Posts |
You're right Bill!
I'm talking with a designer/builder who got in contact with me. He's thought of taking the "guts" from a totally different illusion, one not at all associated with this sort of levitation, and being able to disguise the workings in a very innocent and logical way. It's really out-of-the-box thinking, and we brainstormed for quite a while. As he wants to build, and perhaps one day market it, I can say no more now, but an oriental carpet may be part of the answer. It may be that the Impossible is almost Possible! Totally lightweight, small and portable, and up to four or so in levitation range. Imagine! I’ll keep the thread posted as I learn more. Magically, Walt |
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David Charvet Special user www.charvetmagic.com 501 Posts |
Jack Gwynne's famous levitation/suspension (to a lay audience she "floats", so what's the difference?) used an oriental rug to hide the gaffus. And that was in 1945.
"Everything old is new again." David |
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Bill Palmer Eternal Order Only Jonathan Townsend has more than 24312 Posts |
I did the Harbin Walk Away suspension, AKA Super-X Plus on the Renaissance Festival circuit for 26 years. I used the oriental carpet as suggested by Harbin in his book. I made certain parts larger, for security purposes. I also made it taller, because I felt that a person should be floating at least 36 inches off the floor.
I worked with 1 - 3 assistants, depending on what I had available, and never had a problem working on a thrust stage. I even worked it in situations where part of the audience was in a position to catch a glimpse of the gaffus, but by judicious placement of items that were normally in the area, it kept people from seeing anything they shouldn't. (I hate to be cryptic here, but we don't need to tip the lurkers to the modus operandi.) I have no plans to dispose of this illusion anytime in the near future. For ease of moving it about the stage and getting it into place, I put the whole mess on a piece of 1/2 inch plywood, about 2.5 feet by 3.25 feet, and moved it into place by means of ropes. The audience was never aware of anything it should not have seen. This enabled me to set the prop backstage, then pull it into place between acts. I figured out how to get rid of the cloth, too, although that never was a problem. I presented the equipment as an altar, so the "altar cloth" was perfectly logical. But my new idea dispenses with that. If you want more details, PM me, and I will discuss it. I can also tell you how to put the works in to make it into a levitation, if that is absolutely necessary. The late Barclay Shaw had an outdoor levitation that I saw a film of. It was very, very close to what you are looking for, but it did require that you wear something that I don't believe you want to wear.
"The Swatter"
Founder of CODBAMMC My Chickasaw name is "Throws Money at Cups." www.cupsandballsmuseum.com |
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Dennis Michael Inner circle Southern, NJ 5821 Posts |
Just thinking here, what would be believeable? One could come up with a story about a Flying Carpet. That carpet, which looks very old, can conceal a lot.
Dennis Michael
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David Charvet Special user www.charvetmagic.com 501 Posts |
I built a version of Gwynne's suspension combined with Jim Steinmeyer's "Hot Air" idea from "Device and Illusion. All of the pieces are assembled in front of the audience. It is a real fooler to a lay audience, and looks extremely fair and clean as it's assembled with the person onstage who will later float. I've never been asked about the "rug." It's purpose is to hold all of the pieces before it's put together. And like Bill, above, I tied a rope to the base (as did Gwynne) and just have it all pulled into place behind the curtain while I'm working in-one.
I guess if I wanted nothing visible on stage I could do the old Winston Freer "Hernia" Suspension. But the effect would not be any better! |
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SpellbinderEntertainment Inner circle West Coast 3519 Posts |
David!
You’ve his upon an important psychological point! The question is, to a lay audiences is there a significant difference between what we call a “suspension” and a “levitation”. I have also found with careful and plotted staging, and especially well selected music with a swell or build to a good crescendo, the “feeling” of a levitation can be achieved with a suspension. I’ve used a Jack Gwynne style suspension (that has been redecorated to appear to be a sacred Druid Alter) with great success and that presentation is often recalled by spectators as a full-on levitation. After all our business is to create illusion and not just perform tricks. So, yes, you’re wise to consider what our audience’s perceptions and recollections are, and using good theatre and psychology goes a long way to doing this. Just for my own private satisfaction I want to stand on stage and take personal joy in that few feet of pure space covered by a levitation devise. While I’m at it…. let’s give one great ovation to Jack Gwynne who in many ways (as did Harbin) pioneered the way to bring huge stage illusions down to accessible club floor size and made them light and practical!!!! Magically, Walt |
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Bill Palmer Eternal Order Only Jonathan Townsend has more than 24312 Posts |
My personal experience with this particular "float" was rather interesting. At a time when I was just struggling to make ends meet, I was able to obtain the Harbin book. There were two different "floats" in there that intrigued me. One was the "Super Simplex Levitation." Copperfield did this one on his first special. I have a friend who is a wizard at metalworking. He made the special gaffus for me, and I proceeded to install the necessary doodads and counterbalances backstage, so I could make this happen.
It was impressive...sort of. Backstage was a madhouse for my male assistant as he hooked up all the goodies. We had a plywood mockup of the table we were going to use. It worked, but the rocking movement of the device made my female assistant uncomfortable. Also, there were some angle issues that were basically insurmountable, and there was no control over lighting. The angles would have been less of an issue, if we'd had a follow spot with a gobo to control what the audience saw, but when you are working at Renaissance Festivals, you have no control over what the Almighty is going to send you on a given day. After several tries with tight-lipped friends watching, we decided that it was not the right piece for that stage. So, I built the Super-X Plus, instead. The first weekend of the show, one of the owners of the Festival saw me do the "float" with a volunteer from the audience. He had seen what we were doing with the other one and thought it was cool, but what he told me gave me some insight into the layman's perspective. He said, "Merlin. That levitation (his word, not mine) is one of the strongest things I have ever seen out here. Don't waste your time on that other one. This one is much better. I have no idea how you did it. I don't want to know. But using a volunteer from the audience is so much better than what you were trying to do before." Since he was one of the guys signing the checks, I wasn't about to argue with him. So I did everything I could think of to make that as strong an illusion as possible. The only illusion I used for a greater length of time is the Indian Basket. I still have both of them.
"The Swatter"
Founder of CODBAMMC My Chickasaw name is "Throws Money at Cups." www.cupsandballsmuseum.com |
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