Just wanted to say thank you Jonathan Pendragon for telling the history behind your levitation. I vaguely remember seeing it on the Disney Special. It's always great to hear from those who know first hand.

I do remember you working on the 180 degree vanish (or was it a production) from the tube. I guess the 360 dream evolved from that. I'm just very confused why you would think I'm not yearning for the same excellence in magic you are in my observation about the 360 pointing to the method. Maybe instead of seeking something better, I should just be satisfied with what others have done and assume that there can be no possible improving on their work. I have pointed out that your work on the Pole levitation was a wonderful improvement on the original. My only observation was on the 360 in that as soon as she rotates, the eyes are drawn to the pivot point which suggests the actual method. I think this must have been a blind spot for many of the creators including yourself. I even admitted that if I had developed it, I might have been blind to the intrinsic problem myself.

If words have power, just imagine for a moment how much power visuals have when they are broadcast and memorialized for future generations. We can only grow from learning from the past. I have from all of my shows as well as from all of my contemporaries...unless you believe your 360 is perfect and without flaws. That is an entirely different issue. I'm thankful for all that have come before me and all that will come after me. I can only hope we can learn and improve on the past and create even greater methodology for future generations.

@Jonathan

I reiterate my apology to you unreservedly: I am truly and deeply sorry. What I said was an honest opinion: I really did believe that you performed a Yogano levitation on "Best of Magic". And as such I linked that video to this topic. You have now corrected that mistake, and henceforth I will never again make that mistake.

I fully appreciate that it is very upsetting when you work hard on the creation of an effect, and other people wrongly attribute your hard work to someone else. Again, I am truly sorry for getting it so badly wrong.

It is a shame that humans make mistakes. Because some of them have such dire consequences. This is one I've made, and it has deeply upset a man I have truly admired for over 20 years. If I could take those words back, I would - in a flash! You've had enough trouble over the last couple of years, without an idiot like me adding to them.

All the best for the future Jonathan! I hope all your future Karma is all good.

Tally

It is a good man who can acknowledge an error. Your apology is gratefully accepted. I apology again if I seemed harsh, it's very difficult for me to write about my ex and that period of my life.

With Respect
Jonathan Pendragon

Jonathan: A great mind can forgive!!!

jcmagicman:
Just for the record: Yogano Jr. entered with his levitation at the FISM contest in 1988 (Den Haag - Netherlands).
They got 3th price Invention.
YouTube: the best magic vol 1 fism prize winners part 10 (about 25.min)

Thanks for all the fine details guys. Its amazing to see how much work goes into one effect and how the collaboration of other magicians helps to push that illusion into something super special for the audience to see.

Can't believe this levitation only got 3rd prize. Geezz!!

You're right it was 88 in Den Hague, not Switzerland in 91. I couldn't remember which one when I wrote the post. I was very surprise by third place finish myself. I don't think the judges appreciate how amazing the technology was. This is why I didn't compete ever in FISM. You can't hold up your mechanical invention to be judged. My work with the silent broom harness that could stop anywhere and give the appearance of a bare mid-drift is implied in the presentation, but not something I would want to hold up in front of a bunch of strangers at magic convention and say, "Judge this," That's not how those competitions work.

I do tend to agree, in general, with what Ray said about the pivot point giving it away in many cases. The floating pianos are so huge that it's just a dead give away. Now that being said, it also depends somewhat on the context. If it's a beautiful performance that plays more like a piece of theatre then you can sometimes get away with a little more for theatre sake. If you're just standing there with a smoke machine doing a levitation for no reason, then it becomes more of a challenge and your audience is far less forgiving. But get them swept up the story and it's amazing what you can get away with.

I'm always a little on the fence when it comes to the line between fooling them at every turn and cheating a bit for the theatre of it. I tend to go to the theatre side when I can come up with some kind of an extra convincer to cancel out the method. For instance, with my Edison Levitation I have a light in the base so she's floating on a beam of light. The light allows me to step off the base for a second to grab the hoop giving me a BA convincer to cancel out the method so I don't look stuck standing there with my legs together.

I have never worked with a rotating levitation so it would be foolish of me to stand on a soap box about it with guys like Jonathan who know it so well here. My general thought however is that it's not so much the rotation that looks off to me, it's when they go half way and come back. If she just went all the way around, it becomes more like a dance move. Coming back suggests that the support can only go that far and she must come back the same way.


-Chris.

Anyone know if Yogano still build and sell this?

The Bill Siros suspension didn't feature any kind of pivoting of the assistant, unless I'm mistaken. Bill Palmer might be a bit more help on this.

I had the same feeling as Jonathan when I first saw this thread... Yogano's work is different from the Pendragons' version in the video, iirc.

Jimmy Fingers
www.magellanlevitation.com