I did not mean that those with the money are the most creative and original. In regards to stage illusions, I feel if you want to be creative and original not to mention have a solid show money is a major playing factor. Hiring a professional consultant to assistant in the design (min $1,500), then testing of the effect, more testing, construction of the final version. We invested $12,000 into an effect over 2 years ago and it's still not ready for the stage. However, when it goes live in the show I know people will talk about it and it'll make a unique impression. In addition to finances performers must also be creative and be able to perform. Great reference to Henning and Nelms book...I read that when I was 14 at the advice of Jay Marshall.

I'd like to respond to some general points that I've just read.

Risk:
The risk to a magicians performance is, well.... To most people, in most regular jobs outside of showbiz, the opposite of success is failure. To people in showbiz, the opposite of success is embarrasment, especially for magicians! Are all magicians capable of assuming that risk. I think not, as that unwelcome feeling has stopped many a would-be-magician dead in his tracks, I'm sure! When you hear someone counting past 3 during the metamorphosis, you know you're in for a looooooong night! LOL

Yes, the world of illusion (magic) is lacking risk takers, but you have to realize why. I personally think that the sub-trunk (metamorphosis) is a great illusion for so many reasons, you could write a book on it. It has opportunities for drama, suspense, shock, yet it's somewhat predictable after the switch. People believe it is difficult, because everyone says it is, despite the fact that an unexperienced teenager can pull it off with his first girlfriend, with very little practice, a week maybe two. Everyone wants to compare themself to the masters of the art, and what better way then to perform the same stunt, "in record time". Society dictates that this stuff sells, so we use it. It's a lot safer than taking a risk doing something that is new, and that which a reaction hasn't been overwhelmingly established yet. Why gamble? It's sad, but true.

I guess my mentor Scott Interrante said it best when I joined in on a conversation he had at a bar with Vito Lupo and Joe DeLion, some 20 years ago. I still remember it to this day, don't ask me why. (I can't even remember where I put my glasses last! lol) We were all talking about the psychological motivation for some tricks that always generate great reactions, and were picking them apart, to try and pinpoint exactly what the key ingredients were. Mind you, we all had a few drinks in us, so you could imagine what that conversation was like! Interrante mentioned that a lot of amazing stuff is usually found in new technology, as long as you get a hold of it before everyone else does. He told of a great example... On one leg of a tour in Australia, they (Interrante and I think The Amazing Randi) traveled by helicopter. They landed in the middle of the desert to visit some Aboriginal nomads, to exchange some living essentials (pots, clothing, books) for some handmade crafts. The Aboriginies had seen helicopters and airplanes before. But one young child got a view of a small TV set in the helicopter. A video was playing (video was pretty new then) and he saw some actors walking across the screen. He asked "What's that?" Interrante said a television. He walked away and told his friends "I just saw a television!" The friends asked "What's a television?" The answer he gave was amazing... "A television is a box where little people live inside."
How's that for magic?! To the child, he thought the people on the screen were real! He must have never seen one before, so to him, that's exactly what it was.

Mindfreak mentioned Blackstone Sr.'s floating lightbulb being so amazing because of the small hidden power source. This technology was new, but it was available to those who could afford it, so I would think it was more the "floating" that was the magic, since the effect was just as bewildering in the hands of Blackstone Jr. in the 80's and 90's, albeit different. But think of the first time a lightbulb glowed. That must have looked like magic!

I remember spending $400 for a digital watch when the liquid crystal first came out. They were amazing! You didn't have to wind it, and the thing even lit up! Just press the button and there it was, the correct time in the dark! Now, they give them away with a McDonald's Happy Meal. LOL

As for the original subject seeking a new concept, MikeJRodgers mentions a no box sawing. I know you're aware of the "Buzz-Saw", as most of those here are also. Knowing that, I did have the pleasure of watching the 20+ year development of Interrante's version, which is a cross between Richiardi's laying-on-her-back bloody "Buzz-Saw", and Tony Spina's "Perfect Illusion", which has now been perfected even more. It's a gorey, bloody spectacle involving the disecting of a living woman. It was suppossed to be on one of the "World's Greatest" specials after Gary Oulett saw it done at a Magic in the Mountains convention. Interrante said he'd think about it, then turned it down. Why? Not sure. I think he was afraid someone would rip him off. He also doesn't think TV is the best medium for magic. I tend to agree, as I'm sure others do too. I have a few versions of the illusion on tape, and when we see how it has evolved (I contributed a few things) it is truly amazing. A real one-of-a-kind.

The moral of this long winded post? If you think something will work, stick with it! Don't be afraid to change it, twist it, reshape it, and try anything and everything to make it work. Try to make it your own, no matter how "impossible" it may seem. Ask yourself, what is "impossible", and figure out a way to do it. Try every method, every concept imaginable.

Copperfield experimented with magnets when he was a kid, realizing that they had "levitation" properties. Today, a train literally levitates through China, by the use of magnetic energy. They also have a toy out now, a floating top, based on a magnetic, gyroscopic principle called the Levitron. There's lots of stuff out their just waiting to be invented!

Sincerely,
Matt