As Marvin Roy, told me years ago.. "Guys are just too lazy to do a silk act". It does take a little work but boy does it pack nicely and there is no need for permits.

Marvin had an idea in an early Genii, Do the Silk fountain in a large brandy snifter.

I agree the beauty of the silk fountain is the slow blooming action not shaking it too death. There are several ways to accomplish this. The easiest method is to preset the fountain two or three days before you do it. There are other ways to slow it down if you cannot do a long prefold ahead.

Thanks for the compliment, Chmara.

Richard

Just puchased the Snap Silk Production and DVD... Can't wait for my order to come! Thanks again guys!

Just like Richard said, I use the snap silk production as a prelude to the silk fountain. It always gets a great response.

Posted: Feb 14, 2008 10:08pm
Quote:


On 2008-02-13 21:04, hugmagic wrote:
As Marvin Roy, told me years ago.. "Guys are just too lazy to do a silk act". It does take a little work but boy does it pack nicely and there is no need for permits.


Richard


I use the time that is takes to set up the silk part of my act to mentally go through my routine.

I think it is well worth the trouble of the set up. A silk act truly is a thing of beauty. It also folds flat and plays big.

David

Yes, true! I belong to an association of volunteer magician who perform for chidren in hospitals. I'll be using the silks on these occasions!

My silks are pretty much preset when I get there. I just open the case and go. Resetting takes a little time but it is not that bad. You just learn to do it.

Johnathn Neal Brown did a huge silk act. He told me he got to the point where he could reset it in 15 minutes while talking with other people. I think with proper planning it can be a very commercial and realstic act to do.

Richard

Where could I get the silks that come out of the mouth like when C.Angel did to the monkies on his show that one time? I am sure they are just loaded in some type of tube but where would I get one and what exactly would it be called? This was a very cool routine although I have seen D.C. and others do so before slightly differently, Criss is probably the one most recall being recent.

Rice's - Douglas 20th Century Silks.

Richard

Hey! Just to say I received the Laflin snap Silks and it's really nice! Actually I was expecting another effect by hearing the name "Snap" silks, but it's really nice and gives you the opportunity to load anything (doves, fountains...). Good idea!

First =Street in Old Peking - I believe Abbott's used to sell these complete. It is a stage set-up that features an explosion of silk as your finale - streamers dropping from border boxes above the stage, a central display popping out flags and side props doing stuff too. Filled the stage with silks and color in an instant. They took hours to reset.

Richard said something very very very important. Arrive with your silks preset. In other words do not wait until you are in the airplane to pack your parachute. If you have several performance -- and yes this is expensive -- you may want to consider having multiple sets of silks ready to reload. It is just too easy to do a crummy job of reset in a rush. Extra silk is a lot cheaper than lost customers. Learning proper folds, concealment ties and releases, correct knot tensions and proper pacing (as above) is time well invested. But -- it still takes more time to prepare for a 1 minute bit than most other types of performance...each time. (But then, look at Eric Buss' Spring Snake Symphony clips from the Letterman show..)

For those who use silks close up -- I would recommend choosing carefully those effects that most often do not need reset or special folds. I cannot see doing snap silks in a hospital roaming visit because of the room needed to snap the silks -- and a flick forward toward a patient immobile in a bed could be frightening -- even more frightening than clown magic.

One of the best -- and most often badly done because it takes work -- silk effects is the McComb style half dyed silk - and multiple rigs make it possible for walk around at banquets.

Another great is the silk to egg IF you develop a way to carry an egg to the tables WITHOUT bumping into things and breaking it while it is waiting to be used.

The venerable color changing silk is fast and gets a good reaction (more so that shoe laces -- BUT -- it is very hard to find a well made, colorful smooth running instant resets that looks rich rather than magicy....
Maybe Richard knows of one that is not just cheap looking.

Thanks for your precious advice chmara. I wasn't aware of the routine before ordering the snap silks. I'll think about it...

Thanks again,

Ben

The Spectaular finale ( I think that is the name) is still made by Abbott's. It works fine but really needs a large stage to work it well. We use the drop down banners every year at the get together.


Richard.

This line of inquiry has made me wonder -- have any motivational speakers using magic explored the use of silks for their bullet points -- and accents.

And - Richard -- can you do one-off sayings, etc as custom dyed stuff.

Gregg,

Catch me at a silk lecture sometime and I'll show you how easy that is to do yourself.

But the answer to your basic question is YES!

Bob Sanders
Magic By Sander

Yes, if I am in proper frame of mind to tackle it and it is not too complex. There are some exsamples of hand painted things I have done on the website.



Richard

I have to agree with Chmara about the Hughes fountain - I have one and they are great and his roses are even better!

Destiny

If it takes art, Richard is a good man to know!

Bob Sanders
Magic By Sander

I use a silk fountain made by Peter White that ends with the production of a six foot butterfly silk. It is a work of art and a pleasure to perform with. Peter and Cynthia's stuff is all high quality and better than a lot of stuff on the market, and they've been in the business for a long time. I'm sure Richard's stuff is high quality too, his reputation is strong.

One of the finest, brilliant and colorful silks used for the silk fountain came from Japan.
My mentor, Jimmy Yoshida (Hawaii magician & dealer), was one of the first to distribute Japan silks to the USA magic shops and conventions. He travelled around the world sharing the beautiful quality of these flat seam silks. When the light shines on the fountain, it looks like a volcano flowing. When you attend a magic convention, visit all the Japan dealers and examine the quality of the silks.
Here is a video with a silk cascade and followed by the silk fountain:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FdSjsvHYBw8

Do you have to hang the Abbott's spectacular Finale pagodas?

Yes, the finales have to be hung to be effective. Usually about 15" or more in the air. If you hang just the pagodas you can use two fly lines. If you also use the drop down banner, you will need a batten line.

Richard