Not to be rude...but how does the GOLD cloth 'block' sight lines from an audience in the first few rows that is below the illusion? Unless I am mistaken the gold cloth is only on top of the volunteer. It's the red cloth that blocks sight lines from below.

My understanding of the gold cloth is that it is a subtle way of making sure the volunteers arms stay on top of them...and not drop to their sides...especially if and when the board moves as one of the supports are taken away.

Kevin

Ah, but that's where the presentational skills of a master would be most evident.

When the illusion is in what I call it's "home state" on stage (prior to the red cloth being rolled across the board) the gold cloth serves a vital purpose in the presentation of this illusion. It's only gold on the top ;-) Once the red cloth is rolled out and in place is when the gold cloth can be and is removed. If the audience is seated close and at an angle below the stage like is common in most performing arts centers in the front 5+ rows the use of the cloth is necessary.

As Don Wayne once told me, magicians tend to over analyze the elements in hopes of creating the "perfect illusion" and it's those details that are not a noticable difference and often too much time is spent on pondering/modifying them by performers. In my opinion having worked with the 3001 for over 4 years now I feel the cloth is just a little something extra that if the audience even notices or thinks about puts more of a hmmmm in their mind. Plus if you watch the effect being perfomed, when the cloth is lifted up and put in place where do the audiences eyes travel to? Why yes...they follow the flashy gold cloth and look up...who would have ever thought fabric could play such a wonderful role in the art of misdirection

As many people aren't aware, Walter's very first suspension (prior to creating the 3001) was a modified version of the Harbin Suspension combined with Abbott's Super X. It didn't use a cloth on top and furthermore the person being suspended was never wrapped in a cloth either yet the performer could walk away completely. Walter has shared pictures with me on this version but he chose not to manufacture and release the effect and instead created the 3001.

A new suspension/levitation I will be presenting in my show next year (with permission from Walter) is what I like to call the Harbin Chair Suspension on crack In front of the audience I assemble 2 metal folding chairs, have the board examined and place it on top of the chairs. From here the volunteer is layed on the board (never covered in any way) and the first chair is removed. When the chair is removed the board falls to the floor on the side the chair was removed which leaves the girl in the standard chair suspension position but with the board at a 45 angle to the floor. From here I remove the second chair and the board falls completely to the floor...leaving the girl suspended in mid air with no supports of any kind around her She then levitates up and down and then finally comes to rest on the stage floor and stands to take her bow.

You can see this effect in my show next year but I have no plans at this time to sell it publicly.

Thanks for all the fabulous advice & Links

Im a big fan of this Illusion having originally started out with Osborne suspensions with & without cloths-I agree
that lay audience don't seem to mind these etc going by after show comments........

Here's the video of me on the WGN Morning Show that I promised I'd post.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TQ8pXiLirLk

Very cool .. the camera dude was making me a bit nervous, nothing slipped though. I was on the very same program a few years back and we did the Audience Acupuncture. Assisting me was none other than Marshall Brodien. It was fun .. and I'll try to figure out how to get it online.

Yes, I'm the kinda behind with some of the technology .. any kids want to help me out?

Steve

As much respect as I have for both the ladder and suspension versions,
I still have a great deal of trouble with it being a “floating board and person”
as opposed to a floating “person”.

I feel it is rudimentary and necessary with a Suspension to be able to remove the board,
and ideally not wrap the assistant up like a cocoon.

With all the other improvements which abound in these versions,
this is one last detail which I think hinders the illusion.

Just my two-cents,
Walt

Not every illusion is perfect .. remember, we really can't make a little girl float.

Well, unless it involves ice cream ...

Steve

However (ice cream aside)
the Jack Gwynne / Robert Harbin version(s) allow for:
--limited or no bulky base
--full removal of board
--no covering on assistant
--ability to walk-away during float
Yes, there are angle concerns (but as you say nothing is perfect).

Magically,
Walt

I own it, performed it all last summer, and I think it is an effective illusion. Sight lines are pretty good, too. But I think the hoop is what sells it.I will be selling my 3001 soon, but I think I just might hang on to the hoop.

Walt, I know you have mentioned your distaste for floats that retain the board several other times. I don't see the board removal as such a big deal. In fact, I think that Blaney would perform it as an "Anti Gravity Board." Now THAT made sense to keep the board beneath the person!

The M.O. for the Harbin suspension does, in fact, require that the volunteer assistant be at least partially wrapped in a cloth. But that doesn't, IMO, automatically signal "method" to the audience. A good presentation can more than compensate for that. Indeed, a good presentation (such as Harbin's) can get extra entertainment value out of the use of the cloth covering.

Bairefoot wrote: "He did not get a clap until he used the ring. I hate to sound mean but I get a better reaction from a regular chair suspension."

If you are refering to the Procraft video I think that all of the sounds in the vdeio are prerecorded and edited into the video. The clapping is, therefore, where Procraft wanted it to be.

Didn't Timothy Drake put the video together? Or am I mistaken? Either way, yes it's edited for effect. I think it's going to get a great reaction if presented well.

I was fortunate to purchase the last 3001 that Walter Blaney manufactured himself before turning that over to Procraft. I have used it often and it always gets a very strong reaction. I agree with other posts here that the hoop is a critical part of the illusion.

This illusion is truly baffling to audiences when presented properly.

Is Walter still manufacturing the Ladder Levitation?

Bairefoot wrote: "He did not get a clap until he used the ring. I hate to sound mean but I get a better reaction from a regular chair suspension."
****
I don't mean any disrespect to Jamie in the video, but he never really gave the audience a chance to applaud....sometimes you run into 'dumb' audiences where unless they actually see someone take off in the air like Superman, they wont applaud until the absolute climactic moment. Now, it also doesn't help that it sounds like this was somewhat of an adult event where people are talking and chatting in the background, which leads me to believe that it was one of those events where the magician was hired for those who choose to watch....just my .02c....maybe I'm wrong...but if this was presented in a theatre setting where people went and paid money to see YOU, it would do ALOT better than those reactions...

It's all in the performer, the sell.... we used to kill with a cheap Super X. Try to find a video of Harbin doing his chair suspension.

3001 is a Harbin Gwynne walkaway suspension, for the most part, with Blaney's touches.

Ladder is not a robust, and you must use a very light weight assistant. Intricate movements and mechanisms. Brilliant workings, conceptually similar to the 3001 in the eyes and mind of the audience.

I've built and designed several of my own compact Harbin/Gwynne's, and Walter has different views on methods, concepts, dimensions and balance than I do. We have very spirited debates on these concepts, but I am no longer building anything but my Magellans. Walter said that he can't give me a recommendation on the Magellan, because, according to him, he'd never sell another of his own, LOL! The ultimate compliment!

JF

As Kevin pointed out, one of the important reasons for the cloth covering the audience member is to keep them still. Not just their arms, but to keep them from wiggling around too much. Regarding the "floating board" argument. Okay, so the board is floating and a person is on it. Is that really any less amazing than just a girl floating? If this were a levitation, I would hate a board moving up and down with the girl. But for a suspension, I don't think it diminishes the effect, especially if you have a convincing hoop pass.