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Magic Patrick Inner circle Minnesota 1591 Posts |
Eli Kerr makes a great looking one that he performed on AGT. You should call him for pics.
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w_s_anderson Inner circle The United States 1226 Posts |
Great performance hector! Very impressive! Who does your choreography? That was one of the smoothest and well routined sword baskets I have ever seen.
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tropicalillusions Special user Tulsa Okla 631 Posts |
We have performed this classic over 6 years now, we always mingle with our audience after the program, and they always have some great comments on this illusion. It has been a great closer for some of our different programs. folks just dig it when it is performed entertainingly...... jmtcw
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paulapaul Regular user Nevada 173 Posts |
I have a fiberglass Abbott's Sword Basket, which is not known as one of the small-looking ones. Short story: Coming in to work on the 2nd night in a Louisiana nightclub, the manager asked, "Why don't you have someone come up from the audience and SHOW that they can't get in that thing!" I asked why and he answered, "Because I stayed here for 3 hours after closing, trying to get in it!"
That has always made me laugh. Someone messing with any prop did NOT make me happy at all. But, the fiberglass basket could take it. Much of this won’t apply, since this is different equipment from that being discussed. But as to the question of how strong the effects are, this is what I did to discover and exploit regarding that very question. I bought my Abbotts back when I couldn't afford more. I used a thin table, banged on the bottom of the basket, and did a winning routine. I took notes nightly as to where people clapped, and then rated the strength of the applause. Soon, I started to discourage the weaker applause and highlight the stronger responses. I found that the vanish (of the girl) was strong enough for an applause pause. The audience saw her until a half second before she vanished. The foulard falling flat onto the basket emphasized the instant. That particular vanish and sitting in the basket were two things I wouldn't want to give up, for a smaller looking basket. They were the 2 strongest points. Doing the illusion and rating the applause after each show told me what was selling. It IS hard, when we are jaded by knowing the secrets and seeing a lot of versions, to know what an audience really sees. The Basket eventually got its own production number, with a 2.5 minute Amazon Dance (by the cast) to introduce the 2.5 minute Amazon Sword Basket. It was a very tight routine, and a pleaser. I could stick a 3 minute version (magician and 1 assistant) into any place needing something very up-tempo. It was also just right to close a small show with, or to supply a full-cast middle piece in a longer show. It was a good stand-alone piece in shows that booked me for several segments. I am finally saying goodbye to this old friend. I'll post it for sale this week, along with the costumes, on the Magic Café section for selling illusions. It's been over 5 years since I retired, so it is time to let it go. IMHO, a secret to success with this illusion lies, not in which prop version is used, but in moving things along. This does not mean to underplay effects. But, for starters, in any routine, penetration is not as strong as other effects. I did not know that when I noted that the 4th sword’s going through WAS an applause point - just not a very strong one. In the routine I worked out, I would acknowledge that point with a short pause and with eyes focused on the basket. However, as I did so, I also took a step away from the basket. The simple movement of one step, plus not cuing the audience by looking at them, were two ways I kept them from applauding. I then continued briskly, pulling out the swords, but took my time to cover the basket, step in and sit down, against music that sounded like the Amazonians were at a fever pitch. Just a moment with my head propped on my hand, to let it sink in, what had just happened. Then, laughing and dropping both aarms down, hands open at the moment there was a sudden silence. Having just squelched an applause point, this one was a guaranteed strong seller. The Amazon tribe started their drum beating again about half way through the applause, and the music phrasing repeated as the girl reappeared and stepped out, the cast re-entered and all struck the final pose. End Music 1…2…3…Blackout. We are all wired differently. Ultimately, the decision is yours. Research is good, though. You may be traveling the paths of Peter Gennsemer, or other esteemed members of the brotherhood in getting the better work, and plenty of it. Sometimes the Merchant in me weighed in on decisions that possibly belonged only to the Artistic part. But, my fiberglass Abbott’s basket could be done in the rain, if needed. Luckily, that was never necessary. But that basket went on any job that had difficult staging. It was a little War Horse that delivered the goods, no matter what. One might say I was lucky to work 51 weeks out of the year, for many years. But, to work that much, I had to have material that would survive the trenches, as well as the palaces. On another point, this prop satisfied my magic thinking. That is, for me, the prop should be unimportant. When something looks too slick, I shy away from it. My basket is painted in a dark blue, with a black top 6 inches, and another 6-8 inches at the bottom in black, too. I don’t have any bevels to help me. I just used the darker color to fool the eye a bit. If I wanted to fool the eye more, the middle would be bright yellow. The top half is decorated , again breaking up long sections into a few shorter ones, with fabrics that are in the costumes, in a Hodge Podge of leaves, cheetah prints, other fabrics, cord, braid and some acrylic and crystal stones for a few small glints. It is not slick-looking, and I think one would not expect it to add up to much. True, a big basket is not an everyday object. But, this one definitely didn’t come from the magic prop builders that we see on TV. I think that magic with unimportant props is more amazing than magic with carefully manufactured “special, magician” props. But, I DO appreciate dynamic looking props that are so well thought out and beautiful. In the end, both the simple-looking props and the fancy ones require one of the primary methods of misdirection, spelled out by Dariel Fitzkee in his book “Magic By Misdirection”, and that is: the misdirection afforded by CONFIDENCE. Paula Paul |
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Hector Loyal user 273 Posts |
Thank you very much w_s_anderson for your nice words! I am glad you like it!
Best wishes! |
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