I am looking for opinions on these two illusions.
I have never seen them live.
Any info in appreciated.

The first thing would be Compressed is a 2 person effect, the Barrels is a 3 or more person effect (to look good).

Compressed is a "compact" illusion versus the Barrels can be made into a full stage illusion.

I have neither.

But those would be my genersal comments on them.

Blair

Thanks Blair.
I know the basic effects of both.
Just never seen them performed live.

I saw Peter Reveen do the barrels several times during his last big foray into the illusion show business.

And I'v seem Peter Gossamer do Compressed.

Of course I have seen both done many times on video and t.v.

B

Andre Kole used to do the barricaded barrels..

He turned it into a rather long routine..with the audience examining the rods and everything.. I'm not a huge fan of his performing style.. but I remembered the routine!

Doug Henning did it.. much faster routine.. but still memorable.

Compressed is a cool trick.. but it's a rather short routine.. in shrink out.. that's about it.

The barrels do not pack small... they're barrels. but.. the compressed doesn't pack that small either... so you're about even there.

The barrels are a much rarer prop.

Hi Zakari,
I've done both at different times and I guess it really comes down to what you want to do. Compressed is a great 2 person illusion with a small backstage footprint. The reaction is decent although it's defintitely a middle piece - not a closer.

The Barrels can play very big as you're dealing with essentially two props that come together to form one larger prop. With choreography and staging this can be a very big, very visual illusion. There are a few downsides;

1. Pay the money to have this built by one of the top builders. I made the mistake of buying a used one and ended up having to almost re-build it from the ground up.

2. The Barrels don't break down and when you add the bases, spikes, targets and cases (minimum 2 cases) it's big, heavy and takes a lot of room in your van, truck or trailer.

3. The other drawback to this illusion is that it's a puzzle and as such can be confusing to an audience. You really have to think out your routine to make sure the audience understands;
a. The spikes are solid
b. The target is solid
c. And finally that your assistant is locked into Barrel "1" but ends up in Barrel "2". This may sound easy but it can prove quite challenging.

Having said all that it can be a big number in a show as compared to compressed which, by it's very nature, is a smaller piece. Both can be an excellent part of a show if presented properly.

Hope this helps a bit. Feel free to pm me if you have any questions.

Murray

Hi Zakari,

Here's a link to a video from the french magic duo "Magic Pirates". Go to 1 minute and you'll see short edits of their Barrel Illusion presentation.

http://www.dailymotion.com/video/x102gr_......ates_fun

I hope that this will give you an idea.

Oliver.

Thanks for the info guys.... Really appreciated

I agree with Mr. Hatfield...
The girl you are working with should play a big role in what you choose. If you have the same assistant all the time you will be okay with the Barrels. The Barrels take time to learn and can, indeed, be challenging. For me it was a big challenge. At 5'7" I'm tall for the illusion and I just didn't have the room to pull-off a very important move that the barrels require. We had to do a work around. After a full season in the barrels I have found a way to do the move but, it took 3 months of 4 show days.

The Compressed on the other hand is an easy thing to learn and the girl's size really isn't an issuse.
I think it's safe to say there is more for the assistant to do in the compressed (step here, close this, ect.) but it is less physical. So if you have different girls from show to show it maybe a better choice.

Also consider that the Barrels have no bad angles and the compressed does.

Ms. M

Thanks Morgan,
Always great to have the 'person inside the illusion' point of view.
I do use the same assistant. She owns the half the show.
I myself have been in some illusions when I was younger. I can only describ how a girl should fit. The girl has to make it comfortable for her.

What angle problems are with the compressed? Thought it was a 360 degree.

I sent you a PM about that.

To too belong to the elite club of performers that have presented both of these illusions on stage. I would think only a handful of other performers could join our club!

Steve

I have always considered the weak point of this illusion that the rods can not be given for examining. I glad to hear that there is a way to do this. I admire the mind of Andre.