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snedglow New user Pine Grove, PA 94 Posts |
There is a floating ball illusion for sale at The Trickery called ASTROSPHERE that runs $24.95
Has anyone seen or performed it and can you give me a thumbs up or down? Thanks!
-Randy
[email]rsnedden@closeupmagic.org[/email] ~~~~~ “Chance is but the pseudonym of God for those particular cases which He does not choose to subscribe to openly with His own signature ... ” |
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Bill Hegbli Eternal Order Fort Wayne, Indiana 22797 Posts |
This a IT Zombie effect, put out years ago by Tannen's, the ball floats in front of the cloth. It requires much thought as to when you will perform and how you will get ready for the effect. You do not need a stage to perform this and it can be done fairly close-up to an audience.
I looks good, but is a short routine, limited to ball floating/clinging to the cloth, except at the end. At an IBM show I saw the performer wreck the illusion because he did not work on the complete presentation enough. I believe Zombie is a much better choice, because of the routines you can create. |
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snedglow New user Pine Grove, PA 94 Posts |
Do you known where I can find this Zombie trick you mentioned?
I'd like to look into that one as well. Have a terrific week!
-Randy
[email]rsnedden@closeupmagic.org[/email] ~~~~~ “Chance is but the pseudonym of God for those particular cases which He does not choose to subscribe to openly with His own signature ... ” |
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Bill Hegbli Eternal Order Fort Wayne, Indiana 22797 Posts |
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Tantrik New user 78 Posts |
When I was doing a lot of illusion work I used to use astrosphere. I think it is phenomenal. Here is the way I presented it.
Music. Spotlight on me. My back is to the audience. I turn, and am seen holding a ball in one hand and a large handkerchief in the other. I polish the ball with it and then drop the hanky so that I am just holding it by one corner. The other end is almost touching the ground. I place the ball against the side of the handkerchief and, on cue, take my hand away. The ball hangs against the cloth as if magnetically clinging to it. I wave my free hand, indicating that the ball should go down. Indeed, it descends toward the floor. This is reversed and the ball rises up the material. I reach down and take the other end of the hanky so it forms a curtain in front of me. The cloth is semi-transparent, and the audience can see the ball through the cloth as it floats left, right, up, down and across. It rises to the top of the material and then starts moving in front of the cloth. The ball moves to the top of the cloth and then behind it and down, again. slowly, the ball starts to rise as I turn and raise my arms. With my back to the audience, the ball rises above the cloth and I am able to catch it before it floats away. The light has narrowed to just be on the ball, then fades with the music. It does not move in and out like a zombie, nor have I been able to get it to crawl up and down my arm, but I've always disliked the zombie gimmick which was obviously invented by a plumber who had spent far too much time with his head in a toilet (if you have it you know exactly what I mean). Astrosphere, I think is far more dramatic but has limitations. |
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snedglow New user Pine Grove, PA 94 Posts |
Sounds great Tantrik. I want to see you perform it!
Well, the price is not bad and I suppose it's worth a try. Like someone said earlier about a magician wrecking the trick because of lack of practice ... I have my own personal policy never to perform any trick unless I am almost comfortable enough with it to fool myself, so to speak.
-Randy
[email]rsnedden@closeupmagic.org[/email] ~~~~~ “Chance is but the pseudonym of God for those particular cases which He does not choose to subscribe to openly with His own signature ... ” |
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Bill Hegbli Eternal Order Fort Wayne, Indiana 22797 Posts |
You can't go wrong with Astrosphere if you work on it.
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Tate Loyal user NC 211 Posts |
This is an amazing coincidence. I almost never look in the "Stage Illusion" forum, but I took a look and here is the very trick I'm interested in! Astrosphere also comes in a "mini" version - smaller ball (2 inches) and smaller cloth (18 inches, I think).
Here's my question, do you think it could be used in a birthday party situation? I know it uses IT and that could be a problem. I hadn't thought about having the ball float mostly behind the cloth until I read Tantrik's description. That should help hide the IT. The reason I'm interested is this effect? One word - "Quidditch". I saw this effect described online and immediately thought about painting the ball to look like the Golden Snitch to use in my "Wizard School" show. Maybe use a blue see-through cloth to represent the sky. So, what do you think? Tate |
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Bill Hegbli Eternal Order Fort Wayne, Indiana 22797 Posts |
Tate,
The items and ball are made to all produce a most impressive illusion. If you change anything you will only great problems. I would say it can be shown a minium of 6' from the audience. Children tend to want to set at your feet. If you can control your kids. Use as is. Otherwise, forget it. When you order it you can find a blue scarf if they make that color. I know it was available at one time in different colors. I was not aware of it in a mini version. Where did you see this smaller version. The reason I ask is it may not be the same trick. |
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Tate Loyal user NC 211 Posts |
I'm pretty sure it's the same trick. I saw several of them for sale on ebay. The one I saw was being sold by a non-dealer and the auction has closed. The auction number was 2226168318.
I suspect you're right, it wouldn't work in a birthday party situation. But when I go to my next convention, I'll see if a dealer has it and will demo it. Tate |
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David Todd Inner circle 2328 Posts |
Kenton Knepper's WonderWizards online shop is selling the mini_Astrosphere for $7.50 . I've seen this one and it looks great .
For that price you can hardly go wrong . http://www.wonderwizards.com/item.php?id=65 As with most things this simple and elegant it is all about presentation. |
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Bill Hegbli Eternal Order Fort Wayne, Indiana 22797 Posts |
Tate,
I believe you will be disappointed as this is no longer a new item and dealers will not lugg an old trick around for possible sales. It was and still may be a Tannen item exclusive. I can only say it is a very good illusion. Just keep the kids back and it will work. |
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Jonathan Rice Loyal user Maryland 223 Posts |
I dunno I would have to say that I like thezombie a BIT more.
Jon |
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Bill Hegbli Eternal Order Fort Wayne, Indiana 22797 Posts |
Dai,
This is a mini that is not much good except for performing for groups. Yes, I would think long and hard before spending $7.50 on any trick. The original size only cost about $25 and you can perform it for a theater full of people. The site you listed is guilty of false advertising. They state no IT. I would not ever order from a dealer that believes in false advertising. Tate, The ball come in a beautiful silver ball that has speckles on it on the inside. The original ones had some gold specks on it. I thought it a very nice ball and the cloth reminded me of the far east and belly dancing girls type of cloth. To keep the ball behind the cloth defeats the idea of this trick. Then go with Zombie and do Al Schneider's routine from his Book on Zombie. He developed this routine for close quarter presentation. Again it will not work if the kids are between your legs but that is true for any trick. |
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David Todd Inner circle 2328 Posts |
Wmhegbli writes:
Quote:
The site you listed is guilty of false advertising. They state no IT. I would not ever order from a dealer that believes in false advertising. I think you're a little confused there, William . WonderWizards site says this in describing the Micro-Astrosphere: http://www.wonderwizards.com/item.php?id=65 Quote:
No "invisible thread" to break. As the term IT (invisible thread) is commonly used and understood in magical nomenclature it refers to extremely thin, delicate fibers (which are prone to breakage) . The Astrosphere effect , in both the large stage version and the small version , does not use "IT" . It just uses plain old "T" . The regular black T is not seen because of the patterned scarf . It is the clever hook up that makes the effect work. I think most everyone in this conversation pretty much knows the method of Astrosphere. The ad on the WonderWizards web page is written in standard "Dealer-Speak" , which anyone who has been around magic for a while can easily translate and read between the lines. It is, in fact , true that the effect does not use "IT" , which is prone to break more easily than regular black "T" . I only brought it up since our friend Tate first commented on the small version of Astrosphere in this post : http://www.themagiccafe.com/forums/searc......=3585093 Tate wrote: Quote:
here is the very trick I'm interested in! Astrosphere also comes in a "mini" version - smaller ball (2 inches) and smaller cloth (18 inches, I think). and also wrote: Quote:
I'm pretty sure it's the same trick. I saw several of them for sale on ebay. The one I saw was being sold by a non-dealer and the auction has closed. The auction number was 2226168318. so I assumed Tate had some interest in obtaining the Mini version of the Astrosphere. I was merely attempting to be helpful in pointing out that it is readily available from WonderWizards for a very inexpensive price , $7.50 , which is less than I've seen it advertised elsewhere. (including the eBay auctions that Tate refers to . The eBayers are usually placing a starting bid of $8.99 on Micro Astrosphere ) Even you , wmhegbli, wrote in response to Tate's first mentioning the Mini Astrosphere : Quote:
I was not aware of it in a mini version. Where did you see this smaller version. The reason I ask is it may not be the same trick Since this topic was a discussion of Astrosphere and Tate mentioned the Mini Version , I thought it would be helpful to him if I pointed him in the direction of a dealer who could supply the effect . If you're not interested in the Micro Astrosphere then that's just fine with me . Maybe you think it's the biggest waste of time ever. Good on ya, mate. But I wasn't speaking to you. I was addressing someone else on this forum who had expressed an interest in obtaining it . |
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dsilverfield Special user 752 Posts |
I am thinking of combinig the Astrosphere and the Zombie and use the positive factors of both to create an Illusion. Think it is possible? Please advice
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Bill Hegbli Eternal Order Fort Wayne, Indiana 22797 Posts |
The change over would be very difficult to do smoothly. Abbott's Tips on Zombie Book has a method for making a regular Zombie to use 'T' by making a new plug.
I don't know if it adds to the illusion. As you can do a none cover floating ball with this new hook-up. |
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Dougini Inner circle The Beautiful State Of Maine 7130 Posts |
Gotta chime in here...
My version of Astrosphere sounds almost exactly the way Tantrik performs it, with the exception that my back was not to the audience, a nice little addition, I might add... It involves the "One Point Hookup" described in the Ralph Wichmann book on IT. That, and some very high-tech stuff made in Italy, known as "Sulky Smoke Invisible"...zebra-stripe this stuff with a Sharpie marker, and I can do this 6' in front of you, DROP THE CLOTH, float it from hand to hand, and back down to the Zombie stand on the coffee table, and walk away clean. Astrosphere. A sure winner! Doug |
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tenkal New user Spain 46 Posts |
Hi as all of you know the astrosphere comes with black T so you need to be carefoul with the lighting when you perform it but I would like to know if you know about a better T to perform with
thanks |
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Bill Hegbli Eternal Order Fort Wayne, Indiana 22797 Posts |
The T that came with the ball was the color of the cloth I believe.
It does not make much sense to have black on pink. Does it? |
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