Lance Burton / Coaster
DoveTester
like 90 seconds from the time the train started down the first drop until it
made the circuit to where ha had been chained to the tracks.
No big mystery, he had a pick and the viewers could easily see him use it to
pop the locks. But, just at the last moment ( dramatic effect? ) he gets the
last lock open and jumps clear of the tracks. The replay appeared as if his
foot was almost clipped by the first car.
Either it was a very good, dramatic touch, but it looked very close and he even
made the comment on how stupid the escape was.
Being a magic viewer, an occasional bad card trick at parties, what's the NG's
opinion? Real or hype?
TIA
Davescallan
afternoon and has long hard shadows?
Notice the shadow Lance casts on the tracks as he jumps clear.
Notice Lance casts NO shadow on the coaster cars as they flash by.
Also........ Think about whether the Park managment would allow this type of
stunt
if it was a real split-second escape.
I love magic, do magic and I think Lance is great but this kind of stuff leaves
me cold.
Digital manipulation is too easy of a way out, and it's getting easier every
day.
Doug Wheeler
news:19991110233316...@ng-cl1.aol.com...
> Did you notice that the sequence was shot in either early morning or late
> afternoon and has long hard shadows?
> Notice the shadow Lance casts on the tracks as he jumps clear.
> Notice Lance casts NO shadow on the coaster cars as they flash by.
>
> Also........ Think about whether the Park managment would allow this type
of
> stunt if it was a real split-second escape.
I doubt they'd even allow the cars to start while there was a chain around
part of the track.
--Doug
Defiant
didn't have a pick. Some people just want to do some of the wackiest things.
Although I would never attempt it, I thought it was pretty cool.
The management of the park he did that at probably had a guarantee that they
would not be held responsible for it if he screwed up.
Anyway, that's how I feel.
-Defiant
DoveTester <dovet...@aol.com> wrote in message
news:19991110231224...@ng-fg1.aol.com...
markbal...@mindspring.com
because it was headed straight at the camera. similar to camera shots in
movie where you see lonesome strangers casually walking across railroad
tracks with train appearing to just miss them.
--
Mark Byrne
markbal...@mindspring.com
http://markballoonguy.home.mindspring.com
"Bad to the Balloon"
William Page
computer trickery we shoot in one complete camera shot and don't cut
away untill the illusion is complete :)
http://community.webtv.net/magic-bill/illusionideas/index.html
rock
Vulcaniya
various segments of the track out of serious order of the way it is laid. It
is also important to note that lift time alone on that ride is around 60
seconds. Furthermore, there is a brakezone about 300 feet before the point
where Lance was tied at. The cutaway shots were stock footage edited from
various previous runs of the coaster.
Do I think it was faked? Probably not. I do think the most important thing
about the mistake was Lance's confessional after he hit the platform - "That
was stupid. That was very, very stupid". The train, perhaps not as close as
it seemed, was Very close. And, in this it is in the same closeness as
horseshoes and handgernades. Especially handgernades.
Lance cut it too close for his own comfort.
TDC Lady Vulcaniya, Ambassadress Of Discovery Bay and Keeper Of The Temporal
Lighthouse
"Spanning the eras of time and the wonders of the imagination; the Lighthouse
guides the way to Discovery Bay."
Defiant
I'm sure that there were some trickery about it, but it was undoubtedly
close. I was surprised that he actually admitted that it was a stupid thing
to try. That, to me, makes him sound honest.
-Defiant
Vulcaniya <vulc...@aol.comSteamage> wrote in message
news:19991112224116...@ng-cs1.aol.com...
Clive Court
like the
escape originated by Australia's Tony Laffan at Brisbane's Dreamworld. I think he
played
there for about three years. He will be a Sydney's major Amusement park for the
next
year or so...so if you're heading down under for the Olympic Games...you should
know
that the Aussie magicians are preparing some additional magic for the Olympics.
Good
on them!
The Funslinger
They're also launching a new magic magazine,AMM2000 in January.
Vulcaniya
>I'm just curious, but how do you know about the 300 foot breakzone?
I've ridden DESPERADO on many occasions. I know the track. Coaster fan.
>I was surprised that he actually admitted that it was a stupid thing
>to try. That, to me, makes him sound honest.
>
Yup. I respect Lance. He is probably the best in our art for being
approachable and for just being a "person". I find a lot of "what you see is
what you get". I'll go see him far faster than I would Copperfield, Siggy &
Roy. His show is great and his
presence is very good. And, he is still the best bargain when it comes to show
cost and what your receive when it comes to Vegas.
Stephen Kodat
DoveTester <dovet...@aol.com> wrote in message
news:19991110231224...@ng-fg1.aol.com...
> Did anyone catch the Lance Burton / roller coaster escape? He had
something
> like 90 seconds from the time the train started down the first drop until
it
> made the circuit to where ha had been chained to the tracks.
>
<deletion>
> opinion? Real or hype?
>
> TIA
Hype. After repeated frame-by-frame viewing of the tape, I found nearly
definitive proof of computer compositing. If you watch the horizontal strut
that is directly beneath him, there is a shadow cast upon it which, as LB
leaves the track and the coaster arrives, is digitally wiped from one frame
to the next, leaving the strut in sunlight just as the coaster passes over
it.
And didn't you notice? There was no live audience for this
once-in-a-lifetime attempt.
Who cares? What difference does it make? Not much in the greater scheme of
things, but on the level of magicians performing on TV, this is just another
example of using camera tricks to improve a performance. The problem is,
with computer enhancements, anyone can be a great magician.
Does this mean that magicians should only perform live? I'll leave that to
others to wrangle over.
Steve K
Art Begun
> Does this mean that magicians should only perform live? I'll leave that
to
> others to wrangle over.
>
> Steve K
>
>
Doug Henning's early specials were all live - not on tape.
The first few were outstanding but one went poorly and
after that they went to tape.
William Page
tape.
http://community.webtv.net/magic-bill/illusionideas/index.html
The Amazing Ruskin
illusions I have seen without a "No camera tricks" statement.
Mike
The Amazing Ruskin <Coolu...@webtv.net> wrote:
>Definitely computer cobbed. This illusion was one of the first TV
>illusions I have seen without a "No camera tricks" statement.
This show has just aired in the UK.
I vote with digital manipulation. Here are the clues if you have the
tape of the show. Watch the replays carefully on single frame.
The side shot replay (where he leaps "toward" the camera) has an
obvious glitch in it. As he leaves the track, look a small distance
to *your* left of his right foot. There is a shadow cast onto one
of the big yellow struts. As you inch foward by frames, a lump of
that shadow will just "click" away to yellow. A few frames later, a small
piece nearby does the same, all just before the coaster gets there. There
is also weird stuff happening in the shrubbery that appears to be just
below + behind his bum. Also, as has been noted, he casts no shadow
in this side shot onto the coaster, but his legs cast 2 small shadows
on the rail. This is wrong.
The main "ahead" shot (where he jumps to the right) has a glitch too.
On the right hand rail (in the picture) there are 2 small dark shadows
which also disappear frame by frame just ahead of the coaster.
I have some stills of these points, if anyone wants me to webify them
just reply here or drop me an Email, I'll highlight the bits and put
them up.
--
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
Michael Brown Personal: mjb @ pootle. .co.
http://www.pootle.demon.co.uk/ demon uk