PHENOMENON: Secrets Explained
mitchell_leary
not impressed. We saw parlour tricks, some items directly out of
dealer catalogs.
Let's now proceed with how this sillines was accomlished.
Trick #1: CARMEN GETS TOUCHED
This trick is right out of Sean Fields book EXPLICIT CONTENT. There
is a long, and I mean long thread running across the stage (think
Kevlar...this is live). It is raised and lowered by assistants to
tickle her nose, forhead, chest, ect. What gave it away is the fact
that the first thing the magician did was make them stand in specific
spots.
Trick #2: ANIMAL TRAP GUY
He showed us that the first smaller trap worked just fine, and look at
the damage it did. The bigger one must be more powerful. BS, the
spring was weakened. All of the standing on the trap to open it was
showmanship. Next time Trapper John use a bear trap with teeth. Leg
breaker traps aren't violent enough in my book.
Trick #3: NAIL GUN GUY
The nails in the cartridge were magnetized. A small concealed compass
went berzerk when the gun with the nails loaded in it was brought near
the compass.
Trick #4: TELEPHONE BOOK GUY
This used to be a dealer item way back in the '40s. If you have an
old Kanters or Max Holden catalog you can find it.
The entire trick centers around that slip of paper he placed on the
phone book being used. There's a little oblong window cut in it, just
big enough for a phone number to be seen through it.
There is a "force phone number" that's been glued behind the slipof
paper aligned with the window. When he places the paper on the phone
book this window is covered with the hand. The hand is run up and
down the column until she says stop, at which time he moves his hand
aside to reveal the forced phone number.
The dealer item was a heavy piece of metal with the window cut in it.
The forced phone number could pivot back and forth, so in the
beginning you cold show the window empty. The magician in tonights
show simply used an innocent piece of paper with a window cut in it.
Trick #5: URI'S AUDIENCE AT HOME PREDICTION
As with any good mentalism trick, this results are close, but not
right on the money.
The greater majority of people picked the "star" because it was the
only symbol that was solid (colored in). In a regular ESP deck this
isn't the case, the star is open in the center just like the swuare
and circle. It's placement had a great deal to do with it also.
Like I said, parlor tricks.
-Leary-
mitchell_leary
Reference the phone book test. The two "X's" in place of the
numbers. On the slip of paper the magician asked that a certain
number not be revealed. "Don't call out 5" (for example).
-Leary-
randwill
"mitchell_leary" <mitchel...@yahoo.com> wrote in message
news:1193290525....@e9g2000prf.googlegroups.com...
> Trick #1: CARMEN GETS TOUCHED
>
> This trick is right out of Sean Fields book EXPLICIT CONTENT. There
> is a long, and I mean long thread running across the stage (think
> Kevlar...this is live). It is raised and lowered by assistants to
> tickle her nose, forhead, chest, ect. What gave it away is the fact
> that the first thing the magician did was make them stand in specific
> spots.
Also credit to Banacek for his PK Touches, as Angel mentioned. The thread
theory is good, but it looked like a long way to any hidden wings on either
side of the platform they were on. I was thinking he had a thumb tip on his
downstage hand with a thin wire that he brushed across her face as he moved
his hand across her. There's a moment where he could have acquired it from
his buttoned jacket. Watch it again and notice the hand in relation to her.
>
> Trick #2: ANIMAL TRAP GUY
>
> He showed us that the first smaller trap worked just fine, and look at
> the damage it did. The bigger one must be more powerful. BS, the
> spring was weakened. All of the standing on the trap to open it was
> showmanship. Next time Trapper John use a bear trap with teeth. Leg
> breaker traps aren't violent enough in my book.
Yeah, pretty obvious. Off-stage help with the celebrity name?
>
>
> Trick #3: NAIL GUN GUY
>
> The nails in the cartridge were magnetized. A small concealed compass
> went berzerk when the gun with the nails loaded in it was brought near
> the compass.
>
Plausible, but I'd have to have at least three failsafe tells before I'd do
it.
>
> Trick #4: TELEPHONE BOOK GUY
>
> This used to be a dealer item way back in the '40s. If you have an
> old Kanters or Max Holden catalog you can find it.
>
> The entire trick centers around that slip of paper he placed on the
> phone book being used. There's a little oblong window cut in it, just
> big enough for a phone number to be seen through it.
>
> There is a "force phone number" that's been glued behind the slipof
> paper aligned with the window. When he places the paper on the phone
> book this window is covered with the hand. The hand is run up and
> down the column until she says stop, at which time he moves his hand
> aside to reveal the forced phone number.
>
> The dealer item was a heavy piece of metal with the window cut in it.
> The forced phone number could pivot back and forth, so in the
> beginning you cold show the window empty. The magician in tonights
> show simply used an innocent piece of paper with a window cut in it.
>
Yep, that's what I see too.
>
> Trick #5: URI'S AUDIENCE AT HOME PREDICTION
>
> As with any good mentalism trick, this results are close, but not
> right on the money.
>
> The greater majority of people picked the "star" because it was the
> only symbol that was solid (colored in). In a regular ESP deck this
> isn't the case, the star is open in the center just like the swuare
> and circle. It's placement had a great deal to do with it also.
>
> Like I said, parlor tricks.
>
I thought it was funny that the vote was only right by 1 percentage point.
Whodat
"mitchell_leary" <mitchel...@yahoo.com> wrote in message
news:1193290525....@e9g2000prf.googlegroups.com...
>
>
> This trick is right out of Sean Fields book EXPLICIT CONTENT. There
> is a long, and I mean long thread running across the stage (think
> Kevlar...this is live). It is raised and lowered by assistants to
> tickle her nose, forhead, chest, ect. What gave it away is the fact
> that the first thing the magician did was make them stand in specific
> spots.
>
Close but no cigar. This version does not use a very long thread nor
assistants. Chris Angel even told you that this version of the trick was
pioneered by Banachek (Steve Shaw). Those familiar with Steve's method
could see the touches happening.
The thread is between the magician's hands and the touch happens long before
the audience thinks it happens. Go back and watch the nose and the chin
touches. Watch before he walks over to the second spectator. You'll see
him brush the thread on her face. Good routining and spectator control is
what makes the audience think the touch happens later.
But what's your problem with "parlour tricks"? You didn't think this was
going to be real ESP, did you? With folks like Chris Angel and Uri Geller
promoting it didn't expect to see magicians on it?
Personally, I enjoyed seeing some stage magic on television. I only wish
that TV producers would get over everything having to be "reality" this,
"competition" that or "vote off the island" the other. Why do we need Angel
and Geller telling us if an act was good or not.
You sound pretty bitter about the whole show. What the matter, pissed you
weren't on it?
mitchell_leary
LOL, you might be onto something there Whodat. But the fact of the
matter is I'm not a magician. Never done a show in my life and
wouldn't even know where to start. I guess my collection of magic is
probably worth around fifty grand, but simply owning a bunch of tricks
does not a magician make...not in my book anyway. If I tried out for
that show it would be like the grocery store butcher showing up at med
school to give a lecture on surgery.
I do try to keep abreast of the latest books and dvds on magic. In
the Sean Fields book EXPLICIT CONTENT he uses a ITR to accomplish the
"touching from across the room" stunt. I only reasoned a longer
thread must be employed because I didn't see a place to anchor the ITR
on the stage. I've seen Kevlar Invisible Thread in magic shops in
spools of 250 feet. That would stretch across a stage nicely. It's
the fact that the magician on the show insisted she stand in a certain
spot and close her eyes. Thread work is just a logical conclusion to
me, but I'm open to your suggestions.
It will be interesting to see where this show goes. I would like to
see something that really fools me, something I have no explanaton
for. Time will tell.
-Leary-
Carlo Morpurgo
> LOL, you might be onto something there Whodat. But the fact of the
> matter is I'm not a magician. Never done a show in my life and
> wouldn't even know where to start.
AHAHAH!! Hilarious.....
carlo
Whodat
>
>
>
> It will be interesting to see where this show goes. I would like to
> see something that really fools me, something I have no explanaton
> for. Time will tell.
>
That's one of the problems with learning magic. With knowledge you lose the
sense of wonder that attracted you to it in the first place. But hopefully
you learn to enjoy the artistry that performers put into their acts. The
art is what turns mere "parlour tricks" into miracles. Even if you know how
it's done, you can still appreciate a good performance at many levels.
The careful positioning of the assistants on the PK Touch routine is
spectator management. It's part of the skill that contributes to
controlling the situation. In this case it's very important to the
positional and time misdirection used in the routine. Even knowing the
exact technique of what he was going to do before he started, I was
impressed with his handling of the situation, his presentation, his stage
presence and his routining. I thought it a very nice change from most of
the nonsense magic seen on TV lately.
Maxwell Lol
> Also credit to Banacek for his PK Touches, as Angel mentioned. The thread
> theory is good, but it looked like a long way to any hidden wings on either
> side of the platform they were on. I was thinking he had a thumb tip on his
> downstage hand with a thin wire that he brushed across her face as he moved
> his hand across her.
That's in Ormand McGill's _How to Produce Miracles_ from his Psychic Magic series.
He used a horsehair.
> Plausible, but I'd have to have at least three failsafe tells before I'd do
> it.
I think Penn and Teller have about 6 or more failsafes in their bullet
catch routine. I heard of someone who did a guillotine escape at a
magic convention, and it have zero failsafes. Real stupid.
Art
I disagree about telephone book. 6 people holding envelopes weren't picked
randomly from audience. Could have been stooges. Maybe envelopes weren't
empty at end of trick.
"mitchell_leary" <mitchel...@yahoo.com> wrote in message
news:1193290525....@e9g2000prf.googlegroups.com...
Will Tingle
<nos...@com.invalid> writes
>I think Penn and Teller have about 6 or more failsafes in their bullet
>catch routine.
I think I remember reading that there were 3, but that any one of them
was enough to prevent an actual shooting.
--
Will Tingle
--
Remove YOUR.PANTS to e-mail
--
"I take perverse delight in making people Homesless and taking every penny
off them."
-Dr. Jonathan Royle Hypnotist and Hypnosis Trainer
Maxwell Lol
> >I think Penn and Teller have about 6 or more failsafes in their bullet
> >catch routine.
>
> I think I remember reading that there were 3, but that any one of them
> was enough to prevent an actual shooting.
Perhaps. I think the information came from Banacheck. I don't remember where I saw it...
Jack Poulter
There was fairly extensive coverage in the "magic press" when P&T first
performed this routine. One story told how they consulted with a number
of their brethren, including Banachek. Afterwards P&T sent Steve a
fairly healthy fee. I confirmed the essence of this story when I had a
chance to speak to Steve at TAOM 97. I have no knowledge of the number
of failsafes involved.
saymor...@gmail.com
right after he test fired gun #6? There was no reason for him to reach
so deep into his pocket so I can only imagine it had something to do
with the trick. He just kept on talking like nothing was going on.
On Oct 29, 4:47 pm, Maxwell Lol <nos...@com.invalid> wrote:
Will Tingle
<nos...@com.invalid> writes
IIRC Banacheck gave them his bullet catch - they refined it into the P&T
bullet catch, and after it was a hit, they gave him a generous sum by
way of thanks.
Adam Schwartz
well!
neo...@webtv.net
shows on TV. It does not matter how an illusion is accomplished as long
as it creates a sense of wonder in the audience. A lot of this comes
from presentation David Blaine ? the man from Kentucky who has his own
theater in Vegas has the best stage presence I`ve seen. The biggest
problem with big magic is that the set up for many acts is the same (
object disappears behind screen or magician guesses something written
down by an audience member ) , When a number of illusions of this sort
have been seen they lose their wonder and the only concern becomes how
they were done. If I was aware of how the basic trickery is done I`d be
interested in possible new wrinkles introduced by performers. I have an
imperfect recollection of the telephone book trick , so the explanations
here don`t really fill in as much as I need to put everything together.
But , the reason for this post is to ask a basic question about a staple
stage illusion : illusionist asks member of audience to write down
something , it is hidden then illusionist pulls card out of deck or
piece of paper from sealed enveloupe with the correct word or drawing .
How is this done ? Stephen