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chias Regular user 144 Posts |
I wish to begin a study of the zombie ball illusion.
I plan to get Raymond Crowe's Naked Zombie Ball and L&L's Zombie Ball (World's Greatest Magic) DVDs. Are there any other resources that are a must-have, and would provide information or valuable tips that are not already included in the above-mentioned resources? Also, I will have to purchase the gimmick as well. Are there any differences between Vernet and Uday? http://www.murphysmagic.com/s.nl/it.A/id.3139/.f http://www.murphysmagic.com/s.nl/it.A/id.4747/.f Sorry if I sound ignorant or incoherent. Thanks in advance! |
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Dynamike Eternal Order FullTimer 24148 Posts |
Tim Wright's DVD is a great one: http://mymagic.com/wright.htm
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David Todd Inner circle 2328 Posts |
Vernet's ball is lightweight plastic , with a sligthly sparkly textured surface (not completely smooth surface) .
Look carefully at the photo of the Vernet zombie and be sure that is what you want. It's not like the traditional smooth surface zombie ball. I have never seen or used Uday's but in general I have not been impressed with the quality of the props I've seen made by Uday. Maybe their Zombie is fine, but I would be careful . Morrissey Magic makes a good zombie ball. I believe I've heard that the "Ickle Pickle"version is good too. Crowe's "Naked Zombie" routine is superb, but really a different thing than the traditional zombie ball routine. It's worth having and studying and if you can do it like Raymond Crowe then you'll have a great routine. I haven't seen the L & L Zombie Ball DVD you mentioned, but I believe this is the one with teaching from Jeff McBride, Tommy Wonder, and Al Schneider , yes ? If that's the one then you will have a very good resource for performing Zombie. If you want other resources I'd recommend the Losander Zombie routine DVD and Tim Wright's DVD on Zombie. I think that Tommy Wonder and Losander have done the best work on how to give a convincing illusion that the object is really floating under the cloth. If you can watch how Tommy Wonder floats his wonderful birdcage then you're seeing his theory put into practice (note: Tommy Wonder's floating birdcage is "based-on" the zombie principle, but is not exactly the same as a standard zombie . However, 99% of the effect is in the performer's mime/acting skills to put over the idea that the ball is an independent floating object. That's where Tommy Wonder's performance excels, beyond the technical marvels of his modifications to the principle . This can not be discussed here in an open forum , but as you study the zombie effect you will understand) . Here are some YouTube clips where you can watch Tommy Wonder perform his floating cage. This is what a floating object (ball , cage, lightbulb, shoe, whatever) should look like: Tommy Wonder Clip 1 (in that first clip the cage is part of his longer act, so you get to see him doing other magic) . Tommy Wonder Clip 2 (the second clip is a special dramatic presentation using the floating cage. Again, a great example to study for how to convincingly mime a floating object) Another good performance of Zombie that I've seen is Tim Drake's - Timothy Drake Floating Ball clip |
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David Todd Inner circle 2328 Posts |
There's also a good book on the topic that is out-of-print called "Zombie The Floating Ball Teach-In" by Lewis Ganson , part of the old Ganson's "Teach-In" series that was published by Supreme Magic in England.
Supreme is long gone and the book has been out of print, but I noticed that it is available again as an e-book PDF download from Lybrary.com . $9.00. http://www.lybrary.com/zombie-floating-b......017.html It's a legal e-book edition. From the title page of the e-book: Copyright © 1977 by Martin Breese Ebook prepared and published 2008 by Lybrary.com – http://www.lybrary.com All rights reserved. We thank Martin Breese, the owner of all Supreme Magic Co. copyrights, for his kind permission to reproduce this publication in digital form. |
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Chris Inner circle lybrary.com 1177 Posts |
You might also want to look into "Joe Karson Beyond Zombie" http://www.lybrary.com/karson-beyond-zombie-p-303.html
Joe Karson invented the Zombie - not a bad idea to read up on the person and his invention if you intend to perform it.
Lybrary.com preserving magic one book at a time.
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ibm_usa Special user In Your Mind, Ky, USA 722 Posts |
My suggestion would be to make a zombie ball out of styrofoam, get the handling of the gimmick before purchasing a real zombie ball. The styrofoam ball should be used to practice with. Zombies are made of spun aluminum and can be dented when dropped, practice with the styrofoam and perform with the aluminum.
"You may think that i only talk of things from the past, you know, history, well magic is history"
-Guy Jarrett "Curiosity isn't a sin Harry, but it should be exorcised with great caution." -Albus Dumbledore (Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire) http://www.jordanallen-mentalist.webs.com/ |
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chias Regular user 144 Posts |
Thanks everyone!
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Kent Wong Inner circle Edmonton, Alberta, Canada 2458 Posts |
That second video clip of Tommy Wonder was priceless! That was the first time I have ever seen him not wearing a tuxedo. It was a very well motivated routine with a definite beginning, middle and end. Thanks for sharing the link.
Kent
"Believing is Seeing"
<BR>______________________ <BR> <BR>www.kentwongmagic.com |
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magicians Inner circle Teacher and Legend 2898 Posts |
My Zombie was introduced in 1977 and was only seen twice since then. The clips are short and there were two back to back shows on the video from this year.
I have a performance on my site. http://magicians.podbean.com/village-ball/ I wore sunglasses because I had some eye problems (double vision) that night. Mine is not a known method.
Illusionist, Illusionist consulting, product development, stage consultant, seasoned performer for over 35 years. Specializing in original effects. Highly opinionated, usually correct, and not afraid of jealous critics. I've been a puppet, a pirate, a pawn and a King. Free lance gynecologist.
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magicians Inner circle Teacher and Legend 2898 Posts |
Check this out
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s8qD8MacuM4&feature=related
Illusionist, Illusionist consulting, product development, stage consultant, seasoned performer for over 35 years. Specializing in original effects. Highly opinionated, usually correct, and not afraid of jealous critics. I've been a puppet, a pirate, a pawn and a King. Free lance gynecologist.
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Jeffrey Korst New user SF Bay Area 92 Posts |
One of the best resources for zombie is an out of print book by Al Schneider--Al Schneider on Zombie.
If you want to make it look like it is floating, this--along with Tommy Wonder--is the one. Find it. |
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L Trunk Loyal user Australia 207 Posts |
You can get the Zombie booklet from his site. He's put it into electronic format.
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ed rhodes Inner circle Rhode Island 2885 Posts |
I had an inexpensive Zombie made from "hard foam." (If that makes sense.) I decided it would look cool covered in glitter. So I ran glue all around the ball and ran it through some silver glitter and waited for the glue to dry.
It never did. It just ate its way through the ball! By the time it was finally done, the thing was about the size of a tangerine! Plastic cement is not always your friend!
"...and if you're too afraid of goin' astray, you won't go anywhere." - Granny Weatherwax
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johnmagic Regular user 13419 fitzhugh road austin tx 78736 109 Posts |
One of the best Zombie Ball routine was performed by Master Magician Lance Burton.He took it to a new level.He fooled magician with it. Maybe you can see it on you tube .He was on the Johnny Carson Show . Magicians post Zombie looked Great!!!
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Cyberqat Inner circle You can tell I work on the net from my 2209 Posts |
Quote:
On 2008-08-07 18:15, magicians wrote: Gorgeous, and I love the music choice!
It is always darkest just before you are eaten by a grue.
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Cyberqat Inner circle You can tell I work on the net from my 2209 Posts |
Quote:
On 2008-08-10 11:40, magicians wrote: A little goth for my tastes but very clever
It is always darkest just before you are eaten by a grue.
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chias Regular user 144 Posts |
I agree, that is a very creative idea.
Thanks again people. |
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SpellbinderEntertainment Inner circle West Coast 3519 Posts |
Viking Magic currently carries the best quality ball available
(imported from Italy) though the gimmick is very traditional. RNT II is working on a quality set for the future. Jim Sommer’s gimmick is very good, though hard to find now. The Al Schneider’s e-book on “Schneider on Zombie” is still the best out there, and Jeb Sherrill’s DVD’s on “Zombie Reanimated” are encyclopedic in nature. Please do a detailed search of the Café I feel like a parrot repeating myself every time someone asks about Floating Ball resources. Thanks, Walt |
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SpellbinderEntertainment Inner circle West Coast 3519 Posts |
Some emailed me with specific Floating Ball questions,
so I thought I’d summarize what is out there once again. See “Overview of Floating Ball Styles” in the “The Banquet Room”: “Secret sessions” section. Magically, Walt |
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maharajademagia Regular user 127 Posts |
[quote]On 2008-08-04 10:34, David Todd wrote:
I have never seen or used Uday's but in general I have not been impressed with the quality of the props I've seen made by Uday. Maybe their Zombie is fine, but I would be careful . [/quote If you want a shinning smooth surface metal product than Uday's product is not bad at all. It comes with the ball, the gimmick, a black foulard and the stand. Basically there are two types of balls. One with a small hole and one with a large hole where the gimmick fits. I find the large hole ones are easier to pick up from the base. Have been using Uday's Zombie for more that 5 years and it is shining perfectly and works like heaven. And it was the cheapest on the shelf. I find it slightly heavy for me, but that also keeps me away from performing it for too long. |
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