I am just as amazed by the technical side of illusion shows, the illusions themselves. Did you see the show that DC taped for his Tornado of Fire show where he performed in the round? How do you think the illusions were placed on stage? Was the entire show in the round? I am just curious to see what people think as to how it was done.

Having taped several television specials (I am a cameraman by trade) I can assure you that the taping of the one-hour special was not done in one hour. Several illusions are sometimes performed multiple times. Some of the close-ups may even be shot after an audience has left. They are called cutaways and are sometimes difficult to shoot without disrupting the flow of an illusion.

Case in point if you watch one of his specials (I think it is the one where he escapes from the straightjacket with the rope on fire?). In this special he is performing on stage and there is a shot taken from a camera that is very close to him. It is a steadicam shot and the cameraman is right on stage beside him. They then cut immediately to a wide shot and the cameraman is no where to be seen. It was obviously a shot from a second or third run through. This is not to say there is any tricky editing (IN this case) but makes the show much more appealing to the viewer.

As for moving props on stage it can be done between recordings or if real sensitive, curtains could be flown in and then removed prior to rolling tape.

My 2 cents
Scott

I believe the TOF special was taped over a two- or three-day time period. When it comes to taping magic specials, the emphasis is on the television audience, not the live audience. Thus, if the live audience sees how something is done, it is not important because everything is geared to the impression being made on the much larger TV viewing audience.

It is true that there were multiple takes, multiple performances of the same illusions, etc. in order to get all of the shots. It turned out wonderfully though and I assure you, if you go see DC's live show you will find it even more amazing than what you saw on TV! It's all the same and better, no trick photography!

--Jack

Hi There,

The special was taped in five days! Two days with a complete audience. During these days they only did the audience participation stuff, some applause cues and panorama shots but little illusion shots. The illusions (like Laser etc.) were shot separately on the other three days, with just parts of the audience (just the guys in the back of the stage and the first rows in front).

Oliver

Hi Oliver,

Sounds like you were at the taping. Seems like you have a lot of information about how the show was recorded. Were you there? If so, how did they go about selecting audience members? Just curious.

Scott