Hi folks,

I noticed on some of the other threads that a number of you float the birthday child.

What illusion have you found to be the best for this?

I used to do a show in conjunction with another kids magician and we would use the flying carpet (it belonged to the other guy), however, there could be slight angle problems with this one.

I assume that a lot of guys use the chair suspension, do you ever have trouble getting the kid to just lay down?

Which of the above illusions do you prefer, or is there another one which is better?

Looking forward to your replies.

Cheers
Billy

Ive used hcair suspension and had a lot of fun with it
never used the carpet so I cant comment

so this was a pointless post really - lol

I have used both and I prefer the chair suspension. Thisn has been discussed in detail a lot so I will not go into too much details here. If you do a search under chair suspensiopn, I am sure you will find the threads I am referring to. We went into details a lot on the pros and cons of each illusion and many people commented on whay they chose what they use.

If anyone wants specific information on the chair suspension or ideas and suggestions, please just PM me. I would be happy to help out. I perform this illusion more times then any other I own.

Kyle

I actually purchased a Flying Carpet several months back to use in my B-day shows. (The quality of this particular "no-name" illusion was less than expected, but that's another story) The problem I see is, not tipping the illusion. Crowd control would have to be excellent for one of the children to not take a peek round back and tip the illusion to everyone. How can this be managed in a house? The concept sounded great, but in practice It seems problematic.

Scott .

I've just brought the chair suspension today. Messed about with it just now with a neighbours 10 year old. I'm well happy with it. Although I probably wont be using it in my show for at least a month yet, I have to get a routine and be confortable with it before I actually use it.

Hi Billy,

The Flying Carpet is great especially for photo ops of the birthday child, etc.
However, I concede that you have to be very careful with your angles.

The chair suspension works so much better for a b-day party situation. You have less angle problems and it packs down flater and easier to transport in my opinion.

Kyle

I have a flying carpet that breaks down into 3 pieces....love it! The problem I feel with the chair susp. is that the child may not want to lay down on a board.

Concerning how to handle angle problems with the flying carpet, I know of a magician who has a portable stage curtain that he brings as part of his show: it has a main curtain that draws and small wings. It helps blocking bad angles, prevents the kids from sneaking round the sodes or back, and is also prevents the kids from coming before or after the show to try to mess about with props.

Cover the flying carpet with a nice table cloth before using it and after using it. To limit the angles, place yourself in a corner of the room.

Andre Le Magicien

Todd:

The child not wanting to lay down can be a problem. However, with my routine and the way I have leanred to handle the chair suspension, I have never had a problem with it. Infact the child wants to partake in it by the time I even get them close to the illusion. It really is all in how you set this up in yourroutine to 1) get the kid to relax 2) let them know they can trust you and 3) that they will be made the star of the show. I do this through several key methods in my patter of the effect and it works quite well.

The angle problems of setting up and performing the flying carpet is one reason why I do not perform it. The chair suspension does not have as many angle limitations, can be set up right in front of them, can be done surrounded and packs up smaller in most cases and takes up less room. Just my personal opinion at any rate. I still love both effects, I just find chair suspension to work much better in a b-day party situation.

Kyle

My take on the flying carpet is that it is suspect due to how the support is removed and placed behind. It still says "connection" to many. They might not know what is going on but the other parts (hoop and turn) have to be "SOLD" to break it.
It has been a while since I have seen the effect but if the child sitting is curious, can't they turn there head and see the "X"?


The Chair is great but CHARGE EXTRA if you are doing it at a B-DAY. That is a big trick not to be given away.

There is one issue with the CS, I have not seen addressed. The poor Birthday child has NO idea what is going on WHILE it is going on.
Sure they can tape it and sure you can take a Polaroid, but in my experience having used this on STAGE for huge groups of children and in small B-day settings, when the child on the board hears the gasps or the "your floating" they can start to move around trying to see what is going on with them. This can add a wiggle in the set up that breaks some of the illusion. It is easier to keep them still on stage but in a Bday they can better hear their friends and want to feel part of it.
Don't forget they don't FEEL anything different but want to experience what the kids are oohing and ahhing about.

That is the one thing that I always felt bad about. I do an entire story with a special person yet at the end I would hear people ask the child how it was to be floating. Sadly they can not tell them anything with honesty.
The experience is actually better for those who view the magic. (I guess that is a good lesson for the child if they wish to be a magician)

This sounds cool. afterall it is all about the childs experience.

Well then Mghia it sounds like it might be time to look into a re-design of hte floating effect, and how the floatee experiences it! I can think of a few things but will they work? I cannot say just yet, I will have to make some experiments!

I, too, am looking to introduce one of these types of illusion into my kids show. I must confess I don't know overly much about them, so can I ask - is there any way the child could 'sit' on the chair suspension instead of lying down? Does this affect the working of it? Please excuse my ignorance!

Jon

We use the chair suspension as a "value added" item and charge more for including it in our performance. I send an e-mail picture of the illuson in use or a printed image (if the customer has no e-mail), and have closed more gigs by offering the chair suspension. Since the public does not know the difference between a suspension and levitation, I call it a levitation when discussing with the prospect. It took us a few performances in the beginning to overcome some of the snags that we encountered while performing, but now it goes really smooth. We use a small footstool to help the child get up on the board. We assemble everything in front of the audience. It is usually the grand finale, so I announce that we will be resetting the "stage" and will have everything set up in a few minutes. While doing this I play 'setting up the stage type music'fairly loud. When all set up, I announce that what we are about to attempt requires no loud noise other than my music, and no movement for it to work. We then turn on the special music fairly loud volume, and I TURN OFF my mic. I turn off the mic so I can constantly talk to the child. During the suspension, I whisper: "you are going to be famous", "It's almost over now", "Lay perfectly still", etc. Also, When we arrive at the party, my wife (who is my assistant) talks to the party organizer and selects the child to be used. We desire one who can follow directions and "Lie still and stiff like a soldier". Sometimes you run into situations which need to be addressed immediately. We placed one child on the board and she began to cry, so we removed her and substituted another immediately. So, it pays to have a plan B.

We have a super X too, but the chair suspension is much better for portability and angles, etc. We still do the Super X , but charge much more for it.

In a nutshell, one of the best investments we have ever made was the chair suspension. It has paid for itself over and over and over again.

Wow, all this talk about how great the chair suspension is really makes me want to buy it and include it in my act. We'll see how things go but this is becoming a possibility! Thanks all.
SanCho

This is really a cool thread. I am just getting back into the kid show business after almost a thirty year lay off (YIKES!). This is due in no small part to my suddenly becoming self employed (i.e. laid off from the day job). I have been performing the odd private gig and doing street work pretty regularly for the last 5 years. A lot of this has involved working for kids but, as I am sure you will all attest it is different than having a Kid Show.

Anyway, in pulling this thing together the Harbin Chair Suspension has been calling to me like a gallon of ice cream from the freezer on a Saturday night, "C'mon Dan, buy me! You know you want to, all the cool kids are doing it..." I'm sure some of you know what I am talking about.

But, when I look at the show I have for kids I am really confident in the stuff I have. I mean, I have a routine for the old Supreme Spaceman Sam that kills! I do magic, hat manipulation, rola bola, juggle, I play the ukelele..ukalay...uke..er...one of those little guitar things (You should hear me do Hendrix's purple haze with a Kazoo solo). I am fun, dang it, and so is my show!

That being said, do I really NEED a chair suspension? Especially seeing I refuse to buy one of those Samsonite cheap and saggy jobs for $500. So If I want one it will cost me a down payment on a Cadillac. I think the answer is no. And at this point I am convinced that this is the way to go.

BUT some of you guys have been showing me the path to the holy light of the up sell. Now THAT is intriguing and makes a lot of sense. Why give away a cool trick (I beg your pardon Illusion)like that? I agree I think if you lug a floater you should score at least an extra $50 for it.

I am always terrified that I will buy some big honking trick that I will have to lug around that becomes so popular that I won't be able to do a show without it. I like the idea of working out of one case and I think kiddie magic, birthday parties in particular, are the perfect vehicle for that. I mean with all of the audience participation you have to do, everyone gets to be involved in at least one really cool trick. They are going to be talking about you in a positive way weather or not you float little Timmy, right? So, with the limited space you have in most birthday parties I don't think I want to lug it around. But, the idea of the up sell is really making me scratch my Chin over it. Hmmmm...ponder..

Anyway, this has been great reading for a guy like me who is on the fence about the whole idea.

I'd like to ask a couple of questions to all of you guys who do this trick if you don't mind.

1. Do you think your show is just as good without it as it is with it.

2. What percentage of your bookings do you think are directly related to this one trick? I mean I am sure it looks cool as anything to have a picture of little Timmy floating in your brochure or on your video. The customers must eat that up.

Thanks,

Dan-

That is true that they can get that way IF your routine allows for that to happen. I make it an effort and do things in my routine to build trust in the child and I speak to them through out the routine. The musioc I play also helps and the child just never really has the chance notr wants to move. I really think it is all in how you set up for the illusion before jumping right into it.

I do this at b-day parties, festivals and theaters and I never have a problem with the child moving once they are on there.

The way you solve them feeling down about not seeing what happened is by taking a polaroid as they are floating. Trust me that this makes a world of difference. You present this to them in front of the audience and when they see themselves floating, their face lights up and it is really a magical moment that they can indeed share with everyone.

They can not sit on the chair suspension. It is a weight distribution effect and the laying down on the board minimizes movement and looks more magical. There is no reason a child would not want to lay down if you set the illusion and routine up the proper way.

Using a footstool is an important key in helping you help them to relax and sit down and lay down on it the proper way. I use a step stool every performance of this effect.

I paid my chair suspension off time and time again. It has just been such a great staple to any show I do. The fact that it packs down flat, sets up easily and can be done virtually surrounded is such a strong selling point to anyone. Sure it is an investment but it is an investment well made.

Any true magician will never rely on just one mere effect to be dependent on whether the show is good or not. If you have to rely on it that much, then you really need to rehtink your show. The idea of the chairs is that you are adding a nice effect as an ending to a great show. It is just one more ingredient that makes for a complete experience.

Certainly if you have a suspension you want to be able to market it. Yes, b-day parents eat it up when you tell them their own son or daughter will float in the air in their home. It is a big selling point that they get excited about. It certainly does help complete the sale.

If anyone has any questions on the chair suspensiopn, post here or feel free to PM me at anytime.

Kyle

This just in: I have a good friend of mine who is moving and has a FLYING CARPET just like mine that BREAKS DOWN flat. He wants to get rid of it because he is no longer doing birthday parties. It breaks down into 4 pieces and comes with a nice carrying case that zips up.

If you are interested, please PM and we can discuss it in more detail. He wants $275.00 (which includes shipping.)

FYI: This is a customized model, not one bought from a magic store. The fact that it folds down flat makes it great. Also, rather than swords, he uses magic wands.