What do you, the magician who has done children's birthdays, recommend for Floating the Birthday Child without them being "in" on the secret, that will fit in a pick-up truck and will not have to sell my pick-up truck in order to afford it?

I have seen an ad for a chair suspension that SAYS they end up floating, leaning only on the one chair, cost $330 (US).

Others? Opinions? Comments?

Thanks

I've seen this chair suspension performed surrounded, and it is probabaly the only suspension which "would do the trick" inside a house.

The kids will want to look all around and this illusion fits the bill.

Thanks Dennis. If I decide to drop the dough, I'll let everyone know my review.

I perform a chair suspension in birthday party kidshows and it fits the requirements. I wouldn't use any other levitation or suspension under those circumstances.

If you have good control over your birthday audience you could use the floating carpet. I used to use it but the wow factor didn't offset carrying the silly thing to three shows on a Saturday!!!

I never owned a chair suspension but worked with a magican who used one and always got a good response with it. I used to help pack and it is much lighter and packs flatter than a floating carpet.

However, with the chair suspension, come up with a way to deal with the fact that someone will shout out (kids and adults) "remove the other chair." The magician I worked with always pretended never to hear it but we struggled to come up with a line if that was ever shouted out...If you think about it you can't blame someone for shouting it out!! That would be a great effect to pull out both chairs!!!

There was an effect created like the floating carpet called Float Me Alone. It was a series of suitcases that you could bring out on stage and set up in front of the audience and float someone from the audence. However, I have never seen it but it might be worth looking into...

Hope my two cents helped!!!

The Chair Suspension works awesome! I incorporate the chairs throughout my show. That way when it comes time for the levitation, the only prop I'm adding to the stage is the board.

I have never had anyone tell me that I should remove the other chair. The mere fact that a child is floating (in reality suspending off one chair) visually looks great.

Cheers... Robert

I used to get "remove the other chair" all the time. Dealt with it by changing the presentation to one of moving the child's center of gravity. If you get the child you are using to chant "Fat Head" it's a roar.

I use the flying carpet all the time. One of the main benefits of using it is that it can stay in all one piece so only one trip to the car for it, and it has wheels which is nice.

On the downside it is a bit cumbersome and I dread the sight of stairs leading up to a front door then up to a living room, but I charge enough extra for it that I get over that really fast.

oliver

I've just seen "Float Me Alone" by Skip Daniels on Hank Lee's website. It looks really good. Does anyone know more about it? Is it as good as it looks in the catalogue?

The use of an assistant will greatly reduce your frequency of the floating person being in on how the illusion really works.

If you work alone, there are two misdirection methods that even work for me! One is to give the child a wand and tell them to always face the audience and to hold the wand in between himself and the audience. Ask him/her to watch the wand very closely.

The other is to place the volunteer on the surface while standing between the volunteer and the audience. Take out a 36" silk to vanish the volunteer. (Of course, that hasn't worked yet.) But then there is a very large silk available now to use to hide the gimmicks from the volunteer. The audience can't see it anyway. Correctly done, to the audience it appears that the silk hangs from the floating surface between the volunteer and the screen. To the volunteer. it appears to be on the screen or in your hand. (You have simply blocked the volunteer's vision behind.)

Bob Sanders
Magic By Sander

Great trick I do the chair supension. all the gids gasp.

My recommend would have to be the Klamm chair suspension. As I understand it, the 'support board' that is eventually removed is cut to be very easy to slip in and out from under the volunteers' shoulders, a touch that other models may not have. I have found that this little feature is well worth getting this model for...but then again, I have never had any other model.

"Hyp-mo-tize" the kid. Tie a balloon onto the child's feet and the whole thing is no longer a 'remove the other chair' thing. You can also play this a tad slower with this premise and build suspense. Your 'patter' includes the lines for 'Hyp-mo-tizing' them at each step, so it plays longer and builds suspense..
I think anyone using this one would recommend it. Lightweight (sorta) convenient, surrounded, nothing to hide (sorta)...and the price is great!!!

I like the chair supension better then super-X. Once you get the kid on the board you could use visable sawing. Then go into the supension


Ray

I've use both the Carpet and the Chair suspension. The Flying carpet works great, but I'm looking for an alternative. The Chair suspention is a bit less compact and awkward for me to do in a home. It takes more then one trip to carry in and you hve to hide the gimmick.
Curious about how those who've had sucess with it in homes, how they "get into" it. Do you leave it set up during your show? If so, how do you work around it (the carpet is on wheels..I just roll it where I want). If I leave the chair suspension set up it's like a large counter behind me and I have to move everything out of the way. If I set it up if front of them there is the risk of 'tipping' the secret (and even then, in a home, the long board has to be out of the way until...).

I'd also like to hear about other suspentions and levataions that might work well in this venue besides these two.

Has anyone tried the "Diabolo Illusion," or the "Yogano Saturn Levitation?" What about (and I don't remember the name) the one where a spectator is suspended above a box on a balloon..then the balloon removed? What about other versions of the carpet such as "Float me alone"? There must be a lot more out there....

I like how all of these tricks sound but where can I find them?

What line did you come up with to use when someone shouted it out?

I think a presentation in which you are not "floating" the person may alleviate the shouts of "remove the other chair." I have friends you have encountered the same problem -- then agin, this is the same drawback as the Broom Suspension. Presented as an impossible balancing feat may work. Or how about attaching a helium balloon to the feet and have that "magically" support the lower body?

I have been using a "flying carpet" for over twenty years and have had pretty good success with it. I "warn" the parents to save film for the "big trick at the end" I stand behind the "carpet holding one sword with the child holding the other. This gives the child something to do (hold the sword) and makes a fantastic picture. The picture often looks better then the performance. I have seldom had problems with kids or adults guessing the gaff.

I bought a chair suspension some time ago. I don't recall the manufacturer. It has a red flannel cover for the gaff that gets wrapped around the child. this allows you to remove the board. My problem is that I have never gotten either of my daughters to lie comfortably on the gaff. They feel very unstable and nervous. They also complain about the discomfort of hanging thier head over the side.

I would appreciate any tips on positioning the volunteer on the board. I understand that many do this trick with a person from the audiance.

The idea with the helium ballon sounds great. If you want to move the set up around after it is set up, an inexpensive piece of 3/4 inch plywood, cut to size and fitted with wheels might do the trick.

SOrry for such a long first post.

Fccfp,

First forget the wheels on the chair suspension. It is not made to do this, and can become dangerous. Plus, it does not make sense to have wheels on the chair.

If you seen Penn & Teller presentation on Letterman show you can see the proper way to present it with a spectator.

They have to lift their legs to slightly above level. Yes they must have the strength to do this and it is very uncomfortable. That is what alot of illusions require for the effect, being in uncomfortable positions.

The version I have seen with metal folding chairs is not very stable in my opinion. The helium balloon sounds nice idea. This is put on the assistants feet to hold them up.