Ah, Bizzaro, you've caught me fishing to see if anyone else did it. I saw that guy too. I guess it looked ok

My Zombie Coffin Illusion has the ball float without the foulard at the begining of the routine, Im not trying to get you to buy it but rather to let you know that this idea has intrigued me for years and I decided to do something about it, and to let you know that this idea exists and is used in our show!

http://www.masterofillusions.ca/ZOMBIE.htm


P.

I've seen a picture of Peter's box and it does look pretty cool. I must see a video sometime.

Sable

I've recently bought a micro astrosphere. It looks naff in the box but when opened out is actually quite amazing! It has no foulard and actually floats infront of the cloth! It's quite foolproof as well.

I have gotton lost in the "spheres" I know that there is astro strato mini-astro ad probibly others if oyu have any of these would you please pm me as I am wanting to get one but don't know which to get and I need something to go on

Hi I don't know where to post this so I guess I'll post it here. I really need some help! How can I incorporate the micro astrosphere into a routine? better still does anyone out there have a stage routine with a micro astrosphere. Help pleeeaaaase!
thanx

sorry people. I have written the wrong thing. The micro astrosphere actually does have a foulard but does not work in the same way as a zobie. SORRY I need to get my facts straight I know, I know.

In my opinion the Stratosphere is not better than zombie. private mail me if you want to know details, because I can´t write them here without exposing the secret.

Sable,

Have you found out more of what you were refering to a year ago?

Dynamike

Dynamike,
Yes I have actually, but the secret is still under wraps until the video comes out.

Sable

Hi all:

I have a website (www.insidemagic.com) dedicated to the love of magic. We don't expose secrets, sell few tricks, and make no money. But we do love magic. I'm looking for anyone out there that would like to provide information for a profile piece or dates for our Big Calendar of Magic. Even if you just have a link you think is interesting, please send it along. Guest columnists are always welcomed so if there is something that excites you about our craft, write it up and drop us a line. If there is a general theme to the page it is that we don't do negative stuff at all. We're not out to snipe at magicians (young, old, or inexperienced). We're here to honestly review magic tricks, shows, books and video -- if it is a bad review, we will probably still publish it. But the key is to keep a positive view of our craft and always encourage. There are young people who couldn't do a pass if you paid them, but their love for magic is as strong as what we feel at 37 years in the biz.

Please drop me a line ( tim@insidemagic.com ) if your interested in contributing in any way. If you have a link or a show coming up, send it to Missy Rochelle at missy@insidemagic.com.

Tim
tim@insidemagic.com

Greetings all and Happy New Year, may it be a healthy and prosperous one for all. Greetings to Paula, the book you are referring to is by Ralf Wichmann-Braco, titled: Floating Routines for Table and Stage. The book was printed in both German and English at the same time. There is an excellent routine in there called the ball and cane, with many illustrations detailing a very nice floating ball that floats freely in the air around the body, up and down the edge of a cane etc. Very well thought out and very clever handling for a single anchor point. This book came out in 1973, and then very quickly disappeared from the magic scene. In regards to Philemon looking for a zombie that can be done in front of the foulard, back in 1979 and 1980 we spent two years tinkering with making something like this in our workshops and factory. A performer in Venezuela came to us to create a zombie for him that could float behind and as in all standard moves, then move over the top and float freely in front without anyone seeing the gimick. We spent far too much time into research and developement on this but we did come up with something that you may want to take further,.
1st. Utilizing the Astrosphere principle and I will mention all of this so only those who know the material will understand as we are not suppose to expose, but I will expose what is ours since I think that we do have the right to do so with our own material. We disconnected the ball of the standard astrosphere, and attached a small half dollar size plate there. Now by holding the two corners of the foulard we could control the plate to move up down and side to side in front of and behind the foulard. With the plate in front and the other part at the top center, we attached two tiny magnets to hold the plate in place and the other item that controls the Astrosphere. This cloth could then be handled fairly free. The cloth was then placed on a table top with a recessed top, We then took a standard Morrissey light weight small Zombie and plugged it with a neo magnet and material to make the ball perfectly round. A matching cloth was then made, and it had small magnets in a couple of spots. The regular zombie gimick was remade with a flat metal plate instead of the standard end, and the ball would attach by magnet for your standard zombie moves, You could then take the ball off as it floated on top, toss it in the air, catch it and place it to the front and it would stay looking as if it had no connection at all. A few very well rehearsed moves made it look as if the ball is really floating in front. Then with the gimmick in the down position, the ball was moved to the center where it attached through the cloth via the magnet and with the gimmick behind and the ball in front it allowed some nice moves. Later the ball was taken in one hand while the cloth was laid down on the table, the ball was brought forward and polished, then back to the table where the other cloth was picked up and the Astrosphere routine and moves could be accomplished. Two of my employees at the time had a field day playing with this thing, but that is as far as we got with it. As often happens, the customer felt that it was taking way too long to come up with something for him that would be unique.
Since we did not bill for research and developement we had our own time and money invested, and felt at that point it was time to call it quits. We were only able to play with it in between building illusions and other props, but hopefully this will give you something to work with if you should decide to take it further. Feel free to use any of this that you want, the zombie is a great trick, I am reminded of that everytime I see my good friend General Grant perform it. Gen has also worked with different approaches to zombie over the years, but kept going back to the standard that he has been performing for years. You may want to track down that book as well, while it does not use a zombie principle, the one man floating ball material in it is very promising. I do not know if it is the same as the floating ball being released by him today, as I have not seen that yet, but the book had some promising material in it that could yet be explored. As always, I apologize for this being long, but hope that it is a help to you or someone else that can use it.
Marty

Marty,
My thanks for that exceptional idea. I will have to play with it, and if I get it to do anything else, I'll be sure to tell you. For the record, if you ever put out a nice version of this on the market, I'm sure it would sell. In fact, I'd buy one myself.

Everyone else,
Just for the record, the routine I'm talking about utilizes not wires, threads, magnets etc. It uses a standard zombie gimmick, is used in a standard zombie routine, and to the best of my knowledge it is original in concept. I'll be sure to tell you all when the video finally comes out!!

Sable

Hi all, Kenton has his "Micro Astrosphere" selling at his website. Is it the mini version of the "Astrosphere" that is sold by someone else?

...By the way, I am referring to Kenton's own Micro Astroshpere. Because I found out that there is another Micro Astrophere around.

My regards,
Neil

Hi all!

The Astrosphere is one I've modified so it floats in front of, over and behind the cloth, then I drop the cloth, and the ball floats over my head, down to the floor, up to my left hand, slowly over to my right hand, and then I place it on the table and walk away.

It's been that method for about 10 years. I'd love to share it with you. I jealously guard this, because if the right material is not used, it's a dead giveaway. I learned how to do it by watching a famous magician (we all know and love) from off-stage. It's a one-man method, and can be done as close as 10 feet from the spectator. I should mention that this is no beginner's effect.

The Astrosphere, as it comes from the box, is too restrictive, IMHO. I also don't like the "material" that came with it. It took quite a long time to find what I needed to make this work, and finally came up with something. In fact, what I found was imported, and very hard to find here, locally.

"The Silver Globe", is what I call the effect. The story is spun, the lights go down, and the eerie music (Enya-like music) plays as the ball takes on a life of its own. Short, sweet and very effective.

Thanks for opening this topic!

Doug