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Art190 Elite user 447 Posts |
Gary I PM'ed you.
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Art190 Elite user 447 Posts |
Hi Ben, in my post I said that IF, IF you cannot do what is done in the video, THEN the video would be misleading. But apparently it is possible with a stronger magnet? Not sure.
Art |
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RooMan Special user Texas 704 Posts |
Art...you really should check out the threads on this. It's all there.
Ben hasn't deceived anyone. But if, as Soulstar said earlier, this thing is already breaking down, that's another issue altogether. |
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GarySumpter Special user UK 857 Posts |
Quote: perhaps then ben could answer my questions above regarding the issues that myself and others have brought up as I feel I bought this under false pretenses.
On 2008-05-10 19:10, RooMan wrote: |
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Art190 Elite user 447 Posts |
RooMan, you're right, I should. But I don't want to go thru ever page when I can get the answers to my questions much faster from someone (besides Ben) who owns this.
Art |
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kissdadookie Inner circle 4275 Posts |
Well, basically after reading all these posts, I now know exactly what this item is and honestly it wasn't what I was hoping for it to be. A hands off controllable hovercard, clever idea.
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Ben Harris V.I.P. The Land Down Under 2126 Posts |
What are the questions, guys?
After reading all this stuff my head is in a spin. A couple of answers... Yes, you can use a bigger magnet. The one I normally strap under my pants, at the side of the knee is abount 2" X 2" X 1/2" big and powerful. Yes, the effect can be performed as in the video. I performed them in the video. Is it trick photography? No. It's different sequences with different magnets in different configurations demonstrating scope. A few card sleights were used too. These are things you may use in real performance yourself, so I don't consider it deceptive. Can the card be made to float with the deck held by the spectator? Yes it can. Take the deck, place it on their face up palm, or cupped hands, manage the spectator. Have them concentrate then bring your forefinger in and direct the energy. Make the card float. She'll be so surprised that she'll probably turn over her card to see if there is anything under it. There isn't. If such a bold approach is not you, perform it with the deck on the table. (And consider playing with Paul Harris's "Solid Deception" to better understand these sorts of things). Gentlemen, this is a magic trick. You must "perform" it. You must manage your audience. You must entertain, misdirect, create wonder. You must work at it like with any magic effect. A DVD called The Look of Enlightenment will be out in Sept/Oct. On this you will see real world performances. You will see all the nuances in action -- the shuffling, the in hands element, the spectator looking under the card, etc. I perform Enlightenmnet regulary. It kills. My favourite application at the moment is with the gimmick built into a note pad and a sketch of a butterfly that comes to life and briefly flutters into the air. All self contained in the pad and a sharpie. It kills. Cheers Ben
+Inventor of the world famous Floating Match+
+Author: Machinations (Vanishing Inc, 2020)+ EVERYTHING BEN HARRIS |
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kissdadookie Inner circle 4275 Posts |
The butterfly effect is a very good idea!
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jeremysweiss Special user 742 Posts |
It seems people were hoping for some new magnetic way of levitating cards. Fair enough--I too (initially) guessed that the card was shimmed and some magnetic device was in play thus raising the card (which was "freely chosen" via a forcing deck), But when Ben said that the spectator cannot peek under the card while it was levitating, I modified my guess.
I have yet to receive the gimmick and give it a full review. So my thought on it are on reserve. However, I must say that it seems that the complaints about this release center around disappointment in the METHOD of the trick. I find this complaint so silly. Who cares WHAT the METHOD is, only the EFFECT. What effects does the new method allow for? I have seen a magician hold a full audience spellbound for 10 minutes using a god-awful thumb-tip. Why could he do it? Because he was a PERFORMER. Could the tricks have been more elaborately done in order to fool other magicians? Yes. But they weren't. For many, this trick is just a more elaborate, more expensive way of doing Cosmosis/Hovercard--which were and are great tricks. So why did you all feel the need to buy this version of a floating card? Because the method was different? Well, that is a stupid reason. The method doesn't matter, only the effect. The method only becomes important if it allows you (in your "Act") to overcome some logistical problem that has been a barrier in your act. Eg. You find that people are always reaching for the card and finding out the method of Hovercard. So before making a purchase--any purchase, one must consider and ask the following: What does this method allow me to do, that I can't do with some other (cheaper, faster, more simple, etc.) method that I need help with? What does this method allow me to do that other methods don't even with a change in my routine? Also take a look at these questions: Who are you are performing for? Other magicians? If so, here is a tip: If you are doing it for other magicians, well you are in trouble because everyone on this forum has access to the secrets...(I'm talking to you ELECTRIC TOUCH). Are you performing for laypeople? Is this effect an effect that you can use? Where are you performing (e.g. What is the venue)? How are you going to make it work for your character? How would you incorporate this into your "act" or are you a hobbyists? If so, how will you use it at work to entertain (actually annoy) your coworkers/friends and (irritate) your spouse? (Aside: If it is an item you aren't going to use in an act and you buy say for example, a peek wallet. Not using it because it turns out that you use a money clip rather than a wallet in your daily life, is your problem. Don't blame the item for collecting dust. Now, this may not apply in the case of Enlightenment, but I do suspect that most people bought it to learn the method and then it will collect dust in a drawer--like maybe even mine.) Back to topic: So, while some may be disappointed (and I may be as well after I get a chance to review it) I don't think it isn't fair to be upset by the METHOD of a trick. I think there are very few tricks I have learned that I wasn't disappointed by the method--that's what comes with learning the "answer". The mystery is over. If something you purchased can't be put into your act because it breaks, it doesn't do what was claimed to do, is to cumbersome or whatever, then I agree with you. The item doesn't work for you and you can give it a bum review for all those reasons. But please keep in mind--Effects are for laypeople. They don't care about methods. Methods are for magicians only. Only magicians care about them. Finally, not only has Ben been pretty darn forthcoming, but the METHOD has totally been tipped on this forum and Ben hasn't even really complained about that! I can't believe it isn't locked. Jeremy http://www.theshockdocshow.com
The Shock Doc
<BR>www.TheShockDocShow.com <BR> <BR> <BR>http://ballycast.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/ballycast-024-2009-03-21.mp3 <BR> <BR>"....Jeremy Weiss has the greatest card trick of ALL TIME!"--Jamie D. Grant. <BR>Start listening to iTricks 11/12/09 |
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Benjamin.Kopelke New user 7 Posts |
Quote:
On 2008-05-10 19:58, Ben Harris wrote: Why I LOVE this effect - there really is NOT mechanics involved here. The whole "closeness" that the Shifter makes this effect means you DON'T need to manage your audience as much (you need to get in close, so why doesn't the spectator too?). All this means I can "perform" it as Ben says. Actually - truth be told, I haven't performed it yet, I'm still working out my style. In my original review, I stated that I think this is powerful enough to be a "one off" effect - so I'm working towards making this a reality. And I love Ben's idea of the floating butterfly - I had a similar idea of integrating the gaff into something else - like a book... |
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Geoff Weber Inner circle Washington DC 1384 Posts |
I was afraid this was going to happen. As I was reading through the marketing material, it DID seem to strongly suggest that the card would float on a magnetic field (a la the levitron). I read enough of the 15 page thread to realize what the trick actually was, but I can easily see how someone might have made Gary's mistaken assumption.
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bekralik Inner circle Canada 1349 Posts |
Maybe, but that's not Ben's fault. It almost seems that people are angrier BECAUSE of Ben's near-full disclosure, doesn't it? That he was so forthcoming and they jumped to the wrong conclusion by missing one detail, how could they have done that? I think they feel fooled, like the spectators they perform for. Tough; your expectations were wrong. He didn't have to disclose anything, he's been more than upfront and honest than any creator I've seen before, and yet they still find fault. If he disclosed nothing, they wouldn't be so upset because their expectations wouldn't have been so high with regards to the method. I find the reactions psychologically fascinating. I agree with jeremy that the effect is more important rather than method.
Brian |
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Madmonk Regular user 106 Posts |
If someone was under the assumption that it was some new magnetic force being used, they could have emailed ben, and I am sure he would straighten them out.
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Bill Lhotta Veteran user on top of a 14000' mountain in Colorado 357 Posts |
You can go to http://www.kjmagnetics.com/ if you are looking for a different sized magnet at a reasonable price. They also have rubber coated magnets for some of the sizes.
Cheers! ** Bill ** |
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Ben Harris V.I.P. The Land Down Under 2126 Posts |
Madmonk,
I did receive several such emails. In each case, after shaking my head, I explained it was a new magnetic "configuration" rather than a break through in physics. If it was the latter, I guess this would be the Scientific American Forum, or the like! Cheers Ben
+Inventor of the world famous Floating Match+
+Author: Machinations (Vanishing Inc, 2020)+ EVERYTHING BEN HARRIS |
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Review King Eternal Order 14446 Posts |
Jeremysweiss's ( Jeremy ) post should be in a book on magic. It said what many of us have felt for many years.
The effect and the impact it has on an audience is everything. Some guys get fooled by a trick and then groan that is uses a TT.
"Of all words of tongue and pen,
the saddest are, "It might have been" ..........John Greenleaf Whittier |
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fxdude Loyal user Hollywood 241 Posts |
I too thought it was something like levitron possibly with 52 shimmed cards. Seems like there are enough people out there that thought the same thing so it's not crazy to think this way.
That magnetic spray looks cool, gives me ideas. I thought this effect could have possibly used ferrofluid somehow soaked into the interior of the card. Maybe a gimmick shaped like a card you put under the deck that has a strong apposing magnet in the center of the card with a weak attracting magnet around the outside making the card rise but stay in place. Could even just have a steel core card. Like most effects, I guess I had over thought it. I'm still interested in picking it up though. Ferrofluid: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9SKVHv63SlM&feature=related |
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oombob Special user Canada 843 Posts |
More reviews please!
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jeremysweiss Special user 742 Posts |
Chris, if you know any books that want to quote it, I am down with that! I may toss it into the next issue of Street Magic once it completes its name change.
Sorry to hijack the thread and go off on a rant...but.... I am supposed to be writing about bizarre magick (in the next issue of the new 'zine)--which honestly is a field that always frustrated me BECAUSE of this very issue. Practically everything turns out to have the same method--a black string controlled by the medium! It took me a long time to grasp this concept: It is the stories and performance that makes these effects come to life, have meaning and scare the bejesus out of sitters. If people wouldn't just drop a match on the back of a card and make it "float" for their friends and would instead focus on developing a story that made that trick into something believable, their magic wouldn't be the type of magic the whole world makes fun of us magicians for doing. I remember seeing a Dr. Who show when I was a kid (and I am NOT a Dr. Who fan). The yarn was so gripping that it didn't matter that one of the characters was a friggin' puppet of a spider on a string (you could actually see the strings!). The poor special effect had no impact on the enjoyment of the show. Magicians should strive for that. THEN they can add in the "special effect" (which is some vanish, transposition, levitation, suspension, feat of human strength or whatever.) Until then, their tricks are nothing more than puzzles to be figured out by the audience....and then the audience will (physically or mentally) reach for the floating card and see it is nothing more than a whatever-it-is-that-makes-it-go-up-and-down. Personally, I too am guilty of unnecessarily buying very latest, newest thing that comes out. I also bought Enlightenment on pre-order. I have magic ADD just like the rest of you. I fall in love with the advertisements. I hate the painfully long waits at the mailbox and love coming home from work and finding something "special" in my mailbox. I too, play with my new toy and put it in the drawer and never look at it again. But I need to work on not feeding my addiction by buying new things (simply to learn their intriguing new methods). I,LIKE YOU, need to work on giving meaning to the things I already own. That is a lot harder! (I say that sitting here in my library of 10,000 magic books, tricks, DVDs, and "illusions". ) Again. Methods don't matter. Effects matter. I think Ben has created a new method for an old effect and nothing more (uhhh...that is actually a huge accomplishment, Ben. So no insult intended. I haven't created crap--except one great trick in Genii and my straightjacket-of-suffocation on my website. So my hat is off to your ability to create.). So if you bought Enlightenment because you needed to use it to fit a certain purpose in your performance where invisible thread wouldn't cut it, then great. You made a good choice and had a good reason to buy it. But if you bought it to learn the method (and that is certainly fine for those of us with disposable income), you can't bust Ben's eggs if you are disappointed in the method. Regardless of the motive behind your purchase, if bought it and can't use it because it doesn't work, breaks, the directions are poor then bust Ben's egg's all you want. Those would be valid complaints. I am done with my rant. Thanks for reading. Now just click on the following link: http://www.theshockdocshow.com Jeremy Jeremy
The Shock Doc
<BR>www.TheShockDocShow.com <BR> <BR> <BR>http://ballycast.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/ballycast-024-2009-03-21.mp3 <BR> <BR>"....Jeremy Weiss has the greatest card trick of ALL TIME!"--Jamie D. Grant. <BR>Start listening to iTricks 11/12/09 |
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bvballi New user Dortmund, Germany 25 Posts |
Here is a positive review from me and some help for users of the Paradigm Shifter - just read it.
Hi, I received Enlightenment yesterday here in Germany. Before I got it, I was trying to figure out, like all the others here, how it is done. At first, I thought, that it might be a new form of a levitron, but after a second thought (and after reading the info pack), it was clear to me that there was something other than magnetic force lifting the card. There were things in the thread here and in the info pack like "driving magnet", "mechanism in the gimmick" and even the gimmick is called "lifting platform"! So it was really clear to me. The only thing, that was a little bit disappointing at first, was the strength of the Paradigm Shifter. After playing a little bit around with it, I noticed, that when you are coming near the gimmick not from behind and moving your hand parallel to the card, but to come from a little bit above and moving your hand a little bit up and a little little bit towards the card, you can make the float happen from a larger distance! But that was not enough for me, so I stacked the PS with two other magnets I had (round ones, 2.5 cm in diameter and 0.5 cm thick). This configuration can be palmed very easy and I don't know if all people here know about the fact, that stacking magnets adds their power. So after playing with it for a time, I have to say, that I love it!!! Great job Ben - realy looks like magic. One answer to a question Gary asked: In the demo, it seems, that not only the top card is turned over and shown from both sides, but also a few cards under the top card. This is not possible with single cards, but Ben has answered that here (or in one of the other two threads)! He told about card sleights and in this case he mentioned something like "block turnover". If you watch the demo again closely, you can notice, how the showing of each card was achieved. Regarding all these facts, I think, that there was NO mislead made by Ben in the advertising and in the Café-thread. For example the statement "the spectator can look under the card and finds nothing". English is not my mother language, but one can understand this statement in two ways. First, that the spec can look under the card or second, that the user can look under the card while floating! The first statement is true, while the other one is false. This might have caused a misunderstanding, but to make that really clear, Ben even said afterwards, that the spec can not look under the card while floating. Ben was honest, answered questions and I don't see any mislead by him. Olaf |
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