I think this must be a test he is running on a new routine because there's no music and I found it on accident. The title is spelled backwards, which means he may not want everyone looking at it yet, so look at it quick while it's still up.

Jerico


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LnzzGOmIR_M

Soundtrack was disabled due to being unauthorized. I found the whole routine a bit too frantic, probably due to not being able to hear the music accompaniment. Your opinion may vary.

The levitation was so good,that is actually made me believe that the thing was flying.

It looks like it was supposed to be played to Van Morrison's "Moondance". No telling what you'd have to do to get rights to use the song on Youtube.

Jerico

Wow. I wonder if that was Mr Sherrill's Dream Gimmick in action?

Greetings all. My apologies. I was testing that out with a few close, magician friends. I didn't even try to get the sound authorized, as it's just a test. It's no where near ready, and wasn't meant to be seen yet. I may put it up for real when I'm finished.

In magic,

Jeb Sherrill

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dngkNbjkQRo
My Floating ball- developed in the 80's

Ian,

A beautiful piece It looks very similar to a method I developed back in the early 90s, except that I never employed a foulard with it. That's a very interesting touch. I'd love to see it live some time.

Jeb

That is a wonderful piece of magic! The only thing that would make it better would be if you taught me

What I really liked about the piece was that it solved many of the problems I've always had mentally with the zombie, chief among them the ball always being on the foulard. Being able to let go of the foulard and do the fly move was killer!

Zombie Re-Animated Vol. II, Jeb Sherril's second DVD on Zombie. It's got the same concept on it, sans the foulard.

Jerico

Thanks Jericho. I may have to take up the zombie, then

The cloth really has a purpose in that routine. The music and choreography is nice, too. Excellent stuff!

Whoo, not the best angle for the camera on that second take. The Zombie Re-animated DVD's do indeed have some good work with this concept.

Yeah, I had to edit the iris on the video in order to show the clip. That camera was near the wings. Also, I learned a lot from that shoot, and no curtain is better!! The foulard start, was designed to emulate the zombie (standard) when I first did it at the Tannens Camp in the 80's. I actually start the ball on the stand, and "pretended" to do the standard gimmick ie: emulate the ball pickup and even hold the foulard in the same manner (as a sucker gag for the kids), then I let go of the foulard ends, then pull the foulard to show the naked ball.
This solved a lot of problems.
For the clip you saw, I wanted to work "commando" and decided against any tables.
Note: I use sunglasses because I was temporarily blind from a stroke a week before and could not see at all without one eye closed and bright lights made me totally blind.
I am not familiar with Sherrills methods. Mine was developed in the late 70's, called MIME BALL and developed for Jeff McBride.

About a year ago, I had a similar idea. This is really good! Was the dim lighting necessary, or was it just the camera?

When I did it for the VERY first time, it was for the Tannens camp kids. I brought my own pipe drapes and huge amount of black fabric and virtually had all the lights off. One light at the front of the stage allowed the ball to reflect the spot light.
I have gotten bolder since then and use front lighting. Obviously the gimmick is fully exposed at all times during the moves, but there are strategic choreography to the effect, slow and deliberate. And, the gimmick is never seen.
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I also do a lit tapered candle version of this. The candle is white and a standard wax candle. The candle light aids in the performance as the light reduces the iris of the eyes like other black art scenarios. If you have a Lit zombie, that has the same effect.
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A bolder use of my gimmick is to float anything at a dinner table setting. I have an object on the table and it rises to come to my hand. I do not do anything else after that.
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The really cool thing about the invention, is that I can have it on me the whole night, or if I do the stage act, I can continue with another effect and not have to ditch the gimmickry.
As someone else mentioned, the use of the foulard has some very artistic purposes. It allows for certain movement that distracts from the apparatus.
Trivia note: I manufactured the foulard I use. It was made in the late 70's. You can see the foulard in use (not the ball) in early Lance Burton shows including the Carson show. Also, Jeff McBride used my foulards. Black on one side and green, red, black, or blue on the other and 100% heavy pure (tie)silk. I sold some to Rings n things for their Zombies as well. The light weight and opacity of the heavy silk made it ideal for my zombie ball, as weight is a factor in the independent movement and fragility of my gimmick.

Now that I have "churned" this thread into a discussion of my video clip, I must say, that the choreography and movement has more to do with "mime moves" and isolation than Zombie moves. There is a segment where the ball travels from knee level to hand level where there is virtually no movement on my part. It is a thorough "rush" to perform and get away with the effect.
My ultimate goal is to "emulate" some of the beautiful "contact juggling" effects and during that, deviate into floating the ball.

Hmmm... it's not that much like my idea. Mine can be done in plain daylight. "Magicians," if you want to know my method as it may aid in the development of yours, you can PM me.

Matt

One of the concepts of original magic is to not let previous methods creep into the final creation. My ball was not a zombie, it was conceived as a "mime" routine.
I had watched Jeff McBride for years as he did isolation moves with the silver ball.
My intent was to be able to hold palm to ball without the aid of the thumb or other hand.
Once I succeeded in simulating that, the next step was to animate the ball away from the hand, thus giving the ball the "power" rather than the magician. That evolution then allowed me to simulate the zombie effect without the use of the traditional gimmickry. All the moves are simply a matter of how much I can get away with and then choreographing it magically.
This is not a zombie ball, nor does it use anything remotely associated with any zombie gimmick.
It just seems to look like a floating ball.
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Oh, and I can do some of the moves in daylight. I float objects at a lunch table. The extreme movement away from the body can be done in daylight if the foulard is used.

This method has become a truly intriguing topic. When I discovered it back in the early 90's, I thought I was the only one. Since the release of my DVDs, several magicians have come out of the woodwork who had also discovered it. Some just used it for photos, while others used it for actual routines. I think I may be the only one to employ a larger ball to cover the angles, but who even knows on that one. I have done it in broad daylight though, and even at close range.

None of the others I ever met used it for more than a move or two, except apparently for myself and Ian, who's method seems much closer to the gimmick I use now, than the one I used on the DVDs (though I'm sure the woodwork will produce more).

It is an unusual pleasure to see someone who's been using this for so long under the radar and doing it so very well. My hat is off to you Ian. Perhaps we can meet one day and compare notes.

Jeb Sherrill

How can you possibly tell which song it was performed to?
Or were you joking?????