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latentimage Elite user No More Room In Hell.. 440 Posts |
Can someone please tell me what I am doing wrong with this harness? I put my birds in it, and it looks like they are vary uncomfortable. Then they somehow get their feet out of the bottom of it and tangle themselves up. When I produce them, they act like they forget how to fly and would fall to the ground if I didn't catch them. Of course I only tried this once, because I don't want to hurt my bird. Can someone please tell me what I am doing wrong? Take it easy on me, I only work with regular harnesses, so this is my first experience with one of these.
"Come to the edge," he said, They Said "We Are Afraid," "Come to the edge," he said, They Came, He Pushed Them...And They Flew. -Apollinaire
"If there be a skeptical star, I was born under it. Yet I have lived all my days in complete astonishment." -W. MacNeile Dixon |
Alex Tan Loyal user Singapore 290 Posts |
It will take your birds some time to get used to, and then again, I have also discovered that not every bird is good for invisible harnesses. You will have to work with them a little bit to find out which ones are more comfortable in the harnesses.
Alex Tan
www.alexthemagician.show |
Bill Hegbli Eternal Order Fort Wayne, Indiana 22797 Posts |
First of all, the harness should fit snuggly but not tight.
Second, you should put the bird in the harness for a couple of hours a day, until the bird gets use to wearing such a thing. It is like trying to break a wild horse, if you ever seen the old cowboy shows. Or, to put it to something you can relate to, take off your belt and start wearing suspenders on your pants. Feels funny at first. Well, your bird feels the same way, and does not like the thing on him. Of course, you must remove the line from the harness so the bird does not get tangled. Then start working with that bird and only that bird for the invisible harness effects. I will add that the bird should not be able to step out of the harness. I must also say doing something only once is not a fair to Tony Clark and the bird. Did you learn to walk the 1st day you took your 1st step? It will take time and patience with the bird. Good Luck! |
latentimage Elite user No More Room In Hell.. 440 Posts |
Wmhegbli,
I did it once because the bird almost hung himself. Opting not to let him do that, I decided to do it once until I found out what I was doing incorrectly. Now that you told me to let him get used to it, I put it back on him and let him back in the cage for a few hours. I think he will be alright once he gets used to it. I'm still not sure exactly how to do barehanded productions with the invisable harness. Any thoughts on that would be great. Thanks for the advice!
"Come to the edge," he said, They Said "We Are Afraid," "Come to the edge," he said, They Came, He Pushed Them...And They Flew. -Apollinaire
"If there be a skeptical star, I was born under it. Yet I have lived all my days in complete astonishment." -W. MacNeile Dixon |
Bob Sanders Grammar Supervisor Magic Valley Ranch, Clanton, Alabama 20504 Posts |
Al,
From my observation, the most common injury suffered by birds used in magic is a broken leg and next a broken wing. It is normally from a poor production or tangled line. Never leave the line on a bird in an invisible harness when he is not loaded. Doves also can and do hang themselves. I've never had these happen to me but as a rule I don't use invisible harnesses. Since I have supplied magicians doves to magicians and dealers from Alaska to Central America, I am well aware of the numbers of injuries that do occur. Fortunately the number is small. Other animals are still the greatest threat. When comedy clubs were in their hay day, I furnished a lot of replacement doves for comedians who were not well rehearsed for dove magic. One of the New York customers became a good publisher. He no longer does dove magic and sent his doves back to me to roost. There were some broken legs there too. Bill also told you some things that really do matter. (Bill lives just northeast of you.) The bird should not be able to step out of the harness, ever. They do need to become accustomed to the harness and it should not be tight. In fact, the slack in the harness is used as a "shock absorber" when the bird is being dragged or lifted. To me, the primary use of an invisible harness is to hold a produced bird down that is likely to fly. NEVER put an invisible harness on a bird you know will fly unless you plan to use the harness to hold him down. If he gets into the lights, etc. dragging the line, you have a very disruptive and tragic mess to deal with immediately. We have talked privately before. I know you don't really want to wait until August, but Ft. Smith in August is as close to your home as I expect to be this summer. If you will catch me there during the Invisible Lodge Kon Klave, I will gladly spend some private time with you and help you work through the harness problem. Please PM me for details. I won't fault Tony Clark for selling the harness. He is a very fine professional. We had the same teacher (decades apart) and we both write Dove Hotline (Tony just started this year). Tony Slydini did use and teach using invisible harnesses as well as other methods. (But he also made us learn flawless timing first.) Starting with invisible harnesses without those years of experience doing dove magic and without an expert mentor is very tough on the doves. The audience could care less about the harness. Take your time about moving into invisible harnesses. I never use them on stage and other magicians never know from watching. (There is nothing to see!) On stage, when I produce a dove he is just like in the photo, there is absolutely nothing on him. I only use the invisible harnesses in rehearsal with birds that will fly. It saves time and trains the bird. (People won't be buying invisible harnesses from me will they? They do have a purpose. I simply don't use them on stage.) I was in Birmingham yesterday and handed a grandfather a dove to show to a small child that he had with him. You never know who is in your audience. The man noticed that there was absolutely nothing on the bird and that fact caught him by surprise. He buys talent for his organization. He asked my rates and I told him. My rates are $350 a show more than he had been paying. He offered me the bookings anyway that he had been giving a friend for many years. I would have liked to have taken them but the friend was also my friend of over thirty years, so I did not. They haven’t quit making money. Maybe I’m too old to start a new set of friends that will take thirty years to develop. But a most interesting point is, that the dove was a borrowed bird from a pet store in Birmingham! It has never been my bird. Be kind to your bird. You are in show business together you know! Bob |
zaubern Veteran user Seattle, Wa 335 Posts |
Get a video before you attempt productions you have never tried before. Tony Clark as well as several others discuss these types of productions.
Zaubern
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