david copperfield - illusions revealed

8/13/2019 David Copperfield - Illusions Revealed

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Making A Jumbo Jet Vanish The vanishing of a 747 Jumbo Jet while it rests on the tarmac hasbecome one of the most significant vanishes of all time. On manyoccasions this illusion has been performed before a live televisionaudience, while a crowd of onlookers keep an eye on the real thing.It is not an illusion most magicians can afford to perform, still Iwill eplain the most common way of performing this trick. The audience will see the !et as it tais onto an area at the landingstrip. The crew will park the plane and disembark. The audience, bothviewing at home and on the scene, can see the airplane from alldirections. "potlights will be pointed at the plane, making it fullyilluminated against the dark night.#t the performer$s command, the lights to flash off, then back on.%hen the lights are relit, the plane is gone. The spotlights are onceagain pointed in the same direction as before, but there is no !etplane, only the tarmac and the night. The plane is then brought back inthe same manner. The lights will flash off then on, and the plane is

back. The crew boards the plane and tais it back to the hangar. The secret& I$m sure that you guessed it& The plane never reallyleaves the tarmac. 'ut how is it made invisible( )any spotlights aresurrounding the plane, which is in a cordoned*off area all set for theeffect. 'etween the massive search lights and the audience, there is anetting draped from light to light. +ncircling the plane.%hen the plane is first driven or taied into the area, the oneopening between the searchlights is clear of the netting. Once theengines are shut off and the crew disembarks, the technicians willhook up this last piece of netting. This is done under the cover of preparing the these massive searchlights for illumination.

The netting is the same which is used on stage productions. On thestage, the netting acts as backdrops for various scenes. %ith theproper lighting, the backdrops and scenes will change. %hen backlit,you will see the image on the netting, when front lit you will seeright through it.In the case of the !et plane, the huge searchlights are set in such amanner that at one point you see through the netting and you caneasily see the plane. In the net setting, you only see the black of night, since this is the scene secretly painted on the specialnetting. 'lack is also the same colour of the tarmac, so it appearsthat the !et is gone and you see the ground where the plane once sat.%hen the !et is made to reappear, the netting is dropped to the floor

while the lights are out. Turn the lights back on and the !et hasreturned.ositioning of the netting depends on the circumstances. If theaudience is only in front of the plane, then only mask that part of the plane from the audience with the netting. -or more angles, usemore netting, surrounding the plane if necessary. either the humaneye nor the camera will be able to see through the netting when thecorrect lighting is in effect. This netting not only is used in stage plays, but many of the modern



magicians will use this effect on their shows and specials, it is agreat way to make things appear or vanish./anishing of a statue such as the "tatue of 0iberty can be controlledin the same manner under the right conditions. %hen 10iberty1 wasunder construction a few years back, it was completely surrounded withworkmen scaffolding and platforms. The scaffolding would be an easyway to attach the netting and cause the illusion to take place.Only a performer with a keen sense of timing could come up with eventssuch as these. "o look around, see what other opportunities for thesetypes of effects are available, then go out and perform them.The Flight Of IcarusOh to fly. This ambition is and will continue to be humanity$s greatest 2uest."iegfied and 3oy have had this trick as part of their 0as /egas show*off andon *over the last couple of years. The effect& The lights focus on the performer, who, without any effort at all,lifts up off the stage. 'ack and forth, across the stage, the performer can beseen to fly. 3olling, floating, hovering above the stage. %hether the 1flyer1 is

flying through hoops, into boes or otherwise about the stage, it appears tobe done with great ease and a great deal of magic The secret& 'efore you run out and try to duplicate this effect, rememberthis& The trick is done with wires and truly needs a great showman to makethe audience watch with interest.-or years and years, big stage productions have had everything fromfurniture to people flying in them. One of the most memorable was the eteran stage production. In this show, up to two do5en people are seen flying atdifferent times.Is this magic( o, not at all. It is merely a stage effect. The performeractually leaves the stage !ust before the flying is to be performed in order to

have a body harness installed, and wires attached. The leaving of the stage iscovered with any of the following& a screen pro!ection depicting the history of flight, other performers taking the stage, an encore trick, etc.In order to hide the wires, which make this trick work, you need to have avery special background. The background must either be the same colour asthe wires, or have a busy pattern. 6ave a fan or wind machine blowing ontothe background curtain, the rippling will make it more difficult to see thewires, which will be in the foreground against the moving curtain. The wires are hooked to a series of pulleys, and the performer becomes ahuman marionette. The wire system usually are operated by two people, butdepending on the complications of what you want out of this particular effect,they can be controlled by as many more assistants as desired.

#dding flight within a glass case or bo is !ust more of the same. The wireswill travel on either side of the lid and continue to hold the performer off thefloor. The flips or somersaults can continue because the wires are stillconnected to the performers harness.#nyone who has seen a skilled puppeteer may have seen this same overalltype of effect with the puppets. In eter an, as an eample, whole sceneswere built around flying. The most famous, to me, is when eter teaches thechildren to fly. This feat supposedly is accomplished by thinking of goodthoughts. %hen that happens, out the window all the children and eter an



fly to ever ever 0and.'ut what really makes the flying trick a show stopper is the fact that theperformer wants it to be. The performer sets a mood of make*believe inwhich we believe anything is possible. o, no one actually believes that theyhave !ust witnessed flight, but people do en!oy being absorbed into the worldof fantasy and magic.nfortunately, this effect is one that can$t be performed in every setting. Thebackground must be specially set and the wires and pulley system must havethe proper theatre hook*ups to make it work. 0ighting, too, will play animportant part in pulling off this feat.Statue of Liberty Vanish'y far one of the most celebrated illusions 8avid 9opperfield hasperformed.#s seen by millions on television and by a select group who were onsite, the statue was clearly seen against the night sky, both withspotlights shining on it and a ring of lights at its base. The selectgroup of participants sat on a small stage facing a small curtain. The

curtains were then closed, when they were reopened, the statue wasgone, while the spotlights were still bla5ing and the ring of lightswere still lit. #bove, a helicopter hovered, but no statue was insight.)oments later the curtains were closed. This time, when theyreopened, the statue had returned. %hat a sight. "uch a trick. The secret& #lthough there are actually several methods to this stunt,I will describe the one which is easiest to perform. The staging area for the trick is really the seating area and not thestatue. The seating area and the television camera bay are located ashort distance from the statue. The seating area is a circular stage

with curtain suspended between two pillars. The curtain area isbetween the sightlines of the seats and cameras, and that of thestatue. The spectators at home and those in attendance have a good view of thestatue, through the open curtains. %hen the curtains are closed, thestatue is completely blocked out."urrounding the statue is a ring of lights and in the immediate areaare spotlights, focused on the statue. #ctually, there are two sets of lights. One rings the statue, one rings an area net to the statue.)ore ama5ingly, the platform on which both the spectators and camerassit, is nothing more than a large turntable.6ere are the inner workings& The ring of lights around the ob!ect :in

this case the "tatue of 0iberty; is lit. The spotlights sweeping thearea are focused on the ob!ect too. %hen the curtains close, thespectator platform slowly turns away from the ob!ect. The first set of lights ringing the ob!ect are turned off. The second set, near theob!ect are turned on. The spotlights are now redirected to the areaabove the lit ring of lights. # smoke machine is turned on to furtherhide the ob!ect and to make the lights dance in an eerie empty space.%hen the curtains are reopened, all that is seen is the smoke, thelights, the searchlights, but not the ob!ect. 'ecause no one can see



around the curtain area, the audience is unable to make out the darksilhouette of the actual ob!ect. 'ut to further diminish the chancesof this happening, a bright flash of light precedes the opening of thecurtains. )uch like looking into the flash of a camera light, there isa temporary blindness which stays with people for many seconds.In the meantime, hovering, the helicopter also has moved, and is nowover the new empty area. aturally no ob!ect is beneath it. +venphotographs won$t later reveal the trick. #ny one around the outsideof the platform taking photographs with a small flash camera, wouldnot be able to pick up the dark statue because those small camerashave short flash ranges and do not have the distance re2uired tophotograph the ob!ect. 'ut the photograph touch is a nice addition toan otherwise simple trick.3eturning the ob!ect to visibility is simply a reversal of routine.nfortunately, the slow, steady movement of the seat platform makesfor a slow paced and dull effect.%hen you break it down, the "tatue of 0iberty vanish becomes a simple

trick. )uch like a black art illusion. 'ut, more importantly, it !ustshows how gullible people can be. I$m sure that if people did feel theseating area move, they wouldn$t say anything. o one would want toruin such a good trick. This way, they felt like they, too, were in onthe trick. #nd tricks were meant to be kept a secret, now, weren$tthey( %ell, maybe not.

Snow in the theatre0ess of a magic trick and more of a theatrical production, "now in thetheatre is an 1Inside1 trick.

The lights go down and the performer stands in the center of thestage. It becomes windy on stage, while the lights have been turnedoff and replaced with a spotlight on the performer$s hands. #s theperformer rubs their hands together, a snow like substance appearsfrom the performer$s hands. Then, magically, the theatre begins to bebombarded with snow blowing out from the stage and onto the audience,which begins to reach out and touch or catch the snow*like substance. The secret& #nyone old enough to remember the 0awrence %elk "how,will remember the champagne bubble music, which was a mainstay of thistelevision program. This trick, complete with music :although it isrock music;, has !ust the same effect.'ehind the performer$s hands and hidden by the darkness is a bubble

making machine. # similar machine can be found in most theatricaltheatres. It basically manufacturers a bubble from a soap*basedli2uid. )uch like a children$s bubble toy sold by the thousands eachsummer across orth #merica. The bubbles are created, then blownthrough an opening, out toward the audience. The larger the bubblemachine, the more bubbles will result. #dditional machines throughoutthe theatre also will make bubbles, sending clouds of them floatingall through the theatre.



Floating Rose+ffect& <ou probably seen 8avid 9opperfield do dancing paper = floating rose in his T/ special. <ou take a piece if paper, give form to it, and in you commandthepaper float in the air, it also move. <ou can do it with your hands in yourback #fter, you take the paper, give it the shape of a rose, and magically therosefloat in the air. <ou set fire to the paper rose and it transform into a realrosereparation& <ou need to buy some 1invisible thread.1 Take one single strand of the threadand attach two pieces of tape, one at each end. On one end wad it up into aball. On the other end, attach to anything. <ou also need some flash paperwith which to make the rose. <ou will need a real rose, concealed in your leftpocket and a lighter.

)ethod&-irst, ut the balled up tape end of the invisible thread in your mouth. Thenmake a rose out of the flash paper. "tep back until the thread becomes tight:youcan tell because the tape in your mouth will start to come out;. ow place thepaper rose on the thread, engaging it under one of the petals, and viola <ounow are floating a paper rose <ou can move it by simply moving your body.ow for the switch. <our body should be with the right side to the audience,andthe left side hiding the rose. %ith your right hand, reach for a lighter:preferably a 5ippo; and light it. 'ring it under the paper rose, but 8O OT

ignite it. Thisis misdirection while your left hand grabs the real rose. %ith the rose in yourhand, light the flash paper, and bring your left hand up to the same positionasthe paper rose. The appearance will be that the paper rose turned into a realrose Take a bow, and throw the rose into the audience.ffect ! "a#i$ %o&&erfiel$ walks through the great wall of china%hen 8avid 9opperfield goes inside the first bo there was a switch made,copperfield goes under the bo and goes into the hollow stairs he then getscarried away inside the hollow stairs. # lookalike in shadow form pretends towalk through the first part of the wall, after he plays his part he gets insidethe

hollow base platform. 'y that time the assistance$s pull the sheets away toshow that he walked through the first part of the wall. The stairs that copperfield is in is behind the camera boom as it makes acomplete rotation over the wall. The assistants on the other side of the walltake thesame stairs and put it net to the other plate form. The assistants climb the special stairs and hold up a small white sheet of cloth. It looks like 8avid 9opperfield is pushing his and and face through thecloth.



The secret behind this action is that the person on the right is !ust controllinga pair of fake hands which he controls with his right*hand. The person on theleftis !ust pushing a fake face through the cloth with his left*hand. The two assistants then drop the small sheet cloth and listen to the wall tosee if 8avid is all right. They then slowly roll down the sheets to cover theframebo up and make sure it is tucked in good, they go down the stairs to wait forcopperfield to make his way through the second part of the wall.#ll he has to do now is get out of the hollow stairs and inside the bo andwatch his angles with the light. 6e then comes closer to the light so it lookslike heis coming through the second part of the wall. 6e pulls the sheets away toreveal himself, the white cloth stays on the floor because it contains theprops.'ran$father(s LegacyFF%T! This is a breathtaking visual transposition as four aces vanish and

then reappear under the $leader ace$. <ou$ll learn the stunning $op out$ moveto produce the four aces to start. Then you$ll slowly and visually vanish each#ce from its packet *one moment it$s there, the net it isn$t 'link and you$ll miss it #t theconclusion, the vanished aces !ust appear under the leader ace with a touchfrom your finger This beautiful routine works well with a gambling patter ormusic, but it$s so powerfulyou coul$ gi#e your #ocal cor$s the afternoon off an$ let the magic

)ust s&eak for itself*TO %RAT! >randfather$s 0egacy& -or this trick you will need ? doublebackedcards.

#8:ace of diamonds; with an indifferent card, #9 with an indifferent card,and #6 with an indifferent card, leave the #ce of spades normal. ow youneed duplicates of the #8, #9, and #6 :none of them double backed;. 6avethe tricked aces and the ace of spades spread through out the deck ace*sidedown, and the normal #8, #9, and #6 on the top of the deck face down. Turn the deck face up and spread through the deck, skipping the first @A cardor so, so the audience doesn$t know that you have ? aces on top of the deck. ut the three tricked aces, ace*side up on the table with the normal#", also face up. Then turn the deck face down again and deal three cardsfrom the top of the deck face down onto each ace, the three top cards:aces;going onto the normal*ace*of*spades. Takethe first pile with a tricked ace, spread the cards showing one face up ace.

"2uare the pile and take one card from the top of the pile an put it on thebottom, don$t misdirect, !ust do it. )ake a magical gesture and turn the pileover showing that the ace has turned into a normal card. Then pick up thepile with the four aces, take one card from the top of the pile and place it onthe bottom. Then turn that pile over and spread off the bottom card !ustshowing the #" and the card that was on top. 3epeat this for the remainingpiles.팖 8avid 9opperfield



In$ian +urnFF%T! The )agician holds his arms out in a Bfollow meC motion. One wristis placed over the other with thumbs pointing to the floor. The fingersinterlace and on the count of three, the magician twists his wrists to be

pointing straight up.MT,O"! 6ereDs the arm twisty thing 8avid 9opperfeild opened with. Itreally is a cooltrick. <ou have to perform it right though. The fact that he did it in front of an entire audience is risky as hell. %hen he said, Bok, thumbs down,C hestopped and said, Bsir, I said thumbs down,C in which almost the wholeaudience got momentarily distracted, which is all you need. ItDs really simple. Just do as he did first. Ok, hold out your arms, put your thumbs facing down,cross your arms right over left, now line up your thumbs real good :Ethis iswhere the special move happensE; now clasp your fingers to together, androtate your arms :which they cant do;

- S.%IAL MOV! The spectator will momentarily look at their thumbs toline them up. %hile then do that, you take your left hand :the oneunderneath; and spin it ?FA degrees counterclockwise. It helps if you openyour hand and close it real 2uick again because itDs less likely to get noticedwhen youDre doing the move. ItDs kind of a stretch though. )ake sure youhave your thumbs aligned and pointing down when you finish the move. ow !ust clasp the fingers and do the impossible. This is almost full proofG If youdo it to one person and have them stand facing the same way as you, and toyour left. Hind of like the old ?FA arm*twist trick.

david copperfield - illusions revealed

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