Magic Is Real

turnwriteturnwrite
Posted:
in AppleOutsider edited January 2014
OK, I was just completely astounded by some stuff I saw on YouTube by a magician named Chris Angel.



If anyone has ANY ideas at ALL on how he might DO any of these tricks, I would LOVE to hear your thoughts...



I'm posting the links to the videos here:



http://youtube.com/watch?v=K8vo88TZd...=Chris%20Angel

http://youtube.com/watch?v=bdGdXJhXd...=Chris%20Angel

http://youtube.com/watch?v=tbNLFUi7C...=Chris%20Angel

http://youtube.com/watch?v=XbiPtC0-C...=Chris%20Angel

http://youtube.com/watch?v=4IwcBADkz...=Chris%20Angel

http://youtube.com/watch?v=Nc9uAsdqM...=Chris%20Angel





The walking on water one and the one where he cuts the girl in half are especially baffling.



Any thoughts, anyone?
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Comments

  • Reply 1 of 62
    brussellbrussell Posts: 9,812member
    I only looked at the first one, and he must simply be switching the piece of paper with the prediction on it. They might not have shown the moment it happened on TV, but notice that he did touch it. Why did he have to touch it? Why didn't he just let her open it and look at it herself?



    Good stuff though.
  • Reply 2 of 62
    gilschgilsch Posts: 1,995member
    Cool stuff. What happened to the woman he "cut" in half though? Would've liked to see him putting her back together. I don't know. I'd have to watch this stuff in person.



    If he can do all of those things, he wouldn't have a problem predicting the winning powerball numbers and donating the money??
  • Reply 3 of 62
    dac0nvudac0nvu Posts: 175member
    Um, I think they are all a bunch of staged events with actors...And bad actors in the case of him walking through glass.
  • Reply 4 of 62
    rufusswanrufusswan Posts: 132member
    turnwhite,



    My niece, LeAnn, has for several years been a part of the Kirby VanBirch magic show in Branson, MO. She dances, participates in some tricks, and according to Kirby is one of the best when it comes to getting "sawn in half".



    There is a serious sort of "honor among magicians" and unfortunately she will NOT reveal any of the tricks, damn! However, I can at least tell you this much. She can and does fit only in the top half of the box as the saw LITERALLY does saw thru it. Now, how someone(she?) twinkles the toes & feet that protrude from the bottom portion of the box, I do not know. LeAnn only gives that goofy smile of hers.



    I saw the show a couple of years ago and was amazed and totally impressed. Most tricks work because of distraction, smoke, mirrors, and light vs shadow vs dead black. Still, knowing how a trick 'might' be done, is no help when that full size chopper with 40' rotor magically appears on the stage.



    Paz
  • Reply 5 of 62
    brussellbrussell Posts: 9,812member
    In the shadow one, doesn't he just tap her as soon as the other woman picks the card?



    The one where the woman splits in half was f-ing hilarious. It was a midget I guess?? Notice how he picked someone else first and then said she was too short.
  • Reply 6 of 62
    turnwriteturnwrite Posts: 372member
    Well I am confounded.



    Yes, I agree with you guys, some of the tricks seem like just normal magic tricks, and easy to figure out.



    But some of them are IMPOSSIBLE.



    Like this one:



    http://youtube.com/watch?v=Z6gR1Itdx...%20Angel%20saw



    And this:



    http://youtube.com/watch?v=CYc36RipY...%20Angel%20saw



    I mean, there is no possible explanation. It HAS to be digitally edited film. How else could he do that one with the coin?



    I mean, walking on water is easy, he must have something floaty hidden in his pant legs, note how they hang down over his feet. Or he's just walking on Plexiglass.... The audience would notice but maybe their all in on it?



    But the coin one.... I mean, even with a fake arm, how would he make a lump move down his arm?



    TV magic is so much harder to guess than live magic, I like live way better.......



    Can anybody think of how he does the one sawing the girl in half though?
  • Reply 7 of 62
    turnwriteturnwrite Posts: 372member
    And segovius, what is this "Neuro Linguistic Programming?"
  • Reply 8 of 62
    giantgiant Posts: 6,041member
    this one, for instance, is just a woman with no legs. He misdirects you by first laying the girl down. He lightly holds the back of the girls head as if he's making sure she doesn't bump it or something, but really he's just making it so you don't notice him actually lower the no-legged lady down.



    Chris Angel is also notorious for having a good chunk of the "spectators" actually be assistants.



    Personally, I don't find him very entertaining because it borders on, or arguably is, just trick photography with some actors and props.
  • Reply 9 of 62
    kickahakickaha Posts: 8,760member
    Oh come on... you really can't figure out the coin one? It's a nice trick, but it's not that hard to replicate in theory.



    A thin flesh colored latex/silicone sleeve.



    A receptacle at the top for inserting the coin.



    A magnet to shuttle the coin.



    A magnet in the other hand to pull the first one along.



    See?



    Note the heavy wristband on the arm that he cuts. (Hides the terminus of the fake layer.) Note also the relative lack of bleeding.
  • Reply 10 of 62
    voxappsvoxapps Posts: 236member
    Meh. This guy's OK, but others are *much* better. For example, from 10 feet away (live), I've seen Teller (of Penn & Teller) swallow about 20 individual sewing needles, followed by a ball of dental floss, followed by an entire apple. Then he has a member of the audience inspect his mouth with a dental mirror to ensure his mouth is empty. He then regurgitates the sewing needles, all strung together on the dental floss. Of course it's a trick, but it's a lot more impressive live than on a video of cell-phone camera quality!



    A "saw in half" trick is almost always dependent on a cleverly built compartmented stage rig, with one contortionist playing the "head" end and another playing the "leg" end. The trick depends on the audience not realizing just how compactly and quickly a flexible person can "fold" themselves, plus a rig that looks a lot less spacious than it really is. Of course, there's the occasional horrible accident when someone's a little slow.



    If you ever have the chance to visit an exceptional magic club (like the Magic Castle in Los Angeles), you will be astounded at the skill of great sleight-of-hand magicians, even when they're literally right in front of you.
  • Reply 11 of 62
    bergzbergz Posts: 1,045member
    Quote:

    Originally posted by Voxapps

    Penn & Teller



    There exists no better live act.



    --B
  • Reply 12 of 62
    turnwriteturnwrite Posts: 372member
    Oh, I TOTALLY agree.



    Penn & Teller are the BEST magicians ever.



    They're WAY more entertaining than Chris Angel because they have great jokes and stuff to go along with their tricks.



    I was amazed by this Chris Angel stuff at first, but watching them again, you guys are right. I see that is how they did the coin one, and giant's explanation makes sense for the one where he saws a girl in half. The walking on water one confounded me, but if he does have most of the audience be in on it, then that one is pretty simple too.



    Penn & Teller are still tops in my book.
  • Reply 13 of 62
    mac_dollmac_doll Posts: 527member
    I love you guys, so delightfully skeptical and cynical, which isn't a bad thing, but Criss Angel is the real deal. I love it when people try to apply scientific reasoning to every aspect of this world. Needless to say, I fully support Criss Angel. You all should catch his show at night on A&E. I'm sorry, but faith can be a good thing, and some things in life can't be rationally explained. Most things are, but some aren't. But then, I'm just a silly woman.



    I'd like to see Penn or Teller levitate and float over to one rooftop to another.
  • Reply 14 of 62
    placeboplacebo Posts: 5,767member
    So you're saying Chris Angel is able to command real magic, simply for the entertainment of the masses.
  • Reply 15 of 62
    outsideroutsider Posts: 6,008member
    What a fucking bastard. If I had real magic, I'd be curing limp kids and turning water into beer.
  • Reply 16 of 62
    brussellbrussell Posts: 9,812member
    Quote:

    Originally posted by Outsider

    What a fucking bastard. If I had real magic, I'd be curing limp kids and turning water into beer.



    You are such a good man. Me, I'd use my powers to make coins come out of kids' ears for tips at the Restaurant of Magic.
  • Reply 17 of 62
    placeboplacebo Posts: 5,767member
    In the first video it look like there's a sticky note near the sweet peas...?
  • Reply 18 of 62
    splinemodelsplinemodel Posts: 7,311member
    Quote:

    Originally posted by Mac_Doll

    I love you guys, so delightfully skeptical and cynical, which isn't a bad thing, but Criss Angel is the real deal. I love it when people try to apply scientific reasoning to every aspect of this world.



    That's because, by definition, the universe is governed by science. If Mr. Angel does legitimately have the power to fly, then it's because he has control over gravity, or at least knows someone who does.



    You're into the occult stuff... wiki the Coral Castle.
  • Reply 19 of 62
    kickahakickaha Posts: 8,760member
    Quote:

    Originally posted by Mac_Doll

    I'm sorry, but faith can be a good thing,



    Yes.



    Quote:

    and some things in life can't be rationally explained. Most things are, but some aren't.



    I vehemently disagree. Leaving it at blind faith is just accepting ignorance.



    Lightning was once the realm of the gods, but now almost anyone can channel it on demand out of our walls.



    Just because something doesn't *currently* have an explanation, doesn't mean it *never* will. To think so is to really trivialize how far we've come from painting on cave walls to influence the hunt.



    Quote:

    But then, I'm just a silly woman.



    Wow, as a *man* I find that last comment sexist and offensive. Jeez.
  • Reply 20 of 62
    jimdreamworxjimdreamworx Posts: 1,095member
    As Penn & Teller said on their show Bullshit!:



    "TV magic is just so lame."



    "And people call us magicians, like that's a good thing."
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