Fearson's Fantastic Floatation

Anonymous writes, "I want to know the secret to Fearson's Fabulous Floatation"

I'm sure you're referring to Fearson's Fantastic Floatation, also referred to as the Jacket levitation.

Here's could it could be accomplished:

The magician wears a gimmick which is a kind of shell leg. The shell would be made of plastic and covered with a pant leg that matches the pants the magician is wearing. One of the magician's shoes is actually attached to the bottom of this fake leg. The shell fits along the back of the leg and moves with the leg as the magician walks since it is hinged at the knee on both sides. The magician can slide his foot in and out of the shoe through a hole in the front of the pant leg which covers the shell.

To perform the effect, the magician removes his jacket and holds it at waist level, so it just reaches the floor and completely conceals his legs momentarily. Behind the cover of the jacket the magician removes the foot from the shoe and hooks the other leg and the shell together. Now he can pivot horizontally, bringing one real leg and the shell leg into view.

To the audience it appears both feet are up off the ground. He floats for a bit and then returns to the ground. The foot is reinserted into the shoe and the shell leg snaps back with it, onto the back of the real leg. The jacket is whipped away, and that's magic.

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Walking Through the Great Wall of China

Valentina asks, "How did David Copperfield walk through the Great Wall of China?"

Here's how it could be done:

The magician is pushed up to the wall on a giant table. The base of the table is hollow and the magician is able to fit inside. It is hard to believe because it is designed deceptively. These tables are commonly used by stage illusionists. It is referred to as a "thin base".

Translucent sides were raised and you could see only the shadow, actually a projection of a fake shadow as the magician immediately enters the base. The surface of the base usually has a trap door made from two overlapping pieces of black lycra. The magician can pass through easily and the lycra snaps shut automatically.

So we watch the projection of the shadow seem to enter the wall. This is just misdirection, distracting you from the base. As soon as the shadow is gone, they drop the sides and you see that the magician is gone also. The base is then wheeled off camera with the magician inside. the magician is removed from the base and passes to the other side of the wall by normal means outside of our view and away from the audience. Whether or not he traveled over in the camera crane is hard to say but odds are he did not.

The magician enters another thin base table contraption on the other side of the wall and the table is wheeled up to the wall at the point he is supposed to emerge from. Now a novel technique is employed to make it appear as though he is actually emerging from the flat wall rather than the table base. Two assistants hold up a cover piece and you see two hands attempting to push through from behind. Although the effect is very realistic, the hands actually belong to the assistants! If you watch closely you will see that only one hand from each assistant can be seen. The other is behind the cover piece and that creates the illusion of two hands pushing from the middle. Again, this is done to direct your attention to the wall and away from the table base, where the magician is hiding.

Finally, they put up the sides and project an image of the magician emerging from the wall. While this is going on, the magician has plenty of time to crawl out of the base and when the sides are removed, it appears as though he's magically passed through the wall.

Abracadabra!


Is there a magic trick you would like to see exposed on this site?

Just leave a comment describing the trick you would like to see exposed. It will arrive in my email box and I will expose the secret on this blog.

Exposure advances the art of magic.

MM

I Will Reveal the Secret to any Magic Trick

Just leave a comment describing the trick you would like to see exposed.

It will arrive in my email box and I will expose the secret on this blog.

Exposure advances the art of magic.

MM