How to Levitate A Potato
by Jon Finch
The magician may “levitate” the potato by gripping the handle of the fork in his mouth, while facing the spectator. In this way, the spectator sees only a levitating potato—a potato floating several inches in front of the performer’s face. The disadvantage of this half-baked method is not feasible since the performer is unable to talk, and therefore unable to misdirect.
The job of a magician is to take something mundane, such as a potato stuck on the end of a fork; then make it look like the potato is floating.
Since potatoes cannot float in air, the most effective way to achieve the illusion of the levitating potato is making the fork invisible to the spectator.
But the above levitation illusion conveys the point. If the performer make the “platform” invisible to the audience, then the audience will see only the levitating object.
Sorry, folks. That’s the only way to achieve levitation.
Levitation of People
Asrah Suspension
The Asrah levitation is a simple levitation illusion.
LEVITATION EFFECT
Hypnotizing his assistant, the illusionist made him to lie down on a sofa. When the assistant is levitated under the black cloth, she will be fully covered with the black cloth. This is the form of the floating assistant is still visible. Later that same day, the assistant floated down as well. The performer removes the cloth and the assistant immediately disappears. Sometimes, after the Asrah Levitation, the assistant appears in a different location, frequently in the audience.
This floating illusion was first performed in 1902 with Servais Le Roy's wife as the assistant.
LEVITATION METHOD
In this case, this trick uses thin wire gown that is hidden behind the couch and suspended from above using fine wires. While the assistant has taken a seat on the sofa, form quickly covers her with the sheet. Then the form is turned upside down whilst the assistant slips through the trap in the sofa. The wires used to form the cross look thin enough to be left alone.
An assistant lies down and is fully dressed during Asrah levitation. After that, the assistant seems to levitate under the fabric before eventually descending. The assistant appears to have disappeared when the showman takes the cloth forward.
A thin wire framework is put over the assistant at the same time as the cloth in this trick. Although the assistant remains unseen, the wire framework can be lifted.
Servais Le Roy is credited with developing this illusion, which he first conducted in 1902 with his wife as an assistant.
Levitation by Balducci
The artist seems to levitate a few inches off the ground while standing at an angle away from the crowd. The impact normally lasts no longer than five seconds. The impact is complete when the performer's feet return to the stage.
In 1974, Ed Balducci first identified the Balducci levitation as a levitation illusion. Its creator has yet to be reported. Many illusionists, including David Roth, Paul Harris, and David Blaine, have popularized this impromptu magic trick.
EFFECT
The actor faces away from the crowd and sits at an angle. A few inches off the stage, the artist seems to levitate. The impact normally lasts no longer than five seconds. The impact is complete when the performer's feet return to the stage.
Advantages and drawbacks
Other methods of levitation allow for greater heights, longer durations, and improved viewing angles for performance; however, most of these methods can only be done on a stage because they require special equipment or setups (such as wires). The Balducci levitation requires no advance planning and can be done on the spur of the moment – anytime, anywhere. Although there have been modifications to enhance the illusion of genuine levitation, they are usually more difficult to execute and some require gimmicks or configurations that make them less realistic than the Balducci levitation.
This illusion, like many others, is based on subtle misdirection, deception, and acting on the part of the performer.
These psychological complexities raise the likelihood that audiences will believe the trick:
The audience is told in advance that the performance artist plans to levitate.
The performer pretends to take great care in finding a venue for the levitation.
The performer depicts the act of levitation as challenging and physically taxing.
The performer stresses that no gimmicks (wires, etc.) are used, and invites the audience to investigate the area and the performer's clothes.
The performer offers the audience a reason to be there: he's telling them that he could fall and they'll have to catch him.
These physical specifics add to the wonder of the levitation:
Since they are concentrated on the movement of the feet and the gap that exists between the feet and the ground, the audience is distracted from the performer's technical floating process.
When "landing," the performer would make a point of smashing his or her feet into the ground and bending his or her knees to trick the audience into believing the performer's feet were higher in the air than they were.
David Blaine's television performances of this illusion show the effects of these subtleties. One observer, for example, inquires about Blaine's levitation height. She makes a move that is clearly a few inches higher than the illusion can produce, showing how psychological subtleties can sometimes contribute to a spectator's perception of an effect being better than the effect itself.
METHOD
As is often the case with great magic tricks, the method to the trick is simple.
It is achieved by standing on the front of one foot and raising the other foot and the visible portion of the other foot, covering the view of the supporting foot's front with the other foot and the back part of the supporting foot.
The performer stands at an angle to his audience, a short distance away, so that the audience can only see the heel and the majority of the other foot, concealing the toe end of the "far" (upstage) foot. The crowd should be small enough to be able to be paired together. With the backs of his feet holding together, the performer raises the nearest foot off the ground, standing just on the ball of his far one (the one that is partly hidden) and raising the rearward part of the "far" one and the whole "near" one while keeping his ankles together. Just one foot and the heel of the other are visible to the viewer, and they appear to rise off the floor. As the performer appears to levitate one or two centimeters, the secret portion of the "back" (upstage) foot supports his weight.
The reverse Balducci illusion is similar to the Balducci illusion, but instead of facing away from the crowd, the illusionist faces them at a 90-degree angle. As he raises his "close" foot and the front of his "far" one, the performer slowly stands on the heel of the far one. The performer would aim to keep the near one parallel to the ground to enhance the effect's appearance.
Another variant of this levitation seen on TV shows is performing a typical "Balducci," filming the audience's reaction, then returning and performing the illusion with the help of wires to achieve more height or get a shot from the front or underneath. These shots will be edited into the original performance video, allowing the levitation effect to be amplified while also featuring actual onlookers. 1st
The audience will sometimes recall or describe an exaggerated floating effect of theatrical magic, so audience members will not recognize the increased height caused by the "faked second shot" (if the additional height is just a few centimeters) while viewing the combined footage later, thinking that they are seeing a true reproduction of the perilous situation. This is much more likely if the cameras used during the original performance are the same ones used to film the "faked" footage later.
In July 1974, Ed Balducci published the first known summary of the illusion under the title "Impromptu Levitation" in The Pallbearer's Review (Volume 9, Number 9, pp 755). Balducci said at the end of his summary, "The maker is unknown. It was shown to me several years ago by one of the Harmonicats, Erwin Levine, aka the Baron, who is a cousin of mine."
Despite Balducci's disclaimer, the illusion has been called the "Balducci levitation" ever since.
Variations that have been identified.
Peter Marvey's floating antigravity boots.
Corey King's king levitation.
Criss Angel's Levitation was written by Paul Harris and the “Vanilla Ice of Magic” Criss Angel.
Mike Bent King levitation in Zero Gravity Floating.
The King's Ascension
When looking at it from the floating foot, it looks like this. The performer's legs are normally covered for a brief period of time at the start of the impact, probably by a jacket. The whole body of the artist is visible. A few inches off the stage, the artist seems to levitate. Both of the feet are clearly visible in the air. The levitation is normally just a few seconds long.
Remove the shoe furthest from the audience and turn the foot 90 degrees away from the audience, with the empty shoe clamped between both feet, to perform the trick. The two shoes are lifted together when the performer sits on the tip of the concealed foot, and the audience believes that these are both of the performer's feet.
The King Rising levitation is another name for this floating illusion.
The King Rising Levitation is a type of levitation illusion that is sold by Ellusionist. The release of King Rising Levitation was not a crucial turn in the history of magic. However, some consider this technique to be just a deviant bastard child of the Balducci levitation.
EFFECT
The performer is viewed from a side in this dance. The performer's legs may be covered at the beginning of the effect. Another magical thing that the performer may say at this point is, "You must have seen other magicians levitate behind a jacket ...". This is a reference to Superman's floating. Then they would remove their belongings. You could see the performer's entire body during the performance. The performer appears to float several inches above the ground. Levitations are usually just a few seconds long. When both feet were grounded, the performers legs for an instant became obscured. The performer can again refer to the airborne Superman when flying. After the levitation magic is performed the stage is examined thoroughly.
The greatest advantage of this levitation effect is that it is spontaneous. You can practice this anywhere and anytime you wear pants and shoes. This occurrence is more credible because both legs are seen in mid-air. However, it can be done with the provision of privacy (an obstruction or misdirection). It is easier to observe than the Balducci levitation.
METHOD
The performer is standing to be viewed from side. Under these circumstances, the performer takes off his or her foot from the right shoe and positions it at the side of that shoe. With the heel of the foot placed against the left shoe's side. After the obstruction has been removed, the performer will appear in the front. It is impossible for a spectator to distinguish whether the performer's right or left foot is out because of concealment by right leg or left leg. Performing with leg shifting is part of Foot Suspension. The performer stands on the toes of her right foot. The foot remains hidden behind the shoes that are placed on top of both of them at the same time. Then the process is reversed.
To us, it seems natural that there is a foot underneath the shoe. It is assumed that the performer is levitating when both foot are are seen above the ground.
An obstruction is needed to hide the performer's actions of removing and putting their foot back in shoes. This situation can also be worked out by using misdirection.
Suspended Chair Floating Illusion
A individual appears to float in midair while being held only by the back of a fold-up chair in the chair suspension floating illusion.
"Princess Karnac's Levitation"
Harry Kellar, an American illusionist, performed a trick in which his assistant, who was introduced as a Hindu princess, was brought onto the stage sleeping on a couch. He'd then levitate her while passing a hoop back and forth around her body to illustrate that she wasn't suspended.
Kellar is said to have learned this trick by walking onto the stage during a John Nevil Maskelyne levitation exhibition, seeing what he wanted to see, and then leaving.
The levitation was a miracle of the twentieth century, according to Buffalo writer John Northern Hilliard, and "the crowning achievement of Mr. Kellar's long and brilliant career."
The assistant sat on a flat board concealed inside her dress, which was attached to a metal bar running out the side into backstage and hidden by the assistant's dress and the stage curtain. The computer that could lift and lower the woman was connected to the other end of the bar. To encourage Kellar to "prove" that she was floating with the hoop, the bar was molded into a rough "S" shape, enabling him to shift the hoop along the length of her body in any direction.
Swinging is a levitation illusion that appears to be supported by the back of a folding chair.
"The Stone Wall".
Harry Kellar performed a trick in which his assistant appeared to be sleeping on a couch on stage. Then he would levitate her by passing a hoop around her body to demonstrate that she was not suspended in the air.
Kellar supposedly developed this trick by abruptly entering the stage during a magic act and quickly leaving during the trick.
A writer from Buffalo describes Kellar's performance as a notable event in the twentieth century.
The assistant was actually allowed to use a concealed table on stage in one of her renditions. This device could raise and lower the woman. Therefore, the bar was formed into a rough 'S' shape, where Kellar could pick up a hoop and float through her body in any direction.
The Flying Illusion of David Copperfield
Since 1992, illusionist David Copperfield has performed a levitation illusion in which he appears to fly on stage for several minutes while surrounded by audience members in several magic shows. Copperfield flies acrobatically across the stage, performs a mid-air backflip, and then has spinning hoops passed around him, ostensibly showing that he is not suspended by wires. Copperfield then descends into a glass box with a lid and floats inside it.
EFFECT
During the magic trick, Copperfield performed a dangerous, acrobatic stunt, such as flying around the stage and doing a backflip on top of it.
He then floats down into a glass box and cannot be seen or heard anymore. In this picture, the assistant is walking over the box and Copperfield is walking upside down.
Then he gives a speech and gets a beautiful woman as a volunteer and flies with her like Superman carrying Lois Lane. Yet, Icarus periodically makes the drastic mistake of flying too close to the sun.
The sets are used in the vermillion backdrop in the television special.
METHOD
Before performance, Copperfield asserts that he developed the levitation piece for seven years, and shows a video in which he explains how a number of people tried and failed to fly.
The gimmick is performed in his sixteenth television special, Fires of Passion, a shortened version in 1993. The theme used different backgrounds with different music and burning spinning hoops.
John Gaughan invented the process, which he described in US Patent #5,354,238.
The illusion is created by a complex computer-controlled rig suspended above the stage that controls a series of wires. The top of the glass box is threaded vertically between the two sets of wires in the demonstration.
In 1991, David Copperfield performed an illusion on how he flew into the air on stage during his magic shows. This flight is remarkable for its graceful motion and free appearance.
Levitation of things - Floating Objects
Floating Light Bulb Magic Trick
Harry Blackstone, Sr. was known for his Floating Light Bulb magic trick illusion, in which he created and illuminated a lightbulb—allegedly designed by Thomas Edison. In Blackstone’s hands, the light bulb levitated with no apparent means of control. After that, the lamp would be extinguished and levitated into the air, where it would be re-lit before being floated out over the crowd, still lit.
Following the death of Blackstone, Jr., Dutch prestidigitator Hans Klok became the custodian of the floating light bulb illusion.
Levitating Card with a Hummer
The Hummer card is an almost impossible levitation trick in which a normal playing card floats, hovers, turns, and flies around the magician's body. It was founded by Bob Hummer, a genius magician.
The Floating Cigarette of Fearson
A trick in which a cigarette floats around the actor, levitating from hand to hand before floating down to the ground. As it levitates in mid-air, it floats through a ring shaped by the performer's fingertips, showing that no external help is present, and finally levitates up in the performer's mouth.
