what is the best levitation method or gimmick that u guys can recommend?

Do you mean self-levitation, levitation of objects or?

if you are looking for cheap self levitation i recomend this; The Zero Gravity Levitation by Mike Bent.
from here Penguin magic

Wait for the release of Criss Angel's Lev.

when will that be??

He did release an autographed calendar for people to count down to his 1st dvd release of Quarter through Soda Can.

Maybe you wait for the next calendar to be released and then start counting down to the 2nd dvd which would include the levitation.

can tell me when it comes out??
please and thank you :off:

Well if it's self-levitation perhaps you can check out Elevator 2? The clip on hocus pocus seems rather smooth.

If you have US$400+ to spare, check out The Icarus Effect by Aaron Paterson.

Those who took the inital plunge gave good reviews for it.

As for Elevator 2, most people were quite disappointed.

Although I don't own any of them, I am just speaking from what I gathered so far.

All levitations have their limitations. Angles have always been a big issue in self levs. Most of the levs out in the market requires practice to get it right, so don't expect to do it straight out of the box.

Many people killed the B lev for trying to pull a quickie off. Ever since the Blaine hype, many sites have since exposed the lev.

Bottom line is, it all depends on which suits your performance style and how much you have to spare.

yeh one thing bad about self levitation is it's angle sencitive...

Well, don expect a miracle when it comes to self levitation.

I have come across many discussions about certain levitations being too angly, some not being able to levitate to an acceptable height, etc etc. IMO, most levitations, except for a few, are quite good if performed correctly (that means minding the angles, the size of the audience, etc).

Even a simple Balducci Levitation (sorry if i got the spelling wrongly) can look great when done correctly.

Anyway, as of now, I am very interested in Criss Angel's levitation. Hopefully it will be out before his next calender :lol:

(PS: Practising Yoga does not allow you to levitate!! I have tried and failed!! :!!: )

Obviously you have not met or heard the tales of Mr Henry Sugar. :g:

yeah i watched criss angel's mindfreak television series on a&e tv and found it to be really cool. on some scenes he seems to float a few inches off the ground from back view while other scenes show him levitating to more than a metre! by the way i''ve seen the icarus effect, to me it doesn't seem much like levitation but as a slow motion of going down a staircase...somewhat like a fairy

whats ''a&e tv''?

If you have seen the demo, the last part shows an open space lev.
I don't see how the lev looks like a flying fairy considering I have never seen one. I always thought they had wings.

Icarus allows you to face the front for better audience management and leaves you clean at the end so you can walk off. It looks much smoother than E1 and E2.

Speculation elsewhere has said that the Criss Angel's lev is done with the back facing the audience. Plus you would need to hunt the materials required to build it.

We just have to wait and see....

E2 is the best. You can try to get E1. However if you are short of cash, get the Zero Gravity By Mike Bent!
Regarding the Icarus Effect and the Criss Angel levitation, I don't think they are good to buy if you wanna perform on street. Icarus Effect and the Criss Angel's levitation are both very angle sensitive, and both of them have to be done to a platform, but if you are doing the levitation to a video clip, go ahead! They looked superb!

To lllusion112:

As mentioned earlier, Icarus can be done without being next to a platform. It is the walk away straight after u land that impresses me. Being able to wear the set up all day without feeling a thing is the other selling point.

Do you own E2? What makes it so superior to the others? As far as I know the p*ns do bend easily although Peter replaces them for you free. The bend free setup is possible but very difficult. Hence, requires u to have an awkward set up.

To exohordon:

Do you own Icarus Effect?

Yea, I have E2, and I didnt hav any problems with it ;)

No I don't but its the selling points that impresses me.

As pointed out, mind telling me how is E2 superior to other levs in particular Icarus?

E2 has the advantage of being more invisible that E1 but not completely invisible. However it took away the ability of doing the rotation lev.

Was it easy to get into the hands free setup?
How long did u take to master that?

I am in the hunt for something practical to use and Icarus struck me with the deepest impression.

E2 just gives me the impression your trying hard to balance yourself on a block.

Yo, you have the point there of the ability of not being able to turn during the levitation like E1, but to me it looked a little wierd when u start to turn in mid-air and the spectators will get suspicious and look down, therefore i don't really do the turning part when I perform using E1.

Eventhough 'landing' immediately when the spectator tried to looked down will solve the problem, I do not like the way of making the spectator suspicious, therefore i prefer E2. As using E2, i can slow down a little and not get to rush to be afraid to let out the secret.

E2 will also made more people away from you to be able to see the illusion and the secret will not be given off so easily conpared to E1.

Yea, You can get the Icarus Effect, but there are better self levitation to get.

Thanks for the post.

I have to self quote myself again

I hope you could tell me the pros and cons over Icarus since you seem to know something about it.

Do you do the hands free setup or the "bend down" if you know what I mean?

How easy is it to learn the hands free?

In E2, can you walk away straight after you land?

Thanks again.

Urm..are you testing me?

Icarus is very nice, but you have to construct on your own! And you will look stupid if anyone sees you behind, Im in the process of making the Icarus and yes you doesn't have to have a platform to do the effect but you will look a little wierd, but that doesn't matter to me though.

I knew the secret of the E2 before I bought it, and I knew that the setup is difficult to do, thats why one of my friend and I had created a new way to set up the levitation, which allowed fast setup and faster time to walk away after landing.
P.S: Try mixing the way E1 works with E2.

E2 doesn't have to be done with the bend down, but E1 allowed you to clean up easily due to the "r***"

Yes, the different levitation have different advantages and disadvantages, but it is on the preferences of the performers.
You may like E1 more than E2, but I can be different, it is like others prefered Balducci and was being commented about it by another who like E1. They both have different tastes! Its the matter of what we like and we are just recommending stuff to others, what will he like, we have no idea, and we can't control it. Hope that the comparison will end here and if you like to know more about the Icarus Effect, feel free to add me on MSN.


Rave,
Peace

What gave you the idea I wanted to test you.

I told you I am hunting for a lev that I would use and asking for comments from you over the 2.

So I assume you bought Icarus as well since your constructing it.

Would the space age material last, i.e is it durable?

How difficult is it for me to transfer the set up to another set of pants?

One last thing, if I were to grow fat in the future, could the gimmick be adjusted to accomodate the increase in size?

Thanks for help.

Haha, cool we had started another thread on Icarus effect.

Hey man, sorry about this but I cannot share these info with you though, however the gimmick is nice but you have to waste quite alot of money besides the US$395.

Im currently saving up for the Criss Angel's levitation, but I bet it will be something like the Icarus, unfortunately, I am supporting him and will like to know the way to do that too, so decided to buy, hehe.

Anyway, I have to go now, see you tommorrow.

Hmm,

I am just asking some questions that would not endanger the secrets of the effect. I just want to know if the space age material is durable, and the ease of transferring the gimmick to another set of pants.

Other than a set of pants, what else do I have to spend on?
I thought everything is included including the gun. Those who bought and built the effect never mentioned about getting additional stuff.

Your help will be appreciated since this purchase would set me back by a hefty 400 not to mention shipping.

How much did shipping cost you for this?

Thanks

Wow :!!: you bought icarus!! thats a whole load of money there :P . The saying that school kids nowadays have enormous spending power is really true. I doubt i would have that amount to spare when i was 15. Sigh *Envious*

Sorry for barging in on the conversation

According to the hefty discussion on Magic Cafe with regards to the icarus effect, the required equipment are provided in the package and no additional items are required. This includes the DVD. So am quite puzzled by what other additional costs (unless you are talking about the shipping fees?)

Anyway, just a side track. I do not think that discussing the durability of the item and if it can be shifted to another pair of pants is in anyway exposing the gimmick. Its like saying that I exposed the raven just by saying "Ya, it can last a lifetime". :ph43r: . Its fine if you beg to differ.

I am also very interested in icarus. If you might be able to shed some light on it, it would be great, since i think in Singapore you might be the only one to have this item. :wub:


As for Criss Angel's levitation, i heard that we need to buy our own material to fix the gimmick. And honestly, this kinda turned me off :(

CHEERS! B)

if you are looking for coin levitation then SPUN by Morgan Strebler is for you, but it depends, i think if you would to show levitation effects in singpaore, naturaly your audience will think that you are suported by strings....

Haha, sorry guys, but you ask me whether it is durable.

To me, it is very durable, but in the mean time you ahve to take care of it well too man, anyway who in the hell will trash around the gimmick,haha.

Regarding whether to buy extra things, I do not think it's needed, but I went to buy it due to the fact that I wanted best results and enable the gimmick to last longer without the need for me to change it.

Im not sure about the shipping cost though, sorry, my dad paid for it, hehe.

Mind elaborating on what's best results?
How did it enhance the illusion?

You mentioned having to spend lots of money on purchasing other stuff. How much did u spend on the extras? Cos I don't want to waste too much additional money on top of the effect alone.

I had a conversation with Aaron Paterson and Kipp Sherry. Both of them told me that everything is included in the package. The space age material will be sold separately at a later stage for those who wants to build an additonal rig.

Only a special something is needed for the stage version and they wouldn't add up to more than a few bucks.

Expensive stuffs, I bought good pants, haha.

You know, I bought the black leather pants form Harley Davidson, heh.

Anyway, it doesn't matter much dude! You can use a very cheap pants to do that.

As I said, when i perform on the streets, i have a specific clothings, its the matter on your personal style man. (I used to wear something like Criss Angel, lol)

The 'space age' material is indeed good quality and you will not regret after buying it, its very worth it.

Yo, add me in MSN if you don't mind.

Erhmm, pardon me, but a harley Davidson black leather pants can enhance the illusion and enable the gimmick to last longer? (as stated by you earlier) :blink:

Hey i am really interested in see it in action. I heard too many bad comments on how the effect is not really clean at the end and you have to be careful and how this effect is not made for performances in streets where there is a large group of people all around you. Its really great that you can managed to find some way to perform it in the streets.

When are you performing in the streets again? Can we go see?

Thanks ^_^

Yo, dude, the pants cannot enhance the effect practically, lol.
I wear it because it's my style of performance and that is what i normally wear.

Haiz, I felt that I am being pressurized by you guys man. If you like to clearify anything, add me on MSN.

Let others to recommend levitations on this thread. :)

Peace.

erhmm, i merely asked when would you be performing so that i can perhaps come see. Is this pressuring?

And actually, this thread is about levitation so honestly i do not see anything wrong about discussing levitation here, esp when none of our questions are asking you to expose the gimmck.

No, I mean on the pants thingy, haha.

Ok, I think Im wrong...

hehe the levitation effect, I like the balducci method best..

I prep my audience a year before I actually showed it to them...


haha...

spooked them out..