Hello, xlr8s1v1ce-ga
The trick you saw performed by David Blaine on his television special
is called the Balducci Levitation. Blaine is not the originator of
this trick, which is not really self-levitation at all. Ed Balducci
credits Erwin Levine, a member of the Harmonicats, for showing him the
method.
* As for the video you have linked from College Humor in your
clarification, please see the reference at the bottom of my answer
about the "dead giveaway" concerning hidden wires and pendulation.....
=
From Wikipedia:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Balducci_levitation
"The Balducci levitation is a simple magic trick, credited to Ed
Balducci. It produces the illusion of a person briefly levitating a
few inches above the ground. It is a popular illusion with magicians
because it can be performed impromptu and without special equipment."
"Magician David Blaine performs this trick. On television, his act,
which features reactions of the audience, is intercut with shots of
him levitating with hidden mechanical assistance. This allows him to
appear to have both feet quite a few inches above the ground in
certain shots, something impossible with the Balducci levitation. The
controversy among magicians about Blaine's television specials focuses
on this, as some consider it to violate one of the rules of the
television performance of magic: that the at-home television audience
sees exactly what a live audience would see."
=
About "Balducci levitation."
http://www.economicexpert.com/a/Balducci:levitation.html
"illusion of a person briefly levitating a few inches above the ground
for a short period of time. The trick is dependent on restricting the
audience's point-of-view and being aware of the body's angle with
respect to the viewer(s). The illusionist is simply standing on the
tip-toe of the foot furthest from the audience; that foot is concealed
from view of the audience by the foot nearest to the audience and by
the illusionist's clothing."
"It is a tricky illusion to perform because of the physical strength
required and the precision in orientation. Obviously, it cannot be
performed in front of a large, spread-out crowd, or sustained for any
real length of time."
***
"David Blaine performs this trick; on television his act is intercut
with shots of him suspended by wires taken at a different time so he
can be shown with both feet above the ground in certain shots."
***
Pictures and explanations of of this trick
http://www.geocities.com/Broadway/Stage/7308/balducci.html
"The Balducci Levitation is an illusion that can be performed almost
anywhere, any time. It uses no wires, strings, rigs, camera tricks,
etc.
"This is a highly restrictive, angle-sensitive trick. You have to
practice your angles over and over to get used to them. One bad angle
or position and the illusion is blown!"
"In the television special "David Blaine: Street Magic" they show
everyone having 'cows' over Blaine's levitation. What they don't show
you are the countless times Blaine screwed the trick up. It is easy to
get a bad angle - even more so when you're performing for several
people."
"Figure 1 shows the start of the illusion. Stand about 8 to 10 feet
away from the audience at a 45° 'backward' angle (as shown in figure
1). You pause . . . and then slowly start to float (figure 2). You
rise 3 to 5 inches off of the ground before you suddenly "crash" back
down to the ground."
"When performed correctly, this is about as close to "real" magic as
you'd ever want to get."
"All you do is pretend to "float off of the ground while you
tippee-toe on just one foot (the foot furthest from their view) as
shown below. Believe it, or not, this looks GREAT! The small audience
can not see your supporting foot because it is hidden by three things:
your pants, the angle of the trick and your closest shoe (which hides
their view of the foot being used to "levitate" you.) You might only
rise 3 or 5 inches off of the ground, but it's all in the
presentation! You will want to slowly rise off of the ground . . .
wait just one second and then drop fast. Stay up too long and they
will probably figure it out."
An illustration of the "levitation"
http://www.geocities.com/Broadway/Stage/7308/balduccianimation.html
==
Also see more graphics and explanation on the Magiclearn website:
http://www.magiclearn.50megs.com/photo2.html
"What Blaine did was a camera trick - known as a post-production edit.
The audience at home watched the second (wire suspension) levitation
performance, with the audience reaction of the Balducci levitation
edited in. It was said, in the television special, that no strings or
wires were used to perform Blaine's levitation and there are no camera
tricks. This is a lie, his show is basically based on camera tricks,
editing and production. DAVID BLAIN IS A LUCKY, AMATEUR MAGICIAN THAT
WAS IN THE RIGHT PLACE AT THE RIGHT TIME! Nothing more, mabey less."
==
A discussion thread about David Blaine's trick is found on the following link
http://www.eeggs.com/items/21366.html
==
Still..."how did he attach the wire?"
http://www.ebtx.com/theory/blaine.htm
"There was no need to edit. It was simply a great wire suspension act.
Today's wires are incredibly thin and invisible if viewed in the right
light. The overhead rig pulling up the wire must be camouflaged with
mirrors much the same a a "disappearing elephant" trick."
"The dead giveaway of a wire act is "pendulation". This is when the
"floater" starts to swing a little. No matter how deft the magician
is, it is impossible to stop this from happening. The human eye picks
up on this very fast so the trick has a time limit of only a few
seconds. From the slight pendulation on the video, I'd say the rig was
about 20 - 40 feet up above. There is also a limit on how high he
could go in broad daylight. Remember, he wants to use the lightest
test string possible to prevent it from being seen so it is near its
breaking limit. How high are you willing to fall unexpectedly? Maybe a
foot? At two feet we have to start thinking about possible back
injuries. In a night club where the lights are low you can use heavier
test so the floater can soar to much greater heights."
"This is what the sidewalk observers are impressed enough by to be
literally "taken aback"."
"The part that still puzzles me is how he attached the wire. Was it
prepared on him all the while or did he somehow attach it when he
chose to do the trick?"
===
The Levitation.org website has a series of articles on various types of levitation:
http://www.levitation.org/
====
Even if David Blaine did use visual trickery and wires to
self-levitate, I STILL love his magic tricks! He is a fascinating
magician and I will watch his television specials any chance I get!
Sincerely,
umiat
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