One of the classic magic tricks is making a person float. Aside from doing it as a stage illusion, there’s no practical way to do it for smaller shows that’s as good. Like anything you have to make tradeoffs when you change the method. In this case the method includes the stage.
One of the popular ones looks like this:
I’ve written about this before, but the picture above recently passed through my Instagram feed. I think one of the things that I don’t like about it wrapping up the person in the cloth. It just doesn’t look right. Look at the area circled in red below:
Is there a solution to keeping the cloth uniform below the floating person?
Maybe if the cloth with just draped over the person, and left dangling?
Nathan Burton has a decent solution and leaves the board in view:
I like this a little bit better, it’s like he’s making the board float with someone on it. That could lead to a presentation idea with the line, “your seat bottom wil act as a floatation device“. That could be a fun comedy angle for a levitation.
I don’t know the solution to a practical levitation that’s done with the audience closer. And like I mentioned earlier, there are always trade offs when you make a stage illusion smaller and add an untrained assistant from the audience.
-Louie
Louie, I agree with your opinion, but I’ve never been able to come up with a way of doing it without the cloth. About six months ago I got a hold of a Jay Leslie chair suspension. It is a first class prop without dipping with a significant amount of weight. Perhaps instead of covering the person completely with the cloth I could leave it folded underneath with an inch or two draping down. Since Ive started using it, no one has noticed the hook. What do you think?
Magically, Dana Law.
I think that if the cloth dangles, it looks way better. However I don’t know if that will affect the deceptiveness of it when doing in a place like a living room.
Also, Jay Leslie’s chair suspension is really well made!