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Fiber optics, somewhere, somehow. Impressive.
Someone tell him to come to Montreal for the Comedy Festival, I’d like to see that.
piano wire?
Wow, that is pretty impressive, still kind of confused as to how he got to hang a shirt on a light. Alittle confused, but fascinated as to how this happened 🙂
it’s all smoke and mirrors
Whoop de doo
The first trick:
Wire in his hand streached to the handle. See how he holds his are when the ring falls. He’s holding the wire taut.
The line holding the shirt is already in place in the beginning of the show. Then breaking the light is also the distraction when he uses his other hand to release the line holding the shirt.
Its supernatural, thats it.
That was fun to watch, thanks for the post.
As a professional magician, I have to state the obvious to you theorists.. Magic is NOT a puzzle to figure out (or to try to offer solutions for), it is a form of entertainment. He’s not asking you to figure out how the shirt is hanging, but rather to imagine, just for a moment, that a beam of light can become solid.
Jason Latimer (the performer in this video) is one of the most innovative young magicians in the field today, and I had the pleasure of meeting him at a magic convention a while back. This is only one facet of his imaginative style, and I encourage you all to check him out.
#10: No offense, but I can’t enjoy magic for the same reasons I don’t believe in religion. I don’t believe in illusions, I need to know how they work. Picking apart the act is enjoyable to many of us, so don’t take offense that we aren’t enjoying it the way it was intended.
I like magic / Illusions – I still like to know how they’re done. The first minute or so is a wire is hidden in the laser.
For the rings the wire is extended from the handle and the ring drops down the wire.
For the shirt the wire extends halfway. Notice he puts his hand only on one side at first. When the shirt drops – his other hand is pushing a button on the rock to to retract the wire.
Bending the light rays later is just mirrors like at typical laser show.
Nice show to be at in person though and seeing it for the first time.
#10, #11,
I enjoy the puzzle, as well as the moment of mesmerizing entertainment. Two recent movies, The Prestige and The Illusionist, would indicate I am not alone in this fascination of performance magic as a puzzle of “how did they do that?”.
Also the technical merit of the dancing laser light was excellent regardless of it obviously being performed after palming a couple of little laser pointers.
But speaking of movies, natefrog remind me never to see a movie with you.
Jason can be seen at the Academy of Magical Arts (the Magic Castle) in Hollywood on a reasonable frequent basis. He is the result of the Academy’s “junior members” program, where talented kids get FREE training from professionals.
He is very entertaining, despite the puzzle involved in his magic. If you get the chance to see his act, please go, you will enjoy it.
#13: Ahh…you caught me, I should have qualified my statement. What I meant to say was “I don’t believe in illusions, I need to know how they work. Many magicians pass off their act as “supernatural”–whether intentionally or otherwise–and many people believe these people actually are performing supernatural feats.” What I mean to come across is that it annoys me how many people believe no trickery is involved when watching a magic act, nor do they accept rational explanations for the trick. Movies/TV/books of fiction never claim to be reality, so I don’t have as much a problem with them.
You are right, however. I am not a fun person to watch movies with! It’s all about “suspension of disbelief,” baby!
Natefrog, please understand that I did not take offense from your post despite the fact that this rant might seem so.. Are you with me, my friend? Here it goes..
“I can’t enjoy magic for the same reasons I don’t believe in religion.”
This statement blows my mind. Do you also not enjoy fictional movies for the same reason? Magic is not intended to be believed, the only thing required is a brief suspension of disbelief, just like movies such as Jurassic Park or Star Wars.
If I had to boil it down, I’d rather that magic not be picked apart in public forums, simply because a) explainations presented are hardly ever right but b) they’re often feasible enough to take away the magic in the eyes of viewers.
Let it be a mystery to those who want it to remain one. That’s it.
#16, Let it be a mystery to those who want it to remain one. That’s it. Comment by JFStan
As an amateur magician (close up) I fully agree. Kids and adults who remember being kids make the best audience. To me, it’s still a lot of fun and Jason’s presentation IMHO is innovative and quite good.
I had the good fortune of seeing Steve Martin perform “The Great Flydini” routine — one of the best mixes of magic and humor I’ve ever seen.
#16: In regards to your question, see my answer in #15.
I don’t have a problem with magic, per say, I have a problem with magicians/psychics/paranormalists who pass off their craft as genuine, or people who watch the act and believe it is magical or supernatural.
I’m sorry, but I have a problem with that statement. I just cannot respect people who can’t explain something and choose to remain ignorant or believe something supernatural is happening. Too many Americans believe in the paranormal, which I find unacceptable. I would be ranting about movies/books/TV if many people couldn’t distinguish fantasy from reality (and I often do criticize “news” programs which scare rather than inform).
That aside, yes, I can appreciate the showmanship and talent of magicians. But on the other hand, I know their acts are explainable, so I choose to discover how they do it.
#10 & #11
I agree with NateFrog. The engineer in me wants to dissect the illusion to see how it is done. That is just how some of our minds work.
I think the first part is dome with black threads, not wires. The first one, with the hoop, the hoop is tied to a thread that is probably in his mouth so he can make the hoop appear to slide on light.
The one with the coat hanger also appears to be a pre-positioned black thread. He can put his hand on one side by simply putting the thread between two fingers. Then, he breaks the thread on the other side and it drops.
The rest can be done with slight of hand and three miniture green lasers, two in one hand (taped end to end) and a another in the other hand.
At first I thought he had a mirror in one hand but he would simple shine the light from one hand to the other where it terminates and the he exposed the emit end on the other laser.
Still, very impressive slight of hand. That took a lot of practice and good hand-eye coordination. My hat is off to him for a truly original bit, even if it was seemingly short.
“I am not a fun person to watch movies with!” Hey, I get that, too.
Illusions are to make kids wonder but to make adults ponder.
natefrog – You must be a fan of the Great (oops, Amazing) Randi.
#21: I believe it’s “The Amazing Randi”, Hop, and who doesn’t love that guy? His mission is to expose the real scoundrels like Geller, not the work-a-day illusionists like Latimer, above.
21: Yes, The Amazing Randi is awesome! 😀
Natefrog, my friend, believe it or not I agree with you… You apparently misunderstood what I meant. I, too, feel that anyone who uses what we (magicians) do to fool people into believing in the paranormal or that magic really exists is very wrong. (I don’t even like the fact that there’s a horoscope link on Dvorak’s page)
What I mean when I say “leave it a mystery” is similar to not telling someone the ending to “The Sixth Sense” before they see it, or someone watching a sunset not knowing the science behind why it happens, but just enjoying it. There are many people who have their feet firmly planted in reality and know full well that magic isn’t real, however they still do not wish to know the secret because it takes the fun out of it. My sister is one of them.
If you’re an analytical person, I respect that, but I only ask that people respect the magic and magicians’ secrets. We’ve chosen a unqiue profession, and it’s so widely misunderstood what the goal is of a magician.
I’d love to continue this debate with you somewhere else, Natefrog (I can’t keep checking this blog entry!) Find me on Dvorak’s forum.. same name..
That would be:
http://cagematch.dvorak.org/