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by **bboynightwing** » May 15th, '07, 02:16

that illusion was tight. i had no clue how he did that.. seems almost like magic that he disapeared.

i like criss angels stuff, i like how he talks about what he used to be into like martial arts and how he uses it in some of his magic.. well im not sure if he actually does or hes just lying but i thought it was amazing when he lifted the car or pushed the palm tree and how he explains you gotta work up to the bigger goals. and that thing where he has people line up and try to push him, i think i have seen that in martial arts demonstrations not sure.

by **faxinator** » Jun 6th, '07, 03:25

bboynightwing wrote:that illusion was tight. i had no clue how he did that.. seems almost like magic that he disapeared.

If you pay close attention to the buildings in the background of the shot during this particular illusion, I think the answer to how it is achieved becomes fairly obvious. Let's just say it seems to be a common method for Angel.

by **truthiness2** » Jun 29th, '07, 16:58

[deleted]

by **Josh Clarke** » Jun 30th, '07, 21:12

truthiness2 wrote:http://video.google.com/videoplay? < CENSORED > &plindex=5

This is exposure and that is not allowed here. I modified the link in my quote as to not further the exposure.

And for my short answer to this post:

I think magicians can do whatever they're able to acheive a desired effect. I wish I had the money to use good camera tricks (which I'm still not convinced Criss does). Remember, for Criss, the audience is the TV viewer not the people around him ...

by **beeno** » Jul 1st, '07, 15:12

Josh Clarke wrote:
truthiness2 wrote:http://video.google.com/videoplay? < CENSORED > &plindex=5

This is exposure and that is not allowed here.

Hmmm. I have a problem with this, as it's not exactly exposing any magic secrets is it?
All it's exposing is CGI and editing techniques. Freely available all over the net

by **Michael Jay** » Jul 1st, '07, 15:20

I wish I had the money to use good camera tricks....

Why? Are you going to be pushing a television with a VCR/DVD player around to show your magic with?

"Hello, I'm a magician and I'm going to show you some great magic..."

"Okay, let's see then..."

"Here, wait, I just have to turn this tellie on and start the DVD player...Okay, see? That's me there on the screen...Now watch my great magic."

"Well, why don't you do some magic for us, yourself, right here and now?"

"Oh, because I don't have an edit function for real life and I can't use camera tricks here in real life...But, I'm still a magician, even though the only 'magic' I can do is on the television..."

...camera tricks (which I'm still not convinced Criss does).

Mike.

by **Mandrake** » Jul 3rd, '07, 11:42

Courtesy of magicnews and various online sites:

Criss Angel's wife says the magic has gone from their marriage and she now wants to make him vanish from her life. Angel, known for his "Mindfreak" show on the A&E network, subdued his sometimes flashy look for a court hearing Friday. But he flashed a bit of humor during a break, gesturing toward his estranged wife's lawyer and saying, "I can make him disappear."
Angel, whose real name is Christopher Sarantakos, and his wife, Joanne, 37, married five years ago, after a decade of dating, according to her lawyer, Dominic Barbara. But the magician kept his marriage quiet and then deserted his wife as he became famous and hasn't given her "a cent" of his millions, Barbara said.
Angel's lawyer, Elliott Wiener, said Joanne Sarantakos' accusations of mental cruelty and abandonment were unfounded, and "the notion that she's not being supported is simply not accurate."
The 39-year-old punky illusionist dedicated his latest stunt - a seeming escape from a box encased in concrete and suspended 40 feet above the ground near Manhattan's Time Square on June 5 - to "Shrek the Third" star Cameron Diaz. But he demurred when asked whether they were dating, telling AP Radio News they were "good friends."
Barbara told a judge he would aim to subpoena the 34-year-old actress in the divorce case.
Diaz' publicist, Brad Cafarelli, said in a statement Monday that Angel was already separated from his wife when Diaz met him in May.
"Cameron and Criss went on only four dates over a month ago and have no current relationship," the statement said. "These are meaningless, attention-seeking attempts to unfairly and unnecessarily exploit Cameron's celebrity by trying to involve her in matters she has nothing to do with."

and

Claims that Cameron Diaz ruined the marriage of TV magician Criss Angel are just smoke and mirrors, her spokesman said yesterday.
The flack denied Diaz had an affair with the "Mindfreak" star, saying he was "separated from his wife for over a year" when they hooked up.
"Cameron and Criss went on only four dates over a month ago and have no current relationship," Brad Caferelli said.
This would mean they weren't even dating when Angel declared his love for Diaz as he dangled out of a concrete box over Times Square on June 5 to promote his A&E show.
His wife, Joanne Sarantakos, has claimed in divorce papers that he bedded Diaz while they were married, and she planned to subpoena the star in Nassau Supreme Court.
"These are meaningless, attention-seeking attempts to unfairly and unnecessarily exploit Cameron's celebrity," Caferelli said.
Angel's spokesman, Steve Flynn, agreed.
"It's absurd to say that she broke up the marriage," Flynn said.
Sarantakos' lawyer, Dominic Barbara, did not return a call.

So for your next Magic Club Pub quiz - you can ask by what more famous name do we know Christopher Sarantakos :wink:

?

by **JAlexBrown** » Jul 4th, '07, 15:19

I agree that the motorbike vanish was a really good illusion. But it's not the best one I've seen him do. The most impressive one, I think, is the ending to the lighting himself on fire. I can't decide if I believe he could do that without camera trickery. Can anyone confirm or deny if that particular trick would be possible without using the camera?

Note that I'm not saying there's anything wrong with a few camera tricks. I believe a magician can use whatever means they have to create a method of doing tricks. And using a camera can be one method of achieving magic, as long as it's not his sole method.

JAlexBrown

by **beeno** » Jul 4th, '07, 15:43

There's nothing magical about camera tricks.
If this sort of thing is allowed to continue and becomes the norm, then you can just make any idiot (soap actress, boy band, big brother entrant) into the next Chris Angel.
Real magicians cannot compete with big media hype, so where does that leave us?
Not good on any level.

by **JAlexBrown** » Jul 4th, '07, 15:55

Assuming that Criss Angel uses all camera tricks, you're right that that performer should not be given the title of street magician. Street magicians, however, could argue that stage conditions are much too controlled by the magician, and, thus, stage magic isn't magic either. A trap door built into the stage, while it may appear to be magic, is no more magical than a little trick photography. I think what the problem is is that people are too focused on giving Criss the title of a street magician. I have not doubt he is a skilled magician, and a lot of the tricks he does on the show really are amazing street tricks. But some of these tricks, these camera tricks, should maybe be the start of a new branch of magic - television magic. Instead of concerning ourselves with rather or not what he does is street magic, maybe we should look at this as an opportunity to create a new means and method of magic, and even a new branch.

That's just my opinion, and everyone has every right to differ if they choose.

JAlexBrown

by **Demitri** » Jul 5th, '07, 02:11

The fire illusion was not camera trickery....

As for the street magic argument. Has Criss Angel ever referred to himself as a "street magician"?

by **Michael Jay** » Jul 5th, '07, 06:24

Angel on fire was not camera trickery (stunt men have been doing this without national shows of their own since, at least, the '60s). His going from being put out by the guys with the fire extinguishers to being one of those guys with a fire extinguisher was camera trickery. You need only watch it closely to see where the cut away is in the white mist that the extinguishers throw off.

Done properly, I believe that this illusion could be pulled off in front of a live audience. However, never, never, never with the speed at which it appears because of camera tricks.

Angel really needs to have George Lucas in his team. He could get rid of Banachek and the others, because they really don't do much of anything for him...They don't have the knowledge and training that Lucas does, and that is really Angel's forte.

Mike.

by **Demitri** » Jul 5th, '07, 07:40

I have to respectfully disagree with you, Mike. Copperfield has done a similar illusion at the same speed for a live audience. I still uphold that the change can be done that quickly.

I've heard the argument of the cut, and I personally don't feel there was one.

by **Michael Jay** » Jul 5th, '07, 12:09

Fair enough.

Mike.

by **Schwen** » Jul 5th, '07, 12:23

I really hope that the fire trick was not camera trickery, cos it's the only thing he ever did that really blew me away.

Anyone got a vid of copperfield doing similar?

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