talkmagic.co.uk

hey guys.
i don't know if many of you have seen it on sky one but on "The Secret World Of Magic" starring the amazing pete firman and his friend alexander there is a cool effect which i can't seem to find.

they are in spain (i think) at a magic convention. and in the street they are watching some dude and his lovely assistant perform. the women claims into a cardboard box and the top is closed. the man then starts putting about 4 foot long stakes through the box. after about 20 stakes have gone through the box the magician starts to pull them out again. when they have all been removed the assistant jumps out unharmed. they do the whole effect to some cool music. I'm interested in it because it was done in the street, with a cardboard box and big sticks, lol, even though it was a stage type effect, it was pulled successfully in the street.

any help would be greatly appreciated
thanks

Its the same as the stage version, just cheaper. Many books have this is it, i have two myslef. but sadly i dont have the books on me, so the names escape me. I am sure some one will come around with name for you.

Sounds like "Voodoo Box" by Andrew Mayne.
Originally performed with umbrellas instead of stakes (umbrellas are way better IMO).
I actually built one myself several months ago, it's pretty easy if you get the right size of box and leave it that way, but personally I made mine from cardboard scraps because I couldn't find one the right size, and then I painted with several coatings, which made it rather sturdy. Also I made a special wooden platform for it (so it can be moved around easily on stage).

I didn't see it performed on "The Secret World Of Magic", but I can tell you that even with a great tune (I used Prodigy's "Voodoo people" which was perfect) it can be a bit dull in my opinion (it takes at least 2 minutes to place all the 21 umbrellas inside, and at least 1.5 to take them out maybe a bit less if you are fast), when I performed it I combined it with some flash paper on the 21st umbrella (that I ignited just as it went in from the top), a cloths change that both me and my assistant did. And a snowstorm as the finale (as the assistant comes out of the box).

So, it's a great cheap stage illusion piece but doing it on the street would be a waste (although it can be done surrounded and all can be examined).
Just a few notes to be considered, this will cost you much more then Andrew claims it will cost. He says 30$, but it's not anywhere near that.
I bought my umbrellas (21 of them) for about 55$, the box parts I got for free but the paint and glue cost about 15$, the platform, although not mentioned in the illusion plans at all is rather important especially if you perform on stage and want to show the box from all sides before and after you have placed the umbrellas inside, so that cost me about 20$ (for wood and wheels only, I built it myself). so it comes to about 90$, this may change depends on how lucky you are with the umbrellas, and how much you want to invest in the illusion, I made mine to last so even thought it's from cardboard it will last me a long time.
But still, even for that price it's a great illusion (Sword basket illusion, that is basically what Voodoo Box evolved from, would cost you a lot more and personally I like voodoo box much more) so buy the plans only if you are serious in building the illusion and performing it.

David The Cryptic wrote:Its the same as the stage version, just cheaper. Many books have this is it, i have two myslef. but sadly i dont have the books on me, so the names escape me. I am sure some one will come around with name for you.

I don't think so... not if it's what I'm thinking it is (I've not seen the footage).

There is an old Sword Box routine and to my understanding, the method is not widely known... I believe it originated out of Russia, not positive, but it was a coo when it was presented at the Magic Castle some 25 years ago and was a hit a few years back when it was spot-lighted (I may be wrong, but I think...) Lance's show in Vegas.

There is no base, mirrors or gimmicked swords involved from what I recall but it is not akin to the typical Sword Box or Sword Temple type bits or a Basket trick.

Craig Browning wrote:

David The Cryptic wrote:Its the same as the stage version, just cheaper. Many books have this is it, i have two myslef. but sadly i dont have the books on me, so the names escape me. I am sure some one will come around with name for you.

I don't think so... not if it's what I'm thinking it is (I've not seen the footage).

There is an old Sword Box routine and to my understanding, the method is not widely known... I believe it originated out of Russia, not positive, but it was a coo when it was presented at the Magic Castle some 25 years ago and was a hit a few years back when it was spot-lighted (I may be wrong, but I think...) Lance's show in Vegas.

There is no base, mirrors or gimmicked swords involved from what I recall but it is not akin to the typical Sword Box or Sword Temple type bits or a Basket trick.

Maybe not; but the only ones i know of dont use mirrors or gimmicks. Just a simple principle.
But i havent seen the video either, so i cant be sure.

thanks for the help so far. i'll look into it.
a few more questions though...not secret searching here but
-does the assisstant have to be amazingly flexable?
and - can Voodoo Box be done on a lay person?

thanks.

Mikey.666 wrote:thanks for the help so far. i'll look into it.
a few more questions though...not secret searching here but
-does the assisstant have to be amazingly flexable?
and - can Voodoo Box be done on a lay person?

thanks.

No for both..

Actually I think it's easier for the assistant to perform the voodoo box illusion then the original sword basket routine, also less practice to do it well.
When I was training with my assistant (that had no history in magic or illusions, but was a dancer, which I think was a plus) it only took a 15 minute explenation and 3-4 runs for her to get the performance perfect, and we did it under specific timing the music dictated, so it really is easy for the assistant to learn and perform if she is a fast learner.
For more information you can address Andrew Mayne himself, he really helped me with some building and material ideas and information I needed, so I believe that if you have the time to wait for an answer (that can take a while some times) he can be very helpful giving you information as long it's not exposure

thanks a bunch.

Just to add, www.dream-concepts.com sell some rather nice (but expensive) illusions of this kind.
If only the budget allowed.....