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is there any way of making someone disappear with no cover or any appratus to get in just vanishes any where mid street middle of a field whetre ever.
real time
too a live auidience
if you can help tell me the effect name and how it looks when performed

So... an open air, no-stage vanish of a person, with a live audience, and no cover.

I'm going to go with a "no" for this one...

More helpfully, there has to be some discrepancy, otherwise it would be magic. To accomplish a vanish of a person, the person would have to be covered one way or another - either by some physical obstruction, smoke, flash or similar.

An interesting alternative that was used in travelling shows was the "Blue Room" illusion, which you'll find in Hopkin's "Magic: Stage Illusions, Special Effects and Trick Photography". An excellent book in any case, and almost the sole historical source for some things. Dated, of course, but a fascinating read.

This is a series of vanishes, transpositions, animations or other effects, but cannot be done completely open air - you'd need at least your own tent (and crew) to pull this off. Rather marvellous method though.

If there was a way of doing this, I don't see what purpose a cover serves.

If there is a way, I don't suspect it would be very cheap.

What were you thinking of using it for, or were you simply interested in seeing such a performance?

You mean real magic

Theres no way to do this with the conditions you imposed.

One of the best vanishes and appearences ive ever seen of a person was a stage effect called The Blue Room. The appearances were gradual, as were the vanishes, they just faded away in front of your eyes. It is one of the most beautiful pieces of magic i have ever seen. Damn expensive to reproduce though. There is a clip of it on youtube.

jim

Sorry Dominic, your post was put up while i was writing mine so i didnt see you had already mentioned The Blue Room

There is of course a method for making yourself or anyone else appear to disappear for a certain percentage of the audience.

themagicwand wrote:There is of course a method for making yourself or anyone else appear to disappear for a certain percentage of the audience.

That actually came to mind when i first read the description I presume he's meaning an 'actual' vanish though

jim

jim ferguson wrote:One of the best vanishes and appearences ive ever seen of a person was a stage effect called The Blue Room. The appearances were gradual, as were the vanishes, they just faded away in front of your eyes.

jim

http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid ... w=3&emb=1#

Assuming this is what you were referring to, this is a demonstration of it, without camera tricks.

It would be creepy to see live, though today's audience may jump to the conclusion that it is simply modern technology.

Thats it. I have the same clip on video tape somewhere

Memory serving me right, that's a bit "more" than the Blue Room as I recall it... but another method to look up that I know is of reasonably easy access would be "Pepper's Ghost" or Robert Harbin's "Fade Out" cabinet which is portable variation to the Blue Room concept

The method is used for a myriad of things.

Another direction would be a combination of lighting and black-art or "scrim" technologies. Dean Hankey used to do a very weird slow motion vanish in his shows with a young lady suspended in the air... I had a variation in which the girl slowly became translucent as she raised higher and higher into the air (18 ft. total) Both version are quite chilling as well as elegant... and no covering is required (as far as the audience is concerned).

I've not seen it but I've been told that one of the more noted European acts has a piece where the girl raises some 10 feet in a vertical position and in a brilliant flash of light, vanishes/transforms in to a dove.

That's the best I can do off the top of my head

themagicwand wrote:There is of course a method for making yourself or anyone else appear to disappear for a certain percentage of the audience.

Getting married?

could peppers ghost or the blue room be done in a open space asny way and is the blue room method similar too peppers ghost

the answer to the original post is.. yes.

If memory serves, Houdini did it.. in a circus ring.

no cover.. BUT you need at least 7 other people to make it work. And a reasonably large costume budget.

and a horse, or a small elephant to distract.

But It is possible.

daleshrimpton wrote:the answer to the original post is.. yes.

If memory serves, Houdini did it.. in a circus ring.

no cover.. BUT you need at least 7 other people to make it work. And a reasonably large costume budget.

and a horse, or a small elephant to distract.

But It is possible.

You're being a stinker

Pepper's Ghost will cost you an arm & a leg to make happen and requires an arrangement akin to how theater's of the Victorian era were laid out. The only place that offers this system as part of public exhibit that I'm aware of is the in which Pepper's Ghost plays a huge role in several different rooms. Aside from that I believe the only semi-contemporary performer to have used this system was Abb sometime back in the late 1970s but I may be wrong.

There are portable variations to the Blue Room idea such as the Harbin system mentioned above and of course the classic carnival freak known as the Gorilla Girl Illusion in which a cute young lady turns into an 800 lb monkey, rips open the front of the cage and chases off all the rubes.... (god I miss doing that!)

I fear that you are thinking along the lines of one-upping Cyril by doing something extra dramatic in an open field or similar setting. The only system I know that can do this must be on on video and would require you to pay Franz Harary a nice royalty in order to get permission to legally use the method (it's his baby)... I'd be glad to introduce you that being your interest but bring your bank book.


You might want to check out the system I just mentioned here:
http://www.talkmagic.co.uk/ftopic34191.php&highlight=

Craig Browning wrote:Pepper's Ghost will cost you an arm & a leg to make happen and requires an arrangement akin to how theater's of the Victorian era were laid out.

Pepper's Ghost is insanely easy and inexpensive to do. All you need is a bit of glass, a couple of lights, and a well designed set. It's still used to this day and the idea behind it has also spawned other technology such as teleprompters, which has spawned the rather cool Interrotron