by bmat » Mar 1st, '12, 18:41
You don't have to buy the fancy dispencer. The advantage is that it is pre stripped. If you don't know what that means then you will find out eventually. However stripping the thread is not all that hard, so if you are willing to go through that little bit of extra effort, go to your local supplier of magic stuff and get a spool of thread, elastic thread if you like. Kevlar is best if you don't need it to stretch.
But here is the deal. Even if you pay the 20 for the device you get so much thread that it really comes down to pennies. Thread in general is stupidly cheap, except if you are buying that little packet of five loops. I've almost always bought it on a spool and stripped it myself and cut to size and made my own loops, although now I don't use loops at all. Heck I remember the day when you couldn't get the thread in the magic shop but had to go to the department store and get it in its finished form and do the hard work yourself of getting it to the IT. Now I'm sounding old.
In any event. If you choose to work in this medium and find the price of replacing the items factors in, then I strongly suggest finding another branch or method of magic. Because thread is going to break, it will break in practice, in rehersal and in performance. And you will always have to lay out some cash, and time, and swear words. It is a delicate field. If you plan on using it on a regular basis you need to practice with different backgrounds, and different lighting. (depending on what you are doing of course) and all that experimenting is going to lead to more breaks, more frustration and more swearing.
And remember always have a back up plan if you are using in performance. Nothing sucks more than that moment when the object is in the palm of your hand. Your other hand is making magical gestures, you can taste the tension in the room as all eyes are on that object. Just as you are about to pull back and make the object come to life you realize the thread is broken and nothing, I mean nothing is going to happen. Sucks man, big time oh and it is going to happen.
What is my point? Weigh your options, choose your weapons carefully. While this particular one is very powerful it is also really delicate.
I do have another point, (although I am sure you have stopped reading, but for those few who hang on) I think using IT for rising card or haunted pack is really a waste of method. There are so many other variations that are easier and much more dependable. Keep in mind the audience doesn't know the method. You could be using a pully system with an elephant outside pulling on the stuff. If the audience doesn't know, they don't know, try to see if from their eyes. Save yourself a lot of time and grief and use another method. (the only exception is Kundalini rising, but even then there are other methods).
IT comes into its own when animating objects. To bring life to the 'dead'. Isn't that what its all about anyway?