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To Everyone!

I recently published one of my close-up trick development the Leonardo Card Frame here in the forum and now I would like to show you one of my own stage illusion to The Leonardo Mirror Penetration.



Effect: The magician is rotates a mirror around together with its frame. The mirror is real and visible from both sides and its also may be examined by the spectator. After this the magician covers one part of the mirror with a piece of cloth, walking behind the mirror he pushes his hand through the mirror with a direct movement. After this he can penetrate through the mirror with his entire upper body. Finally he moves out from the mirror, walking in front of it and removes the cloth. The mirror can be examined immediately. This is a one man illusion.

Copyright (c) Leonardo Magic - All Rights Reserved.

With regards,

Lajos Fekete
(Leonardo)

Ok... Please understand that I don't mean for what I'm about to say to come off as mean spirited on condescending...

Issue One is your little "copyright" note... that will not protect your effect but the fact that you posted an idea does give you a legally recognized time stamp and thus, historic reference. Unfortunately, the general effect IS NOT new, which brings us to issue two...

There's at least two dozen different types of mirror/glass/sheet of steel type penetrations on the market, two of which I helped develop via Creative Illusions long ago and most of which operated more or less, on the same two principles; you have a moving hole in the object or you manage to move around the object (or vice versa, you move the object in whole or in part). That said, unless you have figured out how to suspend a liquid center I have to doubt you have anything "new". The exception would be if you came up with an advancement in how certain mechanics were concealed, which isn't an easy task.

Issue #3... every magic enthusiast has epiphany after epiphany as they first start down this road and in some cases, once they've been around the block a few times and become more grounded and thus, able to see how to create a refined product/device. Again, this is a prolific factor and very (very) little of what comes from this mass of brain-children ever gains notoriety, let alone commercial standing.

I don't mean to step on your toes here, just pointing out the fact that you aren't (yet) the next Robert Harbin or Jim Stinemeyer.

Issue #4... is an aside to the above in that it centers on one's lack of both, experience and research. But there is one other point on this issue and that's the habit of self-delusion; it's what Stan Alan referred to (in a long ago issue of MAGIC) as the Red Box/Blue Box condition. Builder #1 being the originator of an effect which just happens to be painted Black & Red. Builder #2 builds what is essentially the same effect without permission but considers it to be a "different" effect (thereby claiming it "original") because his happens to be painted blue. To give you a more contemporary parallel, look at how many commercial version of the OOTW card trick are now on the market, each one with a different theme and each person introducing the theme claiming to be an "innovator" of "new" magic... the truth being very much removed for such claims.

It is very difficult to develop an original effect and/or method... almost impossible!

I recently had a guy show me his "new" multiple cutting illusion... it wasn't new, it was just a Girl without a Middle being presented in a new facade but the effect was the same -- head above, feet below and the torso gone (not like a Zig Zag).

The last thing I'll touch on is rather peculiar but one that I was lectured on years ago by Illusionist Roy Houston... the fact that penetration effects of this sort tend to loose the audience. Magician's love them but they do not carry a tremendous level of audience appeal no matter who presents them. To a degree this includes things like the Nicole Spike Cabinet and it's modern "Long Light" variation.

Now that's the key -- VARIATION!

That is what your effect is, if the method is unique in the least; a variant to what was done and how it was done, long ago.

Magic Effects go through an interesting evolution in which little improvements/variations come into play which can include the theme behind a presentation, such as we find in those OOTW card routines or the Losander Zombie styled gimmicks. But again, we aren't looking at "originality" but rather "break through" (in most cases). I know first hand that the advancement in construction materials and polymers has allowed many yesteryear classics of magic to take on a new life and quite literally "expand" our ability to make props more deceptive, reliable, stronger and lighter. Again, it's natural evolution but the "original exists somewhere back in time.

Again, my intent here isn't to pee on your parade but rather encourage you to step back and take a more honest look at your concepts. I don't know of many magic buffs that don't have dozens of notebooks stashed in boxes filled with such things. I just threw away about a dozen such collections in that I can no longer act on them so easily... which is the most important step -- building the actual working device and proving out your theory. I promise, you will really learn just how much you haven't developed when you get to that stage.

Best of luck

Dear Craig,

Thanks for sharing your thoughts on this! You did not step on my foots at all but the truth is the we agree on most of the things. If you do not mind I try to react on each of your sentences.

As the Leonardo Mirror Penetrations illusion is my own development its automatically protected by copyrights from the time of its creation. I reserve this right for myself and mentioning it to the others wherever I have the possibility to do so. My technical solution and prototype are already protected by patent. (As I have a lot patent protected product I know exactly what this covers.)

You absolutely right the mirror and other penetration effects are not new as all about the same apparently an object go through another solid one. However I have never mentioned anywhere that I came up with a new effect. I developed my own mirror penetration effect for which I used a basic theory and technical solution also created myself.

I know the penetration illusions and their technical working method well. The basic working concept practically are the same for them as you also stated so we secretly open a slot on the solid object where we can penetrate or we come around the entire object. If we see them all from this point of view than there is no difference between them at all. However the working method is the interesting point here and how strong is the effects on the audience. Let me mention only one thing: with a penetration illusion it is does matter whether we cover the entire object or just a part of it.

With all of these above I just want to explain that this is not enough only looking at the basic effect in case of an illusion but we have to consider that how strong is the effect on the audience and how new the technical solution is which may include a newer base theory never applied before. I always consider these three things during my developments.

The Leonardo Mirror Penetration is not the only one I have. Beside this I have lot (more than 50) illusions and other props and tricks developments. Only on Mirror Penetration types I have more then a dozen. (its all different from technical solution point of view). 2 from these are already on he market and can be purchased. One of them is the Leonardo Mirror Penetration we have discussion about. All I saying is just to highlight that I started illusion and other trick developments for a long time now. However its true I just started to share these to the public.

I know well that I am not a Robert Harbin or Jim Stinemeyer but my aim is with my developments is not to became the biggest illusion developer of the World but only make my works known and also rewarded as all of these carrying an added value to the Magic.

I hundred percent agree with you that an illusion will not be different only because we build it in different size or paint it in a different color. I also explained my opinion on this in very detailed on another forum. There are some people see this differently and it is hard to convince them.

You are also right that this is not easy to create a new effect as everything has its previous version back in time then it becomes to the next effect. I also have only one or two developments where I created figured out their effects too. To come up with a method or a basic theory is not so hard.

We also agree on he evolution of the magic effects too but you have to consider that the Magic needs those. If there have not been creative brains, new developments, no new methods and basic theories then Magic would not be there as of today.

Just back to the Leonardo Penetration. This development of mine (as the others too) is not only an idea but a result of a long and precise work. Well worked out in every detail. Highlighting and underlying I emphasize again that this illusion is already on the market and can be purchased.

Regards,

Leonardo

Leondo, do understand that I was addressing you as I would most "younger" people plying their hand at creating magic... everyone wants to be the next Stinemeyer it would seem.

Briefly, I spent the first 18-22 years of my career working grand illusions and more specifically, serving as a technical expert on illusion design, finishing and presentation. On top of that I've worked with Ken Whitaker and several other noted designers over the years on both, my own effects as well as theirs, the two more noted pieces were the See-Thru Step Loader system from Creative Illusions and Shadow Vision though there are several other pieces that never went commercial... Sylvan being the chief recipient of several such pieces along side Sigfried & Roy.

I say this only so you can better understand my background and why I state what I've stated.

Copy Rights pertain ONLY to written/published materials though there is a new exception when it comes to non-personal materials, agreements, etc. authored on a computer or even texting system. To simply describe something does not protect the effect or even the method (if you were to mention it) when done on a public site of this nature. Though it will document concept originality, it offers very little legal protection.

Patents on a design do give you this legal protection but only at nominal levels. I know that here in the U.S. one need but change a design by 10% in order to register & patent it as being "original" to yourself. Sadly, this is how certain known bootleggers get around the licensing and permission elements attached to many effects now days... it's as if laws were written to be bent, broken and carefully manipulated

The down side to getting a Patent is that your designs, the secret, etc become available to anyone that's willing to look them up... and that can be done on line relatively fast and thus, the originator can again get the short end of the proverbial stick... this is one big reason why a lot of designs are deliberately left out of the Patent Office, the blue prints kept in a private safe... so to speak.

My "harsh" critique of your piece stems from the fact that there's got to be over three dozen "mirror" penetrations out there these days and most all of them are the same basic trick (mechanically) with a different facade and maybe, a different mode of presentation, but as I said, there's only three ways to do the trick, the rest is just window dressing... at least, until Holographic projection improves

Craig,

I totally agree with your point of view. And as I wrote earlier practically I agree with you on everything and we talk about the same.

The copyright protect every human creation. This includes literature, scientism and arts too. Technical designs, industrial creations and plans appearances and figure all protected by copyright too. Of course copyright not protects everything but in these cases patent comes to the picture.

You right the copyright and patent itself does not protect contrivances and creations from those people wants to gain something from others work. Yes the disadvantage of the the patented product that after publishing it all the "secret" will be available for everyone. This is not good.
However there is a solution that the plans, design we see most important will not be available for everyone even after patent procedure.

We also agreed previously that the technical solution for the penetration effects are the same at the end. It is also true for other illusions, lets see for instance the ones with a base. There are lots of these on the market with the same technical solution however there are presented differently.

In my opinion this is not nice to criticize an illusion just because it uses a base. This is more important how strong and magical the effect on the average audience is and therefore the secret can not be revealed by them.

Regards,

Leonardo

if you extend the two uprights out past the frame of the mirror, it looks much more deceptive I.M.H.O.