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What sort of methods and/or ideas exist out there for walking on water? There is a local fountain and it just occurred to me that it would be a nice idea...

No idea if it is an actual method, or just a guess that I assumed people used but perspex stands floating a few millimeters below the surface springs to mind. Failing that...befriend Jesus?

as stunts go, its been overworked i.m.h.o.

you have to remember that technicaly a walking on water stunt is a levitation, or a suspension.

There are a few methods for this. Quite often more than one method will be used in the same performance. Lighting and angles usually play a crucial role in this effect, the way that light bounces off the surface of the water can hide a multitude of sins

Incedently, I read in the paper the other day that Dynamo has an upcoming show on one of the Sky channels. The promotional snap that was used was of Dynamo walking on what I presume was the river Thames.

jim

Michael Flatley did it to promote his Feet of Flame dance show. I presume too that perspex just under the water is the secret; it is certainly how I would go about it. It is more of a photo op than a peformance piece.

I think that is what the Mythbusters used to debunk a video on one of their episodes.

Terrence Stamp did it character as General Zod in Superman 2.
This is just one of those things that is so inpractical and cost-ineffective there really is no point in doing it, unless it is for a movie or as mentioned, a nice photo op if you have a show coming up and you want your name in the paper. The difficulty involved is that you are going to have to do this outside, and when that happens you have to work very hard on restricting what angles it can be viewed from, which when you do that it seems a lot less magical if you can't allow anybody closer than 20 feet from the water's edge, etc.

Also you can't spend a packet on a tank because people will just figured if you built the tank, you rigged it as well so you are off to a losing start right from the get-go.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CbMJChif_ns&feature=related

Here's the Mythbuster one. It could work great for photo ops and stuff. But actually "magic" effects. It won't look good at all.

Would this have anything to do with Dynamo's new trailer? I agree with Dale Shrimpton, done too many times already and unless you can add something new (like doing it on stilts with clown feet attached and still walking on water) - then I would say give it a miss. Find someone else to inspire you. Jesus maybe.

As Dynamo has just done this on the Thames, you doing the same thing on a non-tidal fountain will just look like a bargain-basement knock off.

I am pretty sure Paul Daniels walked on the surface of a swimming pool and, while I didn't see the show, when Barry and Stuart did the TV special on the magic of Jesus, I assume they included this too.

Also, does it really suit your performing style, Chris?

A lot of us walked on water last winter. But then the lake thawed...

Didn't Chriss Angel walk across the swimming pool at the Luxor. I haven't seen it but was told it looked rubbish.

Dave.

www.madetomeasuremagic.co.uk

of course Dynamo missed a trick here. Walking across the Thames is one thing.. But it would be more topical if he took a strollover the Eton boating lake, where the olympic rowing events are going to happen next year.

The place has a fixed depth, and width so any gaffs could be made just right.
And..it could all be set up in private, because there are few on lookers.

Our old friend the Masked Magician (Mark 2 or 3!) included this in the more recent series of exposure programmes. Not only the gimmick but plenty of stooges in the water as well.

The two best known methods is the "Hollywood" Plexiglas platform sat just under the surface of the water and a special "mesh" type platform created by Andre Kole that can be used in most any large body of water such as a lake or the ocean (near the beach).

When Kenny and I were working on the Water Impalement at Creative, we developed our own method for allowing someone to walk around the cascading "arcs" on a water fountain but this must be done up-stage center with some serious lighting control -- an no, it's not black-art but rather a little known trick with optics and water properties. To my knowledge our method is the only of its kind.

Harrary has a method but I'm uncertain exactly how it's set in that the gimmick seems to "vanish" almost instantly, allowing folks to pass directly through the area he just walked across. Criss Angel used this in one of his early specials I believe.