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How does David Blaine do it?

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David_Blaine_Front_520.jpg


How can this guy do his stunts? Trapped in a box for 44 days without food. Put in ice for 3 days. I heard of some sites saying everything he does is a hoax, but you have to wonder how they would do it. I heard they put glucose in his water for the box stunt, but I still don't see how anyone can stay sane after something like that. This guy is simply amazing.
 

LakeEarth

Member
The ice thing was solved by the 'Magic Revealed' people (when they put dry ice to re-freeze the ice, he switches with some other guy from a trap door, and they alternate, one in ice while the other relaxes under.

Other tricks, you think sometimes they don't use ringers? I saw this one where he burnt his shirt, and under it was a tattoo of this 'random person off the street's girlfriend. I'm sorry, but that was too much, and made it obvious that some of the tricks he does aren't tricks, just LIES!
 

MIMIC

Banned
He takes all the ensuing hatred and belittlement and transforms it to make unnatural superpowers! :D

But really....he's amazing.
 
D

Deleted member 1235

Unconfirmed Member
The guy sucks monkey butt. "Watch me get quite hungry for ages!"
"Watch me get quite cold for ages!"

Like anyone is going to watch the whole thing. Give him some food when no ones looking. heat the water when no one is looking. etc etc.

Worst magician ever. Blaintology sucks.

Gob from arrested development is a better magician.
 

kgHavok23

Member
samus4ever said:
David_Blaine_Front_520.jpg


How can this guy do his stunts? Trapped in a box for 44 days without food. Put in ice for 3 days. I heard of some sites saying everything he does is a hoax, but you have to wonder how they would do it. I heard they put glucose in his water for the box stunt, but I still don't see how anyone can stay sane after something like that. This guy is simply amazing.

still stay sane?? o.0
 

Dragmire

Member
What has he done lately. I don't watch much TV and I hadn't heard of him for a long time until that lame South Park episode. God that show sucks nowadays.
 

demon

I don't mean to alarm you but you have dogs on your face
Dragmire said:
What has he done lately. I don't watch much TV and I hadn't heard of him for a long time until that lame South Park episode. God that show sucks nowadays.
I watched some Blaine special on TLC last night, and he did this thing where he stood for a really long time, really high up, or something. It was wild shit, man.
 

bionic77

Member
Blaine is nothing amazing.

He definitely has some interesting presentaion which sells his act, but most of his tricks are ridiculously easy to pull off or just camera tricks.
 

shuri

Banned
yeah it was pretty impressive. I only wish that his other stunts when stuff appears out of nowhere wasnt that so obviously staged.
 

number386

Member
LakeEarth said:
The ice thing was solved by the 'Magic Revealed' people (when they put dry ice to re-freeze the ice, he switches with some other guy from a trap door, and they alternate, one in ice while the other relaxes under.

Other tricks, you think sometimes they don't use ringers? I saw this one where he burnt his shirt, and under it was a tattoo of this 'random person off the street's girlfriend. I'm sorry, but that was too much, and made it obvious that some of the tricks he does aren't tricks, just LIES!


Yeah I saw it too. It grade A horse poop.
 

junkwaffle

In Front and Drawing Away
If you'd like to see Blaine do some 'real' magic, watch his show (special?) Street Magic. It has some nice up-dated twists to some old tricks. Most of them impressed me, and I'm not too bad at figuring out this stuff, having grown up with a couple of friends who performed a little magic. All the tricks are done literally on the sidewalks of some city (NY, I think) and done with a minimum of prep work, making the results all the more impressive. But by far, the most baffling trick (to me, anyway) was when he just levitated in front of people on the sidewalk. That was some freaky shit!

Anyone know how he did that? Watching small crowds on the streets scream in horror and delight when he floats up about 6-8 inches off the ground still freaks me out.
 

number386

Member
junkwaffle said:
But by far, the most baffling trick (to me, anyway) was when he just levitated in front of people on the sidewalk. That was some freaky shit!

Anyone know how he did that? Watching small crowds on the streets scream in horror and delight when he floats up about 6-8 inches off the ground still freaks me out.

It's easy you go to a dimly lit area, you turn so they could only see the side of you, with the foot that is closest to the people watching it lift it up about 1-2 inches, (spread your feet about a foot) and with your other foot lift the back portion of it so only the front portion of your foot is touching the ground, you gain about 4 inches and then with the other leg obscured by the darkness and the light solely focused on the (floating) foot people gasp in amazement. This is the reason you never see him do this trick in broad daylight.

BTW: There is a lot of prep work done on blaines "magic" which they dont show you on the show, It's heavily edited.
 

bionic77

Member
Flying Llama said:
It's easy you go to a dimly lit area, you turn so they could only see the side of you, with the foot that is closest to the people watching it lift it up about 1-2 inches, (spread your feet about a foot) and with your other foot lift the back portion of it so only the front portion of your foot is touching the ground, you gain about 4 and then with the other leg obscured by the darkness and the light solely focused on the (floating) foot people gasp in amazement. This is the reason you never see him do this trick in broad daylight.

You can do it in broad daylight too, but it is MUCH harder to get the angles right. I don't think it is possible to pull the trick off possible every single time.

I love how people use that trick to show how great Blaine is though when all he is doing is standing in his tip-toe on one leg. :lol

I remember showing my cousin how to do that trick at an amusement park (I think it was Epcot Center) in some secluded area, and there was this old black guy who was sitting maybe 30 feet from us. When he saw me do the trick he literally got up and ran toward us just like one of Blaine's audience shots. :lol

P.S. We already had the David Blaine thread just a few months ago.
 

Nikashi

Banned
Also, while the reactions were real, the levatiation shown on TV was done with a crane and wires. He did the real trick, camera shows 'fake' wires + crane effect, camera shows reaction to ACTUAL trick.

Pussy.
 
How come we all get pissed of when we figure the tricks out? Magic ain't real fool! Who the fuck thought he actually could levitate or resurrect dead animals?

David Blaine is very quick with the hands though. In one of his shows he throws a card from across the street and hits the camera lense.

You should really watch some Derren Brown. He has a show called Mind Control. In one of the episodes he goes to the horse track and buys a loosing ticket. He then goes up to the cashier and claims he won. While the cashier looks at the ticket he taps on the wall for distraction or something and says "this is the winning ticket". She freakin' gives him money.
 

demon

I don't mean to alarm you but you have dogs on your face
RonaldoSan said:
While the cashier looks at the ticket he taps on the wall for distraction or something and says "this is the winning ticket". She freakin' gives him money.
What?
 
He bet his money, actually another guys money, anyways on a horse he knew was going to loose. He takes the ticket the payout booth. He hands the ticket to the lady behind the window. When she looks at the ticket Derren (the magician/mind control dude) taps with a flat hand on the side of the window. She doesn't take notice of it, but maybe it effects her in some way. Derren never explains why he does the tap. He then tells her in a gentle but demanding voice that she is holding the winning ticket. Then she just handles the register and gives him money. I don't know how he did it, but he manipulated her in some way to think the ticket was a winner when it was worth nothing.

You really have to see it to get the full effect.
 
You -- yes, you -- can do the levitation trick to yourself in front of a mirror, and it looks REALLY GOOD if you get the angle right.
 

Lord Error

Insane For Sony
Now I have to try that levitation thing. Sounds easy!

While we are at crazy stuff like this, how did David Copperfield perform his famous walk through the chinese wall? Or the disappearing airplane with circle of people around it? I think I remember I saw the explanation for the disappearing statue of liberty, that was neat too.
 

Archaix

Drunky McMurder
RonaldoSan said:
He bet his money, actually another guys money, anyways on a horse he knew was going to loose. He takes the ticket the payout booth. He hands the ticket to the lady behind the window. When she looks at the ticket Derren (the magician/mind control dude) taps with a flat hand on the side of the window. She doesn't take notice of it, but maybe it effects her in some way. Derren never explains why he does the tap. He then tells her in a gentle but demanding voice that she is holding the winning ticket. Then she just handles the register and gives him money. I don't know how he did it, but he manipulated her in some way to think the ticket was a winner when it was worth nothing.

You really have to see it to get the full effect.

Uh....huh....

Wait, no, I've seen somebody else do that! Yeah, it was this old guy in a car and he had these robots. And these cop guys came up to him looking for the robots and the old guy just waved his hand! And the cops decided they weren't the right robots!

sw-p1.jpg
 

sirris

Member
He does it because he has a full crew of productuion assistants to support him. Theres no "random" street magic. Alot of preperation goes into setting up those street events. I'm not refering to the card tricks or slight of hand work. I'm talking the more elaborite "exploding wine glass" and "wristwatch thru the window pane" tricks.
 

Shinobi

Member
themadcowtipper said:
Your both wrong It is Fucking Street Magic, get it right haters and non-believers, David Has more Street Cred then Kobe bryant

:lol :lol :lol






RonaldoSan said:
You should really watch some Derren Brown. He has a show called Mind Control. In one of the episodes he goes to the horse track and buys a loosing ticket. He then goes up to the cashier and claims he won. While the cashier looks at the ticket he taps on the wall for distraction or something and says "this is the winning ticket". She freakin' gives him money.

:lol That rocks.

I imagine the hate regarding Blaine is in regard to the hype. Or maybe how he sells himself as some street performer when he's got more assistants then a New York law firm. Otherwise I really don't see what the big deal is...he's a cool performer that still gets a rise out of people, which is what it's all about in the end.
 

Tamanon

Banned
Speaking as someone learning the ropes of Magic(cardician mainly with some coins), David Blaine is reviled in the actual "Magic" community hah.
 
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