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Criss Angel levitation explained


douglasdouglas

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Well not THE explanation, but after watching the levation tricks on video performed by Criss Angel I came up with a few theories:

First of all it is important to divide the levitation tricks into different categories, because they are quite different:

1) levitating a few feet in front of stairs or chairs, while turning his back to the audience.

2) levitating leaning backwards with one foot on the ground

3) levitating a bystander in midair

4) levitating 5 feet in the air with nothing around him.

5) levitating 5 feet in the air with an object behind him

Theories:

1) There is always an object in front of him to which he "levitates", he always has his back turned to the camera/audience. Sometimes one or two people seem to be next to him or in front of him which would have to be in on the trick. He is wearing a fake hollow, bendable leg on one leg which is attached to his shoe. The fake leg fits into the back half of his real leg. He then could just bend his knee, while putting his leg up and step up to the object in front of him. The view from behind would be two legs and two shoes next to eachother. When he has raised his other leg and the fake leg to the chair, the fake leg and shoe should fit into his real leg again. This way he can just turn around and show there are no other gimmicks present, the fake leg is reset and the trick can be performed again. His trousers would have to be cut or flexible to be able to put out a leg while his trousers at the back remain straight. In the video in the cafeteria you can actually see him make a stange move with his right leg slightly bending it, as if the fake leg didn't come of straight away and snaps back. This trick would require to lean slightly forward to keep balance, which is clearly visible when he does the trick on the escalator. When he perfoms this trick on the sidewalk -without an object in front of him- you can clearly see that it is suddenly necessary to lean sharply forward while balancing on one leg. The man passing by who has to see his leg in front of him, is clearly not impressed, from his standpoint, he propably doesn't even realize that someone is performing a trick, he just sees a man balancing on one leg.

With this trick you have to ask yourself two questions:

-Why not just levitate and land on the ground again? Because that would make it suspicous that an object in front of him is necessary. He cleverly has an excuse that a chair needs to be in front of him, because he is going to land on it, classical misdirecting of a magician.

-Why not perform the trick without an object in front of him? Well because it wouldn't be possible then, otherwise he would have shown it, because that would make the trick MUCH more impressive. When he does it on the sidewalk without an object, there is no audience behind him, just the camera from slightly above, because people standing directly behind would be able to see it.

2) In the video I saw he clearly stamps his right foot, and could insert a metal pole hidden in his right leg into the ground, the location seems to be selected by himself, so perhaps a prepared ground is needed with a hollow pipe. When he bends backwards while bending his knees, a metal mechanism hidden in his leg and back bends with him but locks at 90 degrees. He is then able to straighten out his other leg. Why not straighten out both legs at the same time? Or first one leg and then the other? This seems a giveaway to me. He also did this trick with a bystander which would have to be in on his trick. Only this time she has two legs on the ground when bend backwards and he shows that there is nothing under her back. Then he also straightens her legs but doesn't show again there still isn't anything under her back. So this would mean that she has the pole in one of her legs when he shows there is nothing under her back, but it is removed after another pole has risen from the ground (or is pulled down from her back) to support her back and connect with the metal plate she is wearing there. Conveniently he immediately lowers her which could be the pole in the ground simply descending. At this time the camera doesn't give a clear view of what's under her anymore. Again classical misdirection by a magician, first show that there isn't anything at a certain place, so that later when there is something there the audience is just tricked into thinking it can't be because it wasn't there before.

You have to ask yourself why the straightening of both legs isn't performed when he is levitating himself, surely the trick would be much more impressive if he would do that instead of just straightening just one leg? The answer is that it requires another person to make sure the pole from the ground connects with the back of the woman. In the video there are cuts and a shot where he may have touched the lower of her back may have been left out.

3) There is no other possiblity than that the whole crowd is in on the trick. The crowd looks unnaturally disciplined forming an ordered circle around him, no other people seem to walk by or join the crowd, this is in the middle of the streets of Las Vegas right? She simple hangs from a cable from above. He makes a point of having the camera looking up before the trick but neglects this when she is actually levitating. This trick is always performed outside, why not do this trick in the cafetaria? Because a crane would have a hard time fitting into there.

4) A cable from above, no other possibility, usually there are no bystanders so that is just a camera trick. The cases where he did this with crowds (which are always just a few people), but with the wall behind him, could only happen if the crowd was in on the trick.

5) This is the video with the plants behind him performed for just 1 bystander. The plants could conceal a contraption which connects with a metal plate in his back. It is suspicous that he always walks up to the camera immedtaily after landing on the ground, perhaps allowing something behind him to quickly hide itself. This trick could also be with just a cable and a bystander who is in on the trick, it is suspicous that there isn't a crowd.

Well just theories, but it's not impossible to reach the same results with it.

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You have hit it on the head. There are several different ways to do the trick, but you got the ways I have been told.

A lot of people assume that the tricks are much more complicated than they actually are. In some of the spontaneous leviatations in front of a real audience the postioning of the crowd is important so as not to see the toes on the ground.

What a lot of people know that a big part of the tricks is also the editing of the footage. You'll never see the takes that didn't go perfectly; when an audience member moves out of position and catches on(It happens often).

In all tricks, the planted crowd happens very often and is often overlooked. It is a big letdown to rack your mind to figure out a trick only to find out that the magician planted an audience and used camera positioning to make it look like it was much more than it was.

From the tricks that I know, they are often far simpler than anyone would ever imagine.

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Put these people in jail for fooling to us! They're evil demons I tell you! No wait, they're possessed by Satan, that's why they do it!

Lol just kiddin'. But it is stupid to act as if it's all real when you're actualy tricking people. You take credit off of the people who can actualy do such things [assuming there are some].

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Interesting theories but would be EXTREMLEY hard to pull off so many times without someone noticing.

Most people are paid to play along

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I think you've pretty much sussed it douglas. :tu:

Especially the first effect,you could make the props to do this for a few quid.

I bought a similar effect called the Icarus effect a while back which is exactly the same method revealed in his second DVD instalment,but alot more expensive.(and nearly exactly as you've guessed) :)

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go to his official site , he is selling a dvd on how to do it....Cough up 100 bucks and its yours...Not kidding :)

Yeah I know, but what would be the fun in that? Thinking about it for a few days was much more fun, no matter if I guessed it right or not.

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I think you've pretty much sussed it douglas. :tu:

Especially the first effect,you could make the props to do this for a few quid.

I bought a similar effect called the Icarus effect a while back which is exactly the same method revealed in his second DVD instalment,but alot more expensive.(and nearly exactly as you've guessed) :)

Thanks for sharing that. It is funny to see how easily the human mind can be fooled (as mine was), where in retrospect it is so obvious. In general: when you look at what isn't visible at a certain stage of the performance you found the answer to where the trick is being pulled of. The only place is in front of him on the chair.

Edited by douglasdouglas
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go to his official site , he is selling a dvd on how to do it....Cough up 100 bucks and its yours...Not kidding :)

I just looked...he looks very "Hollywood-Like" if you check out his pics in his gallery. Sort of like he's doing it for publicity.

Celebrities :rolleyes:.

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possessed by satan....i knew there was no other way that criss angel could do this, other than the ways suggested in the first post

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i just feel bad for anyone who actually believed it.

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  • 2 weeks later...

Those are some really good theories Douglas. How many times did you watch the dvd to come up with those theories, and how did these theories come to you?

Edited by Nate69
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Criss Angel is an illusion artist. He does not use magic. He pretends that he does, but he really does't. He's a hoax. I believe that you can use real magic to make yourself and anything else levitate. It is possible. But Criss Angel is not using magic. He's using talented actors, professional props and special effects. If he did use real magic, the TV show would not be concentrated on his feats, but rather how he does his feats. Magic just does't click that fast in people's minds. Its an illusion.

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  • 2 weeks later...

Don't let the 1 post wonders discourage your theories douglas. I strongly sense a couple of his (CA's) angels prompting/pushing you to buy his DVDs. :devil: - a new trick I suppose. Even if they aren't his angels then they must be very dissapointed that they didn't come up with it themselves, ha. Good work Douglas.

Typical of hit-and-run posters....

One question lop, does it have a disclaimer that you cannot tell anyone else how it is 'REALLY' done or do you suggest EVERYONE buys the DVD like you so that you're not the only one that feels like a d**k for buing it and justify your hundred (or so) bucks spent?

We have another account of the effects here...

I bought a similar effect called the Icarus effect a while back which is exactly the same method revealed in his second DVD instalment,but alot more expensive.(and nearly exactly as you've guessed)
...which states nearly exactly as you've guessed NOT 'not even close'. Hmmmm, makes me wonder...
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Well being a magician I'll shed some light onto this. Well I'll give no details other than you are right for number one; however, it is easier said than done. But for 2 and 3 you are way off. And as for 4 and 5 well that is obvious.

And what Criss preformed wasn't the Icarus Effect, lop. That is a different, and I use that word "different" lightly, effect. With the icarus effect you are facing toward the spectators, now away from them.

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what do you mean to bad do you know how he cuts his pants to were you cant tell there is a cut, hey fluffy bunny you said you have this levitation how do you make it to were you cant see the cut

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what do you mean to bad do you know how he cuts his pants to were you cant tell there is a cut, hey fluffy bunny you said you have this levitation how do you make it to were you cant see the cut

Wouldn't be much of a trick if you could see how he does it now would it?

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Well no it wouldnt be much of a trick but on a review I read it said you have to be good at sewing so i think it is a certain way you cut it, fluffy bunny please reple on how to cut it

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  • 4 months later...

I dont understand why people are getting mad at Criss Angel, calling him a fraud. HE IS A MAGICIAN!!! Thats why the show is called MINDFREAK..to freak out your mind. He never said it was real, and that he was a warlock or a profit or anything like that. He performs ILLUSIONS..which means its MEANT to look real..even though its not! Hes not a fraud, he is just good at performing tricks. Dont hate. I am never disappointed when i see how a trick is done because I know its not real!

If you were entertained by what he did, then his goal was accomplished. even if eventually you find out how it was done...for a moment you were in awe of him...and thats what he was trying to accomplish.

Maybe there really are some people who can levitate and do supernatural things...i have yet to meet one...but they could exist. but dont knock Criss for what he's doing. He's getting paid, and hes entertaining people..he's alright with me!

All magicians have their tricks. if you dont want to be disappointed, dont seek out how the trick is done. just take it for face value...watch with your mouth open...and be quiet lol

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Well not THE explanation, but after watching the levation tricks on video performed by Criss Angel I came up with a few theories:

First of all it is important to divide the levitation tricks into different categories, because they are quite different:

1) levitating a few feet in front of stairs or chairs, while turning his back to the audience.

2) levitating leaning backwards with one foot on the ground

3) levitating a bystander in midair

4) levitating 5 feet in the air with nothing around him.

5) levitating 5 feet in the air with an object behind him

Theories:

1) There is always an object in front of him to which he "levitates", he always has his back turned to the camera/audience. Sometimes one or two people seem to be next to him or in front of him which would have to be in on the trick. He is wearing a fake hollow, bendable leg on one leg which is attached to his shoe. The fake leg fits into the back half of his real leg. He then could just bend his knee, while putting his leg up and step up to the object in front of him. The view from behind would be two legs and two shoes next to eachother. When he has raised his other leg and the fake leg to the chair, the fake leg and shoe should fit into his real leg again. This way he can just turn around and show there are no other gimmicks present, the fake leg is reset and the trick can be performed again. His trousers would have to be cut or flexible to be able to put out a leg while his trousers at the back remain straight. In the video in the cafeteria you can actually see him make a stange move with his right leg slightly bending it, as if the fake leg didn't come of straight away and snaps back. This trick would require to lean slightly forward to keep balance, which is clearly visible when he does the trick on the escalator. When he perfoms this trick on the sidewalk -without an object in front of him- you can clearly see that it is suddenly necessary to lean sharply forward while balancing on one leg. The man passing by who has to see his leg in front of him, is clearly not impressed, from his standpoint, he propably doesn't even realize that someone is performing a trick, he just sees a man balancing on one leg.

With this trick you have to ask yourself two questions:

-Why not just levitate and land on the ground again? Because that would make it suspicous that an object in front of him is necessary. He cleverly has an excuse that a chair needs to be in front of him, because he is going to land on it, classical misdirecting of a magician.

-Why not perform the trick without an object in front of him? Well because it wouldn't be possible then, otherwise he would have shown it, because that would make the trick MUCH more impressive. When he does it on the sidewalk without an object, there is no audience behind him, just the camera from slightly above, because people standing directly behind would be able to see it.

2) In the video I saw he clearly stamps his right foot, and could insert a metal pole hidden in his right leg into the ground, the location seems to be selected by himself, so perhaps a prepared ground is needed with a hollow pipe. When he bends backwards while bending his knees, a metal mechanism hidden in his leg and back bends with him but locks at 90 degrees. He is then able to straighten out his other leg. Why not straighten out both legs at the same time? Or first one leg and then the other? This seems a giveaway to me. He also did this trick with a bystander which would have to be in on his trick. Only this time she has two legs on the ground when bend backwards and he shows that there is nothing under her back. Then he also straightens her legs but doesn't show again there still isn't anything under her back. So this would mean that she has the pole in one of her legs when he shows there is nothing under her back, but it is removed after another pole has risen from the ground (or is pulled down from her back) to support her back and connect with the metal plate she is wearing there. Conveniently he immediately lowers her which could be the pole in the ground simply descending. At this time the camera doesn't give a clear view of what's under her anymore. Again classical misdirection by a magician, first show that there isn't anything at a certain place, so that later when there is something there the audience is just tricked into thinking it can't be because it wasn't there before.

You have to ask yourself why the straightening of both legs isn't performed when he is levitating himself, surely the trick would be much more impressive if he would do that instead of just straightening just one leg? The answer is that it requires another person to make sure the pole from the ground connects with the back of the woman. In the video there are cuts and a shot where he may have touched the lower of her back may have been left out.

3) There is no other possiblity than that the whole crowd is in on the trick. The crowd looks unnaturally disciplined forming an ordered circle around him, no other people seem to walk by or join the crowd, this is in the middle of the streets of Las Vegas right? She simple hangs from a cable from above. He makes a point of having the camera looking up before the trick but neglects this when she is actually levitating. This trick is always performed outside, why not do this trick in the cafetaria? Because a crane would have a hard time fitting into there.

4) A cable from above, no other possibility, usually there are no bystanders so that is just a camera trick. The cases where he did this with crowds (which are always just a few people), but with the wall behind him, could only happen if the crowd was in on the trick.

5) This is the video with the plants behind him performed for just 1 bystander. The plants could conceal a contraption which connects with a metal plate in his back. It is suspicous that he always walks up to the camera immedtaily after landing on the ground, perhaps allowing something behind him to quickly hide itself. This trick could also be with just a cable and a bystander who is in on the trick, it is suspicous that there isn't a crowd.

Well just theories, but it's not impossible to reach the same results with it.

Im not saying that what u said cant be true ...but unless u know him of was there when he mess up one of his acts I dont want to know what u have to say...I belive that everything he does is real ,now that doesent mean I like it I belive that cris asked for those abilities form lucifer.... thats what I belive cause no man can do that witch out supernatural help and god ant goin to help nobody do that..there's only 2 spirits good and evil..that is pure evil

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