david blane

[kakkarot]

it's not, it's an optical illusion created by positioning the viewer at the precise angle so that the viewer can only see one foot, while the other foot lifts the person off the ground.

~kakkarot

[Xehupatl]

I don't believe it's an optical illusion. I seriously think this guy has got something going there .. something good.
I saw an episode of his street magick tricks, including the levitation part, and the camera was positioned at an angle where I distinctly saw BOTH feet going up at least 30cm in the air, very slowly.
I don't see how this could have been an illusion.

cheers
if those are "tricks", then they're REALLY GOOD!

[goingslow]

I saw that too and the angle they showed him from was from behind and you saw both feet.  I think its an illusion but i think it has to do more with if you notice his body it doesnt actually lift up so he's not taller than he was.  Meaning if i were to levetate and im 5'11 you'd think at one point i'd be at the 6'1 range about.

If you download one of his levitation episodes you'll see he doesn't get any higher but he does "fall" lower.  He acts like he loses his balance but if you really notice his feet seem to go off the ground but his head isnt' at a higher level.  I think he's doing somekind of knee bending illision.  where his feet might be off the ground but he isn't levitating. I was looking for the angle thing but like someone else said and i saw for myself you see both his feet

[Parmenion]

Its not the optical illusion that Kakarrot describes. I have also seen footage of both feet at once. In fact i have seen footage that shows the whole body from behind lifting up several inches. If you look through all his recordings you will see that he gets progressively better at levitation. I would like to be able to say with certainty "yes, its real" but how could I? What I do know however, is that levitation is possible and has been accomplished before. It takes a certain dedication and spirtual prowess that explains why persons who can accomplish this feat have not beforehand used it for monetary gain as has mr.Blain. What should add weight to claims that he actually can levitate is the proof of his previous performances. These phenomina, such as "ice man" and "verigo" show a certain level of acheivement that leads one to believe he is well on the path to enlightenment. What bemuses me, however, is his intertwining of spiritual development and material success.

Parmenion

[kakkarot]

hm, i think i was thinking of someone else then.

my apologies.

~kakkarot

[goingslow]

Well I agree he could be doing it only because some of his feats and tricks are really amazing. And you're right he shows great discipline.

I however dont have a problem seeing someone like that get money and I think the only person who should worry about if it bars their spiritual progress is the person making the money.

The reason i say this is i think all talents are god given.  And he has worked very hard to perfect them.  Hes not really making money just levitating but entertaining with his magic tricks.  Why should he have to do that for free.  I think musicians get their talent from spirit, same as artists etc.  But no one thinks its wrong for them to make a living off of it.

I think it all depends what do you do with your money.  Does he exploit people?  I personally dont think a person has to struggle and be poor in their life in order to spiritually progress.  We all work.. is it more noble to put your spirituality work on the side after working 10 hours a job for a company than spending all your time strenghtening your skills and making a living off of that?

Thats just my personal opinion.  But like i said I dont question someones elses spiritual progress.  Its hard enough keeping tabs on my own which changes from month to month at this point.

[filipcza]

I agree with Kakkarot, it's a angle trick called Balducci levitation.

I have seen the footage also. Did you notice that when Blaine did his levitation, he positioned himself exactly the same way every time? He put all the audience in a tight group and warned that they should "catch him", if he should fall. Then he turned his back to the audience and checked his angle. After levitating he said that the levitation made him sick, which is nice excuse to avoid doing it again.

When he did the levitation they never showed the levitation and audience at the same time, all they did was show the amazed faces of the crowd. There was however one occasion when they showed a very distant and hazy footage of blaine hanging in the air with both feet up. This was, I believe,a separate take, where he used wires, and was thrown in to confuse tv-audience. I know I was confused by this.

After I saw this episode, I learned to do this balducci levitation myself, and when I knew how to do it, it was very clear to me why he did all the things he did when preparing to "levitate". I suggest you learn it too and see if you fool your friends. Here's how to do it:

http://www.geocities.com/Broadway/Stage/7308/balducci.html

It's quite simple trick, but when done right and only ONCE for a person, preferably without telling him beforehand what to expect, it can be quite amazing. I did it to my sister, and she was awestruck Then I did it again and she figured it out.

So that's it, it would have been nice if Blaine had really done it, but..if he could then would he?

[Adept_of_Light]

Dear friends,

quote:Originally posted by filipcza

I agree with Kakkarot, it's a angle trick called Balducci levitation.

I believe you are correct, his method is that of an illusionist, and not a true magician or yogi. Aside from the fact that his levitation method has been exposed on the internet, you'd have to be one heck of a magician/yogi to be running around one minute and then stopping and levitating the next. True levitation requires some amount of preperation and meditation, of course an expert should eventually also be able to perform levitation pretty much at will, but such is not Mr. Blane's case. And such an expert could levitate much higher than 30 cm from the ground and remain there for much longer periods of time... hours if one so wished and would certainly not feel sick from doing true levitation. Further the angle of view would be completely irrelivant. Don't be fooled by engenius illusion limited to specific angles and subject to film editing.

Mr. Blane performs some excellent ILLUSIONS for *entertainment* value and that's all there is to it. So long as he affirms that his work is for the purpose of entertaining people, I see nothing wrong with it, but if there ever was a claim that his tricks were based on spiritual attainment... then his illusionist title should be changed to that of Charlatan []

The act of levitation is one that has been performed by many-a-Christian Saints, Indian Yogi's and buddhist monks. It is a real possibility, and performing such a feat is not considered in actuallity to mean that the person performing levitation is an enlightened soul. Levitation while very impressive to the average joe is a siddhi attainable in the relative early stages of magical/spiritual training; though to do it very well could take years of daily practice. Should you be fortunate to ever witness individual siddhis such as this, recognize that the person who was able to perform this likely trained for a very long time (in this life-time or another), but performing such feats says nothing about their spiritual values, and says even less if they go around showing off their "special" abilities.

"True spiritual attainment never advertises itself, for then a man knows too much and his horizon is so vast that nothing like Earthly honors, position, recognition or veneration could possibly attract him for even a second. If it is otherwise, there can not be any attainment." - Mouni Sadhu, Ways To Self-Realization

Be well,
Adept of Light

[goingslow]

Im sure the levitation is an illusion I mean im not going to argue that part is real.

However, I disagree with assuming nothing he does has any value past entertainment.  He does feats that actually aren't illusions that test his endurance and resolve more than anything.  Those I think are completely seperate from his magic tricks and I think his whole thing is showing how amazing things can be done by humans.

I dont spend too much time trying to figure out who's enlightened and who isn't though.  But most people definitely dont have the discipline it takes to do a lot of what he does.  (taking ice cold baths to get his body ready for that ice thing) etc..

[rodentmouse]

theres actually  an "exposed"  edition  where  most of  his  street  tricks  are  explained...

the levitation  really dissapointed me...   He  does  stand one  one  foot,   but  what was even  worse  they  got  in  an "extra"  to  be  shocked...   the producers  noted what clothes  the origina woman was wearing  and  dressed an extra up like her...  then reshot the scene  and  the extra was   hysterical  e.g.  "oh my god  thats amazing"  etc..


what  interests me  about  david blaine  are  his  real  magic  feats  e.g.   being  encased in  that block of  ice.  I  thought  that  was incredible,   thats  shows  he  is  aware of  the powers  of  the mind...  that is magic i  think,   everything  that  this  website  deals with.

[Parmenion]

Ok i was incorrect. I dont entirely know why i was so sure of the truth of the matter without taking into account the easy manipulation of events on video footage.I apologise for sounding so sure of myself.[]

Parmenion

[Nay]

I heard that the block of Ice had a secret door, so when they pulled the curtain around the ice, another guy dressed like him, same hair, same features, ect...crawled in, and Blaine left until the next time they pulled up the curtain, and would swap places again. If you notice the block of ice was distorted and you could not make him out that clearly...hmmm I don't know.. [?]

[filipcza]

Parmenion, don't beat yourself up! I know I have been sure of a lot of things, just to find out later that I was wrong. And if there's someone out there who can say "I'm never wrong!", then he just doesn't know, or doesn't want to acknowledge the fact that he could be wrong. It takes certain amount of character to admit being wrong. Maybe that's why saying sorry is so hard.

[Parmenion]

Thanks filipcza. That's true.Probably the fastest way to learn is by making mistakes.Cheers!

Parmenion

[jason]

the levitation trick is done w/camera angles, and some voluteers acting amazed.I saw a website somewhere that described it in detail, and I was dissapointed that it was all completely fake.
david blane still has some real achievments, like that time he buried himself for a week-amazing!

[Squeek]

You know, if you watch the david blaine thing, he even shows you that it is faked.  The host shows you his foot still on the ground in the first one, and the camera tricks in the second one.

When he hid himself behind the ice, FOX decided to spill the secrets on that one.  If you didnt watch it, too bad!   ok actually, he has 2 people in there.  When the people with the dry ice spray more onto the box of ice, he switches with somebody who looks the exact same.  There is a small room under the ice cube.  Why else would it be 3 feet off the ground?  

[panabelle]

Yeah, I freaked out my little brother once with Balducci levitation. It's so easy and very convincing when done from the right angle. You have to wear slippers or shoes or something, though. Otherwise they can see your feet.

[Nick]

Yes, the David Blaine Street Magic tv/video/cd is pretty impressive at first. You come to realize that he is an illusionist, but a pretty good one.

There was a show on tv last year where another illusionist did a "revealed secrets" expose on the Blaine illusions, including the Balducci levitation.

You have to admire that Blaine is very good at illusion. If you watch the video/cd closely (several times) and focus on certain things Blaine is doing, you will sometimes see some how he is effecting the particular trick.

One time he was grabbing a guys wrists and shaking them together for a trick. Later, he pulls the guys watch out and hands it to him. If you watch closely, you can see him unbuckling the guys watch strap. However, when he is doing this he has the crowds attention diverted to something else. You have to watch his left hand or you'll miss it.

As was said in another post, it's great entertainment.

[Squeek]

Yea any magic that you see on tv can be proven.  Even D.B.  All of it.  Especially when FOX makes it easier for us  

I know this because I was one of those people that would tape them and put them in MY slow-mo challenge (2/3 speed is NOT slow mo).  You can see many still use sleeves to conceal things, such as birds.  What I would love to see is a true magician on tv. That would rock.

~Squeek

[Shadow17]

has anyone seen the david blane thing where he levitates is that real or not im just wondering