Full Deck Levitation -- opinions?

[erdnasephile]

Anyone ever use Ken Krenzel's full deck levitation?

Just wondering what people thought of this, as I have not come across it before.

Thanks!

[Ian Kendall]

I think I bought that in a manuscript from Tannen's when I visited in 88. If that's the same one (using a simple gimmick) then it's not bad, but the impromptu version is more practical.

[Richard Kaufman]

It's terrible. Ken pulled me over into a corner like he was going to share the secret of nuclear fision, but instead he did this dumb levitation. He told me he was going to market it as a booklet. Couldn't believe it. It's not even remotely convincing. If you want to see a good deck levitation, Angelo Carbone published one in this the issue of Genii with his cover story.

[Ian Kendall]

So much for being diplomatic...

The impromptu haunted deck (in the same booklet) is not _quite_ so bad.

*runs and ducks

[Bill Mullins]

If you want to see a good deck levitation, Angelo Carbone published one in this the issue of Genii with his cover story.

Found in Magic Circular Feb 2000 p 57 or
Genii Mar 2010 p 72

The AskAlexander search string "deck levitation effect" will take you there.

[Steve Bryant]

There are some nice versions in Steve Beam's Trapdoor reprints.

[Angelo Carbone]

Here is a video of a magician performing my deck levitation http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MxwR9dOQkc0

[Leonard Hevia]

If you experiment a bit with Krenzel's method, you can make that deck float halfway decently off your left palm. The presentation is the hardest part of this effect. At the risk of sounding like J.T., why is the object floating off your hand? Close-up floating effects with cards, decks, dollar bills, tiny violins, seahorses and other small objects were popular back in the 80s.

[CraigOusterling]

I thought a great reason and method is from Jay Sankey. Sanky Pankey - 'Floater' (pp61). A whole deck imporomptu levitation during an ACR routine. I hear a lot of people mumble 'wtf' during any ambitious routine this move is thrown in.

[El Mystico]

Good point.
The Sankey routine says "The 'float' can and should be presented in the course of some larger routine"
On the Krenzel video (One of the reasons I still have a video machine!) the float looks OK - I didn't spot how it was being done - but I wouldn't perform it as a whole effect in itself.

[Richard Kaufman]

The Sankey item is very good, which is why I insisted it go into "Sankey Panky." I also included it in The Project Magic book with Jay's permission.

[erdnasephile]

I remember those days that Leo is talking about. Magicians just love to jump on fads en masse (Coin in Bottle, T & R Card, ACAAN, and Easy Money are just a few of the more recent ones).

I think the best close up animation/floating of that period was Copperfield's version of Kevin James' "The Rose"

[Edwin Corrie]

Another deck suspension (rather than levitation, though the effect is quite similar) is Dan Harlan's Auto Suspension from Minotaur magazine. Also Angelo Carbone's Humbug is a very clever idea.

[Richard Kaufman]

How good is Kevin James's "Floating Rose"? Copperfield is still using it decades later.

[John LeBlanc]

If you could make something float, why choose a deck of cards?

[Richard Kaufman]

Why choose any particular object? Why a bill? Why a deck?
The only genuinely logical thing to float is yourself.

[Bob Cunningham]

How good is Kevin James's "Floating Rose"? Copperfield is still using it decades later.

I saw him perform this last week and it still a wonderful piece of magic. His presentation is a bit whimsical and innocent. As if he were saying, "Here is this really cool thing I can do" which is charming, but also becomes it's own motivation.

If you really could make a napkin float and dance like that could you resist showing this to an attractive young lady? In the 3rd grade I could not resist showing Rhonda Kelly that I could drink milk through a straw and have it come out my nose - and that is not nearly as cool as a dancing napkin!

[Leonard Hevia]

Michael Skinner performed great magic with props that many magicians consider out of place and ridiculous like the ball and tube, ball and vase and jumping gems. How did he succeed with such "silly" props from novelty stores? Skinner believed that it was the magician's lack of imagination that failed him, not the props.

Those paddles and sticks with different colored spots that change color can make for an interesting presentation. You can tell your audience that your eye doctor carries the paddle around to test his patients for color blindness and gave you one. Now that you have justified the prop, you can cut loose: "Are you color blind?" "No?" "Do those spots look blue to you?" "What color are they now?" "Are you sure you're not color blind?"

There is nothing wrong with making a deck of cards float on the palm of your hand--it just has to be done in the right context. As others have posted here, it is probably best to perform this as an incidental moment within a larger effect. For example, the magician has three cards selected and returned to the deck. Before he reveals the selections, he stares intently at the deck on the palm of his hand and mentions that if he focuses too hard, the deck will sometimes float up a bit.

Tha audience sees the deck rise a bit for a moment, then settle down into the magician's palm. The magician continues with the revelation of the selections as if the floating part was just incidental.