The Genii Forum

I would love to hear some opinions about this effect. Is it really "...unlike any other on the market" and worth the price? Is it really a "...revolutionary redesigned Zombie gimmick"? Is the "...unique and extremely deceptive Zombie floatation System" all it aspires to be? Any comments are appreciated. And without revealing any of those pesky little secrets, of course. As always, the Amazing Samdini is forever in your debt. :cool:

Watching Losander do the zombie and his floating table... the man really knows his stuff.

It still depends on you as a PERFORMER to sell it properly.

Originally posted by Pete Biro:
It still depends on you as a PERFORMER to sell it properly.

Wisdom. Attend to his words.

Zombie can only be improved up to a certain point. It is still 95% based on successful acting on the part of the performer, to make believe the thing is truly floating , so the audience "believes" it too.

Having said that , I will also say that the money I spent on Losander's very short video of "Zombie" was money well spent. The gimmick is a definite improvement. "Revolutionary gimmick" is dealer-speak, but Losander's idea is enough of an improvement that I now prefer it to the Gen Grant zombie gimmick I was using (Grant's is very good, very comfortable to use, but Losander's is better ).

On the video Losander also offers basic advice on moves to sell the ball as truly floating and selection of the proper color of the foulard , etc.

Without giving away anything too particular, is the Losander gimmick different from the Tommy Wonder Levitation System gimmick? And, if not, does Losander have Wonder's permission and/or blessing to market his gimmick idea(s)?

Incidentally, if you're not already aware of it, the specific advice given by Al Schneider on Zombie in his book by that name is invaluable for making even a standard Zombie unit look alive (although if it looks really alive, wouldn't that be UN-zombie-like?) and SEPARATE from the performer. Ditto for Tommy Wonder's ideas in Volume ll of his books.

I believe Losander has Tommy Wonder's permission to market his Floating Table which utilizes some of Tommy's ideas.

I was surfing online one nite and found a clip of him doing this routine. I sat and watched completely mesmorized. I never cared for the effect until I saw it in his hands. I had never seen anyone do it well I guess. I studied it like I would study a monet or Rosetti painting. Losander does such a beautiful routine. I baught the video a month later. I was very satisfied with his method and thinking, but I wish I didnt get it because the beauty of his routine played over and over in my minds eye. When I saw the ex-planation and his thinking it took the fun of wondering what he was thinking when he performed this beautiful piece.
I suppose I am an esoteric thinker in a way. I feel if an artist is creating or performing something, I like to try and imagine what it is he is feeling, or thinking at that moment whether it is the stroke of a brush or emphasis on a note being performed by an opera singer or a magician selling the reality of the illusion to an audience delighted with his very performance.
Maybe I am just a freak, oh well its just me, and I love art. I feel Losanders routine is one of the most artistic things I have seen in magic ever. I wish my magic was that beautiful.

A link to the online clip of this routine would be greatly appreciated.

Go to www.magicsmith.com click he video demos, and them go to the z section on the right side of the page and it will be there under Losanders zombie.

Thanks, Reed.

Better yet, go to his website:

www.losander.com

Click on film.

Hocus Pocus has the exclusive on this for $144.95.
You can see demo of several effects there as well.

www.hocus-pocus.com/magicshop/?hn=1

The losander gimmick is without a doubt the biggest thing to hit Zombie since Al Schnieder's book.

It can however be made yourself from a standard gimmick and a pair of pliers. The instructions are on the video. The video is a must have.