We recently shipped a new illusion in from Las Vegas. As usual, we will be redesigning this illusion completely.
As with the standard way we approach new illusions, weeks before we even purchased the illusion, we had already designed the artwork and choreographed the illusion.
We did graphical digital mock-ups of the new look of the illusion after I did literally hundreds of sketches to determine the look and function of all our new elements.
The prop is current in our studio stripped down and new parts are being fabricated now.
Just like our “360 Sawing” illusion, this will be a distinct ‘Magic Babe’ & J C Sum illusion with a presentation to match.
We are happy to announce that our brand magic has crept its way into two international magic TV shows that are now released on DVD. Another small way we are proud to put Singapore on the world map!
The International Magicians Society has produced a TV show and DVD set on magicians from 32 countries. The entire series took two years to film.
Among the magicians that are featured include Criss Angel, Brett Daniels, Peter Marvey, Shimada and many others.
Ning & I are the privileged to be representing Singapore as one of the 32 countries in the “Great Magicians of the World”. While the title of the show is a tad pompous, it is safe to say that the magicians featured are very good, have a proven track record and are one of the best that the respective countries have to offer.
We are honoured to have been chosen by the International Magicians Society (IMS) for the show and two of our illusions are featured in the show.
Our performance was shot from multiple angles during our 6 Oct 2009 preview show at St James Power Station. From what Tony Hassini (President of IMS) told us, our footage is really good and the edited performances look great.
Incidentally, we were the last country to be filmed for this show. You can buy the DVD set for US$75 here.
Another TV show that has been released on DVD is Franz Harary’s “Magic Planet”. Franz Harary is an American illusionist and brilliant illusion designer.
You might not have heard of him because his work is mainly in the high end corporate events and live concert market. He created illusions for Michael Jackson, Janet Jackson and Backstreet Boys.
In 2004/ 2005, he went around the world performing and filming other magicians in different countries. While this is somewhat similar to what Tony Hassini did, this show is different because the focus is on Franz and each episode features one country.
I’ve seen one episode because he sent me the episode that I’m featured in. The production values are extremely high and the overall show is entertaining and the format is akin to a Discovery Travel and Living-type show.
The episode I’m featured in is “Bangladesh” because I was an invited performer/ lecturer for an International Magic Festival produced by Ali Raj (Bangladesh’s top magician). So, this show features a younger me performing material that has since been retired from my show
It was also at this festival that I had conversations with New York Times writer and now best-selling author, Neil Strauss. I also had the pleasure of interacting with Florida-based magician Travis Wrinkler.
Anyway, I think this DVD set is a highly entertaining series and features many of Harary’s mega illusions. You can buy the DVDs here.
Last week, I posted an entry on some outstanding presentations of the classic “Sawing a Girl in Half” illusion. One of those magicians featured was Siegfried & Roy. You can read avery brief history on them on Wiki here.
While the Wiki briefly talks about their history, most of the article is on Roy’s tragic tiger ‘attack’ accident. Luckily, a few years ago, an IMAX film was made on their lives/ magic which, in a way, preserves their legacy as “Masters of the Impossible”. They used the word “SARMOTI” as a magic word and to descibe themselves which basically is an abbreviation for “Siegfried & Roy Masters of the Impossible”.
The IMAX film called “The Magic Box” is wonderful journey into the spectacle that was their show and also gives a dramatised look at their history. There are several parts to the entire movie and you can watch part 1 of “The Magic Box” here.
Naturally, anyone who is in magic would have heard of S & R even though the prominent parts of their career have been in Las Vegas. In fact, they are the pioneers of the Las Vegas Magic Show as we know it it (although the styles/ concepts of the Vegas shows have changed now). They personalified the glizy, flamboyant and spectacular production shows that defined the 1980s – 1990s era of Vegas entertainment.
Of course, they are most known for their use of exotic animals such as white tigers, lion and elephants in their show. No one has used large animals to the level and scale that S & R did, and probably, no one else will ever do; especially after the tiger attack.
Years ago, I remember watching their shows on TV and always remembered the spectacle of their magic. However, I never got a chance to watch them live. I passed on the chance to watch them when I was in Vegas in 1995 mainly because I was told by many people that the show was mainly production dance numbers, animals with little magic. I also had the impression (possibly by the bits I watched on TV and what other magicians told me) that their magic was very standard but made different only becaue big the animals.
Now, more than one and a half decades later, upon watching the videos, I have a new opinion. Yes, their show is a spectacle with lots of animals, costumes, sets and dancers. And, it is true there are a few standard illusions in the show. However, all their standards have the S & R twist because of the way they incorporate the animals. Just like their Interlude presentation which I shared 2 weeks ago.
As an experienced illusion designer looking at their work now, I can see just how sophisticated their illusion methodology is. The amount of illusioneering that went into their theatre is staggering and I wonder if any other illusionists will ever have that degree of creative control built into their venue.
Here are two awesome illusions, that to me, are just S & R at their finest:
The first is the most amazing and direct version of such an illusion ever staged. Remember, this is performed up close to an almost surrounded audience.
This next video showcases their personality and chemistry.
Finally, check out their farewell performance that they gave earlier this year. This is 6 years after the accident which left Roy partially paralysed and doctors did not expect him to walk again. The tiger used in this inspirational performance is the very same one that caused Roy his career-ending injury.
Early bird tickets (15% off standard ticket price of S$40) for our brand new illusion show to play at St James Power Station, Singapore’s biggest club are now on sale.
About half a decade ago, the majority of my work was focused on the corporate events market. In recent years, I have been developing opportunities to bring my magic to different markets, beyond the event industry.
With Ning now, our distinct brand of “Sexy Urban Magic” has been permeating across different markets from special events, mega events, ticketed shows, TV shows, and high-end corporate events. This has allowed us to maintain the focus of our craft and brand yet make our work relevant different markets, clients and target audiences.
For corporate events, we also select shows and organizations who feel we add value to their value beyond just doing a ‘magic show’. There are many excellent magicians who can stage a solid magic show but no one can bring “J C Sum & ‘Magic Babe’ celebrity to the event… duh. Such as the case with the Nuffnang Blog Awards that attendees are still blogging about.
Our first 3 months of 2010 will be jam-packed with a variety of exciting projects spanning different markets and mediums. We are also looking at a number of projects that could possibly see us through to the end of 2010, so we approach those with cautious optimism.
We have been approached to be part of various projects and are in a privileged position to take on the projects that we feel we can contribute to and at the same time showcase our brand positively.
While we would love to take on all work, we need to also choose the right projects, especially when it comes to the high profile ones. This is to ensure we do not overexpose/ dilute our brand and can give our client or partner the exclusive high value they deserve. The basic economics of supply and demand apply here.
Being selective allows us not to take on any small event that comes along. This ensures we can showcase our product in the right setting with the adequate technical requirements in place. As such, we have actually revamped our corporate show packages to reflect a scale and production value that clients are now expecting from having us at their event.
The new “Spike Box” for our smallest event show package is coming along nicely and we are thrilled that we have been able to showcase our brand of urban illusions, equality as onstage partners and performance style all through the single illusion performance and design of the illusion.
Over the last 2 weeks, Ning & I were constantly greeted by strangers who said they saw us on TV. While, people do generally acknowledge us with recognition when we are in a public place, we were a bit confused because the last time we were on TV was on Ch 8 and Star World earlier in the year.
Then, we realized that they were referring to a short segment that we taped on Ch U called 最近比较忙(translation is “Channel U Busy Lately”) during our appearanc for the MediaCorp tradeshow. It aired regularly between programs in the last two weeks of Oct.
We talked about the tradeshow as well as working with Thomas Ong who will be starring in a new serial called “The Illusionist” next year.
And, it is also fantastic that we are still continually get the support of the international magic media.
Dodd Vickers runs the “Magic News Wire“, a popular magic magic new site and aggregator. Without any initiation from our part, he ran a blurb on our new 2010 showreel DVD. Check it out here.
Our projects that we are developing for early next year are going great! Planning, developing and negotiating any large-scale project takes a lot of time, strategic thinking and luck. We are really excited that a number of key projects that we have been working on for 2010 are moving forward positively. We are going to have more opportunity to put Singapore on the world map again
It is awesome that we are getting so much positive feedback and encouragement on being the first Asian (and by default Singapore) magicians to be featured on the cover of magicseen magazine. Close industry friends are getting copies of this magazine to get a sneak peek into the magical world of magicians and mentalists. Remember, you can buy the physical copy or soft copy of the magazine at www.magicseen.co.uk
It is also fantastic that we are getting great support from the local magic community on our Merlin Awards, even though the awards presentation cum sneak preview to “Sexy Magic/ Urban Illusions” was almost 1 month ago. A local magician just expressed his heartfelt acknowledgements for us doing our small part to put Singapore on the world map. Thanks Shade! You can read his blog entry here.
British magician P.T. Selbit is credited with first performing the illusion of sawing a lady in half in January 1921 at the Finsbury Park Empire theatre in London. Subsequently, American magician Horace Goldwin presented a version the same year which sparked a ‘war’ and rivalry between the magicians. For more info on the history of this illusion, read the excellent wiki article here.
In this entry, I will explore various modern-day presentations and variations of this classic illusion plot. I have tried to put the video clips in some kind of chronological order. I am specifically exploring illusions that can be performed live and not just made for TV.
The first clip is the traditional presentation for the Thin Sawing model that most illusionists do even to this day. This is just to get you familiar with the illusion because I know that there are many who have heard of the illusion over and over again, but never actually seen it.
Channing Pollack performed a presentation of the Double Sawing in half which is credited to Alan Wakeling. Essentially, two girls wearing different coloured costumes are cut in half. Their halves are switched and restored so that the girls bodies are now mismatched. Subsequently, Doug Henning, Andre Kole, Kirby Van Birch and others performed it. If you are interested, you can see Brad Ross & Fred Moore perform it on a Disney show here:
This is an excellent example of how to make a ’standard’ illusion your own by adding to it without actually changing the core illusion itself. Siegfried & Roy do the traditional Thin Sawing but what they do before and after the Thin Sawing to get in and out of the illusion is remarkable and great magic.
A huge evolution in the Sawing in Half came in the form of David Copperfield’s “Death Saw”. As with many quantum leaps in illusion innovation, Copperfield’s team broke new ground with the illusion. Besides the cutting edge illusion design and method, it is the the motivated presentation that makes this illusion performance in a league of its own. Nuff said!
“Clearly Impossible” was created by Jonathan Pendragon and was another innovation in the thin sawing as it uses clear boxes. It is extremely baffling for audiences (I was completely fooled the first time I saw it… and many times after that). It is now performed by many illusionists worldwide since it waas released to the market several years ago. Here is a video of U.K.’s Barry & Stuart performing it.
Brett Daniels used to perform the classic “Thin Sawing” before he updated the illusion to this version. It is in a way a visual combination of Copperfield’s “Death Saw” and Pendragons’ “Clearly Impossible”. I personally do not really like it but I know many do.
In a previous entry, I shared Mark Kalin & Jinger’s wonderful presentation of Alan Wakeling’s sawing which was designed to follow Selbit’s original presentation using audience participation. From the above-mentioned Wiki page, whilst Wakeling performed this illusion and perfected aspects of it, the general configuration and method have been attributed to an earlier magician, Virgil Harris Mulkey (1900-1989), aka. “The Great Virgil”, who first performed it in 1942 and later passed on the idea to Wakeling.Kalin & Jinger’s current presentation is copied by many magicians around the world today and I republish it here again if you did not see it.
Criss Angel performs an open version which I believe is an open sawing created by Ken Whittaker & Paul Haynes (Someone can correct me if I am wrong). But, he suspended it with chains which gives the illusion a very raw feel.
However, I have never seen a video of this illusion actually being performed live. Below is a clip from his older stage show (which he performed in the old WWE restaurant basement in New York) but this clip was obviously made for TV and has multiple edits. The one in his MindFreak TV show is also made for TV so not representation of a live stage illusion. I’m quite sure he performs this in his Vegas “BeLIEve” show but he does not get restored in the end.
Kevin James developed a very unique open sawing that was worked and reworked over several years. (Criss Angel did a similiar style illusion for his MindFreak TV show where he visibly pulls a girl apart that was purely made for TV.) I should mention that the version that is shown on various TV shows like America’s Got Talent was edited. I found a clip of the actual live performance… still great!
Just for the sake of completeness, I thought I would include some innovative variations of “Modern Art”. Created by prolific illusion designer, Jim Steinmeyer, “Modern Art” is a practical vertical sawing a girl in half. We used to perform this illusion in 2007 and early 2008 until Ning demanded to remove the illusion from our show because it was too common. But I digress.
John Bundy & Morgan do a great Halloween-themed illusion show called “Spooktacular”. As such, all the illusions presented in the show are Halloween themed and in costumed character. In his version, his prop is in the form of an upright coffin which really makes sense from the motivated prop design point of view.
Stuart & Jayne out of the U.K. work under the stage name Safire Illusionists and have an original design for a “Modern Art” type illusion. It looks great and is quite unique.
Dan Sperry performs a variation by Bryan Gilles called “Tilt” that is pretty neat. While, I doubt the average lay audience will appreciate the difference, magic geeks will.
How could end this entry without giving J C Sum & ‘Magic Babe’ Ning a plug I redesigned, rebuilt 95% & restaged Gerry Frenette’s illusion for own unique version of the sawing a girl in half illusion. There are probably less than 5 of these in the world currently and only one with our design and exact workings.
BACKSTAGE BUSINESS: The Art, Science & Business of Showbiz by J C Sum
This blog explores how creative & artistic individuals can position themselves to be commercially successful in their respective fields.
Whether you are an entertainer, film-maker, designer, musician, artist, actor or animator, this blog strives to offer insights based on the art, science and business behind the work of one of Asia's most successful commercial illusionists and illusion designers.
