I love the time and energy devoted to these illusions. They are described in great detail and quite
interesting.
My only concern would be, who on earth is going to take the time to make and
transport such things? I have always wondered if Dan Harlan actually makes these by himself or if he
has a staff of builders who do it. Certainly in the presentations here, there are a lot of people
needed to construct and assemble this on stage. Not to mention the amount of space and time needed
to assemble this on a stage. If someone is an illusionist, is he/she going to take all of this time?
Is it cheaper and more practical to simply purchase an already made illusion with similar results?
Illusionists will certainly not take the time to do this and the ordinary parlor magician is not
going through the time and labor involved to make these illusions practical. Great job, but hardly
something that would be used in the real world. I'd love to see one that someone built based on this
lesson.
Hello Arthur, how do you do ?
Illusions are something that are not affordable to everyone. Knowing how they work and how to construct them is a great topic.
We don´t know who is buying this product, so, we cannot say that no one will ever construct this. Maybe constructing this is less expensive than buying a new one.
About transport, if you want to begin in the illusions world, why not begin with a great illusion at the end of your show ? Maybe, if you have success with this, you can add another, and another and more one untill you turn youself into a Illusionist !
Baby steps guy :) !!! Even if you don´t do this today, you may use it one day in future ... who knows !
I hope Dan makes more videos about Illusions, even if I don´t construct them now :) !!!
Best regards,
Jack
Considering the fact that I'm literally building and performing Every Trick in the Book from the entire Tarbell Course in magic, it seems a bit harsh to judge this lesson on "practicality." Yes, I built this illusion by myself. I do not have a team of builders. It's just me, in my basement, with a few standard power tools. In the lesson, I also address all the issues facing anyone who wants to perform large illusions... it ain't easy.
However, I have gone way beyond the book -- by actually designing this illusion to tear down into small enough components to be transported in a car (that's how I transported it). Just so you know, most illusions of this size require the illusionist to rent/own a moving van. I know. I've worked with many illusionists. They show up early, they leave late, they work very hard.
To answer your questions: Yes, people do take the time to build, transport, assemble, and perform illusions. Depending on the illusion (and how many people are employed by the illusionist), the set-up time per illusion may be 30 minutes to two hours. I've worked with illusionists who arrive in the morning to prep for an evening show! Most "off-the-shelf" illusions fit into the 30-60 minute set-up range, unless they are transported partially-assembled (which requires more truck space).
Illusionists are crazy, but dedicated, people. The smart ones charge a lot for their shows.
Dan Harlan, thanks for putting all the work to assemble those illusions and teaching no only how it work but also the story behind because a real performer should know how his material from point A to point Z. And the price for that class is very inexpensive so it deserves 5*.
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