puf_the_majic_dragon Posted July 29, 2008 Report Posted July 29, 2008 (edited) Chris Angel is a performer. He makes a living by tricking people who know they are being tricked but can't figure out how. He happens to be very good at it, but calling his illusions supernatural power because you can't immediately see how they are done is just silly.He hasn't made any deal with the devil, he is just a performer who is good at his job. No need to bring out the torches and prepare the stake.Exactly.Here's a perfect example from Youtube: YouTube - Criss Angel - Levitates From Building to BuildingLook at the shadows.At 1:14 his shadow is angular, pointed towards the right side of the building, looks to be around 9am or so, give or take.At 1:29, from the same camera angle, his shadow is perfectly parrallel to the edge of the building, the sun would be directly behind him.Conclusion: Several hours passed between those 15 seconds of footage. Or it's a different building. Either way the presence of the shadows suggests that it wasn't a green screen. More likely a wire from a crane, possibly two wires from two cranes so they could be spaced farther apart and not immediately visible to the specified camera angles.Note: None of the "cameramen" gives us a 360 degree panorama to demonstrate the lack of any crane or other device from which to suspend a wire.I also checked out his "walking on water" routine in a swimming pool. Obviously green screen. Any first year film student could see that. I've done better green screening myself with photoshop and a Sony Handycam.P.S.Those are high definition cameras he's using in those vids. The videos I've found are definitely NOT HD. Someone with digital cable and an HDTV (who actually knows how to tell) could tell us whether the show is broadcast in HD, A&E's website doesn't say. I suspect it's not, the badly done film effects would show too easily through high definition.Oh, and those HD cameras are $15,000 to $40,000 cameras he's just handing out to random people on the street? Riiiight. Edited July 29, 2008 by puf_the_majic_dragon
Moksha Posted July 29, 2008 Report Posted July 29, 2008 The greatest magician of all was Harry Houdini. His admirers still think of him. As a matter of fact, there is a tradition that each night of the anniversary of his death, some of his well wishers leave a plate of lox and bagels on this grave. When they return in the morning to retrieve the plate, they find that he picked the lox but left the bagel.
lilered Posted July 29, 2008 Report Posted July 29, 2008 I view Chris Angel as nothing more or less than a performer, magician, and illusionist. The same with David Blaine.
Misshalfway Posted July 30, 2008 Author Report Posted July 30, 2008 Well, most of the time, I agree with all of you. Just a great illusionist who uses technology to his advantage. But as Humbleone said, there is a creepiness factor and my spirit feels really weird when I watch him. It makes me think of the whole Moses, magician, snake thing. Sometimes I watch the show and can see a flaw which immediately debunks the whole thing for me. And other times it does bend my mind to watch. I think on the balance I land in the skeptics box with the rest of you......but I can't deny that this guy feels more 'evil'-ish than most in the field.
siouxz72 Posted July 30, 2008 Report Posted July 30, 2008 The greatest magician of all was Harry Houdini.His admirers still think of him. As a matter of fact, there is a tradition that each night of the anniversary of his death, some of his well wishers leave a plate of lox and bagels on this grave.When they return in the morning to retrieve the plate, they find that he picked the lox but left the bagel. :roflmbo::roflmbo:
DigitalShadow Posted July 30, 2008 Report Posted July 30, 2008 but I can't deny that this guy feels more 'evil'-ish than most in the field.All part of the performance.
Misshalfway Posted July 30, 2008 Author Report Posted July 30, 2008 All part of the performance.Agreed.But I don't think it is beyond Satan to play these kind of games and and influence the participants. I have a hard time believing in the "innocence" of such activities.
DigitalShadow Posted July 30, 2008 Report Posted July 30, 2008 But I don't think it is beyond Satan to play these kind of games and and influence the participants. I have a hard time believing in the "innocence" of such activities.And I think it's a slippery slope to start blaming things on Satan :)
DigitalShadow Posted July 30, 2008 Report Posted July 30, 2008 If the shoe fits!!!!By all means, commence with the witch hunt then :)
unixknight Posted July 30, 2008 Report Posted July 30, 2008 [Cris Angel] stated that he does not hold atheist beliefs like many in his profession, such as James Randi, and is a Greek Orthodox Christian. "I believe that this universe is a beautiful work of art," he said. "Like all works of art, it must have an artist." -Wikipedia
DigitalShadow Posted July 30, 2008 Report Posted July 30, 2008 The devil wears blue jeans!I wear blue jeans... Oh no, I must be the devil!
NightSG Posted November 23, 2012 Report Posted November 23, 2012 I've heard that the "random bystanders" who supposedly verify that no special effects are used are actually paid off and sworn to secrecy through strict legal contracts. But I don't have any references for that claim.If you spend some time watching the Youtube videos, you'll notice that in some of them, the people he gets to help with certain effects start looking familiar. He'll have a girl dressed goth in one, and business casual in another, but it's the same girl.Some of them are played to regular street crowds, but a few of the more difficult effects use shills.
NightSG Posted November 23, 2012 Report Posted November 23, 2012 I can tell you from experience if he were using such powers he wouldn't be using them as a magician on a tv show. At least - not if he had any clue what it was he was messing with.Exactly; I've had to clarify for some people that if I really could pull quarters out of thin air, I wouldn't have been working at a hotel for $8/hr.I love watching a good sleight of hand artist, and in some ways, I even prefer watching one do an effect I know and/or have used, and do it so well that I have to really think about whether he could have done it the way I know. Like any other skill, actually doing something makes you appreciate the skill it takes to do it very well. When an effect is too dependent on gimmicks and not on performance, I get bored with it pretty quickly.As for CA's stage persona, that's exactly what it is. Out of the spotlight, he's just a slightly grungy slacker type, which makes for an easy transition. I'd rather watch Harry Anderson, Paul Daniels, or ignore Penn and watch Teller, (Penn is mostly a distraction anyway; Teller is one of the best sleight artists around, and made even better by Penn keeping everyone's attention) but they don't get much air time these days.
pam Posted November 23, 2012 Report Posted November 23, 2012 Since these responses are to people who haven't been with the site in over 4 years, I'm going to close this thread.
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