criss angel discussion...

There was a first hand description from a member here on ATS who saw David Blaine levitate. And another one who saw David Copperfield levitate.

And btw... Not all people go to blogs and message boards. And even less actually post on them. So saying that they would've posted somewhere about it already doesn't make any sense.

tablet...

you could use a site that allows one to host a video for free to post the video in a post here on ATS (i had a link to a great site but i forgot it)...

also...

I was planning to show you how it's done to remove wires and so on but I realize that this reply is getting a little lengthy so I'm going to leave it out until someone here insisted that it's digital remastered.

please go on with this point...

again, great post (it was a great read) and i am glad that you posted this here...

Deceiving people takes time, patience and even money. If we believe that it was digitally remastered then this guy probably had taken time and money, with a lot of people on his side and this is why I believe that great deceivers work in groups. Some people here have pointed out that he probably had started with his basic illusions until he made big $$ to hire professionals editor and bought expensive equipments. So we're going to talk a little bit about it since you believe that his audience are fake and the whole show was staged (Conspiracy).

Removing wires

Removing wires aren't that difficult but very time consuming.

Let’s say you recorded one of your friends flying with wires attached to his body and the length of the film is 2 minutes. And suppose that the frame rate is 30 frames per/second. That would be: 3600 frames in total. Now you might say "goodness! That’s a lot for one person to edit!" Actually, in reality it's not one but many editors (if you're removing complicated objects for big projects).

Suppose Criss hired 200 editors that would be: 3600/200 = 18 frames for each editor (assuming that he wants to do it that way). Once all the editors have their frames they then sit down and discuss on the method like how they're going to remove the wire. They all have to be consistence or else the result will be messy and detectable. This is of course assuming that Criss used cheap software because advanced software today can speed up this process and you don't need 200 people.

But let's not assume that he used cheap software because if he did he would have to buy 200 computers and it's rather strange for an illusionist to have a big lab with full of computers and softwares.

*Note: I've never remove wires from footage and what I just told you are common sense and experience with static images. With footage you just need more people to speed up the process.

So the possibilities are:

1: He has people around him that know about editing and have helped him to set up a small lab.

OR

2: He can just send the footage to some organizations to do the editing and he just pay them $$.

Comments/Questions and Consequences

IF his audience were fake I don’t' think wire matter nor the environment he was in. He could have used other methods to lift him off the ground, maybe some kind of stealth equipments? To save the time of going to the editing department. Fill in your theories here __________ because it doesn't matter as long it looks like he's flying. After all his audience are fake and they have plenty of time.

What I find surprisingly is that the audience didn't run to him and check the ground or look behind his back and scan it with their hands to see if there was anything in the way. There is one shot where the camera didn't move at all, it was fixed and it showed him slowly landing to the ground as if he got some wings and the movements were not organic, it was very robotic and I find that strange.

So,

Who are Criss trying to fool here? Coach potatoes? TV addict? Possibility and maybe that was his intended audience. Now why would any real illusionist do that? Wouldn't that make him a hoaxer? Wouldn't that make him the lamest of all?

Either he have a hidden agenda or he want to be the first to use digital manipulation since we are living in the digital age. And when we all find out that he did this wouldn't we doubt all of his other shows? Even Prophet Yahweh?

And he might just tell us: "Hey, it's an illusion and nothing you see is real."

- Tablet
ps: I really don't know if it was digitally remastered and to really find out is to actually look through each frames and this is an art in itself.

thank you tablet for your post

though, if i recall correctly, when criss was performing the levitation illusion (the one where he is in a park / field with grass) the people watching him were allowed to wave their arms under and over his "floating" body...

if there were wires, wouldn't they feel it???

i don't want to seem like i am defending him, but this is a good point...

if he could legitmatly levitate, wouldn't he give up walking entirely ? you know, when he has to check the mail, he just floats down to the mailbox....


and then the military would take him away and dissect him

Originally posted by syrinx high priest
if he could legitmatly levitate, wouldn't he give up walking entirely ? you know, when he has to check the mail, he just floats down to the mailbox....

if i remember the video correctly, i think he had to "prep" himself before he could levitate...

again, i am not defending him, i am simply reporting what was on the video...

Originally posted by tablet
Not only that, they now play with Light! If you can manipulate light, you can manipulate what people see. Look for the artist: Jorigle (not sure if that's his/her name) but his/her site was: www26.brinkster.com... For some reason the site is gone...

Actually the guy seems to be called Jorge Iglesias.
Check out the Google-cache at 216.239.59.104/search

Whats more, get the Firefox extension GCache and you can surf his site from the cache.... Ta-Da!


// k
mod edit to shorten link

[edit on 13-10-2005 by DontTreadOnMe]

has anyone been watching the show???

i haven't...

i think it will be on this week

Some of his levitation tricks can be explained here:
www.geocities.com...

The first skill a successful illusionist learns is that the audience - despite their vocal displays of skepticism - often WANTS to believe. It's like going to one of those Halloween haunted houses; you know it's fake, it would be corny if the lights were on, but the cheesiest haunted house attraction is still a big hit.

I would like to see him perform 'cold' on live television, with an audience with 360 degree access. Most television illusionists rely on prepared audiences. The 'street magician' usually spend a lot of time - and video tape - trying to get a trick to work. I've seen this more than once in New York.

here's my theory. If you can really levitate, you turn it into a multi million dollar pay per view, Las vegas style show. and then you tour the globe, becoming the world most famous man, and maybe even more famous than JC when all is said and done.


or


you do tricks in the park

useless argument, but what isnt nowadays

was anyone here on the crew editing it?
does anyone have any valid proof of it being edited?
where you there when he was levitating?

most of the people here would answer no to all those questions.

criss has done some wonderful stuff. like leaning so far back(like neo in the matrix), that it would be impossible to hold the postition he was in, unless it was some form of levitation or he was being helped otherwise. its on spikedhumor.com, just search criss angel, or chris angel.

i have the david blaine video, and im sorry, some of that # just cant be written off so easily. i mean, you can blatantly see he does the foot trick on two of his levitations. the one with deon sanders, and the one on the extras with the young white boy, but the others, i cannot say how. maybe it was set up, maybe it wasnt. i personally dont believe it was, but thats just my opinion. which is based on hundreds if not thousands of years of some story of someone levitating, from monks, to priest, to yogis. i think there is something to it, other than human fascanation and obssession with superpowers, but i will admit, there are obviously hundreds of years of people simply lying to maintain power over others.


yet, i still have no "proof" and it bothers me none, because there is no "proof" against it either. i wont know unless im there and im not paid, or im criss angel or david blaine.


if you dont believe, than you dont. it doesnt matter, because their levitation(if its real) doesnt depend on your belief.

all the replies were good, and the theories agaisnt the levitation were informative, but lets be honest. you dont know like i dont know. unless you were there, and if you were and you say it is true. then i take your word for it, thats my choice.

b easy everyone

criss and blaine are making alot of money for just "tricks".

blaine made a few mil in like 2003 or 02, one of those years.

and lets be honest. as human beings, we have a.d.d. . no one really gives a damn if you can levitate 2 feet off the ground. alot more freakier # happens everyday and no one gives a damn, and alot more detrimental # that affects are society daily, happens and no one gives a damn. so why would they give a damn about, what they believe to be a two cent illusionist.

i mean really. do you think the world will turn because a man can levitate or manipulate objects with his shadow(on spikedhumor.com. just search shadow magic). NO!. people dont care, even the people that experienced it first hand, probably now dont care, it was just something cool for them at the momment.

that argument is sorta innane, and its already assuming that someone with that skill has to be greedy and selfish and that the world would really waste that much money to make him/her that rich. not saying "powers" dont make you lose your ego and wants, but your assuming alot for no real reason, and its not a valid argument against their skill, if that is what it may be.

who cares. our society could probably be flying around on hover crafts and people could be levitating or able to have total memory recall. if so much money wasnt wasted on weapons, war, and useless # like the fcc and given to scientist to be used to make better equipment and be allowed more freedom to see what we, and this world really have to offer.

im ranting, bye.

you're right. the ability to actually levitate with no wires or TV manipulation would draw no interest, and he would only get 15 mins of fame.

are you serious ? if its not a parlor trick, he is the most amazing human being since JC. He may not even be human. He would be studied by major universties, the CIA and he would be known in every corner of the globe.

He would represent an evolutionary divergence form the current population, he would be a different race from us.


or, he's very good at magic tricks

there is a new episode on now (10 pm est.)...

i wasn't watching, but if you saw it we could discuss it...

not human? what leads you to say such a thing?

its so funny to me how the first thing that comes out alot of peoples mouthes is, "the cia would grab him up and study him, and blah blah blah".

shutup. thats so stupid. ask yourself these questions first

1)why would someone who could levitate pose any type of threat to the u.s, that would make any govt agency want to investigate.

2)what makes you think such a phenomenon is new to them? it may not be.

ill admit that such a thing is remarkable, but its not like its the first time its ever been talked about or documented about in history. like i said, from qigong masters, to tibetan lamas, levitation and the supernatural things you witness criss and blaine do have been talked about for hundreds of years.

if any govt agency or secret agency was interested in this stuff, dont you think they would be doing the research and have done their research into the phenomenon a long time ago. seeing as though this is nothing new. hell. it would be even better to go to someone not so well known by the public to do their research. that way they dont talk, and there are no problems.

assuming criss and blaine have not been approached already. never know. do you think they would go against any govt agency. if they told them never to speak of their conversations with them, or whatever possibly could have went down. im sure they would know their role and shut their mouth.


also like i said. most people consider those two to just be entertainment and really dont bother to question the validity of whats going on, and just brush it off as fun tv, when in actuality it could very well be real. who knows. criss himself said that some of it is very real and some is just entertainment, illusions. he said it on the special when he walked up the wall. which could only be done two ways.

1)he somehow attached to the wall and by some means nulled the effect of gravity upon his body.

2)it was a camera trick and everyone was payed

in that one trick. gravity would be his biggest issue, even if he could stick to a wall by whatever means. which by the way is nothin new, because there have been documented so called "eletric people", who seemingly could magnetically attract themselves to objects without any problem and in some cases negated the weight of the object and gravity and where able to lift heavy things as if light as a feather. you also have taiji practicioners who have been claimed to have the high sticky palm power, which at this stage allows them to literally stick to any object and move it. maybe some subatomic magnetic attraction. i dont know, but the ability to stick to objects, even non metal objects, is not new at all. i can post links later.

anyways, i was ranting. anyways, i have no reason to believe criss and blaine are aliens and have superpowers that we cant reach. this world is far from being understood and the very mind and body you inhabit is still not understood.

there is no denying the paranormal. its not supposed to exist by some peoples standards, but it does and is a very large part of us, and the universe. hell. its probably scrutinized by so many, because of the name its been given. i bet you wouldnt get so much slack about alot of topics, if you just put some cool big scientific name behind it.

im sure nothing gets by the eye of the govt, or any unknown agency that wants to keep a hook embedded into human beings, as to not let us become to knowledgable or powerful for our own good, or their own good. so all that conspiracy, the govt would snatch you up and the whole world would know about you, and run test on you crap is whack.

when someone is on camera dodging bullets and bending 8 inch thick steel bars with their bare hands, then it may raise some brows, but i dont think its any threat to anyone, if you can levitate, and do some fance teleportation card tricks.

i guess the fact still remains, that if they can do that, then im sure they could do more

[edit on 13-10-2005 by jimmy1200]

niiice post jimmy1200...

did you see the latest episode???

they see all -


"shutup. thats so stupid. "


yeah, that was a great post. That type of posting should be encouraged here, niiiice work

syrinx high priest...

he was analyzing and discussing...

THAT is the thing that should be encouraged here...

Originally posted by they see ALL
he was analyzing and discussing...
THAT is the thing that should be encouraged here...

Good idea, TSA.
And if everyone, not just you don't get back to analyzing and discussing, the thread could be closed.
We need better quality than "hey did you see the latest show" and "there's a new show on tonight"

I've seen every episode to date once or twice each... I would say he is "gifted" ... For one though, hypnosis is very powerful... and can be utilized through television... but some of the stuff criss and blaine do is pretty interesting... If you read your bible and I'm not sure who does in this thread.. but it does say there would be two individuals around performing miracles and warping our minds.... and low and behold there are two individuals who are fairly advanced when it comes to mind strength and control... But by any means it is interesting.. but would it be interesting without the title of magic.. (I think its a ploy to interest more people in their own minds)... quite honestly I find it much better than those other reality tv shows and those other craptacular sitcoms .. it actually gets you thinking about things you should be thinking about, not like thinking about how another stupid cold case is solved (let the dead bury their own imo)

david blaine
I personally liked the one "trick" where david blaine turn a bums coffee into a cup full of coins right infront of everyone..

criss angel
as cool as his levitations are I really liked the one "trick" where he took two couples coming out of their hotel rooms; got one couple to stand on one side of him where the camera man was and his family; and got the other couple to stand on the other side, in a hallway (the hallways are like a big "H" in otherwords they travel both ways).... now the whole ploy was about deja vu ... he told them that they were about to experience deja vu, then he walked infront of the camera blocking their view... in ONE UNCUT shot he walked by and all of a sudden the couple standing on the other side of him (not with his family) were a whole hallway back (the hallway they had just walked from) in one instant they were transported all the way back... their expressions were priceless... (acting, I don't know) .. but it was pretty good..

David Blaine has really been stepping it up lately though since the angel mindfreak has been ripping the stage... personally I would sincerly like to talk to either one of them ,... Being in person you can speak great volumes that can't be accomplished online...
I can't wait to see what happens next... creativity I assume will become a problem after around 12 shows.. What can happen thats honestly new if its an illusion .. the methods are getting exposed either technology or real honest mindstrength is at hand, and those are the only two explanations... The ONLY two..