What about the tank illusion, looks like method for a UFO apearance. What about the Dump truck? Looks alot like a certain train that was vanished by another magician. How about the woman to a tiger that was exposed. If I'm not mistaken Seigfried and Roy were using that exact effect in their show at the time the masked magician aired. The masked magician exposed the linking rings but then again that is a rarely used method. The mismade lady, doll house illusion, broom suspension, walking through a wall, zigzag lady, buried alive, water torture tank, cremation and the fork lift levitation. These aren't effects or methods used by actual working professionals. These are dispensable old methods right?
Ok… which version of these effects did he tip?
Val exposed the very same Elephant Vanish I used to feature in my show but guess what. . . it was an out-dated method no longer used because of impracticality. It was featured in the Melbourne Christopher show and then a handful of others used that method or even the original prop (which is the one I used). Yet, there are a minimum of a dozen other vanishing elephant pieces out there that are superior just as there are seriously improved versions to each of the pieces you list. Val DID NOT tip the newer methods or design factors.
The Fork Lift Levitation is a JOKE… Dean Hankey knew about the piece ahead of time, deliberately had a full sized foam core flat of a forklift made for his show in Reno. When it was time for the hoop pass on the girl the curtain opened to show the image, Dean paused and then knocked it over as he proceeded to grab the hoop. NO ONE but maybe a desperate amateur would consider that method and on top of that, the one similar technique out there has a heck of a lot more to it. . . I featured the thing in my shows for ages.
BTW… Penn & Teller exposed the Linking Rings long before Val ever considered this project and comedian Andy Kaufman exposed them on Saturday Night Live well before that. . . Oh! Banachek is still trying to find that nifty gimmick the Masked Mage used for explaining PK Time, you may want to inform him that’s he’s been doing it wrong all these years. . .
Why Exposure Only Matters to Wannabes. . .
Because they are too damned lazy to push themselves when it comes to education and development of alternatives; exactly what Val was pointing out on just one small level – we won’t make ourselves take those few added baby steps in order to be MORE. You hear me ***** about this all the time alongside dozens of other old timers (as in Veteran show people).
During a show in New York about two or so years back Penn Jillette openly exposed the Pass I think it was just before going to intermission. During intermission Jamie Swiss was doing card magic for everyone in the room and blowing their minds. . .
EVERY SINGLE TRICK USED THE PREVIOUSLY EXPOSED METHOD AND NO ONE CAUGHT ON!
When the method is used properly and when the performer & their team do their job right, such things vanish from the mind of the audience.
The Sawing in Half for an example is one of my favorite big illusions, I’ve owned several makes and versions of it including a couple of Buzz Saws and even got to work with the original Thurston cabinet a few times (and I do mean the original #1 Thurston Sawing Cabinet, not the #2 unit in the Copperfield collection). This effect has been exposed to death in the past 90ish years it's been around.
A Thurston styled sawing is HUGE (nearly 3 times the thickness of a Thin Model Sawing); obviously big enough to conceal that rolled up young lady in the top box and yet, I’ve watched Kirkham get a standing ovation from it nearly every performance. Then again, when people see a Thin Model they instantly discount the thought that it works as it does. (Oh! I didn't just tip how it works, there is a very deep and to my knowledge, unpublished part behind the working of this effect)
My original Mismade Lady cabinet didn’t work anything close to how Chuck Jones had designed the thing and yet I gave the same basic effect to the public. I was none the wiser until I saw an Owen made cabinet at a theme park one day.
I can continue going down this list and even toss in a ton of Mentalism bits that have been known for close to 100 years by the general public, such as Codes, transmitters, etc. Then we have things like the Thumb Tip that most every seasoned bar tender knows of and uses along with folding coins, beer cap in bottle and so forth.
If you FEAR the exposure it’s because you don’t know how to work the gimmick or PRESENT the effects in ways that detour the public mind… and, as I’ve said, chances are strong you’re just too bloody lazy to THINK and figure ways around your issue.
. . . and remember, there is not a single major player in the history of magic that isn’t guilty of deliberate exposure
.
Back in the early 80’s the L.A. Times did a feature article on Johnson Products. . . yeah, the guys that make our gimmick coins. Sat to one side is a 3 x 4 inch full color pic of a Cigarette Thru Quarter gimmick in EXPOSED position. . . an effect that happened to be signature piece of mine.
Thanks to Tom Ogden and some quick thinking, I managed to create a solid 6+ minute routine with the Cig thru Qtr. That included 4 completely different gaffs and ended with my pulling the smoke out of the coin and cleanly dropping the coin to the table as I picked up the paper, showed the photo and asked, “
How on earth could anyone do what you just saw with something as clunky and ugly as this?”
BTW. . . the show in question was at the Magic Castle in the Close-Up Room
I turned the tables on the expose’ and that’s exactly what Val was challenging the magic community to do. Instead, a good 95% of that community condemn him and refuse to invest a single brain cell when it comes to research and actually learning this craft.
A Mature Audience can care less and a Mature performer would know not to sweat it, it’s that simple.
And to Clarify. . . I'm not defending exposure, just presenting the facts based on what Val had said since day one on this project and likewise echoing what some of the biggest names of the industry have said, after digesting things. In short, stop crying over spilt milk; clean it up and start with a new glass full rather than focusing on the one that's half-empty.