Master Levitation System

Justin.Morris

Elite Member
Aug 31, 2007
2,793
888
Canada
www.morrismagic.ca
I would also assume that the reel could be hooked up in a few ways. Fearson's hookup would be one of them, but not the only way to use the tarantula. The fact that it is a reel makes it a very different product than fearson's idea.
 
Sep 1, 2007
1,395
8
37
Belgrade, Serbia
Am I the only one that noticed that Fearson's Master Levitation System is half the price of Tarantula? MLS 39$ ; Tarantula around 70-75$
Anyone knows why is that?
 

Deechristopher

theory11 moderator
Moderator
With Fearson's your paying for the knowledge, with Mesika's you're paying for the knowledge plus a gimmick.

I've used Fearson's hook up for years and it's great - I'm looking forward to plying around with the Turantula as I've heard great things, but I think if Mesika's using Steve's hook-up it should at the very least be credited.

I've not seen the DVD yet so I can't say for definate whether this is the case or not, it's evident that Yigal didn't get permission to teach the hook-up that Steve is selling as a seperate product, but again, I've not seen the DVD yet so can't say if he does or not.

Feason and Mesika are both very respected in magic, so I'm sure that any issues will get resolved, I look forward to getting both products!

D.
 

Michael Kras

{dg} poet laureate / theory11
Sep 12, 2007
1,268
3
Canada
www.magicanada.myfastforum.org
Steve has graciously granted me permission to forward the following email on to forums:

"Regarding the Café thing, I'm not sure who's word they are taking over
mine. Yigal has said nothing. Kaufman has not bothered to ask me
before making his claims and I'm certain he's seen no proof because
none exists.

Yigal claims on his DVD he bought the rights and it's a huge problem.
I've asked him to provide proof and he can not.

I'd post on the Café myself but I'm not allowed to. The whole thing
is ridiculous. The burden of proof is not on me, it is on Yigal.

Everyone is acting so strange, it's to the point they're somehow in
denial that the material on these demos is mine. I invented the
hookup yigal is using 20 years ago. Sometimes I sell the rights to
people to use in a project. David Blaine, Mike Ammar, but I never
sold Yigal rights to use it in his Tarantula project. Tell me what
part of that is hard to understand?

I also didn't really grant permission to Yigal in 1999 for the
Sunglasses. He asked for permission and I didn't respond right away.
By the time I got back to him to say no, he had already went to print
with it, saying friends had told him since I didn't get back to him he
could just take it!

I managed to convince him that we at least needed a small financial
agreement for use in the Sunglasses (which wasn't easy), simply as
damage control on my part. To ensure I'd be credited or else others
would assume you can just use my work. Also out of fairness for
everyone else, who had paid for the use. To that date, nobody had
ever used my hookup without paying for it.

We made a deal on that trick only, and what else could I do? He had
already taken it. He failed to conform to certain parts of that
agreement, so you can bet there was no way I'd be willing to do it
again for Tarantula. But this time he didn't bother asking. Instead
he's tried claiming rights for the use which he clearly does not have.
We have a written contract from 1999 specifically for the floating
sunglasses. Nothing else. I would never sell unlimited rights to
anyone. Especially someone who used my material for profit without
first receiving permission.

I have been in touch with Yigal over the past week and he has not been
able to show me anything that gave him rights to use this in
Tarantula. Instead he now says I should be happy with credit because
my work isn't patented so anyone can take it without even giving
credit. That is highly debatable. Now he seems to want to work
something out but the damage has been done already. I'm not sure what
my next course of action will be.

I hate seeing you get bashed around over this.

Feel free to forward this to the Café if you think they honestly care.
Maybe it will help them to believe you.


Steve"


There you have it.
 
Jan 18, 2009
146
1
Seems pretty bad, my only comment and it's just my opinion is, since he is using a variation of the entire trick by introducing the reel into play it changes the circumstances but this is just what I think happens but I heard it from a friend so I could be wrong.
 
Dec 4, 2007
1,074
2
www.thrallmind.com
If you like what you see and have considered purchasing either this or the Mesika effect, do the right thing and support the original creator.

Mike, I see you've not taken your own advice. You still have no idea if in fact the Tarantula ACTUALLY uses Fearsons hookup.

Now, I'm not picking a side here. I'm just saying that you keep trying to tell people Tarantula ripped off Fearson, when you have very little proof that he actually did.

-ThrallMind
 
Sep 20, 2008
1,112
3
I think michael Kras handled himself well until this thread hit Page 3. Going overboard by asking to post a public E-mail seems a bit try hard.

if you say it is, Then cool, i'll acknowledge that. It doesnt mean that i'll believe you.

I think you couldve settled matters through PM with Thrall, as i (and i may be the only one in this instance) only cares about the difference between the two. call it greed, or selfishness. Your Opinion.

On a more brighter note: i agree with Thrall's argument. Tarantula (or Turantula. however the hell its spelt) is more fluid and seems more natural/elegant.

I think i'll give that one a go.
 

Michael Kras

{dg} poet laureate / theory11
Sep 12, 2007
1,268
3
Canada
www.magicanada.myfastforum.org
I didn't ask for a letter... he simply gave one to me to post, particularly at the Cafe. He sent the email along with details, and within said to post on the Cafe if I saw fit, thus giving me permission to do so. If this isn't proof, I don't know what is.

I'm done here. I know Fearson was ripped off... this isn't the only proof out there but much of it is too personal to publicly post. Everything you need to know is in the email I posted above, it doesn't get much more straightforward than that. This is causing me nothing but frustration due to some extremely stubborn members, so I'm finished here.
 
Dec 4, 2007
1,074
2
www.thrallmind.com
I didn't ask for a letter... he simply gave one to me to post, particularly at the Cafe. He sent the email along with details, and within said to post on the Cafe if I saw fit, thus giving me permission to do so. If this isn't proof, I don't know what is.

I'm done here. I know Fearson was ripped off... this isn't the only proof out there but much of it is too personal to publicly post. Everything you need to know is in the email I posted above, it doesn't get much more straightforward than that. This is causing me nothing but frustration due to some extremely stubborn members, so I'm finished here.

Hehehe. Funny you'd call me the stubborn one when I'm not the one taking a side, and getting all my info from a biased party to the situation.

Oh well. I'll call it quits here. I hate speaking to a brick wall.

-ThrallMind
 

Michael Kras

{dg} poet laureate / theory11
Sep 12, 2007
1,268
3
Canada
www.magicanada.myfastforum.org
I wasn't at all calling you stubborn.

Again, I apologize for being overly commanding and over-certain. Although I know the facts, you don't, and it's unfair of me to push things on you all when I can't provide much proof of my statements.

ThrallMind, I appreciate that you're not taking a side... being a friend of Mr. Fearson's I like to help him if I can. I'm sorry for sounding so pushy.
 
Dec 4, 2007
1,074
2
www.thrallmind.com
I wasn't at all calling you stubborn.

Again, I apologize for being overly commanding and over-certain. Although I know the facts, you don't, and it's unfair of me to push things on you all when I can't provide much proof of my statements.

ThrallMind, I appreciate that you're not taking a side... being a friend of Mr. Fearson's I like to help him if I can. I'm sorry for sounding so pushy.

We're cool ^^

-ThrallMind
 
Feb 24, 2009
88
0
California
Politics

There always seems to be a debate as to who came out with what first, and whos method is whos. Now please correct me if I am wrong, I thought I seen an article on this years ago. The problem really is that one can't really patent a magic product, and expect to keep the method a secret. When a patent is made the details of the patent and or product, become public record. Thus, making the sale of the secret no longer a secret.

There is no patent office specifically for magic products. No patent office that would protect the method or secret from the general public, say without court order. Or a Court of patent officers that would make a ruling as to whether or not a new product copies that of another. Nothing like this exists...

I think then it is open game. However, out of respect to other similar products and there creators. One should get permission or at least cut them in on sales.

I think Steve may have an argument, but it's just that. I have been in Steves shoes, and I know exactly how he feels? Reality is that Steves product will sell well too. The difference is that Steve doesn't mass market his products by selling out to tons of distributors. So it may not sell as well as the Turantula. However, I feel in the future props will always come back to Steve for his method. The turantula seems to take the idea and enhance it in a way that elevated its potential.

- My Thoughts
 
Last edited by a moderator:
You know the only thing about the tarantula is that it is electronic. If it fails it fails. If thread breaks in the fearson hookup you can quickly recover like nothing has happened. Now I am only making an assumptions about tarantula. If the thread breaks in the tarantula you might need some bathroom time to set back up, if you know what I mean.
 
Apr 27, 2008
184
1
I can try something out or maybe someone else, but when someone has the Tarantula they can describe the hookup to Kras or Fearson just to clarify anything and this could easily clear everything up. So if they do match then we know Mesika is at fault and karma is a *****.
 
Aug 5, 2008
36
0
Although unlikely, I am hoping someone who has seen and worked with both the MLS and Tarantula is able to specifically list the pros and cons what each has over the other.

I have not worked with any levitation devices before so I cannot be sure of what are my preferences. Perhaps a little advice?
 

Justin.Morris

Elite Member
Aug 31, 2007
2,793
888
Canada
www.morrismagic.ca
Just by reading the product descriptions I can tell you that they are very different. Aside form the fact they both use IT. Fearson's is not a reel, and as a result does not have the advantages of such. Tarantula is a motorized reel, and is capable of a great many things because of that. When you incorporate fearson's hookup with the electric reel, you can accomplish all that fearson's hookup can as well. (which is probably why Fearson would be upset that he reveals it with Tarantula)
 
Jan 28, 2009
258
0
This post is directed at no one in particular, this is literally just me venting some anger over this one.

I'm sorry but adding a fricking reel to a hook up is not novelty in my view. The hook up is why the effect works at all (and by hook up, purely for the sake of distinction, I'm saying the mechanics of how and where it goes), and if you're going to build an effect of any kind using anything as a foundation you -must- seek permission and at -least- credit. The clip shift is a prime example of that, and Chad Nelson and DB Squared his publishers did the -right- thing. They credited where it was due, and the aspects of the clip shift that use other magicians concepts is fricking TINY compared to using someone's entire hook up.

Reels have been used with 'IT' for a long time. If you think the concept of a small electric reel is new then I despair. The Hookup is what makes the levitation routine, and it is absolutely fundamental to it.

The 'Tarantula' without a good hook up is absolutely useless. It's just an invisible thread fishing line. The hook up -is- the effect. Adding a motorized gimmick does not in my view make this in any way forgivable. Without the hook up that motorized gimmick is a 70 dollar waste of money, and the 'knowledge' that you're paying for from everything I've read and heard is Fearsons (Except perhaps electrified motor maintenance and hiding techniques) and its this kind of nonsense that just irritates the heck out of me. Basically in my opinion you're getting -no- knowledge that you wouldn't get from Fearson, and you're paying 70 bucks for a motorized spool, lol. If you like spending 70 bucks on crap like that then go for it.

The fact is, this artist, who I shall now call Captain Tarantula, didn't seem to invent the idea of using a motorized reel with it, and he didn't seem to invent the hook up that he used, thus he seemingly hasn't invented anything new and yet he's charging people 70 bucks for it. If that seems equitable to you, then go right ahead and stump up your credit card. All you do is send a message to the magic community that this kind of BS is acceptable in any way.

Go ahead and blow 70 bucks on a reel if it makes you feel special, but know this. You're robbing the original creator and you're wasting a huge amount of money. The onus of proof is -not- on Steve Fearson, but on the clown that's marketing and 'created' tarantula.

Believe it or not, you can replicate the effect with a thread spool in your pocket, or suitably palmed operated by hand.....man maybe I should have published that one and called it my own because I introduced a spool, and I used it when I was 18 (8 years ago, and even then the spool concept was OLD, motorized or otherwise.) Of course I could take credit for the basic hook up I was using too, because I added the spool right? Please. This is a joke, and buying Tarantula is akin to robbery in my opinion, and worse than that you're throwing money at the worst kind of magician.
 
Last edited by a moderator:
Searching...
{[{ searchResultsCount }]} Results