How do you make a 'disappearing person' box?

[bionicarm]

My daughter's high school marching band is doing a 'Now You See It, Now You Don't' show next marching season. The Band Director is wanting to make props like the tall boxes you see at the magic shows where the person gets in the box, the magician closes the curtain, spins the box around, opens the curtain, and the person is gone. We're looking at making two and putting one on each side of the field. We'll get two band members with the same build to use for the 'disappearing act'. I'm thinking of making the bottom part with a false bottom, and room enough for this person to crawl into. The first person will get into one box and get into the crawl space after the curtain is closed. After the 'magician' opens up the curtain to reveal he/she is gone, magician #2 on the opposite end of the field will close his curtain, and spin the box around. We'll have a kid already in the crawl space that'll pop out after the curtain is closed. When magician #2 opens the curtain, it'll appear the same kid magically transported across the field.
Anyone know of a site that might have pictures or plans to make something like this?

 

[dragonzim]

Good luck with that. I have a friend that is a professional magician and he would never, ever tell someone how to make one of his illusions like that...

 

[reefforbrains]

better off making a false back. Faster and easier to fool the eye rather than an obvious raised floor.
Easier for the subjects get in and out of too.

 

[dragonzim]

Originally Posted by ReefForBrains
http:///forum/post/3036588
better off making a false back. Faster and easier to fool the eye rather than an obvious raised floor.
Easier for the subjects get in and out of too.
One thing I do know about illusions like this one and the one where they appear to cut a woman in half is that 75% of the trick has to do with perception, the distance that the audience is to the stage and the way that the device is painted. The "cut the lady in half" trick can only be done if the audience is far enough away that their perspective when looking at it is at a proper angle.

 

[spanko]

How about this?

Did not put the door in the picture. Hope I explained it well enough to give you the idea.

 

[spanko]

How about this. Did not draw the door, hope you get the idea. If not ask some questions I will try to clarify.

 

[bionicarm]

Originally Posted by DragonZim
http:///forum/post/3036592
One thing I do know about illusions like this one and the one where they appear to cut a woman in half is that 75% of the trick has to do with perception, the distance that the audience is to the stage and the way that the device is painted. The "cut the lady in half" trick can only be done if the audience is far enough away that their perspective when looking at it is at a proper angle.
This 'illusion' will be happening on a football field with the audience concentrating on the main performance in the middle of the field. All the kids are dressed in the same uniforms, so I'm thinking if we have two or three 'assistants' moving the box around, the audience won't notice an extra person standing there arfter the 'trick' is performed.

 

[veni vidi vici]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=raiFz...eature=related
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gxjZ_...eature=related
Its small scale, but you could probably make it bigger.

 

[bionicarm]

Originally Posted by spanko
http:///forum/post/3036599
How about this. Did not draw the door, hope you get the idea. If not ask some questions I will try to clarify.

I LIKE IT! I found a picture of a box where there was a trap door on the bottom, but it would have to be a real small crawl space for them to get in. With your design, we can get something like a folding partition and paint it black. Since the distance between the audience and the box will be about 30 - 40 yards, it's doubtful they would notice the difference in depth. We could probably get away with a thick curtain in the back, as long as we keep it taut with the velcro idea. Thanks for all the suggestions. Makes my work a lot easier.

 

[yearofthenick]

as for the box underneath, you could always put a ramp in front to make it seem like they're walking onto a turn-table type box (since you said you wanted to turn it 180 degrees, right?)... if you put the ramp in the box, they'd be able to put their legs under there as well.
I also really like the partition in the middle... but would they notice it's not full-depth? maybe if it was like a matte black or something... not sure how you'd be able to create the illusion.
This is a cool idea though, hope it works out for you bionic. Your daughter will probably love it.

 

[spanko]

Yeah I would think the entire inside of the box would have to be painted black. The illusion of depth would certainly be lost that way, add in the 30 to 40 yards and you are Houdini!

 

[bionicarm]

Originally Posted by spanko
http:///forum/post/3037279
Yeah I would think the entire inside of the box would have to be painted black. The illusion of depth would certainly be lost that way, add in the 30 to 40 yards and you are Houdini!

The black ******** wall is my thinking. Maybe even one of those cloth accordian room seperators. Like you said, with it being in the middle of a football field, I don't think anyone will be able to see the depth perception of the box. The entire show is only around 5 - 7 minutes, and the 'disappearing act' would last for maybe 2 or 3 of those minutes. That's what is hilarious about all this. Marching bands don't march anymore. They put on theatrical productions at these band competitions now. You'd be amazed at the kind of shows these bands put on, and the elaborate props they bring with them. My daughter's school just purchased an 50' trailer we have to pull around will a large tractor. It holds all the band equipment, and any of these props us parents have to build. I'm just glad my daughter is a senior next year.

Thanks again for all the suggestions. I'll have to post a link to the web site we use for videos of our competitions when we do this routine in the fall.

 

[orion3814]