A N D R E W
M A Y N E ' S ^^
VOODOO Box BUILD IT Y O U R S E L F IN UNDER 3D MINUTES FOR LESS THAN $3D
COMPLETELY FOLDS DOWN FLAT CAN BE P E R F O R M E D TOTALLY S U R R O U N D E D EVERYTHING CAN BE INSPECTED
The Uoodoo Box I've always been a little uncomfortable with effects where you shove swords through somebody. It's not the dangerous aspect of the swords that bothered me, rather it's the lack of motivation. Why am I putting my faithful, dedicated assistant into harm's way? Obviously the goal is to entertain my audience, but is there a reason why I'm using swords in a violent way? Wondering about this lead me to thinking about reasons why a magician might want to demonstrate the apparent invulnerability of his assistant. This lead me to thinking about alternatives to swords which kind of felt cliched. I eventually stumbled upon the idea of using umbrellas when I found a bunch for sale at a dollar each. I picked up a couple dozen and began to experiment with them. One previous idea is my effect Brain Damage in my Shock FX video. Another idea is the Voodoo Box described here. The purpose of the Voodoo Box is to protect someone from bad luck. The part of bad luck is played by 21 umbrellas that are shoved through the box while the magician's assistant is inside. The assistant is a bit reluctant and the magician a tad overzealous, the end result is that the box works and the assistant is unharmed. With a little preparation and practice (perhaps cool background music) you have an effect that borders on weird. Some people will be convinced that the assistant is no longer in the box. Others may guess that the assistant is some kind of super human contortionist. Encourage all of those theories. The more open you seem about how the effect is performed, the more mysterious it will appear to your audience. I spent a total of $30 to make this effect. The umbrellas were not difficult to find at a "Dollar Store". It took some time to find the right way to place the umbrellas, but eventually I found it with the help of Matthew Barber. Poor Matt spent quite a bit of time in the box as I tried to figure out the best way to make the effect work. I thank him for his patience. It's not an easy job to be a human guinea pig in my laboratory. In the next few pages you'll see a little bit of explanation about the different kinds of deception that go into this mystery. What I like most about this effect (other than it only cost $30 to build) is the fact that even if they guess the assistant is still in the box in some twisted fashion, it looks impossible. In an age when audiences will watch a magician perform a card trick in one moment and hammer a nail into his head the next, the transition from trick to stunt has become seamless and audiences are equally entertained either way. Have fun and please, please do not hurt your helper! Best, Andrew Mayne
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the effect The magician introduces his hapless assistant and asks him to step inside of a box. He explains that this is no ordinary box. This is a Voodoo box used to ward of ill wishes and bad luck.
The magician reveals a pile of umbrellas. Each one having been opened indoors, is guaranteed to bring with it bad luck.
The reluctant helper kneels down inside of the box and has it closed over him.
The magician wastes no time in picking up the first umbrella to shove into the box.
the secret
Although it looks like umbrellas penetrate the box from every conceivable angle, the helper actually positions his body between the umbrellas. From the outside it looks like there's no space, in reality he's able to fit between them {provided they don't have a large build!).
As the magician places each umbrella into the box the assistant grabs the tip himself and pulls the umbrella through. The magician does not shove the umbrella through. Let me repeat that for the sake of clarity; THE MAGICIAN DOES NOT SHOVE THE UMBRELLAS THROUGH!!!
The assistant pulls the umbrellas from within and guides them around his body...that's because THE MAGICIAN
DOES
NOT
SHOVE THE UMBRELLAS
THROUGH!!!
Never, ever shove the umbrellas through the box! You could hurt the assistant this way. It also makes the trick more difficult, if not impossible.
There are four reasons why this trick is deceptive: 1. With umbrellas penetrating the four corners and the middle of each side and
traveling at an angle, it appears that the umbrellas effectively penetrate most of the inner volume of the box.
2. Although the actual area the umbrella penetrates is not that large {diagram 1), the "blooming effect" of the umbrella fabric makes it appear that the umbrella penetrates a much larger area (diagram 2)
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diagram 1 diagram 2 3. The corners and edge of the box are spray-painted darker than the rest of the box to make the box appear smaller.
4. By posturing himself as wide and inflexible
as possible, the assistant makes it appear that he's not likely to bend around the umbrellas in an agile manner.
These are the dimensions for the box and umbrellas I used to
create this effect. You might want to experiment with a larger or smaller box depending on the size of your assistant. The umbrellas are pretty standard in size.
frh 54 (/m ACME BOX CO.
23 inches
20 inches
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€^U 32 inches
20 inches
23 inches
23 inches
andrew mayne's voodoo box
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The slits in the box are "L"
shaped with the point being approximately 3 inches
away from the corner.
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Each cut is approximately 3 inches in length.
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L
'liGcflu - 3 inches
Each side of the box is the same.
3 inches
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materia.s Large boxes can be purchased at office supply stores such as Office Depot. You can also find
them at storage facilities and places that rent moving vehicles.
21 umbrellas are used in this effect. I purchased the ones shown here for $1 each at a "dollar store". Dollar stores like Dollar Tree often have a bunch of them in a rack.
on ^
Acan of flat black spray paint is used to shade the corners and edges of the box.
*.
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A knife is used to create the slits in the box for the umbrellas to pass through.
preparation After you've found the right-sized box for your assistant to fit inside, prepare the box with the slits as shown in the diagrams. Use the spray paint to darken the edges of the box and the
corners. Use very light applications. The purpose is to let the shading look subtle.
Widen each slit by shoving an umbrella through. This will make the
performance of the effect much easier if the holes are already the right size. Don't worry if you holes get torn. The
box is supposed to look old and worn. This is a messy looking effect.
t Make sure that your helper can fit inside the box with enough room to guide the umbrellas through. If not, try a bigger box. They're cheap. You can afford it.
performance Explain to your audience that you're going to demonstrate the amazing properties of your "Voodoo Box". Invite your helper out
on stage to assist. Ask them to step inside the box. Close the top of the box on them. Pick up the first umbrella. Place it through the center of the front of the box. Let your helper pull it through. DO NOT SHOVE THE UMBRELLA!!!
Each umbrella should be placed carefully
so that your assistant can see the umbrella coming and pull it through.
Each umbrella should be placed into the box following this pattern. This way
your assistant will know where to expect each umbrella to come through.
Place each umbrella with care. Let your assistant pull it in as
quickly as they feel comfortable. Your skill comes into play in pretending that you're the one actually forcing the umbrella into the box.
Place all the umbrellas through
the slits. Place a final umbrella through the top if your assistant can manage it. Step back from the box for a moment. Pull out all the umbrellas very quickly. Open a
few of them as you pull them out to show that the umbrellas are real.
Open the box and have your assistant wait for a moment. Once a certain level of tension has been reached, have your assistant stand up to his well deserved applause. Performance note: The whole effect will appear much faster and professional if you have some fast paced music playing in the background for the entire
effect. An instrumental music loop would be perfect.
Voodoo Box FAQ How much time will it take to make Voodoo Box? You can make it in under 30 minutes (after you get the materials).
How expensive is Voodoo Box to make? I made mine for $30 with materials I found at the store. I bought the umbrellas from the dollar store for a buck each. I've checked with several other dollar stores to make sure they carry cheap umbrellas, they do. I have a show next Saturday; will I have enough time to build it and perform it? Build it, yes. Perform it well, maybe. That depends on how good you are at practicing and preparation. Most of the work is done by your assistant in the box. If they're a quick study and understand what's going on, you should be able to get the effect ready with a couple hours intense practice.
How many people does Voodoo Box take to perform? Two people. One in the box and one to place the umbrellas in. Can Voodoo Box be performed surrounded? Absolutely. Does Voodoo Box fold down flat. Very. How can an audience be fooled by something so simple? It's a similar concept to the sword basket with a few extra twists. There are several methods of deception being employed to make the effect work. How can an audience be fooled by something so cheap? Some illusions are really expensive, some aren't. This is one of those effects where the materials lend themselves to being inexpensive. A sub trunk is just a crate, a straitjacket is just canvas and lots of black art effects are just black fabric. It's how these materials are used that makes the difference. What do I do if my assistant has trouble fitting in the box? Get a bigger box. The box described in these plans was one that my friend Matt could fit into. A box a few inches larger in either direction would provide more room and make the trick easier for someone larger, taller or less flexible. Is it okay if the umbrella handles stick out at a different angle than how I placed them (because my assistant positioned them around their body)? That's fine. Some repositioning is going to occur.
How long should I take to place the umbrellas into the box? Being safe is the most important factor. With practice you and your assistant should be able to put the umbrellas in place quickly without risking harm to them.
How long should I leave my assistant in the box? Not long. It's not fun in there. Your assistant should always be able to open the top of the box without assistance in case of trouble. Can I make the box out of some other material? If you want to make a more permanent version you could make a box out of sheet metal or plywood. I'd try to make it look as much like cardboard as possible. Part of the deception of the trick is that cardboard doesn't look suspicious.
Do I have to use black umbrellas? No. That was the color of the umbrellas I found for $1 each. Any color is fine. In fact, a brighter color would appear larger than black. Can I use something besides umbrellas, like swords? In my opinion that would defeat the purpose of the trick and make it not so safe. Getting poked by an umbrella tip is like getting poked with a finger. Getting poked by a sword is called getting stabbed. That's not a good thing. Swords would change the whole look of the trick and make it appear less impromptu. Anytime you use odd props like swords or giant neon tubes you change the audiences expectations. Aren't magicians supposed to put women into the box and not other dudes? It's the 21st century. We've made enough women victims of our cruel torture devices. It's time to share the pain. Seriously though, sometimes it's more magical if you use someone who does not appear to be some lithe agile dancer that could probably fold herself into a pretzel.
If you want to develop a lot of practice as an illusionist it doesn't hurt to be able to make use of whoever you have standing around as a helper. I've had several girlfriends work as my assistant as well as plenty of my buddies from school. Can anyone perform/make this effect? A twelve-year old could make the trick. A responsible twelve-year old could perform it. Being inside the box requires a certain about of flexibility, but nothing you didn't learn in gym class. How did you think of Voodoo Box? I'd been playing around with a different kind of sword basket effect that didn't use swords when I came across a bunch of cheap umbrellas. I started thinking about how some people think opening umbrellas indoors brings bad luck. That gave me a premise. From there I created the effect.
How long did it take you to create Voodoo Box? Versions of Voodoo Box had been in my head for a long time (years). When I finally sat down to create it for the Illusion Impact series it took me two weeks to make the final version.
Coming soon from Illusion Impact
light storm
More effects from the mind of Andrew Mayne.
andrew
mayne' 8
