David Blaine, can someone explaine how he levitates and the tricks in Vertigo with the watch?

Answer 1

David Blaine performs a common self levitation called the Balducci levitation. It is an impromptu self levitation that can be very effective in the right conditions, but it has severe angle problems and can only be performed for a few people at a time. The trick by itself is not as impressive as what you see Blaine do on TV. What he does is performs the Balducci levitation for the spectators and records their reactions to it. Then later, in the same location, they film a second "levitation" where he has wires attatched to him and he is lifted off the ground by a small crane. This is what you see on TV. Any shot of him "floating" is really taken from the shot of him with the wires attatched. In the editing room, the editor cuts the footage so it seems that the spectators on the street are reacting to the same levitation that we see on TV but in fact what we see on TV and what the spectators see in person are two different things. The Balducci levitation only allows for a few inches of levitation but the rigged wire levitation allows for about a foot of levitation.

As for the other tricks in the show Vertigo, they are common magic tricks that you can find at any magic shop. The misconception that many people have with Blaine is that he is some sort of devil man doing these impossible feats with cards, coins, watches, etc. But the tricks he does are nothing special, like I said, any magic shop would carry them. I am a magician and I can do any trick that Blaine does but what makes him stand out is his performance style. He presents himself in a way to make people believe that he is more than an ordinary person, but he is no different that the rest of us magicians. He was just lucky enough to strike a TV deal.

And back to the watch trick, it is called Psychokinetic Time by Banacheck. It can be found at Penguin Magic for $16.95. In fact, on their website they even have a David Blaine store with most of the effects that you see on TV.

Answer 2

It's a magical secret........I don't know how they do it....but isn't all of it so entertaining to watch..........I'm amazed at all the things those illustionists can do..........Did yah see the one where they make a helicoper disappear........
I'm still stumped on the old simple tricks like sawing a woman in half..........
If you find out..............let me know!
I'd love to go to Las Vegas some day and watch a show !
When I was real little I had a magic kits. Had a black hat with secret compartments in it! I had fun putting on little shows for my mom!
Enjoy your Blaine tricks !!

Answer 3

i think a huge part of how he levitates is all in the angle at which you are looking at him, if you see any clips of him levitating, he always arranges the people watching him at certain angles relative to him...but he is still amazing and unbelievable

Answer 4

I have no idea how he does it, but I don't want to know either. That would ruin it for me!

Answer 5

He's magic.