What is Digg?214 Comments
- lagonis, on 10/12/2007, -6/+207Here is my two cents on how this was done:
Using green screens and a few stage props, like sand and water, you can recreate Hawaii in an adjacent room. You think it looks too real, think again. I have worked in the industry and I have seen amazing stuff created using special pre-recorded video and real time special effects (think 'the daily show' on crack). Camera movement needs to be predefined, but the actors can be live. No need to worry about superimposing in real time, or making sure that David and his side kick always look identical (to the original footage), no change in clothing, hair style, or unforseen injury. So it is a clever use of technology, but nothing really new. The story line is what gives the audience some sense of teleportation.
The only real magic is the disappearing act. I will give this one away as well. They get behind the curtain, attach it to special anchors on their body and then when the cue comes, start running towards the back and jump down a trap door. From our perspective it looks like the curtain is pulled back and taken away, but what we don't see is that they are part of the curtain. Keep in mind the pyros are there to obstruct your view of the disappearing curtain. Notice no sign of the curtain remains on the stage.
Sorry for spoiling the trick, but it is half the fun of watching this stuff. - oOLiquidNightOo, on 10/12/2007, -5/+123best trick that dudes pulled off, besides the one where he got claudia schiffer to marry him.
- tizz66, on 10/12/2007, -2/+112Thanks for letting us know. I was wondering what you thought, I was about to email you to find out actually.
- Yorn, on 10/12/2007, -3/+79They were really on the beach of that island but it was before the tour run. Here's what wasn't on the beach with them:
The photo - It was a white background, they just basically photoshopped whatever the real image was on to it later)
Markings on his arm - Although with initials you could do a run of 26*26 for each possible intial combination. It'd be easier to just edit and put the intials on his arm.
Everything up until the point of him appearing on the island *was* indeed live.
The reason I can definitively say that this is how he did it is because the same black dude and his dad were at the tour stop that I was attending, but the autdience members and the intials on his arm were DE instead of TS. Other than that, the video looked pretty much the same. - tizz66, on 10/12/2007, -2/+67Oh I see. So the guy running into the sea at the end was just bath water or something? And the fact that when they appeared on the beach, there was no explosions or smoke... that was just obvious too, right?
We all know it is an illusion and not real, but you don't make yourself look any better than the rest of us by pretending to figure it out (badly).
Try again. - kbeeveer46, on 10/12/2007, -3/+60I actually did see that trick right before my eyes when he came to campus one year. His whole show was awesome.
- defectDS, on 10/12/2007, -17/+70He must be Jesus. Yup.
- Mininday, on 10/12/2007, -5/+57David Blaine...The guy uses all magic tricks you can buy in just about any magic shop, records it on the street and sells a DVD. Oh yeah, and he can sit in water for a week...truly mind blowing.
- blackjack75, on 10/12/2007, -1/+49The only thing I know is that if he asked me to write my initials I would have drawn a huge dick on his arm. Just to see if he had pretaped it too.
- Zippo, on 10/12/2007, -1/+40And now the magician's guild is out to "silence" lagonis.
- xjgeek, on 10/12/2007, -10/+47WOW! thats was freakin cool!
- stevelucky, on 10/12/2007, -1/+38not true. in fact he very clearly says that it is an illusion. he says, "this is not about intelligence, it's about illusion."
- tizz66, on 10/12/2007, -1/+31Also, notice the top right edge of the S is smudged slightly. The smudge is still there when he reveals it later.
To be honest, I'm not sure I have enough faith in the video editing theory to believe it. You need a good source image to be able to superimpose it onto another piece of video. I'm leaning more towards the pens having some sort of handwriting recognition, because he actually says to the guy writing on his arm 'slowly...'.
However it is done, it is brilliantly executed. - stevelucky, on 10/12/2007, -2/+32also, i love how photoshop is the answer for everything. "it must have been photoshopped in."
- cvelusc, on 10/12/2007, -1/+29Interesting. So how was the trick done? Enjoyed the whole bit except for the tacky, scripted reunion between the son and father.
- osbjmg, on 10/12/2007, -1/+29mighty_mouth - It's well accepted (by Copperfield himself even) that this is an illusion. If you are saying it's impossible to do something with video in the next room, you are being naive. He didn't actually go to Hawaii, it's a show and it's intriguing as to how he disappears etc - but nobody actually believes he is really there. Illusion! :)
- tizz66, on 10/12/2007, -1/+29Well... go on then. Tell us...
- fatbobsmith, on 10/12/2007, -2/+28If you watch as they sweep the sand after he goes back to the stage, you can briefly see the outline of a trap door. Beaches don't have trap doors.
- t0dd, on 10/12/2007, -19/+42Nah, for the most part magic on video sucks. I prefer to be tricked right before my eyes.
- Gryfft, on 10/12/2007, -8/+31Silly misguided one. The person you should be studying is David Blaine! Just pick up his new book 'Blainetology.' He'll show you everything you need in life to be happy.
- TheNik, on 10/12/2007, -4/+26Another thing that gives it away is the video feed he's using. The man replied almost instantly, which in reality would have taken at least a couple of seconds.
- liveforever, on 10/12/2007, -0/+22It was a white lady that he took with him at the show I went to.
He could have 4 or 5 different people he rotates, however. - bitcloud, on 10/12/2007, -1/+22I work in After Effects daily, and am constantly changing content for clients at their request. For example an entire sequence was shot where a guy was reading the wrong book, which I had to replace with the new artwork... Once I'd done the initial tracking, warping and shadow painting, the artwork could be changed to anything I wanted and played back in a matter of seconds. Similarly the arm tracking looks slick because they've most likely got the texture mapped onto a 3D mesh in whatever compositing software they are using and can then replace the artwork with a mockup done backstage based upon the frame they took when they did a closeup on the arm.
As for running the sequence in real time, it could quite easily be played for the first half (with the hawaii character) and then have the video feed swapped for the replacement composite without any noticable effect.
Any other "magic" in that video could very easily have been simple composing tricks...where david and his paid C-Grade actor accomplice disappear behind the curtain in the live segment, that was done quite simply by david being erm.. magic.. like... (help me out here!) - Settra, on 10/12/2007, -5/+26And you aren't?
- philpham, on 10/12/2007, -0/+21I don't know how he was transported off the stage. But.. as a Visual Effects Artist I can guess how the rest was done.
********** POTENTIAL SPOILER ********************
(if I guessed it correctly) ;)
1) Their initial appearance on the beach is pre-recorded.
2) David has the guy run to the water to
a) prove they are live and not on a green screen (which part of it is)
b) to get the prerecorded David off screen
3) The guy runs back to David (who is now real and on a green screen)
4) The camera pans to David only and his arm to reveal the Tattoo (Real and on a green screen, but notice that the camera leaves the pre-recorded son with the wet pants)
5) The camera now pans back to reveal the son and David together (They are both Real now and on a green screen)
6) They exchange the photo and camera (Both real and on a green screen)
7) The camera pans to do a closeup of the son's face when he sees his father. (Notice that they never reveal that you see the son's wet pants and feet during his interaction with David. This is because on the green screen his feet and pants are not wet)
8) The Camera Pans over to reveal the father only (This is to remove the real David and son from the camera)
9) The son runs over to the father ( Pre-recorded footage now)
10) The camera pans back over to David as he disappears. (This is now pre-recorded as well.
As to how get got back into the theater.. That's magic. - DaveMode, on 10/12/2007, -0/+20I think Yorn is on the right track. If you have a couple of guys good at using Photoshop and After Effects, and some prerecorded video, then you'd have no problem getting the footage edited in time. As soon as the initials are made you start working on transferring it onto the arm. The picture would be fairly easy. The camera must also take a digital pic at the same time it takes the Polaroid. That pic gets sent over to the same guys and it is auto imported into the prerecorded video.
- autodata, on 10/12/2007, -4/+23At 7:33 if you look toward the back of the crane structure you can very clearly see the two of them jumping down.
- inactive, on 10/12/2007, -1/+20and notice how none of the randomly selected people in the audience went on the "trip"? They already knew who they were sending.
- stevelucky, on 10/12/2007, -3/+21the initial thing still causes a problem. even if he could do 26*26 shots of it and get every possible combination (which would take FOREVER) he still has to get the handwriting right. the initials were distinctly the same writing.
- Alex2, on 10/12/2007, -1/+18Good point lagoinis. On the right side of the screen, you can see the curtain fly across the platform when viewed in the 7-11 mirror.
- theHM, on 10/12/2007, -2/+19your grammar is incorrectly
- brundlefly76, on 10/12/2007, -10/+25Of course it is prerecorded - he doesnt even say what DAY it is in the video, or 'I just came here from Cincinatti'!! or 'look at the initials TS on my arm!' or 'look there is Amber in the picture!'
The polaroid and tattoo are superimposed - the polaroid is out of sight for a LONG time after amber writes on it - thats when it gets scanned.
Powerful stunt cables are used to pull Copperfield and assistant off the platform, encased in curtain and pyro. A very jarring stunt, but this is why he has a young healthy assistant and they both wear loose clothing to cover their harnesses.
It is also key that his assistant be black with hair which is hard-styled - this negates visable variables in skin tone from sun exposure or minor blemishes and 'bad hair days' which would key viewers to the video being prerecorded.
People here came up with some interesting comments on the 'Andy' and 'volleyball' comments - however, this part could indeed be done live, weather permitting, as it is not part of the 'single uncut shot' - however he could also do the trick without it, and probably does, but added it for the recorded performance. - gaijintendo, on 10/12/2007, -6/+19timing and lies
- Valnar300, on 10/12/2007, -3/+15The only sorcerer I know is an enchanter named... Tim?
- Kailash.Nadh, on 10/12/2007, -0/+12Doesn't matter what he did, how he did it, green room or pyrotechnics, the illusion was unbelievably amazing !
Hail David. - inactive, on 10/12/2007, -1/+12notice how the people that were randomly selected didn't go on the trip. just the one they preselected.
the initials and photo could have easily been added on with a computer. and the hawaii scene looked way too fake - stevelucky, on 10/12/2007, -1/+12are you on crack? watch it again (i've watched that part several times), that is on his arm. it doesn't move unnaturally at all.
- Yonson, on 10/12/2007, -1/+11I've figured it out.
It's magic.
David Copperfield is a witch. - theprez, on 10/12/2007, -0/+10I think I get how the video part was done. It's half prerecorded and half realtime chroma keying. Okay here it goes:
1. Prerecorded David and Michael appearing on the beach (obviously trough a trap door).
2. The shot goes to Michael running to the water and wetting his feet / prerecorded David steps out of the scene at this moment.
3. When Michael comes back to David, David is already "live" chroma-keyed. You can tell because you don't see his feet (in other words, where he's standing) and notice how Michael doesn't seem to look directly at David.
4. The camera zooms to the initials on David's arm / the prerecorded Michael steps out of the shot at this moment.
5. The camera zooms out and the "live" Michael comes into the shot and hands David the the Polaroid and David gives the camera for Michael to take to his father. (you can tell this is the chroma keyed Michael because you don't see Michael's feet either.)
6. The camera pans to Michael's prerecorded father / Live Michael steps out of the shot.
7. We then see prerecorded Michael and his father's reunion. Live David prepares to reappear on stage.
8. The rest is all prerecorded.
Of course motion tracking the picture and superimposing the initials on Copperfield's arm is also an alternative option, but check out the parts where I say it is keyed and the edges do look different than the other parts of the video and you can't see where they are standing which is normally done for easier keying. - MonkeyFCoconut, on 10/12/2007, -1/+11Even though everyone seems selected at random, I think they were not. The people have to be picked previously, and the beach scene is shot before hand.
A better question is how did he and that guy disappear from the crane arm held platform? That's right there in your face. - radu79, on 10/12/2007, -6/+16I've also seen the trick right before my eyes this February. It's even more impressive like that, especially when he vanishes from the platform extended over the audience. He is 1337!
- ryanb, on 10/12/2007, -1/+9notice that the only things from the satellite feed that respond to anything that occurs on stage are the mention of the sport ("cool, volleyball"), showing the picture, and showing the arm.
The video is probably not occurring behind stage but actually entirely pre-recorded, since it barely responds to what occurs on stage. The "cool, volleyball" statement is easily pre-recorded since you just have the guy say "cool, baseball," "cool, basketball," "cool hockey," etc. and then pick the right one.
When the satellite feed was first recorded he no doubt held a green card instead of a photo and had a green patch on his arm. Then they used green screen technology to replace it with what was created on stage.
As for him disappearing, it was impressively done, but no different than whenever he makes something disappear. Oh and I saw this one live, and he always uses the same father and son and it is exactly the same. - Settra, on 10/12/2007, -0/+8That's a given, but i would like to know _how_, meaning the steps taken to achieve this illusion ;)
- mighty_mouth, on 10/12/2007, -1/+8Its just the different angles. The top of the T and the top of the S look thinner because of the curve of his arm.
- al28p, on 10/12/2007, -1/+8good call, that sounds about right.
- das7282, on 10/12/2007, -1/+8Yeah, I actually saw him do this live when he was here at Miller Auditorium in Kalamazoo, MI. I got couple free tickets to the show because I did some marketing for the David Copperfield show on behalf of Miller Auditorium. The cool part was, a friend of mine was one of the random people chosen from the audience. She got to write her name on his arm.
- kayest, on 10/12/2007, -0/+7I think the simplest explanation combines a few of the ideas from above. I think part of the Hawaii video was prerecorded (appearance, disappearance, running into the ocean) but the middle (where he shows his arm and the photo) was shot live against a green screen backstage. This avoids complex 3d computer graphic manipulations. Its a very simple matter of splicing the scenes together.
- Sharkee, on 10/12/2007, -1/+7GOB couldn't pull it off, not even to The Final Countdown. I just can't take any magician seriously anymore.
IT'S THE FINAL COUNT-DOWNNNNN!
http://gobbluth.ytmnd.com/
http://gobarrested.ytmnd.com/ - javiel, on 07/08/2008, -1/+7http://img514.imageshack.us/img514/9611/proofxl0.png
http://img47.imageshack.us/img47/563/proof2fa4.png - wtfomg, on 10/12/2007, -2/+8Illusion, Michael. A trick is something a whore does for money.. or candy!
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