Life size skull gimmick ideas?

[Misjief]

Ok -

I made a life sized skull with a hinged jaw... Looks great.

The mouth opens sorta like a box - so I was thinking of cutting a channel to the front so that I could drop something in the top and then reveal it in Floyd's mouth.

Here is the game plan.

I am going to cut a hole in the top and put a box inside of it to hold my wands (like a pencil holder)... One of the box sides will flip open to access the channel. maybe I will put another secret drawer in the back with the single access.

Will post pics of it when I find my camera!


So two questions... (and any suggestions are welcome - but I have given up there. LOL)

Does a zombie have to be symmetrical? And in your opinion is a skull prop to scary for kids? (Where is the cut off?)

BTW- Floyd started off as a cool hat rack for my nifty top hat. LOL

-misj-

[mgsjack]

cant bat to see a pic and sorry exomigic for inactivity my pc was messing around needit io get fixed

[Misjief]

Update....

The channeled Box idea was too complicated (this go around) and I didn't want to mess up the prop I put so much time into, by cutting up the highly visible top.

Instead I decided to make a zombie out of it because the gimmick is at the bottom so if I blow it, it is salvageable. Turns out that was a good idea because the skull is not uniform - I can't use my regular gimmick because it is off balance and spins and twirls about. I poked enough holes in it trying to find the balancing point that I had to cut the whole bottom out. LOL

But in doing so I found out that if I put the gimmick deep within the head and run the guide stick up through a wide hole it acts like a bobble head which will be way cool if I can manage to come up with a way to pull it off. (hint hint!)

I think I will get a wide piece of foam and mount a bent extension rod from the skulls upper balancing point to a 'funnel' with a magnet in it at the bottom, centered within the opening. The gimmicked rod will balance within the funnel and be retained by the magnet. I probably won't be able to do some moves because I have to keep it vertical - but with the asymmetrical skull it probably wouldn't be presentable to do so anyways, right? Also I can now hide stuff in the inner cavity as well when I am not using it as a zombie.

What do you think... Will that work alright?

-misj-

[haroldross]

Misjief,

I was thinking about you while I was reading 'Practical Mental Magic' by Theo Annemann. See the attached PDF. I only included pages 90-92. It was originally printed in 1944 and reprinted in 1983. Perhaps it has been reprinted since then but I am not sure. I would review it but that may be agony if it is not readily available. I know there are many that would love to get their hands on John Hilliard's Greater Magic book and I would put this on almost the same level for practical mental magic. About 300 pages of great stuff.

I would highly recommend this book. Now I know where some of my ideas came from.

[Misjief]

Sweet thanks!

I may have the whole thing already. I will have to check.

I did finish the skull. I found a way to use my standard gimmick to make a zombie out of it, and will try the bobble bit another time. BUT better yet I poked so many holes in it trying to get I had to cut a large portion of the bottom out. I put my hand inside of it and thought, Wow, Yorick here would make a great puppet! So I ran a stiff wire from the jaw up into the head to lever the jaw opened and closed (with one finger!). When you hold it the thumb and two fingers on the other side can be seen and you can't see the hinge or wire so the effect of him talking is rather unexpected. Then I went ahead and ran a channel from the hand opening to the jaw box so I can drop stuff to be revealed in to it. It will be a bit obvious if you use all three options {1)Reveal 2)Puppet & 3) zombie} in the same show but this way I have some flexibility.

The puppet and jaw box piece work very well. He might be a tad heavy as a zombie, although I imagine he is still about the same as a big aluminum ball. I am going to see if I can make a double ring gimmick to take some of the strain off my fingers.

Next, I am going to make him a girl friend with a big fluffy bow on her head and she will have the pencil holder in her head as I described earlier. Now that I have done it once I am more confident I can pull that one off. That is going to wait a while as I am working on smaller pieces for a while. I still have to finish papering my tip over trunk (Huge Project) and start modeling pie jacked (medium Project).

-misj-

PS I was unaware of this trick Harold and I can easily set it up using the fixture for my zombie gimmick! Thanks again, Buddy!

[Misjief]

Harold -

I was playing with the idea you gave me and found this (below) on the second page they use a modified version of the trick you sent me.

Dolly Darko & the Theatre of Souls

Again I got caught thinking that was a silly and really simple trick and almost dismissed it. I really have to get the idea hammered home that presentation is 90% of the effect! Thanks again for the effort on my behalf!

-misj-

[haroldross]

Theo Annemann does a section on Sefalaljia by Stewart James. The effect I sent you was from this section.

A simple tried and true method that even today plays big. Did you see the price of the box? I can build a bunch for that amount.

I am putting together plans to build a chest like the one that Robert-Houdin used to fool the Algerians and squelch a revolt in, I believe, 1856. The chest is about the size of a small toolbox. A small child can pick it up but the big strong men cannot. Robert-Houdin convinced the Algerian strongmen that he had drained their strength from them. The Algerians were afraid of Robert-Houdin.

[Misjief]

H-

They wanted A LOT for their stuff, and it was nice but yeah. Yikes on the price. But apparently they are getting it as they are selling out and as fast as they can make them. It makes you wonder what a good propmaker can make doesn't it??

BTW that effect is so cool! I need to research it more!

I'd like to see this chest you are working on, so hurry up with it!

-misj-

BTW - Stage hypnotist love the "heavy box" you were talking about - I never knew the story behind it though. That is pretty wild! Talk about stage presence!

[haroldross]

I'm debating on which box to make first- one the contains the gimmick or one where the gimmick is external. There are advantages to each.

I am also working on 2 presentations; the first one is a re-telling of the story of the Algerians and Robert-Houdin (this will fit in well with my educational presentations), and the other presentation using the chest as a 'Lie Detector'. Think of the fun you could have with using it as a lie detector, your audience might die of laughing!

This reminds me of this cartoon I came across the other day. See the attached JPG.

[Misjief]

If I remember correctly ...

The gimmick is a platform with a hook that grabs the box right, thereby making impossible to lift?

Can you make a single box with the ability to use BOTH aspects at need? Maybe by switching out the bottom with either a hook or gap for the hook?
Maybe save you some room and materials and gain you some flexibility in the process. Mine would be smaller - but I imagine you are going to use wood - so make two bottoms with each aspect and use screws or bolts to drop them in and out.

The ones I have seen are pretty small less then a foot wide... How big is yours going to be?

-misj-

[haroldross]

I am modeling mine closely after the original by Robert-Houdin with my own personal changes. It uses not hooks and such. The principle uses electro-magnetism. If the device is external, the chest can be freely examined since the steel plate is built into the bottom of the chest.

The more portable way would be having the device inside the chest. A locked chest would add more to the mystery. What is inside should not matter since the child can lift it without a problem. A 3 foot by 3 foot steel plate under a throw rug would be sufficient. the person putting his weight on the steel plate would make it even more impossible to lift.

I am going to use a radio-controlled remote to switch the magnet on and off.

[Misjief]

Holy cow! You are way more serious about this then me!

I don't have the funds for such a venture at the moment! It sounds neat (and expensive!).

How big is the magnet?

So if it is external - you'd have to build a platform to accommodate the magnet as well right? So you gain the ability to examine the box but have the liability of the platform. Too much of a pain in the @$$. If you do this make the platform only slightly larger (width wise) then the chest so you can pass it off as a 'backsaver' and then pack it up by putting the chest in the open side of the platform.

If you put it inside you can just use a plate. That would be my option and put a false bottom in the box... Then you can still display it just don't let them get too intimate a look at it. I'd go that route!

-misj-

PS- If you do the lie detector route you can do some serious misdirection with by talking about body language and the like. Introduce it by doing the strong arm demo - where they put their arm out and tell the truth (thus strong) then they do the same but lie (thus weak).

[haroldross]

I am going to wind my own coil for the electro-magnet so I don't know how large it will need to be nor how much battery power it will need.

I may just build the device into a table that I can use for other effects. The heavy duty white plastic tables have enough steel in the legs structure to work if the chest contains the magnet. The reson I know the tables contain enough steel in the structures is that they interfere with a couple of my effects that use strong magnets.

As I said, I have two routines for it and the 'Lie Detector' is probably the one I'll use the most.

As I recall, Robert-Houdin sat the chest on a smaller table much like what we use for a nightstand or coffee table. I should be able to find one cheap at a secondhand store.

Another thought, how about a battle of the sexes. Instead of a chest, use a woman's purse that is shaped like a box. We always joke about how much women carry in their purses! Get a husband and wife or boyfriend/girlfriend combination and again, it can be quite a comedy.

[Misjief]

That is a good idea -

Build your gimmick so that it is small and removable -

I'd love to take it to an airport and cover the plate with a rug and then slip it into people's carry on bag. That would be a serious riot! Better then the glued down quarter at the mall!

-misj-