Criss Angel
Levitation
revealed
From all the astounding things he had done throughout his career, levitation seems to be Criss Angel’s most popular illusion. He has performed it in various settings and circumstances and did it in many different ways. Whether he is levitating other people, flying from one building to another or just casually lifting off the ground on the sidewalk, Criss never fails to leave his audience dumbfounded.
Here we will reveal some of the techniques Criss uses to create the illusion of levitation.
Building levitation revealed
This is probably the most famous one. In the middle of the day, Criss levitates from one building to another in front of a couple of spectators.
Explanation:
So, how could Criss possibly be floating in mid air without the spectators noticing anything suspicious? Without giving it much thought, a painfully obvious explanation comes to mind: they weren’t real spectators. While we could be dead wrong about that, it certainly seems to be the case. The people watching were most likely stooges, just playing along to make the illusion more convincing. After all, Criss must have had a really good reason not to invite a larger audience, especially considering the greatness of the illusion. I mean … four spectators?
So, presuming those people were stooges, we still have a lot of things to explain. How did Criss make the whole illusion of levitation so convincing? Some have suggested he might have used some sort of a camera trick. While we shouldn’t just rule out that possibility, there is an even simpler explanation which requires no camera tricks. Actually it’s probably the first explanation of levitation most people would think of: he was on a wire!
While there are many ways in which this trick could be done, this seems to be the most logical explanation. Criss is most likely carried by a crane or something similar. He is attached to it with very thin cables which are practically invisible due to the bright sky and the carefully chosen camera angles. The cables are attached to a specially designed harness hidden somewhere on Criss. Notice he’s wearing nothing but black, thus making the harness impossible to notice.
Val Valentino, also known as the Masked magician, performed his own version of this illusion using a crane. In the next video, he first performs the trick and then reveals the exact methods he used.
Sidewalk levitation revealed
This is a version of levitation Criss performs on a sidewalk. No wires needed here, just a fake leg and some good old misdirection. Criss reveals the secret himself in the next video.
