I've seen pretty much every type of trick there is to be seen. I worked as a tech for a startup magic production team for six months. I may not know a lot of trade secrets, but I can certainly spot an invisible thread gimmick, or a film edit pretty easily. I've also practiced telekinesis for years. I know what it looks like and what it doesn't look like. These are a list of YouTube users and videos who've posted FAKE psi videos under the guise that they are real. Some of the fakes are really good, and took me a while to figure out how they did it. How can you tell it's fake? The first dead giveaway is the motion of the object. Telekinesis results in an extremely smooth motion, if this is a psi wheel, it will spin in a fluid manner, with only rotation on the Z-axis. There should be no wobble up and down. As soon as you see wobble, you immediately know that there is an air current, either accidental or deliberate. Invisible thread also tends to produce very jerky motions. Also look for hands that are moving excessively or object motion that seems to coincide perfectly with moving of the hands/fingers. This is highly indicative of invisible thread. Note: Invisible thread can still work even on closed containers. Having hands out does not immediately mean fake, a lot of people use them as a focal point, although telekinesis is not 'generated' or 'channeled' in any way by the hands specifically. Secondly, look at the speed. The speed should not be unreasonably fast. If it looks too good to be true, it probably is. Another technique used to fake telekinesis videos is to take a video of an object that has been sped up and film it as it gradually slows down. Then, reverse the video so that it looks like it's speeding up gradually. If you can see the user, look closely at the way they act, their body language, etc. Fake psychics seem to think that psychic abilities require an absurd amount of physical strain. Their hands will be trembling with tension, they often grunt and make silly noises, and in general look like they are about to crap themselves. Real telekinesis is fluid and requires a very relaxed state. The user should look comfortable and relaxed, trance-like even. No video on the internet will ever be proof by itself of telekinesis. Videos are only inspiration for those practicing, it's nice to see someone achieve what some say is impossible. The best we can do is point out the fakes so that you, as the student, can learn to separate the bogus from the real. Blowing air through a small hole in the table: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H5NwRfMJgOQ http://www.youtube.com/user/ASmattman http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w86hDdUD03o http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KQizeVeayyY I was lucky to stumble upon the method to this trick when it was posted by ASmattman himself on the video description. The trick works like this: The table has holes routed through both of the legs. Once he is done with all the blowdryer and magnet shenanigans, his friend attaches flexible tubing to the ports on the holes in the legs. His friend blows through the respective tubes to rotate the wheel clockwise or counterclockwise. Notice how fast and erratically the wheel moves. Appears to be by a similar mechanism, though I'm not totally sure how he does it. I just know it's 100% fake. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=apMRFAlNda4 For that matter, everything on that guy's channel is garbage. http://www.youtube.com/user/metakinesis777 Invisible Thread: http://www.youtube.com/user/kineticpsycho http://www.youtube.com/user/godspeed09 http://www.youtube.com/user/Georg5555 http://www.youtube.com/user/TheGenuineWizard http://www.youtube.com/user/thenickshift Reversing playback of a spinning object: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ru4FvcE4fbY Just plain wrong: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=69GMr3RlpgU I haven't done any of the other '-kineses' (which, for the record, I seriously object to the practice of taking some greek stem, adding -kinesis to the end of it, and making some new word. Etymologiokinesis.) so here is a fake 'Cryokinesis' Fake Cryokinesis http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x2Qw5PTiRlE Quite simple, really. Fill a bowl with water, stick it in the freezer. Once it's at least frozen on the outside, remove the ice block from the bowl. Heat the bowl up in an oven. Take the ice block and put it in the hot bowl. Start filming at this point. Film it until the thing melts. Then, edit the video, play it backwards so it looks like it's freezing, cutting out various bits, speeding it up so that it takes 5 minutes instead of 20. Tada. Fake Pyrokinesis http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RzXLkfF01w4 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ug-oWE6B-DA (Same thing, but with English subtitles) This is a really well done illusion. I had to chew over the entirety of the footage of it (5 videos in the series) to confirm that it was a fake. I believe the trick is done like this: The guy hides a high-power infrared (invisible) laser somewhere on his body. He uses a fiber optic cable to transmit the laser beam to a lens that is strapped to the inside of his forearm/wrist area. The laser is triggered by a microphone, so when he makes the "eeeeeeehhhhhhh" noise, it activates. It also may be power modulated by the intensity of the noise. At one point he melts an object through a balloon, and through a door. I'm not totally sure how this is done, but it most likely involves some sleight of hand, and possibly advanced lensing (changing the spread of the laser beam from focused to wide). This video really puts the nail in the coffin - it looks exactly how a laser beam would behave: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Wwz92S0uU90 And lastly, obviously fake, but absolutely hilarious. This kid needs his own vlog: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JN2vQanXjRA&feature=related |
WALL OF SHAME |
