Please explain this illusion
August 10, 2006 10:09 PM Subscribe
Saw this act on America's Got Talent and have overcome my shame at watching this terrible show to ask, how the hell is it done?
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RB-wUgnyGv0
Any insights?
She's already wearing all the dresses. You can see one fall down when she's in the hoop.
And what BookSherpa's link says.
posted by acoutu at 11:04 PM on August 10, 2006
And what BookSherpa's link says.
posted by acoutu at 11:04 PM on August 10, 2006
Okay, I get where the new outfit comes from, but where do the old layers go when they come off?
I kinda agreed with Piers in that what they do is more of a learned skill than an actual talent. And we've seen the same skill several times in a row. There is talent in the showmanship, certainly, but the quick-change (apparently) is something anyone could learn and practice... like a card trick.
posted by CodeBaloo at 5:38 AM on August 11, 2006
I kinda agreed with Piers in that what they do is more of a learned skill than an actual talent. And we've seen the same skill several times in a row. There is talent in the showmanship, certainly, but the quick-change (apparently) is something anyone could learn and practice... like a card trick.
posted by CodeBaloo at 5:38 AM on August 11, 2006
Relatedly ... Interesting article on some quick change artists ran in Slate a while back.
posted by clearlynuts at 5:50 AM on August 11, 2006
posted by clearlynuts at 5:50 AM on August 11, 2006
The article clearlynuts links to is of the same people on America's Got Talent. Apparently they've been doing this for awhile now, which makes it harder to find mistakes which reveal how the trick is done.
As to where the old layers go, in booksherpa's link it mentions how the dress falls onto the ground behind a stage prop; although I've heard that some of the dresses are simply unstrapped at the shoulders or elsewhere and essentially fold down and become part of the next dress.
posted by Meagan at 5:57 AM on August 11, 2006
As to where the old layers go, in booksherpa's link it mentions how the dress falls onto the ground behind a stage prop; although I've heard that some of the dresses are simply unstrapped at the shoulders or elsewhere and essentially fold down and become part of the next dress.
posted by Meagan at 5:57 AM on August 11, 2006
I believe they mostly go on the floor under the various pieces of fabric and other concealments that they use. The fabrics used are often coordinated to the fabric they're removing, so it would be a lot less visible.
posted by jacquilynne at 6:03 AM on August 11, 2006
posted by jacquilynne at 6:03 AM on August 11, 2006
I want to know where that giant red wig goes. The first time they brought it out, there was an obvious lump in the curtain they dropped, but I don't remember seeing a lump on Tuesday.
I understand that she's wearing all the dresses when she starts, so I want to know how she can change from a low-cut dress to a high-cut one -- here, for example, she's wearing a really low-cut red dress with black trim, and then changes into the yellow-and-black-striped high-cut dress.
The YouTube videos' poor quality doesn't let me see if the "low-cut" dress is done with the flesh-colored fabric worn by figure skaters. On the original TV version, I think a few dresses obviously were, but others weren't.
posted by booksandlibretti at 6:06 AM on August 11, 2006
I understand that she's wearing all the dresses when she starts, so I want to know how she can change from a low-cut dress to a high-cut one -- here, for example, she's wearing a really low-cut red dress with black trim, and then changes into the yellow-and-black-striped high-cut dress.
The YouTube videos' poor quality doesn't let me see if the "low-cut" dress is done with the flesh-colored fabric worn by figure skaters. On the original TV version, I think a few dresses obviously were, but others weren't.
posted by booksandlibretti at 6:06 AM on August 11, 2006
The low-cut dress has flesh-colored fabric covering what would normally be her exposed chest. It's clearer when you're watching the show than when you see it on YouTube.
I, too, admit to watching this train wreck of a show (rapping granny? Come ON! And the Hoff was *not* singing live last week), if only for the hopes that a judge will screw up their lines and let the viewers see that they're just recalling lines the producers suggested, and voting for acts that the producers want.
posted by Merdryn at 6:16 AM on August 11, 2006
I, too, admit to watching this train wreck of a show (rapping granny? Come ON! And the Hoff was *not* singing live last week), if only for the hopes that a judge will screw up their lines and let the viewers see that they're just recalling lines the producers suggested, and voting for acts that the producers want.
posted by Merdryn at 6:16 AM on August 11, 2006
Why on Earth is Piers Morgan one of the judges? What could he possibly be famous for in America? Makes no sense.
posted by reklaw at 7:05 AM on August 11, 2006
posted by reklaw at 7:05 AM on August 11, 2006
He has an English accent. What else is required to be the snotty English judge on one of these shows?
(Note: his accent may not actually be English. Hell if I know. Close enough, though, to fill the role of 'snotty English judge' that is mandatory in all 'talent' based reality TV competitions.)
posted by jacquilynne at 7:10 AM on August 11, 2006
(Note: his accent may not actually be English. Hell if I know. Close enough, though, to fill the role of 'snotty English judge' that is mandatory in all 'talent' based reality TV competitions.)
posted by jacquilynne at 7:10 AM on August 11, 2006
Dania & David previously discussed in the Blue. More details on how it's done.
posted by AuntLisa at 9:42 AM on August 11, 2006
posted by AuntLisa at 9:42 AM on August 11, 2006
Heh. Put this down as a question that could have been easily answered with Google. Because, after seeing the show in question, that's exactly what my father and I did.
posted by klangklangston at 10:35 AM on August 11, 2006
posted by klangklangston at 10:35 AM on August 11, 2006
Conversely, this post illustrates something that I hope the TV industry catches onto and does for itself instead of deciding to sue YouTube... it's become possible to hyperlink to *television*.
That's *cool*.
posted by baylink at 12:40 PM on August 11, 2006
That's *cool*.
posted by baylink at 12:40 PM on August 11, 2006
This thread is closed to new comments.
And I agree with Piers. Show us something different, for crying out loud. Amazing act, but it's been the same for 3 appearances now, other than some different dresses. Pfeh. Not that I watch or anything . . .
posted by booksherpa at 10:43 PM on August 10, 2006