The Sound of Music
Ian writes: “It’s a pleasure to share this effect. Since Joe Stevens is the king of magical videos, I thought I would concoct something really good using a video. I actually went to the trouble to make it, then two days later presented it to an audience. The response was: Wow! It works like a treat.”
Effect: A video cassette is shown and removed from its case. The case is shown empty. The video turns out to be “The Sound of Music,” the renowned musical-film. The front of the video is shown to establish this fact. The cassette is replaced in its case. The magician snaps his fingers and opens the case. The video has disappeared and inside is a revolving ballerina, which spins and moves as the audience actually hears the sound of music.
Requirements:
(1) A video case that opens the same way as The Greater Magic Videos produced by Stevens Emporium. They have a empty black interior that resembles a box rather than a slip-case.
(2) A fake cassette that is really a shell. Ian took an old video apart. He used the top section which shows two reels and left the four surrounding sides. He discarded the base and insides. He purchased a silver-metallic card from a craft shop and cut it to fit inside the cassette shell. Using a thin-pointed brush, a circular guide and white paint, he made a facsimile of the two reels of tape. This was inserted and fitted inside the top part of the cassette-shell. Correctly done, it looks like a legitimate video cassette.
(3) A revolving music box that will fit inside the video box and cassette. Needless to say, it should play music that is apropos. To Ian’s delight, he found one that happened to play “The Sound of Music.” Do not be concerned if you cannot find a “Sound of Music” box. Any melody will suffice and audiences will understand the association. The important thing is the sound of some kind of music. Most units are flat and will fit inside the “shell.” There is a starter lever and when the unit functions, it revolves.
(4) A small ballerina. This can be purchased from a wedding cake shop.
(5) A pipe cleaner, which is used to attach the small ballerina to the revolving mechanism. The pipe cleaner is pliable. Therefore the ballerina can be put into a bent position and flat against the device. Later, it can be bent back upright.
Setup: Place the device and ballerina inside the shell so that everything is neatly hidden.
Method and Presentation: Pick up and show the video case. Indicate that it is apparently a tape of “The Sound of Music” by clearly showing the label. Open the case and show the cassette inside. Remove the cassette and display its faked side.
Replace it inside the case, turning it over in the process so that its other side is uppermost. Close the lid and make a magical pass or gesture. Open the lid and activate the music box as you simultaneously pull the ballerina upright. This takes less than a second. The audience will hear the music. As it plays, slowly turn and tilt the box toward the audience so that they see that the cassette has magically transformed into a dancer, moving to the actual “Sound of Music.”
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