i'm intrested in the zombie ball but i would like to see how it looks do anyone know where i can see it???

http://www.penguinmagic.com/product.php?ID=513

When performed, that cloth you see there covers the ball, and the ball floats up in the air with the cloth still on it.

Robert V Frazier

There are a few online videos of zombie , but you'll have to Google for them since links posting is not allowed here.

Dirk Losander has a good zombie routine that is posted online .
Google : Losander Zombie Ball video .
Also look for a clip of Losander's new floating ball effect called
Animated Sphere . There are some good clips online of
Losander performing is Deluxe Floating Table and his Ultimate Floating Table. These are not zombie ball , but the floating principle is the same and it is great to study Losander's pantomime skills to understand how to put across the feeling that an object is truly floating .

Tim Wright (aka "Skilldini") has a clip of his zombie routine posted online.

im pretty sure i have seen "the amazing jonathan" do it in his act, he does it and it is hilarious

Yeah, well.......... it is funny the way AJ does it , but for all practical purposes it's an exposure . There's no way anyone could watch AJ's performance of it and not figure it out. He does not play it as beautiful and mysterious, more like a gag , a little bit "naughty" at one point if I recall .

yeah, not a very good magician, i do think he is funny though

Losander's version of the Zombie Ball is amazing, but his method/gimmick is different from the original Zobmie Ball. Losander's version is very expensive, but well worth the price if you are serious about this effect. Just thought I should point that out since you will not be able to perform all of the Losander moves with the original Zombie Ball.

Tim Wrights video/DVD shows an amazing number of moves that you can perform with the original Zombie that will prove very helpful for anyone getting into this effect.

For those who are interested click here to see Dirk Losander performing his standard zombie ball routine. This is the basic routine he teaches on his video and on the video he also shows you how to make his modified gimmick. One of the great things you can learn in watching Losander is how he creates a disconnect between himself and the ball by keeping his hands/wrists very still when the ball moves , and also how he constantly maintains very deep "valleys" in the cloth covering the ball , so the way the cloth hangs off the ball does not show any straight lines from the ball to his hand . This is very important. Many performers are not careful about this detail and they stretch the cloth taut over the ball so that the folds don't hang down , and there is too much of a straight line from the ball to the hand and it makes it look like the hand is manipulating the ball. Losander's use of the deep folds in the cloth help to sell the floating action of the ball. Losander's "covering move" is great , where the ball is up on the edge of the cloth, then he pulls the cloth up and over the ball to cover it. During this move the ball appears to hang in space , not moving, while the cloth is drawn up and over to cover it . Master that move and you're on your way to a very convincing floating ball.

A lot of the moves come from Al Schneider's book "Al Schneider on Zombie" via Tommy Wonder who mastered Schneider's zombie moves and taught them to Losander . Losander in turn has boiled down the moves into a very elegant routine with a very convincing illusion of floating. The acting and the body language are still 95% of the illusion, but Losander's modified gimmick does help. Watch the initial rise of the ball from the pedestal : Losander's hands are very still while the ball rises up. You can't do that with a standard zombie gimmick.

What can I say, but WOW! Thanks for that link, Daiversion! We are lucky enough to have Dirk Losander as a lecturer this coming September for our local Ring (81 here in Sarasota, Florida)! I am extremely anxious to see what Dirk has to offer. I own the Zombie but am not happy with the foulard (silk) that came with mine. Its really really ugly and is pretty see-through - both not good for this effect. I was ticked at Tannen's magic when I bought it years ago and never bought anything else from them. I am really hoping Dirk will have some of his foulards to sell. I really love the way he holds the gimmick and uses the folds as you related in your post. His zombie is really nicely done.

Thanks again!

Dave

I just received my zombie ball in the mail today (ebay) and really want to work this one hard...

I was thinking of music and "Phantom of the Opera" seems perfect.

Another idea that I read about in a different forum was to use the "Chariots of Fire" music and do the whole routine in slow-motion! A different take on it, but it seemed rather interesting to me. Once I finally get a different foulard, I may look up that music and try to put together a slo-mo routine. I think that people might find it different from the rest of the show and a bit comical as well. That would fit my style perfectly.

Dave

I like the effect but I think it needs modernising. I know a lot of people won't like me saying this, pple with think it's like changing the cups and balls.
But at the last Blackpool convention a person asked Franz Harrary (guy hu vanishes space shuttles and taj mahal) wat he thought of the masked magician his reply was one that surprised me. Aswell as not agreeing with the masked guy he said it had forced magic to modernise. As this dude had reveiled some of these old favourates.
And this occured to me when i received my zomby. I don't want to reveal the secret but the gimmick hardly is a nice smooth thing. And my ball as got scratches, helped by it being dropped a couple of times.
My thought (still tring to be vague as to not brake thpenguin rules) is to use a magnet instead of the ordinary thing that attaches to the ball. Therefore allowing the ball to be completely whole AND inspectable at the end, along with the cloth.

I don't know if this has been invented, but if it hasn't can someone make it. I'm 14, and cant make it now. But if I hav'nt heard it in 10 years i'll make it !

Denny

My 2 cents. Granted I didn't get my zombie ball from penguin; I found my to be heavy and taxing, so I haven't worked with it much. But, I've seen some foam zombie's that look like they'd take care of the weight.

They can be trouble and hurt at first, but once you get used to the gimmick, it's an amazing effect.

Losander's version takes all the pain away and it allows for a wider range of animation to make your zombie come to life.