Car Accident - 11-18-09

I spent a couple years touring in a casino revue called “Spellbound,” my blog entry “Out of Africa” has other memories from the show. Our souvenir program said “…brought to you in part by your local Nissan dealer.” Since Nissan paid for the printing of the programs and provided complimentary cars for us to drive they got a big plug in the middle of the show.

Our star illusionists made mystical gestures in front of a white picket fence as Nissan theme music played. There’s a puff of smoke… and a new Nissan Maxima appeared in front of the fence as a recorded announcement said “The new Nissan Maxima, built better to last longer.”

When the Nissan appeared a glamorous showgirl got out and caressed the car as the music came to a crescendo. It was a spectacular illusion and a highly entertaining way to advertise a new car. The audience was impressed.

Here’s how it worked: Before its magical appearance, the car was behind the fence. The background was black and the car was covered with a big black velvet covered nylon cloth. The Nissan was a super light weight replica… just a shell of a car on a big skateboard, the heaviest part being the showgirl inside.

With the aid of special lighting and under the cover of the puff of smoke, when the announcer said “The new Nissan Maxima, built better to last longer” the picket fence opened as a gaggle of hooded stagehands dressed in black, whisked away the black cloth covering the car and pushed it into view and the picket fence closed behind it. The illusion required split second timing to coordinate the lighting, smoke, stagehands, and showgirl.

Nissan executives are in the front row tonight, eagerly awaiting their commercial. They’re all excited about the application of magic to their advertising and public-image needs. Anticipation is high as we see a puff of smoke and hear the words “The Nissan Maxima, built better to last longer.”

The timing is off for this performance. As the smoke clears one of the stagehands trips and his end of the black velvet gets caught in the door at the same instant the flimsy car is pushed forward. That’s just the potatoes, here comes the gravy…

The mix of the cloth pulling one way as the car is being pushed the other way in combination with the girl’s actions causes the light-weight door to fall off… as the showgirl stumbles forward the last part of the black cloth is whisked away… taking the front bumper with it. “The Nissan Maxima, built better to last longer.”

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