Five Things You Didn't Know About Balance
By George Luck - Friday, March 1, 2019
Joshua Jay's Balance was the most time-consuming, challenging, exciting, largest, frustrating, most expensive, unique project we have ever taken on. That's a lot of different sentiments to associate with one trick!
From the very beginning, I have been involved with the production process. Being so close to anything gives you a unique perspective so I wanted to share five things that you probably don't know about Balance.
1. Every single unit is made by hand
Every single gimmick inside the box that you receive has been made by hand. We manufacture a lot of magic - even though we have a lot of experience when it comes to automating processes. Balance was different. The only way that we could ensure the utmost quality of each unit was to make everything by hand. For an entire year, a team of six craftsmen and craftswomen worked tirelessly to make Balance great.
Fun fact: each unit takes eight hours to make.
2. We failed ... a lot
On three separate occasions, we were convinced that we were ready to launch Balance. Each time, something went drastically wrong at the last minute. It was torturous. On one occasion, we had produced an entire batch of gimmicks to find out that if you moved the toothbrush into a certain position, the entire structure could collapse. This was very unlikely to ever happen but we didn't feel comfortable with the risk. We went back to the drawing board and completely redesigned two of the gimmicks.
3. We accrued almost 100,000 air miles throughout the process
Our team are dispersed all over the world. That gives us some amazing advantages but Balance required a hands-on approach. Our main production team is based in Beijing so Josh, Andi, and I frequently flew out to check in on progress and work to develop the gimmicks. An unexpected hitch before Magic Live 2018 meant that one of our team members had to get a last minute flight to bring extra units from Beijing to Las Vegas.
4. The structure is really sturdy
It might not look it, but the final structure is remarkably robust. You can easily pick it up in one go. Check out the Balance Documentary to see them being tested in our workshop. They were subject to some fairly tough tests!
5. Full performance rights are included
When you invest in Balance, you really do get everything you could possibly need. Part of that is the right to perform it anytime, any place, anywhere. Whether you want to feature it in your parlour show, or perform it on national television, you are free to do so. We are delighted every time we see Balance performed!
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