I am building a cabinet that will have moveable gimmicks based on the Protus Cabinet principal. I do not want to go into to much detail, because I don't want my ideas stolen, but it is going to be a part of a routine I am putting together.

What is the best dimensions for a Protus Cabinet Box to work (where you can stand up front for a minute and not be seen in the gimmick)?
A 4'x3'.5 or can you just build it 4'x4' and still stand in it without being seen in the gimmick, if right in front? I remmeber seeing it referenced to and basic dimesions in my copy of HIDING THE ELEPHENT by Styenmyer, but am killing myself trying to find where I put it.

No matter what the dimension of your box, the "safe" zone is going to be the reverse of the area concealed by your gimmick. Imagine a line extending from each gimmick out toward the audience, the area between those imaginary lines is your safe zone. If you were inside the box, and stepped outside that triangular safe zone, you would be seen in the gimmick.

Right but making the box say 3x4 instead of 3x3 would increase my safe zone rite

Depends on which way the "3" runs and which way the "4" runs. A deeper box ("4" dimension being front to back) increases your safe zone (assuming the gimmicks are still all the way at the back of the cabinet). A wider box ("4" is the width, "3" is the depth) decreases your safe zone and - even worse - actually exposes the gimmicks where they meet (unless you have a very wide center pillar).

The standard arrangement [of the gimmicks] in a square-footprint design renders about 25% of the cabinet invisible and 25% of the cabinet safe - depending on pillar dimension. The remaining 50% of the cabinet is the no-man zone. Added depth increases the safe area, but at the price of a suspiciously deep cabinet.

TW

That is exactly what I was thinking

Do you think that laymen pick up easyly on props utilizing the protus cabinet principal

Some more knolegable spectators will. I was watching a video of Dixie Dooley's houdini show. He used a protus cabinet(old style design) and he picked up on it very quickly. Be careful how you design, decorate, and handle the cabinet and you will be fine.

Yes, and once they get even a hint that the principle is in use, that ends the mystery as far as they are concerned. There are so many other and easier ways to present that same effect that do not require using that particular box, not to mention packing it and schlepping it around, that it hardly seems worth the effort. Not that I wish to discourage you if you have your heart set on it...

Well I am building mine using three principals, a deceptive base, decpetive side panels that fold down to show the box empty, and finaly the protus, so that the inside of the cabinet appears empty after the workers move into the what I call "The holding area"

I fully understand. When I was an illusionist, I loved showing off my collection of magic boxes in the manner of most illusionists. When I decided to become a wizard, I realized that "real" magicians had no need to put things or people in boxes before working magic on them, so I began to think outside the box and began asking myself "what would a REAL magician (wizard) do?" It helped that one of my favorite illusionists was Sir Felix Korim who had some of the most clever unboxed illusions I had ever studied, and that David Devante seemed to be headed in that direction when he worked out "Mascot Moth." Even the mirror principle takes on a new life when it is removed from the box and stands alone (or so it seems) on the stage with only its edges camouflaged.

But I recognize that it takes a real effort to throw away the Square Circle's box and tube and still use the same principle to produce a feast. Sometimes we are trapped by our own trap doors.

First, let me apologize for strsying slightly from the original topic.

I think the "wizard" approach is good, but I also think the "magic box" approach is just as valid, especially after listening to Jim Steinmeyer's recent podcast interview on Magic NewsWire. Essentially, Jim said that people don't pay extra money to attend a grand illusion show to see ordinary cardboard boxes and trashy, "ordinary-looking" props on stage. For the most part, they want and expect color and magical-looking props to heighten the wonder.

I think we magicians are often much too tough on ourselves, and we end up putting out thoughts into our audiences' minds.