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gibson99 New user 52 Posts |
Hi guys,
Let me introduce myself. I was very into magic from the ages of about 7-12. I kind of lost interest for one reason or another but now at age 19 my passion is back and burning! I stumbled onto ellusionist.com as well as these boards and that put even more fuel on the fire. I do not remeber a ton from years ago but I have a general familiarity of magic. I am extremely interested in street magic now. I would really appreciate it if you guys could give me some help setting up a routine. I have been working on Eddie Fatcher's Be Honest, What is it(2 card monte), as well as Wayne Houchin's quarter in soda can. I absolutely LOVE both of these tricks so far although I am waiting til I get them down perfect before I perform them. My goal is to put together an act consisting of some cards, some mentalism, and other varieties of sleight. I would like to have about 10-15 minutes of material. I have been debating whether to buy a Raven or M5 but I cannot find enough specific info on them to decide which is best for me. Can you guys suggest some more quality tricks for an intermediate to perform? I do not have much of a problem spending some money if I need to. I should also mention that I am very inspired by Blaine as I'm sure is very common lately, so performing magic simialr to his is very appealing to me. Thanks guys! |
Sfarad Loyal user Israel 233 Posts |
Gibson99
As a experienced mentalist and magician let me first say welcome aboard. You have great enthusiasm and hype. But first thing's first. If you're into card street magic my reccomendation would be to look for Oz Pearlman videos and study all the slights+effects in there. That should get you started. If you want to incorporate some mentalism in your card tricks I'd go for the Invisble Deck or Mind-Power deck. These should keep you for a months or so of practicing. Lucky luck.. DD.
'Magic is the bloodstream of the universe. Forget all you know or think you know! All that you require, is your intuition'.
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gibson99 New user 52 Posts |
Thanks for the welcome! At this point I am not a HUGE card guy, just want a few impressive tricks. Some of the gimmicks I have been thinking about buying are
-invisible deck -rising deck (from ellusionist) -Torn (by Garcia) -Raven -M5 You guys think these are worth the investment? For the M5 vs. the Raven, I am really looking for the cleanest, safest, coin vanish from a spectators hand. Which do you guys recommend for that? Is the M5 worth the money for the other possibilities? Oh, I forgot to throw the Raven X2 into that last mix. I could really use some help deciding which would be best for me out of the M5, the Raven, and the Raven X2. |
Sfarad Loyal user Israel 233 Posts |
Invisble deck and raven get only both of these.
And a few impressive tricks are not only gimmicks, remember it's the presentation and story behind the illusion that counts not necessarily the illusion. I think you should read about how to present effects rather than purchasing any kind of gimmicks to have a much clearer idea of how to impress and "cool" without spending any amount of money. If this is only about tricks and wasting time for you than I'd suggest you to stick to penguin's accessories, but if you take it seriously listen to my advice. Back to my cooking, DD.
'Magic is the bloodstream of the universe. Forget all you know or think you know! All that you require, is your intuition'.
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ofrmagic Loyal user 202 Posts |
I would go for subterfuge by sanders it could do effects like the raven and pk effect like m5 and more check the video at http://www.hocus-pocus.com
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gibson99 New user 52 Posts |
Does Garcia's Torn completely restore the card, or does it still have rips along where it was torn? It seems like you can still see where it was "torn" in the demo on ellusionist.
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ac-magic Regular user South East UK 149 Posts |
That would be where it was folded. I'm not familiar with TORN, but do have un-ripped. Don't buy unripped whatever you do. It's too gimmicky for my liking. The raven is a straight vanish of a coin. Raven x2 could be worth you while looking at, you can "bend keys" as well as do the bog-standard vanish.
M5 is much more powerful and is used for mentalism routines. It is extremely powerful and can wipe data instantly (watch where you keep it). You can do a whole range of effects with like stop a speccies watch, make a match stand in their hand blah blah blah etc etc. In the end, I suppose you could use an M5 for a coin vanaish, I've heard many reviews that the Raven really doesn't work too well. Hope I helped Ali
A , mind reading, funny escape artist wanna-be
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magicman226 Loyal user San Antonio, Texas 234 Posts |
Torn is not gimmicked. It is sleight-of-hand. It's a great trick and a great DVD with wonderful teaching, but it takes a lot of practice.
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magicman226 Loyal user San Antonio, Texas 234 Posts |
Also, the ripped look is supposed to be there. When I first saw it, it made it look like he welded the pieces together. I think it's an awesome thing to have the torn look.
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ac-magic Regular user South East UK 149 Posts |
I know torn is SOH, I was referring to the fact that unripped was gimmicky. On the DVD of unripped, Gared says that this is an improvement on Torn and other routines, not from my stand point. Anyhoo
Ali
A , mind reading, funny escape artist wanna-be
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AEdwards Regular user North Carolina 106 Posts |
You might wanna check out my Cigarette, Silk, Bill Thru Coin. It's STRONG MAGIC.
You can find it on my website. Later, Anton http://www.antonedwards.com |
Brad Burt Inner circle 2675 Posts |
Street Magic is really nothing but classic Close-up done walking about on the street! Pretty funny really. If you like Blaine recognize that he is a VERY accomplished sleight-of-hand man. Some don't recognize it, but it's true. Much of what he does, especially in his first special is so personality understated that it flies right by.
I would suggest getting a solid grounding in two areas of sleight-of-hand. Cards and coins. Expect cards to go faster than coins by a fair ratio. The basic skills especially with coins transfer in a lateral fashion to much of other sleight-of-hand areas: Sponge, billiard balls, cups and balls, etc. Solid disciplined card work is the basis for much of walk around, etc. Good luck,
Brad Burt
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LBP MAGIC Veteran user 374 Posts |
Is there anything more boring than cups and balls?
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Michael J. Douglas Inner circle WV, USA 1645 Posts |
-invisible deck
A fantastic effect when used properly. Just know that you will also have to carry around a real deck to switch in and out for over effects. -rising deck (from ellusionist) Also a great effect, but I think there are better ways to accomplish it out there. -Torn (by Garcia) This and Guy Hollingworth's Reformation are my two fav T&Rs with cards. Be sure to give it the practice it deserves! -Raven and M5 Hopefully without giving too much away, there's some clothing issues with both of these. The M5 seems to be more powerful than the standard Raven, but is even more clothing restrictive. I don't know about the X2. Good luck!
Michael J.
�Believe then, if you please, that I can do strange things.� --from Shakespeare�s �As You Like It� |
James F Inner circle Atlanta 1096 Posts |
It seems the biggest question the poster had about the raven vs M5 was:
"I am really looking for the cleanest, safest, coin vanish from a spectators hand." Without any doubt, for this effect, you should choose the raven. James |
muzicman Special user LaCenter, Wa 989 Posts |
Consider a character when putting your routines together. If you could "theme" your presentations to something common, you will be more memorable and entertaining. To just see some guy making a coin disappear for no reason other than he can, is not going to get the right kind of attention. A street act is closeup, without a table. The angles are terrible and specs are burning your every move. Dispell their belief in reality and take them on a journey.
I have often seen street magicians that are nothing more than "look what I can do". They are not respected and take a lot of insults. If you plan on busking, you'll need a hook to get a hedge and a hat. A hook lures them in, a hedge is the first row of specs, and the hat is the monetary payoff. What could be sweeter than getting paid to do what you like to do? An example of a character is something you'll need to explore. Your character can be based on personality or an experience like this... When I was 12, I was struck by lightning while camping with my parents. Ever since then I have been able to do things and see things in very strange ways. Most of these things are unexplainable to me, so don't ask, because I don't know. I have a few demonstrations I'd like to show you. (You are an actor playing the part of a magician which is playing the part of a character. ...and you get to decide who that character is.) As you develop your character, certain effects will be needed to sell that character. A person who has been struck by lightning can read minds, bend metal, reveal previous chosen cards and make a quarter dematerialize from the back of your hand. They may even be able to levitate. Just remember, every routine has a reason, and it fits your character. I have been invited to poker games and I always go into my "I used to be a card shark and got kicked out of Vegas" character. After some card flourishes, and some great sleights, my character is someone they think is for real. I'm only acting but once they see me cut to 4 aces from a shuffled deck, I gain some credibility. From there it's easy to go into a 2 card monte and have them hold the 2 cards in separate hands and pass them close (as if they are going to change places) and with your hands on their wrists, you are already one step ahead with a watch steal. The card shark character is SOLD after my 3rd routine. I hope this gets you thinking about your character and that should guide you to some solid routines and effects. |
gollymrscience New user 65 Posts |
All great advice.
Particularly in choosing a persona and building the routine out of that. It should flow and each effect should merge into the next. Do not forget at least one TT. I can get 15 minutes of Street Magic out of just TT work. Fully surrounded and do everything expected from magic. Appearances, vanishes, restorations, levitations (of stuff not you), color changes, mentalism, fire - the list goes on. For fun I have built entire routines around TT to over half an hour and five TTs. Did it to prove it could be done and it was lots of fun. The moves were so easy that I could concetrate on the patter and performance which sells the magic. Now there are too many great effects out there to limit yourself but just remember it is the audiance that counts and the easiest (for you) and most foolproof way you can deliver that effect is usually the best way. As Magicians we sometimes get so caught up in our own cleverness that we forget that its the effect that counts. How many different ways can we tear and restore a newspaper or vanish a coin or appear a silk. To us we are looking for the "best" method or an original or to be the first to use a particular technique. To the audiance... they saw you tear and restore a newspaper, vanish a coin and appear a silk. If you did it well they will be wowed and they haven't a clue if you used 15 sleights or one TT. I find many Magicians have a kind of snobishness about TTs. To them the moves and gimmic are old hat and obvious. Many of them set out to design or use effects that will fool other magicians. All well and good but a sincere word of advice. When doing Street Magic rue the day you are perfoming for Magicians. They are not nearly as much fun as laymen as they either know the effect, have the effect or are too busy analysing the effect to be much fun and besides, they never have any money. |
Brandon Delgado Loyal user St. Louis, Missouri 293 Posts |
Gibson99--
First, welcome back to magic and welcome to the Café. You have plenty of great suggestions here. You can't go wrong with an Invisible Deck, Torn, and a TT. Might I also suggest if you get more into card magic (and if you don't have it already) that you pick up the Royal Road to Card Magic by Hugard and Braue and/or the Card College series by Roberto Giobbi. Both are excellent resources for card magic. Royal Road has been made into a DVD set by R. Paul Wilson if you prefer that to the book. For coin magic, a good place to begin is Bobo's Modern Coin Magic. Lots of good stuff in there. As Brad Burt mentioned, street magic is really just close-up magic performed on the street. And don't ignore the advice on building a persona. For some more advice on that see this thread: http://www.themagiccafe.com/forums/viewt......forum=27 Good luck and have fun! Brandon |
Brandon Delgado Loyal user St. Louis, Missouri 293 Posts |
Quote:
On 2006-03-03 22:50, LBP MAGIC wrote: Depends on who's doing it. Here's a great clip of Roland Henning performing C&B on Magic Video Depot: http://www.magicvideodepot.com/view.php?a=v&t=4908 Wasn't boring to me! Brandon |
gollymrscience New user 65 Posts |
Cups and balls along with linking rings are sort of the comfort food of magicians all over the world. We all know the methods and most of us have done them as part of our learning but just as quickly most of us discard them as too common an effect.
Perhaps... but if they are so overdone why are people still being amazed by them? Simple; what's old hat to us is new to them. Cups and balls has so many routines that there is always a fresh surprise to offer those that think they know it all. Mix in a chop cup and things can really get exciting. Cups and balls can be a great pull to get a crowd going especially if you work up a routine that gets the spectators involved. One disadvantage is the need for a platform that could hamper some performers but I have seen it done on the ground to great response - just hard to play to a crowd that way. The routine does not have to use traditional cups and balls. Flower pots, boxes, and microwave cookware have all been used. I even did a cups and balls performance with the nose caps off high explosive artillery shells. Everybody got a real charge out of it as it was a killer act. I slayed them I tell ya! (sorry - I was ambushed by punsters) |
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