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Jack Bryce Regular user Edinburgh UK 130 Posts |
There are many gimmicks available to the modern magician. How many of you claim not to use or own a gimmick of any kind.
Not long after I took an interest in magic I bought my first book, The Royal Road to Card Magic, and I was very proud to say that I never owned or used a gimmicked deck in my magic. Quite a few years down the line, now that I am working professional, my opinion on this has changed, as I find that a lay audience is only interested in being entertained. They see the magic no matter how you achieve that end result, so why make it difficult for yourself. I still use sleight of hand in my walk around routines but I don’t rule out using gimmicks either. For instance, I do a Copper, Silver, Brass routine, which uses gimmick coins but I also do a coins across routine, which is purely sleight of hand. Elaborate sleight of hand magic is great in its own place, for other magicians at the magic club, or for use in a magic competition. But I don’t think it has a place in the walk around table-to-table or group-to-group situation. I think it would be interesting to hear other people’s opinions on this topic.
http://www.jackbrycemagic.co.uk
I never forget a face but in your case I will gladly make an exception...Groucho Marx |
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Elwood Loyal user 287 Posts |
If it's easier with the gimmick, use it. If it's not, don't!!!
Whichever way works best for you. I use s**** coins, gimmicked cards, whatever it takes to make 'em enjoy themselves! Remember, the effect is far more important than the method. |
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Alan Munro Inner circle Kentwood, Michigan, USA 5952 Posts |
I use plenty of gimmicks and I use plenty of handeling. I usually combine the two to get the effect that I want.
Some gimmicks serve no purpose other than to sit on the shelf of a magic dealer. It really depends on the effect that is to be acheived and the performing conditions. |
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sak07 New user Stirling/Manchester UK 54 Posts |
When I first started in magic I was a gimmick addict. I would search through the catologues and became a dealers dream being sucked into the fanatastic dealer descriptions. However over time I've moved away from this gimmick heavy type of magic and turned into more of a purist. I think its important to find some middle ground, yeah fine use the gimmicks, but also make sure that you can entertain without them (you can't carry gimmicks around all the time). I still use gimmicks (invisible deck, raven, boon writer, perfect pen) but I am also capable of doing tricks with a normal borrowed deck and items that are readily available. Gimmicks are great to the laymen because they have very little knowledge of what's available to us but most magicians can tell if you are just an addicted gimmick user.
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Chris A. Inner circle AKA Chris A. 1123 Posts |
I can never understand why this is even a question.
You use what's effective for you and that's it. Neither way is "better", only different...
AKA Chris A.
Keepin' the Funk Alive |
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bigchuck Veteran user Nothing clever has ever been said in my 400 Posts |
If I can conceivably do a trick without gimmicks I'll usually try to do it that way... ( I prefer being able to borrow my 'props')
If not -- I use gimmicks. Use whatever works for the effect.
"The computer can't tell you the emotional story. It can give you the exact
mathematical design, but what's missing is the eyebrows. - Frank Zappa" |
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KingStardog Inner circle 2134 Posts |
Being one that always likes to end clean, I use about 50/50. There again if there is a gimm that can do better than any sleight, I will choose to end dirty and provide a great sense of wonder, over ending clean.
I started out shirt and tie, but work mostly short sleeved now and I think this has a great effect in the specs eyes. In their line of thinking, with short sleeves I couldn't be using a gimm of any kind, but like I said its always been 50/50.
...think not that all wisdom is in your school. You may have studied other paths,but, it is important to remember that no matter who you are or where you come from, there is always more to learn.
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RandomEffects Veteran user Boston, MA 323 Posts |
As many others have stated, it's best to use what works for you. I try to avoid too many gimmicks in my walk around sets because they tend to take up space. I try to limit what I will bring out. While I have a bunch of great gimicks, carrying too many around at once is how you end up spending your folding quarter.
The basic choice should be how much use can I get out of the gimmick and how good is the effect. Ideal gimmicks should have multiple uses for you. The TT, Leclairs Hookup are both examples of multi functional gimmicks that can be used again and again with different effects each time. Even after reading all this, all of us will always have that one one-shot gimmick that you just love and have to keep on you - for me its the fire wallet, it does one thing and it does it well. Mat |
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Vincenzo Loyal user Canada 215 Posts |
You should never completly rely on gimmicks to do magic. If you do the Invisible deck and are later approached to repeat the effect with a regular deck, you may need an alternative card effect.
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Bigmagictrout New user Quebec, Canada 46 Posts |
And *almost* everytime, you can achieve the same goal without gimmicks... But I agree with some of you, it is sometimes less "magical"
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Vincenzo Loyal user Canada 215 Posts |
Yeah. Biting a coin just isn't the same without a folding coin.
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Jack Bryce Regular user Edinburgh UK 130 Posts |
Thanks to everyone who replied, I just thought it would be an interesting topic, and would hopefully promote some interesting answers.
I was prompted to raise this subject when I noticed that some people had mentioned in other posts that they were proud to say they didn't own or use gimmicks! I just thought some of you might like the chance to say why you hold those views! As I said in my original post, I personally think, when you work with the lay public, they don't care what you do as long as what you do is entertaining and magical. As most of you have pointed out, a wide use of both gimmicks and sleight of hand magic is necessary to be entertaining in your magical performance. Flip said you do what’s effective for you and that’s it! I think that should be emphasized a little more, you do what’s effective for you and appropriate to be entertaining and magical. You use what you have to use to do the job! As Elwood said, Remember, the effect is far more important than the method. Well said! I am still of the opinion that elaborate sleight of hand magic has no place in a table-to-table or group-to-group situation, and is more at home in the magic club or magic competition. But maybe some of you have other opinions on this.
http://www.jackbrycemagic.co.uk
I never forget a face but in your case I will gladly make an exception...Groucho Marx |
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Dan Watkins Inner circle PA 3028 Posts |
There is a lengthy thread called "Gaffs vs. Knucklebusting" in the Coin Magic forum that might be of interest to readers here as the topic is the same.
The thread is HERE |
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Dennis Loomis 1943 - 2013 2113 Posts |
As a very young magician, I had the opportunity to learn magic from Dick Oslund. (He's still a working professional magician today.) He did some amazing sleight of hand with coins for me, one day, including rolling multiple coins over his fingers, etc. He did several effects that were great, but then he did one I couldn't believe. A simple coin vanish, but so clean I just didn't have a clue. There was no ditching move, but the coin was gone and his hands were empty! What fooled me was that once I knew he was great at sleight of hand, he used a gimmick! And it was one that I knew about.
My point is this: some of the very best magic is routined so that two or more methods are employed and the different methods cancel each other out. For example, in my card work, I use the selection procedure of running my thumb down the side of the deck and letting a spectator say stop. I break the deck at that point and let the spectator see the card. Sometimes this is fair, but I control the card. Sometimes it is fair, but I palm the card out of the deck. (Kelly Kop) Sometimes it is a force. But because the first time was super clean, they do not suspect the riffle force used later, nor the Kelly Kop. So, it's not just a matter of personal preference. Changing back and forth between methods, whether it be sleights, gimmicks, subtleties, etc., will more thoroughly fool your spectators. I think that the best "act" or "set" should have a variety of effects, a variety of props, and a variety of methods. Dennis Loomis http://www.mindspring.com/~deloomis/dai.html
Itinerant Montebank
<BR>http://www.loomismagic.com |
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Ty Argo Special user Columbus, Ohio 525 Posts |
Examination and reset is always on my mind. Obviously, you couldn't do something like Svengali deck with a reg deck, but there are commercial effects that can be done w/o gimmicks. Peter Marucci has a great scotch &soda routine with no gimmicked coins at all. The debate is whether you want it to be easier, but no examination or some reset or whether you want to be a bit harder and not know the definition of gimmick. It most likely works best with a few of each. Any fool can go buy a gimmick, but how many "magicians" out there can do true, honest to god, magic with normal stuff, anytime? My 2¢.
Dyslexics UNTIE!!
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Larry Davidson Inner circle Boynton Beach, FL 5270 Posts |
Any fool can buy a gimmick, and any fool can perform magic with ungimmicked objects. The use of gimmicks or the use of only ungimmicked objects isn't what makes a magician good or bad.
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Ty Argo Special user Columbus, Ohio 525 Posts |
Correction. Yes, any fool may buy a gimmick and yes, any fool may do a TRICK. But not many fools can do MAGIC.
I agree completely with the statement that the use of gimmicks or ungimmicked objects isn't what makes a magician good or bad. I see amateurs that do amazing things with ordinary stuff as well as professionals who do equally amazing things with well know gimmicks. I did not mean it in the judging sense.
Dyslexics UNTIE!!
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vinsmagic Eternal Order sleeping with the fishes... 10957 Posts |
I hate using gimmicks, but dosent mean I never uses them . For me to use them I really have to love the effct. Example:
Dominique Duviver's "printing" uses gimmicked cards ,however to pull this wonderful trick off one must be able to do a good Hamman count. What I'm trying to get across is it is the effect that is paramount and if it contains gimmicks so be it....... -vinny |
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jr_illusion New user USA 67 Posts |
if i can do a trick without a gimmick, i don't use the gimmick. its better that way, b/c theres nothing you have to hide or get rid of. but, if i need to use a gimmick to accomplish an effect, i'll use it. i see no problem with using gimmicks, its just part of magic.
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magic fett New user 45 Posts |
I can do an invisible deck without a gimmicked deck. Do I? no, because the gimmicked version is 1. easier 2.more magical in appearance. Why would I not use a gimmick in this case? It makes me feel more magical? Not what I would call a good excuse, I am worried about the spectator not how I feel.
When I first started down that path of non gimmicked effects it felt good that I was able to accomplish these things without the use of gimmicks. I could hand out everything for examination etc... but then it hit me why? I realized that Joe spectator doesn't care about my knucle busting to make the effect happen any more than had I used a gimmick to do the same. The spectator should not be aware of them whether I use them or not so why bring attention to the "normal" deck or coin, as a magician it is my role to make them not care how I did it but be amazed that I did. |
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