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Eric Caldwell Regular user Kentucky 156 Posts 
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Did you ever pass on tricks in the beginning with the opinion that they were too easy for any intelligent being to figure out? I found myself moving past most tricks in Royal Road and passing on anything that called itself a self-worker because they seemed easy. I think I'm starting to realise that magic is more about the presentation than the effect, which is allowing me to try tricks I used to pass on. Are they really as easy as to figure out as I perceive them to be or is it just because I know how it works?
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Chris Lina New user Philippines 80 Posts
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Maybe because you know how it works...brad christian said that: what may be interesting to you may not be interesting to the audience, and vice versa, you have to experiment and base the presentations on the reactions that you get..
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Wes65 Inner circle I've said very little in 1219 Posts
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Quote:
On 2011-02-22 17:55, Eric Caldwell wrote: It sounds like you've learned a very valuable lesson.....if you're like me you'll have to remind yourself to an effect by the final presentation.
Wes
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mago.niko Loyal user Athens, Greece 286 Posts
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Quote:
On 2011-02-22 17:55, Eric Caldwell wrote: You are totally correct.. As I've learned from more experienced magicians presentation, behavior and performance is the secret of a good magician. That's why sometimes you perform an awesome trick and you don't get the impact that you believe you should.. For your second question is what we call magician's guiltiness  Don't be affraid to perform.. Sometimes people might believe that they caught you but most of the time they are wrong..
Searching for the magic side of life...
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The Burnaby Kid Inner circle St. John's, Canada 3158 Posts
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Most of our secrets are simple. The idea is to understand how to leverage everything surrounding the secret to make it more deceptive.
To put it another way, the cross-cut force is a ridiculously easy procedure. However, if they can shuffle the deck prior to it, now you've got a deeper mystery. Even if they understand the secret, now they have to figure out how you were able to do it when they shuffled the deck.
JACK, the Jolly Almanac of Card Knavery, a free card magic resource for beginners.
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mdaniels New user Panamá 78 Posts
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They are easy for you! because you know the secrets, a layman don´t know much about cards and effects and if you make a good presentation they will think hat is magic. Sometimes you should look at the tricks with "spectator eyes"
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Eric Caldwell Regular user Kentucky 156 Posts
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Is performing the best way to look at something through "spectator eyes?"
Also, are there any topics previously posted that mirror my question? I figure there are, but I had no idea what to use for a search term. |
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3M New user Los Angeles, CA 59 Posts
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Eric- to remember what it's like for the spectator, take yourself back to when you saw your very first magic trick and how you felt. I remember how amazed and captivated I felt, and I have to remind myself of that sometimes if I'm about to pass up on an effect b/c I'm thinking it's too simple. I have to remind myself to step out of my shoes and remember what it's like to be on the other side of the card mat (or stage or whatever your venue is) and realize that just b/c I know how it works, that doesn't mean that the audience will. Because they don't know what to expect, or what's going to happen next, so in a way you're always one step ahead of them, even if it's a simple effect. Some of the most amazing effects have the simplest secrets. I never used to do the Electronic Rating Pen b/c I thought it was ridiculously easy, and it sat in my drawer for a long time. Then I tried a little experiment- I took out a lot of effects that I had passed up and started using them again, and the E-Pen fries people. I couldn't figure out why, but then it hit me- people don't like having to follow a lot of steps or too much patter, they get lost and then they stop paying attention. It's just human nature. That's just my humble opinion though.
Cheers, Fred
Semper Magus
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volto Special user 603 Posts
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We should see the picture but not the paint, even though we know the paint is there.
In other words, the audience knows the magic isn't real, but they shouldn't be slapped in the face by the method. That said, a beautiful presentation can override all of that - method and effect. Take Rodin's "The Kiss". It's a block of marble that's carved to look like some dude and some chick kissing. They're nekkid. Lulz. That presentation is a world away from the actual story of the piece - lovers - adulterers - weakened by a romantic moment - frozen in time at the instant just before their kiss - before their discovery and murder, consigned to hell for eternity by their sin. The sculpture is the frozen moment just before their tragedy. If you know this, it's heartbreakingly beautiful. And it really doesn't matter that we know Rodin used a chisel. |
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diehards2080 Loyal user Brooklyn, New York 256 Posts
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Quote:
On 2011-02-22 17:55, Eric Caldwell wrote: Yes I have done this. I have passed on many that now I have went back too. One I have been performing recently is a Royal Flush production out of Card College Vol 1. In the beginning I was after the sleight heavy hard tricks because I associated them with true skill as a professional. Patter and presentation is what counts IMO |
Ed_Millis Inner circle Yuma, AZ 2292 Posts
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I remember the magic show that catapulted me into where I am now. The man did things that I "knew" could not be done!! Then I got ahold of an Abbott's catalogue, and saw everything in there!! And most of it was self-working!
The key was the presentation: the atmosphere he created, the set-ups and stories he told, what he didn't do as much as what he did. In my show, I use a lot of self- or easy-working effects. One of my best is a spoon bend that's over before they know it's even started; another is Twisted Sisters. Ed |
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DomKabala Inner circle I've grown old after diggin' holes for 2827 Posts
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The best effects are simple in that the spectators can easily follow/comprehend what is being shown to them. The axiom "Confusion is not magic" coined by the Professor is sage advise...
The great Paul LePaul often said, "Simplicity is the keynote to good magic." Cardamagically, Dom 
We don't stop playing when we grow old...we grow old when we stop playing.
God is enough, let go, let God. Gal 2:20 "Anything of value is not easily attained and those things which are easily attained are not of lasting value."   
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Cyberqat Inner circle You can tell I work on the net from my 2209 Posts
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I remember as a child watching someone do a routine where he rolled up sheets of paper into balls and made them "vanish". From our perspective as the audience we could see them going over the participant's shoulder, into their shirt pocket, etc. but the participant was dumfounded.
MIsdirection is an amazing thing. Neuro-scientists are just beginning to unravel some of the things magicians have known about human perception for thousands of years. I actually think technology has in many ways cheapened magic. Now that you can do something amazing with a clever gizmo, it reduces the amount of actual illusion the magician creates. Watch what Slydini does here with just tissue paper balls and a box. No gimmicks beyond maybe the level of a thumb-tip or pull, just amazing misdirection. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i30qx9eI1r0&feature=related
It is always darkest just before you are eaten by a grue.
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kal Regular user 111 Posts
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Putting yourself in the 'eyes' of the spectator is very important. Reading a magic trick description is difficult because it is giving you all the information that will NOT be known.
It may help to simply write down what is being viewed by the spectator. What will they actually see in the most basic terms. This way you can tell what the effect is and whether or not it fits into what you want to do, or if it too closely relates to a different effect you are already performing. Many (newer) books describe the presentation as viewed by the audience and then proceed to talk about the mechanics. Like volto's example, you could compare it to an actor reading a script. He doesn't get bogged down in the technical aspects of performing or what he will have to do to portray the character. He is simply reading it as an observer, like everyone else to, and seeing how it affects him.
I'm always honest about when I'm lying. And I'm always lying...
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Eric Caldwell Regular user Kentucky 156 Posts
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I've never considered that may be why I'm drawn to tricks with the effect written in a section before the explanation.
I agree simple is best, but I'm thinking simple to follow not necessarily simple to do. Not that harder to do makes for a better trick. I'm starting to understand that. |
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Posted: Feb 22, 2011 10:55 pm 
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