Hi
this is a video for an old effect in a presentaion that I came up with, I submitted this to Canada's got talent when I auditioned.
link to video: http://youtu.be/w3J6-R-0ZrQ
Michael

Not a bad presentation premise, but you you have a lot of room for comedic patter there. One that immediately came to mind was when you talked about the pink scarf (which, by the way, looks very red on camera), you could say something like, "You can think of the pink one because it is PINK, like the pink elephant in the room behind you..." or something like that. I am not sure about your ending line about the way it does not matter to you what they (the audience) are thinking of because...this can come across in some venues as you not caring at all. Nothing against using that line if you like it, but I am just saying...

You could come up with a line that ties what they are thinking about into the bottle itself. Maybe the bottle can be a surprise to you and you can say, "Who was thinking about wine? Would you like some cheese too?" or "You were supposed to be thinking of the rags, not this (the bottle)..." Something along those lines.

The bottle production looked great. By the way, how did the audition work out?

Hi
I thought that I could even have a way to show what they are thinking such as the label on the bottle being "surrender by white flag" an envelope in the pocket/table etc for the reveal of pink or blue.
I was thinking of the wine what were you thinking of? then reveal what they were thinking by way of either the label on the bottle or envelope in pocket/table etc.

I think the audition went great but no one will know until October 31st.

I wish your dress rehearsal in the hotel room had been far more polished and smooth
I wanted more than both your halting speech and handling/movements.
Because it was not practiced to be second nature it did not come off as winning material to me.
The "patter" to me did not seem logical and could have been better thought out and worded.
Sorry to be tough, but that's the only way we all get better. Good luck anyway.
My opinion, Walt

When I first saw your video, I hesitated to be tough also. We are all performers and knows what it feels like to have negative comments slung our way. But, when Walt chimed in with his positive critique, I felt that I must also chime in. I would love it for you to make it on the Canadian version of America's Got Talent. As a person that audition the first season, let me tell you a few things.

They pre-screen the talent ahead of time. Then if they want you to see the judges, then you perform again. This is not always a good thing. My mime teacher did this thing with his eyes that kills with young people, but others find creepy. They purposely put him in front of the judges to X him out. His was the fastest elimination on the show.

You not only need something that will kill, but you have to plan ahead. You have to figure out four or five great tricks that you want to do as you progress through the show. Stuff you know so well, that a buzz or any other kind of distractions won't affect your performance.

There is a problem with this list. If you start off with your best, then they expect better. If you start off with your weakest, then you might not make it through. This is a Catch 22 that has plaque the best on this show.

I don’t know how the judges in the Canadian version will be like, but here in America, they don’t like a magician unless he does full stage size illusions. Not saying that’s what you should do, but it is tough to get them to appreciate what real magic is. Also, you only have 90 seconds to “wow” them. And of that 90 seconds, you must be engaging within the first second you walk out there. This is tough for a magician. The best tricks take a while to build up to the climax. Most quick tricks don’t have the punch a full blow routine does, thus the dilemma.

And the THIS trick will not do it. The only way you can get away with this trick is to know ahead of time what favorite beverage one of the judges like and work backwards. What I mean is, work your routine around that premise, like for instance say that these are mindreading handkerchiefs. They will predict what you like or something of that nature. You have to really routine it so the end is so unexpected, but logical to your build up. This will take planning. I wish I had known this ahead of time, but I am not sure if I still would have done it again even if I did, so all the kudos to you for having the sponge balls to give it a try.

Let us know what else you need help with please. Don’t audition until all of us have helped you further.

P.S. Have a good story about your self that will make them want to feature you. That seems to work here.