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Hideo Kato Inner circle Tokyo 5649 Posts |
I am reading "The Magic of Ascanio". There appeared a term 'unti-contrasting parenthesis'. In my English/Japanese dictionary, I can't find the meaning. I guess it is :
to insert something between A and B which decreases the contrast between A and B. I would appreaciate it very much if you can teach me the correct meaning. Thanks in advance. BTW, the book is as great as "OUR MAGIC". I received it day before yesterday and couldn't stop reading. I have read almost half of the book till now. Hideo Kato |
Jonathan Townsend Eternal Order Ossining, NY 27297 Posts |
Have a look in Josef Albers's book Experiments with Color
After Monty Python's Flying Circus introduced western civilization at large to dreamlike continuity, contrast issues are not so much an issue as thematic progression in one's act.
...to all the coins I've dropped here
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Hideo Kato Inner circle Tokyo 5649 Posts |
Sorry, I'm more confused. Please understand that I sometimes need English/Japanese dictionary to talk in Magic Café.
Hideo Kato |
Bill Ligon Inner circle A sure sign of a misspent youth: 6437 Posts |
He means by "anti-contrasting parenthesis" a digression, something thrown in that detracts from the clarity of the effect -- kind of like doing a dance routine between the setup and punchline of a joke. The term is unfortunate and is almost meaningless in English.
Regarding your English -- it is better than that of a lot of native speakers around here!
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JimMaloney Inner circle 1184 Posts |
Hideo,
First keep in mind that Ascanio defines an effect as the difference between a starting condition and an ending condition. The effect will only be as strong as the conviction of the initial condition, the conviction of the final condition, and the lack of a causal link between the two. The way I understand anti-contrasting parenthesis is as follows: You're going to change a card from the King of Hearts to the 2 of Spades. You show the KH and place it face down on the table, rub it a little bit, and then turn it face up to show the 2S. That's good. Now, with anti-contrasting parenthesis: Show the KH and place it face down on the table. Now talk to the audience for a minute or so about how the ink on the playing card reacts to friction and how it can cause the value of the card to change if you rub it on the table exactly right. Then rub the card on the table, turn it over and show the 2S. In this instance, the brief interlude about ink, playing cards, and friction, serves to weaken the conviction of the initial condition. Once you come around to changing the card, some doubts may arise in their minds. ("Was it really the KH that he placed on the table? I think so, but I don't remember very well...he went off on that long speech about friction and stuff.") That short speech was the anti-contrasting parenthesis. Darwin Ortiz talked about a similar idea in Strong Magic when he referred to "emotional conviction". -Jim
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JimMaloney Inner circle 1184 Posts |
Quote:
On 2005-06-29 08:19, Hideo Kato wrote: By the way, this seems to be a fairly good definition of the phrase. -Jim
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JimMaloney Inner circle 1184 Posts |
And one more thing, for any Spanish speakers on the forum...what was the phrase originally in Spanish?
-Jim
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Hideo Kato Inner circle Tokyo 5649 Posts |
Thank you very much. I am very clear about the meaning of the phrase and the meaning Ascanio mentioned in the book.
I hope you allow me to ask you if I will have other questions with regard to terms. Thanks again. Hideo Kato |
JimMaloney Inner circle 1184 Posts |
Hideo,
I'd be glad to help whenever I can. -Jim
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Jonathan Townsend Eternal Order Ossining, NY 27297 Posts |
Quote:
On 2005-06-29 10:12, JimMaloney wrote:...the brief interlude about ink, playing cards, and friction, serves to weaken the conviction of the initial condition. Once you come around to changing the card, some doubts may arise in their minds.... Curtis Kam used a similar approach to manage a chop cup load in his recent lecture. It the example offered about a card change, a double lift and turnover, repeated to turn the thing face down, then dealing the card onto the table is exactly a parenthetical action. One could just as well take the card from the pack, tip it up to show its face, then table it. Magic has many such hobgoblins.
...to all the coins I've dropped here
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JimMaloney Inner circle 1184 Posts |
Quote:
On 2005-06-29 11:46, Jonathan Townsend wrote: If I remember correctly, there wasn't a whole lot of interlude between the last time the goblet was seen empty and the revelation of the final load. Quote:
It the example offered about a card change, a double lift and turnover, repeated to turn the thing face down, then dealing the card onto the table is exactly a parenthetical action. One could just as well take the card from the pack, tip it up to show its face, then table it. Magic has many such hobgoblins. Ah...but I purposely left out any discussion of method. Ascanio also differentiates between different type of parenthetical actions: there is the anti-contrasting parenthesis, which is not good, but then there is also the parenthesis of forgetfulness, which can be good. They are similar concepts, but have a significant difference. The A-CP cause the audience to have diminished conviction about the intended state. PoF, on the other hand, prevents the audience from registering something that will diminish their conviction. In your example, the double turnover is done the first time. The next logical action would be to turn it face down onto the table. Therefore, doing the double again and THEN dealing it onto the table serves as an A-CP. However, a different situation could exist if you do the first double, then go to place the card on the table, but notice that there is something in the way. You place the card back onto the deck, brush away the offending item, and then deal the card onto the table. In this case, the action of brushing away the offending item is a parenthesis of forgetfulness. As an added bonus, the action of putting the double back onto the deck would be considered an in-transit action, yet another Ascanio concept! -Jim
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Jonathan Townsend Eternal Order Ossining, NY 27297 Posts |
Thanks Jim, It's refreshing to read that some (few) magicians actually consider basic dramatic motivations for actions. In this case we have the mixed motivations of the performer to get on with the task at hand, and also to be fussy/neat about what is on the table. The shift between these motivations comes as part of the silent script. Mr. Monk does a card trick.
The process of building language that conveys meaning along and between the different layers of dramatic flow (dialog, blocking, silent script of character etc ) as perceived by an audience is not so trivial. Great to read that some are looking at how to communicate these things.
...to all the coins I've dropped here
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Bill Ligon Inner circle A sure sign of a misspent youth: 6437 Posts |
Yes, all actions should be properly motivated; that is, motivation should be consistent with the character, the action, the plot (yes, the plot) and so on.
Jim, thanks for pointing out the different kinds of "parenthesis." The distinction is important.
Author of THE HOLY ART: Bizarre Magick From Naljorpa's Cave. NOW IN HARDCOVER! VIEW: <BR>www.lulu.com/content/1399405 ORDER: http://stores.lulu.com/naljorpa
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JimMaloney Inner circle 1184 Posts |
Quote:
On 2005-06-29 13:14, Bill Ligon wrote: Well, I'm essentially just regurgitating what I've read in the book. So, I'd recommend that anyone finding this discussion interesting should pick up a copy and read it for themselves direct from the source. Jon: I can imagine Mr. Monk asking to have a card signed, then watching over your shoulder to make sure you write it neatly. I can guarantee that he'd never do Card to Mouth... -Jim
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Hideo Kato Inner circle Tokyo 5649 Posts |
I think the exampe of DL is not so appropriate to expain ACP and POF. I consider showing the face, turning the double face down and taking the top card should be done as one unit.
If you hand the top card to spectator before showing the change, it seems ACP. It is ACP physically, but it can help to convince the card is not the selected card. So there must be Increasing Contrast Parenthesis. The works of ACP and POF is with regard to spectators' memory about situations, so I think we had better analyze them in psychological point of view. Hideo Kato P.S. One more example of Increasing Contrast Parenthesis. You take the top card after Double Lift and say "Is this your card?" The spectator answer "No". Then you turn the card face up to show it is changed to the selection. This can increase the contrast. |
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