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mackmania Regular user Orange County 137 Posts |
Al,
As one of the classic coin tricks of all time, what do you think on the army of variations spawned from your effect? I think your original is the best, but was wondering if you could tell whose variation is your favorite? Cheers, Mackmania
"For those who believe, no explanation is necessary. For those who do not, none will suffice." ---Joseph "the Amazing" Dunninger
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mackmania Regular user Orange County 137 Posts |
Forgive me for not saying so in my original post, but it's wonderful to have you here at the Café.
"For those who believe, no explanation is necessary. For those who do not, none will suffice." ---Joseph "the Amazing" Dunninger
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Al Schneider V.I.P. A corn field in WI surrounded by 1080 Posts |
Actually I have seen very few of the variations.
Perhaps I have seen 3. Usually when I am around, people stop performing. Those I have seen I personally find disappointing. Their creator seems to have come up with some brilliant idea. The routine whirls around that idea. That idea can be brilliant but the remainder of the routine was put together just to be able to do that brilliant idea. This could be just my personal style. Bear in mind I do not count many things called Matrix, "Matrix". Many of them are coin routines built around Chink-a-chink. I would like to get together with somebody that knows a number of these variations and watch them to see what they are really about. However, there is somehing that I have seen that I am opposed to. That is the production of a large coin at the conclusion of Matrix. I could talk about this for hours because it leaves me speechless. Al Schneider
Magic Al. Say it fast and it is magical.
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Pete Biro 1933 - 2018 18558 Posts |
Al... great to see you here and I hope those here pay attention to what you say. I agree with your feelings on Matrix... I recently saw a performer who does nine minutes with it, produces someting like 7 Jumbo coins, changes coppers to silvers and winds up with something like maybe 12 more coins on the pad.
One wonders just what the real effect was? There was so much going on there was little or no MAGIC... Now, for you to see some beautiful handlers, Dean Dill and of course ARMANDO have brought pure magic to theirs. HOWEVER... I can "still" remember the first time I saw it... at your hands... I had no idea. The ONLY other person that I've seen do it that left me clueless is Armando. Now about your final load with the cups and balls? Suzanne has me fried with it.
STAY TOONED... @ www.pete-biro.com
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Marty The Magnificent New user STL, Missouri 23 Posts |
Al and Pete,
I completely agree on the jumbo production ordeal, I don't know, maybe its just my style, but I like to keep it simple to let the spectator really experience a small miracle, not a flurry of "and this, and this, and this, and this, and this" just to leave a 5 lbs. pile of coins on the table. Marty |
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Al Schneider V.I.P. A corn field in WI surrounded by 1080 Posts |
Pete Biro
"Suzanne has me fried with it." This is very, very good. Al Schneider
Magic Al. Say it fast and it is magical.
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Review King Eternal Order 14446 Posts |
Al, I love your L&L dvd 's and adopted your basic vanish. It gets the best reactions of any vanish I've ever tried.
During your explanation of Matrix, you mentioned that you did the basic vanish when you first cretaed the effect. I think the vanish of the coin and the appearance under the card is very magical and have started doing that. Thank for sharing your wonderful magic and insight! Chris
"Of all words of tongue and pen,
the saddest are, "It might have been" ..........John Greenleaf Whittier |
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info2victor Veteran user 337 Posts |
Hi Mr. Schneider.
I believe many have done so, but I still would like to thank you for taking your time to be here at this forum. I'm a big fan of close-up magic in general, particularly coins. I love to see impossible effects with those little silver discs =). Matrix is one of my favorite routines because of it simplicity (coins just "teleport") and visual-ness. It's also a good combination between cards and coins. My apologies that up till recently I know you are the founder of this wonderful routine. Just out of curiosity, how do you come up with the term "Matrix"? You know when I perform it, I usually say it is derived from the mathematics with 2 rows and 2 columns... Also, how do you compare Matrix with Chink-A-Chink? Do you think say one fits more to some situations? Thanks.
It only takes a minute to learn how it is done, but takes a lifetime to learn how to do it.
You've got a coin? |
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Dan LeFay Inner circle Holland 1371 Posts |
I have a confession to make.
For years I've been working on four card-four coin effects. I tried and combined a lot of them. After seeing the "ultimate" version of Armando I was convinced I should conceive my contribution to the matrix-plot. After the ideal was formed in my head I started working on something that seemed impossible to bring to reality. I've been working for about a year and a half on this effect (The longest time I ever spent in creating something that is over in 50 seconds!). The confession I have to make is that during all this time I never read Al's original write up of Matrix. Don't ask me why. Finally when I thought my effect could not get any better by method and execution I decided to read Al's manuscript. It was literally a "Whack at the side of the Head"... All the loose ends, all the things I could not work out, all the logic and the "why" are there in Al Schneider's Classic Matrix. I recall Tommy Wonder mentioning that Al's booklet on the Zombie was his starting point for doing the Zombie. It is the same for me with Matrix. I could have saved myself a lot of time reading it first, but the time (mis?)spent is of the highest value to me! I have learned to go so deep into an effect that insight beyond my imagination can been reached. And then after reading Classic Matrix everything falls in place! When I started my creative process I had no understanding why Armando's work was so utterly magical in my experience. Now that I've read Al's theory on Intention of Reality and Intention of Magic I know. Most of the magicians I meet are obsessed by intention of reality (without being aware of the term, most of the time) while they completely overlook intention of magic. All of the great magicians I have seen, Tommy Wonder, Armando Lucero, John Carney, Juan Tamariz, Dean Dill etc. showed this "elusive" side of performance; the clear magical defenition of "the moment". For me Al's theories about "intention of reality and magic" are as valuable as Vernon's "Be Natural", Tamariz' "Theory of False Solutions", Wonder's "Three Pillars" and Harris' "Theories on Astonishment". They have changed my perception and performance of magic in ways that go beyond compare. Hopefully, one day, I will be able to present my version of the matrix plot as a tribute to Al Schneider and Armando Lucero. For the time being, I bow my head to these geniuses. Al, you are a Master. Scuse me for the long rave... Dan LeFay The Netherlands
"Things need not have happened to be true.
Tales and dreams are the shadow-truths, that will endure when mere facts are dust and ashes, and forgot." Neil Gaiman |
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Al Schneider V.I.P. A corn field in WI surrounded by 1080 Posts |
Info2victor
"Just out of curiosity, how do you come up with the term "Matrix"? You know when I perform it, I usually say it is derived from the mathematics with 2 rows and 2 columns..." At the time I developed it I was studying Physics in college. I had just been invited to put the trick into Genii. Mr. Larson had taken pictures of the trick and asked me to write text to go with the pictures. At the time I had been calling the trick Coins n Cards. I put a piece of paper into the typewriter and started to type the title. I thought Coins n Cards was boring. So I thought of a better name. Seeing that the square pattern was a matrix or, coming from mathamatics, I thought that name was nice. An so it came to be. "Also, how do you compare Matrix with Chink-A-Chink? Do you think say one fits more to some situations?" To me they are both good tricks. The only advantage Matrix might have is that it uses covers. I have found that a cover on the table seems to enhance the mystery of the effect. Also it creates the illusion that the magic is happening by itself. In Chink-a-Chink the performer must use his hands suggesting that the performer is manipulating the objects instead of magic being responsible. However, both are powerful effects. Al Schneider
Magic Al. Say it fast and it is magical.
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info2victor Veteran user 337 Posts |
Thanks Mr. Schneider for your answers.
Concerning the naming, ha ha ha~ now I can confidently continue with my story line. A very clever decision of naming it this way. I agree with you that having the cards covering can enhance the mystery of the effect, it kind of delays the "transposition moment". Acutally it also makes the effect looks cleaner since without the cards, usually it needs some extra stuff ;-) I personally do both of Matric and Chink-A-Chink depending on the situation but frankly I prefer Chick-A-Chick more since I just need to carry coins with me (ha ha~ don't argue with me that it won't hurt to bring 4 more cards with me, which I do now =)). Having said that, yes, BOTH are great routines, and again, combination of cards and coins always get good responds. I remember there was a time I asked the audience: "Which do you prefer, a card trick, a coin trick, or both?" Guess what was their answer and what I performed in the end.
It only takes a minute to learn how it is done, but takes a lifetime to learn how to do it.
You've got a coin? |
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Al Schneider V.I.P. A corn field in WI surrounded by 1080 Posts |
Dan LeFay
Thank you for your comments. Al Schneider
Magic Al. Say it fast and it is magical.
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Pete Biro 1933 - 2018 18558 Posts |
Al... if you don't know Dan LeFay... he's one of the really top guys in Europe.
STAY TOONED... @ www.pete-biro.com
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wsduncan Inner circle Seattle, WA 3619 Posts |
Quote:
On 2005-11-23 09:59, Al Schneider wrote: I'm so glad to hear you say that. I have NEVER liked coin assemblies that use cards because in almost every case the ONLY reason the cards are there is to hide a condition that would give away the method. I was very suprised when I saw the video on your website a few years ago because it didn't seem like the cards were hiding the coins, it "felt" like the cards were there to keep you from touching the coins. I think most coin assemblies would be improved greatly if the performer could convey (without SAYING IT) that the cards prevented sleight of hand. |
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Al Schneider V.I.P. A corn field in WI surrounded by 1080 Posts |
Pete Biro
"Al... if you don't know Dan LeFay... he's one of the really top guys in Europe." Then I am honored even more. I look forward to the day I can see you work. Very sincerely, Al Schneider
Magic Al. Say it fast and it is magical.
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Al Schneider V.I.P. A corn field in WI surrounded by 1080 Posts |
Wsduncan
"I think most coin assemblies would be improved greatly if the performer could convey (without SAYING IT) that the cards prevented sleight of hand." You know, I had never thought of it that way. But that is right. I do think the audience percieves that the coin is on the table and is covered and the magician is not allowed to touch either while the magic happens. The good thing though, is that the magician must lift the coins to show what happened. This is the fact I focus on. That is why during the magic part I am tense. As my hands reach for the card to reveal what happened, I relax as if nothing is happening. Then is when I do the dirty work. Very good thinking. Al Schneider
Magic Al. Say it fast and it is magical.
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Malcolm Kavalsky Regular user 114 Posts |
Wsduncan said "I was very suprised when I saw the video on your website a few years ago because it didn't seem like the cards were hiding the coins, it "felt" like the cards were there to keep you from touching the coins."
Any chance of putting it back on the site ? |
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Al Schneider V.I.P. A corn field in WI surrounded by 1080 Posts |
Malcolm Kavalsky
I'm working toward that. A problem has been that when I was selling books before I think that more people were just copying them without going throught he pay process. I was not savy on Internet stuff. When my DVD's came out some time ago, I thought I would get a jump in sales. Actually sales got worse. As I dug around in the web thing I found I had a device to determine how much traffic I had on my site. When the DVD's appeared the traffic on my site jumped 2000%. Then, about that time, the ISP I was using started to falter. My site began going up and down. So, I closed everything down and began to study the Internet. I am up to speed with it now. The clips you see on my web site now is an effort to test my new tools and test how people respond to them. So far, things have gone well. I think Realplayer is working well. The latest Internet Explorer supports it well and Netscape has always supported it. Real Media seems to be fairly universal. I also have all of their tools to do the job I want to do. I did not go with Quick Time because the cost to get into that environment was costly. I have a server which supports Helix that enables the streaming video to work so well. My friend Frank Tougas downloaded the latest Realplayer and got it going without a hitch. He is one of my tests in all of this because he is not very conversent with things technical. I have big plans for all of this, but there are many things I must do first. Al Schneider
Magic Al. Say it fast and it is magical.
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ROBERT BLAKE Inner circle 1472 Posts |
MR. SCHNEIDER,
what is your idea about the REVERSE MATRIX plot? |
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Al Schneider V.I.P. A corn field in WI surrounded by 1080 Posts |
ROBERT BLAKE
The plot is fine. What I don't like is doing a sequence that is stellar then doing a sequence that is inferior. More often than not the goal of the designers of these routines is to do something new and unique or different. I have been working on a version of Matrix which is very much like the original. When the three coins that have just arrived in the corner are shown, a card is dropped on top of them. Then all four coins are found to be back in their corners with no further moves. And I mean no further moves. I apply one of my old principles to this called, "The fastest way to be someplace is to be there already. Does this make sense? Al Schneider
Magic Al. Say it fast and it is magical.
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