I was not sure exactly where to post this, and if this is not the correct area, please feel free to move it to the proper area.

I know there will be many different answers to this, but I was just curious to what all ideas you guys and ladies have.

What one effect do you feel, that if done properly, and with a great presentation, can be that one effect that can be a reputation maker?

Let me know what you think. I'm interested in hearing what you have to say. Could it be a mentalist effect, ala Richard Osterlind? The Miser's Dream that I just saw John Carney do at Magi-fest? Perhaps the chop cup routine in Brad Burt's teaching video?

I'll tell you what. I saw an effect performed at Magi-fest that I had never seen before, and I don't even know the name of it. But Tim Conover did a routine in the Big Six Close-up Show that deserved a 'Wow!' It involved coins and salt shakers. He credited it to someone, but I forget who, I was so stunned with his presentation to remember the name. It was in a word, awesome. I just checked another post in the Café. The routine that Conover did was Al Goshman's coin routine with the salt and pepper shakers.

Anyway, let me know what you think that ONE reputation maker is. I haven't found one for myself yet!

Thanks,
Mark

The answer to that question is so broad that it would take forever to deduce. It's not the effect (although it does play a part) that makes the reputation, as it has been said countless times before, it is presentation and or theatrics. Persona and the gift of entertaining are also part of the mix. Add perseverance, ingenuity and a no fear attitude and you have the beginning of establishing a reputation. As John Bannon so aptly queried,"Who are we and what do we do? What is a suitable Modern Persona? Do we want to be "magicians" or do we want to be what we are: people with hidden and unknown skills & talents who can secretly influence events? In this day & age, do we gain any credibility or respect from "pretending" to do real magic, pretending to do the "impossible" or acting the part of a magician? Can we remove the "wonder" from magic? Should we? Are mystery and surprise enough?" and he goes on to say he has no ready answers. John has stated that he is an amateur(he is an attorney) and that he enjoys performing card magic, but only for audiences who want to see it. So most of the people that he works with know that he does card tricks, believe that he is pretty good at it, but have never seen him perform any. "An ounce of image is worth a pound of presentation". What your audience perceives is what your reputation will become.
:bikes:
<<<KRaZy4kardz>>>

Well, the best effect that I have ever performed, which in my opinion is a reputation maker, is Brian Tudors "Hyponitic" which is on his Generation Extreme DvD. It is a more advanced version of ACR, and the whole routine lasts about 6 minutes. But I advese you that it is not for begginers, some of the sleights on there took me months to master.

My reputation making trick is the Ram's Bladder Trick, my version of the Sword Through Neck. Yours reputation maker will be different.
You cannot make a reputation for yourself doing someone elses routine. All you will ever be is just a copy.

Any effect when done extremely well can be a reputation maker. Simple PK with a loop, a card trick, coin trick, almost anything. I found that the simple "last trick in the book" in Mark Wilson's complete course in magic (paperback version, this chapter was added after the hard back edition) can both baffle and blow away an audience. It is all in presentation. I've seen many a pro's signature effect bungled by poor magicians. And I've seen even the simplest effects done so extremely well they blew me away. You get a reputation from every effect you do. It might not be a good reputation, but you get one just the same.

Absolutely right, Photius.

It is all in the presentation. But I might add, that to make a real 'reputation maker', it needs a hook - something to engage the audience, both to you and the effect.

It is tricky to do, but it needs to make it memorable, and disctictive to you. I personally believe this is very hard to do with a deck of cards - you can amaze them, but it is tough to give them something life changing with it!

Si

Well, every Monday and Thursday after my Tae-Kwon-Do class, I do some close-up for the kids there. I have a cemented reputation as the kid who does the impossible. I'd say the one thing that got me at the "status" I'm at now was Paul Richards' White Bikes.

The best reputation maker does not lie in any one trick. Instead, it's hidden in your personality. Your personality should literally DRIVE every aspect of your performance. The patter, the body gestures - everything - needs to be in line with the personality/character you are trying to convey. If people like YOU, they will want to see you succeed and they will be more receptive to your magic.

Stormchaser, give yourself more credit. I'm sure if someone interviewed the people in your Tae-Kwan-Do class, they wouldn't even remember White Bikes. They would remember YOU. If you were a complete jerk in class and no one liked or respected the way you acted, White Bikes wouldn't get you very far. But obviously that's not the case.

Just out of curiosity (and I'm sorry to get off track here) were you at the Silly Billy lecture? I'm just wondering if I may have run into you there.

Kent

In addition of the above mentioned ingredients, Jay Sankey always states that anytime you can put Fire + a signed Card + mentalism = a reputation maker!

I've had great reactions to Healed and Sealed. Also Rihard Osterlind's Breakthrough Card System.

Jay

Card to Wallet always work well for me.

This is an interesting topic. When I was in my twenties and living in Orange County and running Stan Allen's magic shop in Los Alamitos I garnered quite a reputation for doing an indetectable Second Deal. The reason was that very, very few magicians actually would take the time to learn how to do one. One reason for this I still think is that many do not see the wonderful possiblities that come with knowing how to do a Second well enough that you can use it anytime you wish. I can tell you from experience that it is a nifty sleight and it offers complete naturalness. For instance the selected card at any number becomes a minor miracle using a side steal and a Second. A second can also sub in for a double life, top change, etc.

The other reputation maker that I did for years was something that I think I got in Bobo's. You borrow a penny from a spectator and ask if they would love to see it change into a dime? They say yes. You tell them that not only will I change it into a dime, but I'll do it in YOUR hand! You place the penny in their hand and have them squeeze as hard as they can.....do you feel anything happening? You get the idea. You finally have them open their hand to find that the borrowed penny is BENT. Oh, man, you squeezed too hard! I can't tell you how powerful this little trick is. During a time I was doing a lot of shows I did it for many people. Once eight years after a show a woman came up to me and introduced herself, saying she had seen me at so and so's party. She then opened up her change purse and showed me the bent penny that she had saved from the party! That's staying power gang.

I am working on a DVD that will be all tricks with pennies and this will be one of them. I am sure you can, though, work out the what by the description. I highly, highly recommend it. All best,

Brad is right on here. The effect you enjoy performing while your audience responds in a way that stays with them. In music school we used to talk about what popular music was the best music of the day. The measure was always the test of time. I think this is true of magic. What an audience remembers is what is important. That is what your reputation is built upon.

Thanks for the opportunity

For me it was rubberband magic... ambitious card and bending of forks (ala PK Silverware).

When I was in Japan and Korea at the end of last year I got some HUGE reactions from ambitious card, invisible palm and rubberband magic (CMH and Pinnacle). Know I just need to learn some magic with chopsticks.

/M

As a bartender the most talked about routines I'v performed are my version of Healed and Sealed (with a can switch) and the "static electricity" levitation using a mod. E2.

-e-

People feed off of your energy as has been stated above. A funny story here, about 14 years ago I used to work at a Conoco gas station and I of course showed magic to everyone I had a chance to. It was great practice and a lot of fun. Over the years my repetoire has changed quit a bit and I think for the better.
Now I own an electrical business and the other day I was going to sign a contract at a construction company when the secretary said "I know you from somewhere." I appologized for not recognizing her, then the question came, "do you do magic?" I smiled shyly and answered yes. She exclaimed, "you used to work at Conoco!!"

WOW, if you would have asked me if the effects I did 14 years ago were "reputation making quality" I would have laughed. The point is, when you love what you do your audience will feed off of it. I don't know what trick I showed this woman, and I was stunned enough that I forgot to ask, but next time I'm in her office I'll ask and report back.

My reputation maker was a self levitation (King rising). I showed it to two friends. They went crazy and told everyone that I floated in air.

If you plan to do a levitation to create a reputation, be sure that you do some card/coin tricks first. They never expect that you'll levitate after showing some "common" tricks. They'll go nuts and swear that they saw you floating in air!

I do a lot of great routines, but the one people seem to ask about the most is the Invisible Deck - boggles my mind, but sometimes simplicity is golden.

I also get a lot of requests for a card transposition to a jar of peanut butter... I unfortunately do not perform this trick any longer due to the significant increase in severe peanut allergies.

The trick that is still giving me an "amazing" response is simply a three card prediction routine.....i really don't recall where I first got it from, but I do know that it was the last stage of a "three prediction" trick....originally it's done with three different shapes drawn on three papers (a square, circle, and a triangle).....prior to the spectator's selection, you hand him a folded piece of paper....you then have the spectator choose whatever shape he desires, at the end, his selection is writen on the folded piece of paper he is been holding the whole time.....i adapted this to playing cards.....trust me....with a little drama it will freak anyone out!!!....after I do it, I "inmediately" thank them and leave.....i suggest you try it......(by the way....all you have to do is force his selection to match the one on the paper)......if you use cards (like I do)....try to use similar cards.....(similar in colors and pips......i use court cards)....good luck!,,,,,,,,,

One effect that has become a reputation maker is healed and sealed. The funny thing is that it is not an effect that I perform often (because of the setup) and is not even one of my favorite tricks. I think the effet is much stronger when presented "impromptu" (grabbing the can out of the garbage). Also, it is something that everyone is familiar with (soda can). So everyone knows what a crushed can looks like, the sound it makes when it opens, etc.