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professorwhut Inner circle Posts R US sold me 1353 Posts |
My wife however, DID like magic 22 years ago. I must have burned her out on it.
I also agree with what Pete said above about having friends over and performing for them, the wife seems a bit more impressed when her pals like it.
After much soul searching about a signature, I decided not to have one.
TG Pop [aka ProfessorWhut] |
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vpatanio Special user 515 Posts |
You guys have a point about performing for friends as opposed to just my wife. In addition, my wife has her Masters Degree in counseling (psychology) and every time I perform an effect she searches her mind for the logical explanation for the magic. Although I’ve tried to explain to her that she would enjoy herself much more if she were to just view it as entertainment and have fun, rather than get aggravated that "there is no such thing as magic and there is an explanation for everything.” So after that conversation, she has actually taken my advice and doesn't try to pry out methods from me. To make a long story short, she is humoring me. Nah, just kidding, but the psychologist mindset she has is hard to perform for. But we are best friends and she knows I love magic, so she just lets me show her things. I think overall this makes me a better magician because if I can do an effect for her and she says that it was good, I know it really was good.
-Vinny |
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Bill Palmer Eternal Order Only Jonathan Townsend has more than 24312 Posts |
Give her the following two very short quotes. Once upon a time, there was a boy who saw a butterfly. He was impressed with its beauty and the magic of its flight.
So he captured it and dissected it to see how it flew. When he finished, he knew nothing more, and the butterfly was dead. A European scientist captured a cricket. He placet it inside a large terrarium, so he wouldn't have to chase it down each time he tried a new part of his experiment. He clapped his hands and the cricket jumped. He pulled two legs off the cricket. He clapped his hands again and the cricket jumped. Not as high, but he still jumped. He pulled the last two legs off the cricket, clapped his hands and nothing happened. So he wrote in his notebook -- if you pull the legs off a cricket, he becomes deaf. Magic is ephemeral. If you dissect it, it dies. If it is done right, logic will lead you to a false conclusion.
"The Swatter"
Founder of CODBAMMC My Chickasaw name is "Throws Money at Cups." www.cupsandballsmuseum.com |
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Pete Biro 1933 - 2018 18558 Posts |
This reminds me.... years ago my Mother told one of her friends, "Peter is a magician, he even asks me to take a card when I'm on the toilet!"
STAY TOONED... @ www.pete-biro.com
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Corbett Inner circle Indiana 1161 Posts |
Vinny,
I was in your shoes at one time, as far as having my wife be my primary audience. It was nice, but got boring after awhile. It's frustrating to have a lot of performance/magic energy and no audience as an outlet. To help remedy this, I got involved in my local magic club, and it was an amazing outlet. I also made myself start to perform in more social situations while at work, at lunch with friends, out on the weekend, etc.. I also started volunteering some time in my work setting to perform for patients. The intrinsic reward was immeasureable. Word got out, and it also created two paying gigs. What's my point? Hmmmm, oh yeah. Just perform perform perform, for anyone and everyone. You'll get sharper in your skills, you will get great performance feedback during the process, and who knows what will come out of it. |
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vpatanio Special user 515 Posts |
Thanks for the great advice and words of encouragement!
I perform for some of my co-workers at the hospital, but other than that, it is mostly my wife that is my main audience. I would love to join a club, and I hope to do so soon, I too think this would be a great next step to developing myself as a magician. P.S. I have noticed that there is no substitute for performing. Practice helps greatly, but performing is what counts in the end. -Vinny |
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Pete Biro 1933 - 2018 18558 Posts |
You are right PERFORMING beats PRACTICE every time.
STAY TOONED... @ www.pete-biro.com
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fortasse Inner circle 1201 Posts |
I wonder, though, how the emerging YouTube culture is changing all that. The overwhelming majority of those who perform C&B today(speaking here of amateur magicians, of course) will never, ever perform for a live auduence (except occasionally maybe for a relative or two). Instead, their audience nowadays is usually a single, silent, unblinking camera on a tripod.......not nearly as stressful for the performer as performing surrounded by a score of cynics!
How do you think this new culture is affecting performance standards? Not the best way to learn is it? Fortasse |
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Bill Palmer Eternal Order Only Jonathan Townsend has more than 24312 Posts |
What they need is a nun with a ruler to slap you on the back of the hand every time you flash a load.
"The Swatter"
Founder of CODBAMMC My Chickasaw name is "Throws Money at Cups." www.cupsandballsmuseum.com |
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vpatanio Special user 515 Posts |
There is no rush like performing for people. I personally don't like the whole youtube.com thing. I just limit who I perform for because I don't want to expose effects due to lack of perfection. If more magicians starting out had this outlook, there would be less exposure.
Having said that, I am slowly performing for more people, I just have to build up the confidence. I practice everyday, and for the people I have performed for, I have had great results. -Vinny |
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matt kemp Veteran user 312 Posts |
I think the younger generation (well, my generation) performs for youtube to get a video with a lot of views to try to get attention and feel "cool." I just put my video on youtube to get advice from real magicians.
Since I have been to college, I have performed for a LOT more people. It's usually just casual one on one stuff. Performing for people has made me completely change my routine to make it more angle-friendly. I kept getting caught flashing balls. I'm currently working on a routine that will work for an audience half-surrounding me. I'm stumped for the final loading sequence, though. I decided to make my routine safe for 180 degrees of visibility because people might want to sit on my sides, but if they sit/stand behind me then they can't even see the trick, which would make it pointless for them to watch me. |
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Bill Palmer Eternal Order Only Jonathan Townsend has more than 24312 Posts |
That's when really strong misdirection is of paramount importance.
"The Swatter"
Founder of CODBAMMC My Chickasaw name is "Throws Money at Cups." www.cupsandballsmuseum.com |
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vpatanio Special user 515 Posts |
Matt,
I meant no disrespect with regards to posting on youtube. It has its practical uses, as in your case. But many others seem to abuse the fact that they can post a video for millions to see, and that ruins effects we spend tons of money on. The only thing that I feel I can do to counter the petty exposure videos is practice harder and perfect my routines so when people see them they have no idea what hit them. Anywho, youtube aside, tell me if you agree. As far as misdirection goes, performing for an audience is the only thing that will help tell you what works. right? I mean mirrors can't possible show you where an audience would look. could they? (this is just practice advice I am seeking for myself) -Vinny |
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Jason Fleming Veteran user Marooned, Hawaii 374 Posts |
To become a competent pilot, you need flight time...hours in a real aircraft, flying.
To become a competent performer, you need flight time in front of audiences. |
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matt kemp Veteran user 312 Posts |
Quote:
On 2008-01-23 08:20, vpatanio wrote: Well, right now I'm working on the body of my routine. I'm trying to make that as angle/flash proof as possible. I want to keep away from misdirection for now. I will need to use it more when I construct the final loading sequence. So, yes, mirrors can help me not flash and can give me good angles when working with the small balls. Mirrors can NOT help me find what works to misdirect spectators during the final loading sequence. I have found that practice makes me more comfortable in front of an audience and a LOT less likely to mess up. I used to have really bad stage fright and I realized that I was because I did not have faith in some of my sleights. I think the best way to get better is to practice sleights until you can do them in your sleep, and then perform for real people in a casual setting. Then get their feedback, and practice until you get better. Right now I'm taking a REALLY long time for practice. Hopefully I can perform again within a month or two. |
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vpatanio Special user 515 Posts |
Thanks for the great advice and words of wisdom! I really appreciate all of the help I have been getting since I joined the Café!
-Vinny |
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walid ahumada Special user sinaloa, mexico 892 Posts |
Quote:
On 2008-01-23 09:25, Jason Fleming wrote: I agree, however it does not hurt to expend some time in the Flight Simulator (mirror)
“Magic becomes art when it has nothing to hide.” BEN OKRI quote
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Bill Palmer Eternal Order Only Jonathan Townsend has more than 24312 Posts |
Generally, a video is much more useful than a mirror. Here's why. You can go through your whole routine when you make a video. You don't need to watch the monitor (mirror), so you can think about presentation while you perform. Then you watch the video and make changes.
At first, just do a small part of the routine (practice). Then do the whole routine as a unit (rehearsal). Mirrors are great for tune-ups, though, when you don't have a video camera handy.
"The Swatter"
Founder of CODBAMMC My Chickasaw name is "Throws Money at Cups." www.cupsandballsmuseum.com |
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walid ahumada Special user sinaloa, mexico 892 Posts |
Video camara is a top of the line Flight Simulator
“Magic becomes art when it has nothing to hide.” BEN OKRI quote
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vpatanio Special user 515 Posts |
I often use my little digital camera to record routines, and then watch them to see how it went. After I watch it once or twice, I delete it.
-Vinny |
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