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MagicRoo New user Germany 18 Posts |
Hello everyone,
I do magic since five years now, but most of the time I do it for myself or close friends. The problem I face everytime is when I'm trying to create a balanced routine. I mean, I know a bunch of effects, but I somehow don't know how to bring them in a smooth order. Also I want to make a routine, which can fill 15 minutes or so. So can you give me an advice on how I can combine single effects into a reasonable, balanced routine? (balanced= topical homogeneity, same props, also preparing the next effect while doing current effect) Thank you in advance. |
JamesTong Eternal Order Malaysia 11213 Posts |
Are you referring to close-up routining or stage performance routining?
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MagicRoo New user Germany 18 Posts |
Sorry I forgot to tell. I am referring to Close-Up.
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olaf911 Regular user Germany 104 Posts |
I have been forced to do exactly that.
My way: Think of a storyline which you can link to your personality (me: I am a graduated mathematician + computer scientist, so my alter ego is an inventor for James Bond (Mr. R, successor of Mr. Q ), who invents VERY impressing tools for secret agents (sponge balls = explosives)) and web your tricks into a story around YOUR alter ego. Maybe you are a salesman. Then choose tricks to support a story about sales. The story + your personality converts your tricks to art. Since I do not know you, you have to apply this recipe to your own personality. Hope that helps. |
JamesTong Eternal Order Malaysia 11213 Posts |
There's no fixed way. Have variety but end with a stong effect. Stay away from repetitive effects such as transposition effects. E.g you do a coins acroos with 2 coins and then move to 3 fly and then move on to 4 coins across and then move on the cards and coins assemblies (matrix like effects). They are similar and tells the same story ... coins moving from one place to another.
Here's a simple example ... You appear a coin magically - then multiply it to 2 and then to 4 coins from which you proceed to a 'coins across' effect. After that you can follow up with the 3 coins vanishing and transform the final one to a jumbo coin or a fan of bills/money. The above is just a simple idea. Just food for thought for you. Hope this helps. |
MagicRoo New user Germany 18 Posts |
Thank you for your help.
I've thought about some sort of a story but this only fits for planned performances. I find myself often in causal situations (i.e. a party, bar) and have only a deck of cards. I think it will be a little strange starting telling a story totally out of context.. How do you determine the "strongness" of an effect? I mean, I know how its done so it doesn't seem strong to me. On the other hand, the effects, that impresses me (because they fooled me as a magician) aren't that good for layman. Also, do you know good resources (book and/or dvds) on this topic? |
funsway Inner circle old things in new ways - new things in old ways 9981 Posts |
In addition to having a bonding story you can successfully blend effects around a Theme, such as all productions or all shrinking objects. This is not a strong approach, but is better that a bunch of disjointed tricks.
A conceptually easlier approach is to have each effect segue into the next. For example, after several ring on rope effects you can continue with linking rings. Or, produce a large silk as your final load in a Chop Cup routine and do some silk effects, followed by Silk to Egg and then bake a cake in a hat. (Yes, you can do Silk to Egg with a large silk -- ask me PM) The simplest approach is to hand the spectators a box or bag full of small objects, and another filled with containers and familiar boxes and sacks. Allow the spectaors to select several of each and you perform with those. When you get done with one effect you just shift to another combination selected by the audience. Natural objects, familiar containers, and an "anything-any time" attitude pulls everything together. This approach also eliminates the need to have things inspected during your presentation. Of course, you may not be able to use 'packaged tricks' -- too bad ;-)
"the more one pretends at magic, the more awe and wonder will be found in real life." Arnold Furst
eBooks at https://www.lybrary.com/ken-muller-m-579928.html questions at ken@eversway.com |
JIMclubber64 Loyal user 269 Posts |
I'm working on creating a full-length close-up/parlor routine and this is the basic way it works:
Flame or flash paper to coin effect(to grab attention), or simply produce a coin. My standard coin routine, and finish with a Coin to Card Deck Card effects and end with Gary Darwin's Card to Sponge ball (as taught in Jay Noblezada's SPONGE DVD) Standard Sponge ball routine. See the way that works? Another short routine I do starts with my standard coin routine, which ends (in this case) with the Coin That Falls Up, and then say that I can make other things "fall up," as well. Then I do the Magnetic Money Tarantula effect, explaining that it's done via static electricity. I then introduce a ring, have it inspected, then levitate it via tarantula, saying it's possible through a lot of static and intense focus. Do you see how both of these routines flow from one effect to another? Anyway, that's just how I've built my routines, but try and see if something similar works for you.
"Magic should always have a purpose. [...] Find your purpose for performing. Only then will you be able to find the right trick!" -- Jay Noblezada
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Kent Wong Inner circle Edmonton, Alberta, Canada 2458 Posts |
Here's what I do. If it makes sense to you and it works, feel free to use it.
1. List out the tricks you are thinking of performing in no particular order. It doesn't matter if the list gets fairly lengthy, so long as you are well-practiced and well-rehearsed with each and every trick on the list. 2. Rank each trick on a scale of one to five, based on AUDIENCE response to the trick. In other words, does it get a great reaction? The tricks with the greatest reactions should get a one for their ranking. The tricks with the weakest reaction should get a five as a ranking. Because it's only a five point ranking system, you may get a lot of duplication; but that's o.k. 3. Categorize each trick on the list according to their type of effect (ie. production, vanish, transposition, transformation, animation, levitation, prediction, escape). The reason for this is that you don't want the same types of effects back to back. Variety is the spice of life. 4. Decide on your opener. Ideally, the effect should be categorized as a "one" in strength of audience reaction and it should be extremely visual. Many people suggest that you open with your second strongest effect and then finish your show with your strongest. So, if you look at all of your tricks ranked with a "one", you should be able to identify the strongest, and second strongest effect within that grouping. This will capture attention and establish your credibility at the same time. 5. Decide on your finale. This now becomes an easy process. You have already identified the trick with the absolute strongest ranking. So, this becomes your closer. Whatever effect this is, make sure it's absolutely bullet-proof. The most lasting memory people will have is the last trick you perform. Always nail your finale. 6. Now for the middle of the show. For now, inject as many tricks ranked with a "one" as possible. In between them, intersperse the odd "two" or "three" if you run short of effects. 7. Look at the list you have made and look at the types of effects. Do you have too many predictions back to back? Vanishes? Productions? You may need to rearrange the tricks within your list to give the set sufficient variety. 8. For parlour or stage, I take this analysis one step further to ensure that I don't have back to back tricks requiring volunteers. I don't want to finish with one volunteer just to ask for another one. This process should give you a very rough and ready routine that builds naturally towards a strong finale, with sufficient variety within it to keep everyone's interest. Hope that helps. Kent
"Believing is Seeing"
<BR>______________________ <BR> <BR>www.kentwongmagic.com |
Richard Schneider New user 57 Posts |
I'm still a newbie myself, but I think the thing to do is just get out and perform. Use the techniques here to get a simple routine together, and as you perform, you'll find what works, what doesn't, what you like, what you don't, and you'll continue to hone your routine until you've completely mastered it and made it yours. But just keep going out and performing, and you'll start seeing ways to improve your routines.
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Shawn74 Loyal user New Mexico 211 Posts |
This is a great thread! Since I rarely perform, and when I do it's only for 1 or 2 people at a time, I've been working on ways to put a minimum of 3 effects together to make the magic flow a bit easier. So far I've only gotten as far as placing them together as far as a story goes(I tell a story about Dai Vernon and Houdini for my ARC and then tell a story about Houdini when presenting Card Under Glass). I've found some very usefull info here. Thanks.
Shawn
Hold your breath...make a wish...count to 3... and you'll be in a world of pure imagination
Willy Wonka |
Aus Special user Australia 996 Posts |
Magicroo check the following link out: http://www.themagiccafe.com/forums/viewt......&start=0
Magically Aus |
jjduck New user Chesterfield, Virginia 78 Posts |
Quote:
On 2009-06-15 01:33, Aus wrote: Very nice and well written post. Thanks for sharing.
Joe
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Yellowcustard Inner circle New Zealand 1334 Posts |
A couple of years ago when I just started back in magic I had a few tricks out working for friends and family. I then got asked to do a walk round set at a party. I wrote down the 8-10 tricks I knew. Then picked the ones I could do really really well. I ended up with,
-ACR, -Sponge balls, -Professor Nightmare, So I replaced the Balls with sponge rabbits and put the three trick with the story called the staples of modern magic. This I have worked on and is part of my regular walk round. Work with a couple tricks and see if a link can be made. Also you mentioned about feeling uneasy about presenting stories when doing magic for one or two people. Keep it simple and low key and I think it work well. People love good presentation and stories and I think that by doing this it make what we do is magic then just a trick. I thank you for starting a great post and take care about your magic. Hope my example and points helped. Enjoy your magic and let others enjoy as well.
Enjoy your magic,
and let others enjoy it as well! |
MagicRoo New user Germany 18 Posts |
Thank you guys for your thoughts. All your replies were very helpfull.
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marty.sasaki Inner circle 1117 Posts |
In a lecture at this year's NEMCON Eugene Burger suggested coming up with 1 effect routines and 3 effect routines. He believes in tightly scripting everything, even when things are informal. You will find successful folks telling you exactly the opposite.
Marty Sasaki
Arlington, Massachusetts, USA Standard disclaimer: I'm just a hobbyist who enjoys occasionally mystifying friends and family, so my opinions should be viewed with this in mind. |
Pedro Haluch New user I definetely should have more than 62 Posts |
My idea about routining will look from another direction, since everyone's already said almost every useful thing that could possibly be said.
When coming up with a routine, at least my routines, I usually break it in 3 parts. The start, the middle, and the closing. (Oh, great. Hold there, I'll explain that.) Usually with the start I'll come with a quick and impressive trick, but a trick that do NOT actually show your real habilities. Just dig there in your mind that trick that's extremely easy and get's great reactions. That's the one. After that we go to the middle part. I usually, at this part, come up with a little story, that most of the times I come up with at the time. I love a little joke by Tommy Wonder in his famous ACR : "I became a magician to find out how do I do this things.". Of course, while making jokes and stuff, I make sure I'm increasing the (apparent) level of hardness of the tricks, going to even impossible..r(?) tricks. Realy building for the finalle. At the end of it, I usually do a killer effect. And by killer I don't mean something hard: if you do magic with cards, try mixing cards with anything else (sponge balls, as an example), or what I usually do, that is to make a trick that uses a sleight of hability that wasn't yet used (At least too much). I hope I have helped a little. What I did here was mostly describe how do I make up my routines, and with that inspire you to create yours. Kindly, Pedro Haluch |
WV Loyal user South Africa, Durban 289 Posts |
Vernesto
"I'm not perfect, just forgiven!" "I'm finding everything I'll ever need, by giving up gaining everything." |
Lawrence O Inner circle French Riviera 6811 Posts |
MagicRoo's initial post seems to confuse routining and building an act. This may make it more difficult for him, but the direction he is exploring is the good one.
Magic is the art of emotionally sharing live impossible situations
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magoben New user 24 Posts |
Building an act is something very complicated. You need a lot of experimentation with public. The public will tell you (of course by their reactions) which effects you should leave and wich you should take out. The Kent advice is very good.
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