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MagicianSilver New user Lynden, Washington 50 Posts |
Hey Everyone,
I have been working on my new close up act. It is a cups and balls routine with... Legos! Any feedback is much appreciated. It's still in the "Alpha" phase and it needs some work. Take a look and please let me know what you think. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZFGE8yJDYOE With Magic, Sterling http://www.MagicSterling.com
"If you're not living on the edge. Then you are taking up too much space.
www.MagicSterling.com |
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lint Special user Concord, CA 967 Posts |
Interesting new concept. You certainly have the showmanship down. I think the fact they are legos; it becomes apparent there can be some trickery inside of the cups which might ruin the effect for some lay people. If you could do it with normal cups I think the routine would be improved. I know this may defeat the purpose of an "original" routine though. I think you have enough unique material to still have carved a niche for yourself.
I particularly enjoyed the move you used to perform the color change to the bricks. Keep working until it is transparent though. -todd
"There's many a slip 'twixt the cup and the lip..." -English Proverb
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professorwhut Inner circle Posts R US sold me 1353 Posts |
Cool, I enjoyed that.
Thanks for posting.
After much soul searching about a signature, I decided not to have one.
TG Pop [aka ProfessorWhut] |
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Donnie Buckley V.I.P. Cleveland, Ohio 1123 Posts |
Fantastic! Thanks for sharing this - you have a good idea here, I love it.
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Bill Palmer Eternal Order Only Jonathan Townsend has more than 24312 Posts |
Interesting. There were a couple of times in the routine where things got a bit "fiddly" behind the cups, but the concept is solid.
"The Swatter"
Founder of CODBAMMC My Chickasaw name is "Throws Money at Cups." www.cupsandballsmuseum.com |
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JamesTong Eternal Order Malaysia 11213 Posts |
Nice routine and thanks for sharing.
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Jeff Dial Special user Kent, WA 533 Posts |
Just stop it!
Sterling, Will this be for formal close up, competition, part of a close up set, or video only? I see a lot of your stage persona in this routine that might need to be toned down a bit if this is a close up piece. Are you guys going to the PCAM?
"Think our brains must be too highly trained, Majikthise" HHGG
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ShawnB Special user 728 Posts |
Very cool... I don't know the method behind most of what you did... but some was "fiddly" as stated above.
If the method does not revolve around how the cups are assembeled... you could look into having some super large sized legos made (or purchace some if they are out there).. to use as the cups. At first I thought that was what you were useing... like a super large singel lego peg... but after watching again I realized the cups themselves were assembled. Very original.
Shawn.
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Pete Biro 1933 - 2018 18558 Posts |
Nice to see some original thinking....
STAY TOONED... @ www.pete-biro.com
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Jeff Dial Special user Kent, WA 533 Posts |
Just a thought.. If you could assemble the 'cups' at the beginning of the performance that would take some of the strangeness of lego cups away. You might not have to assemble them all from scratch, but at least assembling the pieces would deflect some of the focus on the 'cups'.
Keep it up. I think there is more gold to be mined.
"Think our brains must be too highly trained, Majikthise" HHGG
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Kent Wong Inner circle Edmonton, Alberta, Canada 2458 Posts |
Nice routine. Are you planning on performing it to music or with patter? It might have just been me, but I didn't see the "fit" between the music and the Lego theme. As a result, the routine didn't break through that fourth wall to fully engage the audience.
Also, since you are using Lego, they don't tend to roll. As a result, you don't need the raised wooden rim around the performing area. It actually makes more sense to get rid of the rim altogether, especially since it abruptly stops right at your lap. The audience may be left wondering why the rim stops at that point. This act has the potential of becoming a novel competition piece. But I don't tend to find many opportunities to perform sitting down, with my side and rear angles fully protected. Just something to think about if you want to really make the routine more versatile and commercial. All in all, it's a great premise with quite a bit of potential. Kent
"Believing is Seeing"
<BR>______________________ <BR> <BR>www.kentwongmagic.com |
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Dave V Inner circle Las Vegas, NV 4824 Posts |
I still have trouble with the idea that Legos are supposed to snap together and pull apart. As pretty as the routine is, anyone who has ever heard of Legos will immediately jump to the conclusion (right or wrong)that the "balls" are simply connecting and disconnecting to the insides of the "cups" as they are designed to do.
And, the McBride style of acting might work on stage, but for closeup it's a bit over the top.
No trees were killed in the making of this message, but a large number of electrons were terribly inconvenienced.
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Pete Biro 1933 - 2018 18558 Posts |
After more thinking, I believe you need to work this standing. Also, can spectators be a 3-O'clock and 9-O'clock... or would they SEE what's going on?
STAY TOONED... @ www.pete-biro.com
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Payne Inner circle Seattle 4571 Posts |
I too would like to see you assemble the cups at the start. Otherwise why use LEGO if you're not going to build the cups in front of the spectators?
Also a Hindu Cups and Balls approach might be more interesting. Instead of three "balls" appearing, penetrating and assembling a seemingly never ending production of LEGO Bricks which you use to assemble something that would mesh with the final loads would be interesting. You simply aren't showing a need or motivation to be using LEGO Bricks without using them to their full advantage.
"America's Foremost Satirical Magician" -- Jeff McBride.
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TheAmbitiousCard Eternal Order Northern California 13425 Posts |
Nice to see someone thinking outside the box for a change.
I'm not a fan of the stage magician persona in any way, shape or form. That give me the creeps. Not just from you but from all stage magicians that take on that strange copy-cat demeanor. You've got some original thinking with your routine. Let that originality flow into who you are as a performer.
www.theambitiouscard.com Hand Crafted Magic
Trophy Husband, Father of the Year Candidate, Chippendale's Dancer applicant, Unofficial World Record Holder. |
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Dreadnought Special user Athens, Georgia 836 Posts |
I like it lot. It is innovative and fresh. The square cups add some interesting possibilities.
The only hit against it is the white shirt needs to go. You need a shirt of a different color, one that is not a color being used. The white legos get washed out and become really hard to see. Although I am sure you saw that. The song was really good as well, what is it? It really fit the lego theme and your personality.
Peace
"Ave Maria gratia plena Dominus tecum..." Scott Would you do anything for the person you love? |
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Bill Hegbli Eternal Order Fort Wayne, Indiana 22797 Posts |
The dice used with the Lego's don't fit together. I would search for something different to use.
I agree with the stage arm waving not fitting close-up magic. On stage your movements have to over accentuated, but for close-up this is not necessary. When I had seen the 3 different colors, I thought Dai Vernon's routine from Stars of Magic. I think you could use a stacking sequence as well, being the cups should fit together perfectly. Could you come back to the string and explain some of the questions, so we can see where you are coming from in the creation of your efforts. |
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MagicianSilver New user Lynden, Washington 50 Posts |
Hi Everyone,
Thank you so much for all the wonderful feedback. As of right now, I am performing this in my full stage show, where it is set up behind the curtain. I do my introduction about the memories of my childhood where I would let my imagination run wild. I also talk about how I just graduated High School and how growing up went by so fast. "But one thing I've learned is that when you're a magician, you never grow up." *Curtains Open* *Music Starts* The table is projected from a camera onto a large screen so everyone can see. This also helps with the angles, because of the methods I am using the angles are extremely sensitive and it would be hard to perform this illusion "Close Up" I really like the idea from Jeff and Payne about assembling the cups in front of the audience, and producing pieces which add to a final load is a great idea. And the "stage persona" that came across on the video is actually me haha. When I filmed this my Dad just said, "Have fun with it," and that's what came out. But I will definitely take a closer look at that. The song is called "Fireflies" by Owl City. After choosing the song for this act, I saw the music video which to my surprise was a boy in his room playing with a bunch of toys! I think the melody really compliments the theme and my personality. This routine is changing every day. New ideas are in the works including the addition of a lego magic wand (for some added vanishes) and thimble manipulation. If this routine gets to a certain point, I might enter in some close up competitions. But for right now, it's a workshop piece. One of the reasons for putting out the video was to lay claim to the idea =D Thanks again for everything, Sterling
"If you're not living on the edge. Then you are taking up too much space.
www.MagicSterling.com |
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Dave V Inner circle Las Vegas, NV 4824 Posts |
Explaining that this is a part of a stage show that is designed for video helps us to understand some of the actions better. Thanks for the explanation.
No trees were killed in the making of this message, but a large number of electrons were terribly inconvenienced.
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Pete Biro 1933 - 2018 18558 Posts |
Sterling... am putting a great thimble routine out... It is an updated routine I devised over 20 years ago.
I'll send you a vid when I get it ready. Should be withing a month or less. Jeff McBride flipped over it and wants it badly!
STAY TOONED... @ www.pete-biro.com
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