I have been doing magic, for about 3 years now and finaly I found an easy way to perform the card through window, without the use of a helper, or assistant.

I have racticed and performed it many times, but whenever I watch the video. I spot a flaw, or I see it can be better, but the more I film, the worse the videos get.

I will post the link to my very first time doing the trick on camera, below. any help would be great.. if you watch and know how its done.. just say you know how its done, and tell me what I can do to improove by ersonal message. to keep the secret of the trick safe.

I don't knwo what I can do to improove it. use a brand new deck of cards so they scatter better?? that's my main issue. the cards don't scatter it makes for a cool effect. I know for a fact.. my patter needs more work othr than that. need some advice

but anyway heres the video.. any help or advice to improove would be great. and like I said if you know how its done give me the advice I'm personal message to keep the secret safe. thanks


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Tzms6auOloQ


thanks again

Show me the window before

Don't tell me everything you are doing in detail

Become more a personality

You matter more than the effect

As Vic says... from the way this is shot my assumption would simply be that the card was always there.

As far as performance goes... I think your biggest problem is pacing, it feels rushed. I basically like your patter, but relax, have fun with it. Don't be in such a rush to get to the end.

Hey, gotta give ya an "A" for effort!

The more you do an effect, the more relaxed you'll be. You have a clear speaking voice, and that is very important.

There are MANY Card Through Window effects out there, and if I understand right, you came up with that yourself? I have to admit, I had to go back and watch it again. So it fooled ME the first time! LOL!

Keep it up. Magic NEEDS people who are creative and I encourage you to keep trying!

Doug

I had trouble with the way you was holding the deck and while you was doing a force, I ve seen a card that I thought you said stop at, and then you showed me another card...u need to work on how to force a card in a natural matter.
as mentioned before, you need to show the window in advance...
and you was nervous...and when you are nervous, your spectator becomes nervous too, sorry but I really felt nervous when I was watching the clip.

Well I've been having aprivate conversation with him that I wont make public except to say there are reasons why its shot the way it is, and yes, they are problems.

What he's trying to do here really isn't possible in any uncheated way I know of within the limits he's set for himself. I suggested he look at Stone's Window. It wont do the exact routine he wants to do but it might do a routine he'd enjoy as much.

Perhaps I'm missing something. Do you plan on being a youtube magician that uses special effects to fool the people who watch your videos? What the heck kind of a career is that? My God you don't even get applause. What's the point?

Follow up: There are some good threads on this subject on the boards it turns out, such as this one:

http://www.themagiccafe.com/forums/viewt......&forum=2

I don't want to give too much away here, but let me say this. Some people I respect greatly advocate doing pretty much what you did in the video. The problem with that however is that the illusion heavily depends on misdirection, and misdirection is VERY hard to do to a camera. It doesn't focus its attention on specific places the way a human does. If its in its field of vision, its recorded and even if the viewer misses it the first time, they can go back and look again later.

If you "force" the misdirection by keeping what you don't want seen out of view, then to my mind you are cheating just as much as if you edited or used post production effects.

ONE.. I do youtube videos. because its fun

TWO.. I don't use camera cuts. or edits its always one continuous shot

and three. youtube is just untill something better comes along.

I see, if you are just trying to have a good time by all means enjoy yourself. It has already been said here there are a lot of similar tricks on the market that perform a similar effect but cleaner.

HAVE FUN

no.. I accualy WANt to do this as a carreer one day.. I'm just doing youtube. until I can go perform at parties. bars. the mall. etc.. I accually want to be a street magician. like my idol. criss angel..
maybe have my own show one day.. its been my dream since the first time I saw david blaine and criss angel on TV back in ((febuary 2007 ))when I was 17.. and I'm turning 21 this august. so ive been doing magic for 3 years ALMOST 4

been my dream ever since

So, as I posted privately, ignoring for the moment the misdirection issue, and understanding that you used a gaff for the force, let me suggest a cleaner presentation that takes only basic slight of hand.

You can use a riffle force, which looks a lot like what you did but is gaffless, to force the necessary card on the spectator. Have them look at it, put it back in the deck, and then shuffle. Since you know what the card is its a fairly simple matter to locate it in the course of a few riffle shuffles and shuffle it to the bottom. From there you can overhand it to the top.

Palm the top card as you hand the deck to the spectator and ask them to find their card in the deck. While they are looking for the card nonchelantly slide your hand into your pocket and ditch the card.

Eventually the will tell you they cant find it. You take the deck back and say something like, "well, maybe we can knock it loose" then spin and throw like you did in the video.

All this lead up, in addition to being gaffless, will also help with the misdirection and keeping the audience focused on you and what you are doing.

With a confederate they can even use this time to plant things... you can take it from there.

COL I will take that in mind. I like it!!

I have a lot of friends that can possibly help me.. thanks for the help.. all of you. I am overwhelmed with the amount of advice I'm getting. I thought it would be a qyuick tip. but WOW.. thank you!

It's good for what it was. Like others have said, there needs to be a before shot, which probably means you need a different method. You should always assume there will be cameras, and that cameras see everything, AND that people WILL rewind to watch over and over.

Your voice is good. Now just relax and play with it. Don’t crowd the camera (it has a “personal space” just like anyone else), and watch the sound. I’d think you were using a long-short deck to force the card just by the sound.

Good luck and Don’t Quit!

Thanks.. I will keep all this advice in mind.

James
We already have a Criss Angel, and a David Blaine. In order to make it on TV you will have to have previous experience, a new screen personality, and unbelievable luck.

GOOD LUCK

As Al says, any performing art is very tough to make a living at. At any time there are one or two top performers who get all the fame and glory and the big bucks. A handful of people just below that who get the other Vegas gigs and the like, a bunch of people who don't and never will make a lot of money but manage to keep food on the table and a roof over their head doing parties, local functions and anything else they can turn up, and a whole lot of people who wait tables for a living and do it for love and the chance to maybe move up.

And then there are amateurs and dilitants like me, who do something else for a living and just keep a toe in cause we love it.

There is an old saying in Los Angeles, there are no waiters or taxi-drivers in Los Angeles, just out of work actors and actresses. This goes for all performing arts.

I would like to thank the moderator for editing my post to make me sound more intellegent.

Please don't ever settle for the "quick tip"! It may be only a small bit of advice, but take the time to make sure it is well-fitted and worked out.

if you do any bit of *real* research on Blaine and Angel, you'll find that they did not spring into being as TV stars. They learned and they practiced and they failed and they kept going. Along the way, they found people who would help them. Really, there's a lot of magicians who are much better then Blaine or Angel; they just don't have the desire to be "that big", nor do they have the support staff required to perform "that big".

And at the end of the day, they both go home to a place where's there's no camera, no applause, and no magic. What you see on camera is a scripted persona, an un-real larger-than-life character. So be who you are in real-time, and if that life takes you "that big", then you belong there.

Ed

PS - Here's magic off-camera: David Copperfield and two assistants left the auditorium after a show and got held up! The theives wanted all their money, jewelry, and cell phones. Copperfield palmed his phone while he gave them everything else - and called the cops while they ran off! Don't ever mess with a magician!!

And having chimed in on Al, I'll now chime in on Ed

The performing arts are full of "10 year overnight successes." Sammy Davis Jr was a classic example. People use to call him an "overnight success" because he seemed to come from nowhere to stardom. But the real story is he spent 10 years doing everything he could to BE that success before anybody noticed him at all.