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Prismatic New user 57 Posts |
Looking for effects that will terrify or at least could be adapted to bring genuinely unsettling experiences to the spec. Nothing that will put them in a funny farm just kind of chills and slightly scared.
Ideas?
"Honest, that's supposed to be on fire, really."
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Vick Inner circle It's taken me 10+ years to make 1120 Posts |
Consider your presentation, it's more important that the effect in creating chills.
There is a whole world of bizarre magic for you to explore but if you really want to be scary, what is your character doing?
Unique, Thought Provoking & Amazing Magical Entertainment Experiences
Illusions By Vick Blog of a real world working magician Magic would be great, if not for magicians |
Prismatic New user 57 Posts |
I want to bring scary in showing things that make people question their reality, that twist their skepticism into something they can't write off entirely. to bring an element of "That's a little unsettling" to my routine
"Honest, that's supposed to be on fire, really."
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Ed_Millis Inner circle Yuma, AZ 2292 Posts |
Give us an example. What would it look like? Are you thinking of more than just a levitation or color-changing card? What is "dark" about it?
Ed |
Prismatic New user 57 Posts |
Dark as in the presentation is sinister, the story is dark and revealing. notions of possessed decks, haunted items, my character is obsessed with serial killers and crime, the presentation tends on allowing observations of bending reality and displaying slightly unsettling effects, see derren browns voodoo doll routine. I want tricks to evoke "That's messed up" over "wow, that's neat." maybe I'm asking too much
"Honest, that's supposed to be on fire, really."
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Atom3339 Inner circle Spokane, WA 3242 Posts |
Yeah, NOT the easy stuff to do. But if you work on your persona and environment you're half-way there.
TH
Occupy Your Dream |
Prismatic New user 57 Posts |
No, not easy by far but I've a long background in theatrical performance and I'm an eager learner and avid practicioner. Thanks for the feedback folks
"Honest, that's supposed to be on fire, really."
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rklew64 Inner circle 1265 Posts |
Watch the original Omen the movie with Gregory Peck for inspiration maybe.
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djurmann Inner circle thinks time to practice and stop writing 1481 Posts |
Look up Okito Voodoo doll - very easy, the rest, as Vick says, is performance. Also look up tricks by Eugene Burger. e.g the burned card, Seance, Voodoo ashes, I also does a story trick (I think called the traveller) which ends with the spectator selling his/her soul to the devil.....but performance is what sells it.
Danny |
Ed_Millis Inner circle Yuma, AZ 2292 Posts |
A rising card such as Kundalini Rising by Jeff McBride (the one Blaine did) can lend itself to intense moments.
You might want to check out Eugene Burger's stuff. Also Tony Chris (he was spotlighted recently as the Chef's Special). Ed |
DWRackley Inner circle Chattanooga, TN 1909 Posts |
There are only a handful of tricks that are truly dark in the sense you mean. Generally speaking, it’s the performer who’s dark, and under the surface the tricks are basically the very simplest. The story is the star.
You should make yourself known in the bizarre area here. Some nice guys (some a little creepy, but) willing to help. Keep in mind; it’s more about the story than the trick. (That should be true in ALL magical endeavors, but especially in Bizarre!) Best of Luck!
...what if I could read your mind?
Chattanooga's Premier Mentalist Donatelli and Company at ChattanoogaPerformers.com also on FaceBook |
yabi New user Cherry Hill, NJ 92 Posts |
Have you ever looked into Dan Sperry's work? Maybe he can be of inspiration.
Hope this helps, y. |
Ekuth Inner circle Floating above my 1538 Posts |
Haunted deck can freak people right the heck out presented properly.
Fearson's Legend can be strong... Heck, you could do the Sefalijia (sp?) routines and conclude with Bell, Book and Candle; Spellbinder has a great routine on his site. Really, as the guys have said, it's all about the presentation and story. I do a set piece called "The Treasure of the Temple of Anubis" that concludes with the release of a "lost soul" that never fails to freak people right out. Take our darkest fears out of the closet, dress them up and you're halfway there. BUT: Alfred Hitchcock was once asked what made his movies so terrifying. His answer is worth pondering; "It's not what I show the audience, but rather what I DON'T show them." Think of movies like Psycho, Rear Window... Cloverfield and even the more recent Super8; we never actually get a good look at the "monster" until the very end and for good reason. Our minds will create things FAR more terrifying than anything that can ever be SHOWN. Pity that the gore/slasher/horror genre's like SAW, ect never caught on to that concept. Prime example of fantastic movie horror: The scene in Close Encounters of the Third Kind where the aliens are abducting Barry (the little boy) in the middle of the night while his mom is asleep. They're in the house, rooting through the fridge, messing with his toys and finally mom wakes up and tries to close up the house. The scene where she's reaching up the chimney to close the flue; the bit where the heat vent register UNSCREWS itself; the play of light around the cracks of the front door and the beam shining through the keyhole... THAT is terror. Sorry, got off on a bit of a diatribe there, but you get my point. Make the story good and the audience will do 90% of the work for you.
"All you need is in Fitzkee."
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Brad Burt Inner circle 2675 Posts |
Look up the Ashes on the Palm trick or whatever it's called.... Done well, it's one of the spookiest tricks ever devised. As I remember there is a version in The Amateur Magician's Handbook called the Potsherd Trick. Anyone confirm? It's been a long time. Version can be done with sugar cubes also.
Oddly enough in many, many cases the simplest of methods will produce some of the most profound of effect/affect magically. See if you can find a copy of a now out-of-print book called The Magic Digest. Best,
Brad Burt
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SmithMagicMan Regular user 179 Posts |
Get some of BigBlindMedia's decks of cards - really spooky some of them :')
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Mr. Woolery Inner circle Fairbanks, AK 2149 Posts |
As said above, it is all about presentation. George B. Anderson's Magic Digest is a wonderful resource and well worth finding used. Nothing really spooky in it, but a lot of tricks there can be adapted to spookiness.
I don't know what your performing environment is like, but the classic serpentine silk (silk scarf is tied in a knot and it unties itself by crawling back through the knot. If you build up the whole haunted aspect of it, this could be the more powerful trick you do. It is in Magic digest. Haunted Key could be lame (as it often is) or really disturbing. If you just want to do an "ooga booga" trick, look for The Web. If you want to totally mess with minds, you need to create a performing character that makes them believe in what you are doing. In that case, a card trick can be made into a really spooky experience. You need to create the impression of something other than you causing the result of the routine, though. A suggestion that you might want to think about. Get Seven Shades. Recent book from Leaping Lizards. Some of the routines are more practical than others, but the thinking and presentation in them is what makes the book worth reading. I think there's only one in the book I will actually use, but there's a load of good thinking that I know will inspire me to work on spooky presentations myself. Another movie suggestion is Rosemary's Baby. That one still bothers me. Can you come up with a presentation for a basic trick that is that disturbing? -Patrick |
Ekuth Inner circle Floating above my 1538 Posts |
Ooooo... nice catch, Patrick. I'd forgotten Rosemary's Baby. *shudder*
"All you need is in Fitzkee."
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Prismatic New user 57 Posts |
These are fantastic responses folks thanks! I guess it's in the presentation but some tricks lend themselves very well to stories, I have a routine that goes from ashes to arm to a very visual card change and I talk about bending reality and intention being focussed but I could just as easily tell them I have a possessed deck I bought at a carnival I've never seen since or even do the routines with tarot cards.
"Honest, that's supposed to be on fire, really."
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Dougini Inner circle The Beautiful State Of Maine 7130 Posts |
Quote:
On 2012-03-12 12:55, Prismatic wrote: Hi Prismatic! Yes! I totally agree! You have the right idea! Now, this is a tip that many have overlooked, but is as valuable as any expensive prop! It's a book ($35) called "Tales Of Enchantment: The Art Of Magic". It's written by a friend of mine, Walt Anthony. This changed my thinking about magic totally! I no longer just "show tricks". In fact, the story is EVERYTHING! Bizarre Magic especially! For example, from the Gene Poinc archive in the now defunct Learned Pig site: Lizzie Borden Bunnies "The performer sings with a child-like voice. "'Lizzie Borden had an axe, gave her mother forty whacks; and then when she saw what she had done, she gave her father forty-one.' Hmmm... busy Lizzie. A celebrated murder case, enthralled the nation. Odd creatures we humans. But what of the animal world?" The performer displays the Hippity-Hop Rabbits. The White one is holding an axe in its paws (painted or a picture from a tool catalog pasted on and varnished). "Not so different in the critter world. Perhaps some peculiar synchronicity." He indicates the White rabbit, "Who else but the Lizzie Borden Bunny," gestures toward the Black one, "and here the nasty stepmother Lizzie pursued to... whack!" The performer does the usual transposition a few times, "Mother ran and Lizzie chased. When one was here the other was there, and when one was there the other was here. Exhausting. Whacking is not an easy job." Finally... after the pursuit there is the usual, sort of, climax. The Black rabbit is turned around. It's head is all bloody. "Lizzie Bunny finally caught up with her stepmom. Rather messy. Oh? Why did Lizzie so dislike her? Well... now this is a secret, keep it so. Lizzie Bunny is actually -- The Easter Rabbit! The evil stepmother didn't want to let Lizzie go off to deliver Easter goodies to all the children of the world, and her dad didn't help. Not wanting to disappoint all good little girls and boys Lizzie Easter Rabbit did what had to be done. See, children, how much the Easter Rabbit loves you. Are YOUR Mom and Dad stopping you from doing something nice for other kids?" Nodding affirmatively, the performer puts the rabbits away. Well... if you're the wishy-washy kind you'll probably try to show good judgement in for whom you perform it. You're no fun at all. Gene. That's just one effect of the dozen or so on that site. To get an idea HOW he came up with this type of idea, and more, I recommend an investment in Walt's book: http://www.leapinglizardsmagic.com/tales_of_enchantment.htm Your Bizarre Magic will advance to STELLAR levels! I sure hope this helps! Doug |
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