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micromega123 Loyal user 212 Posts |
There are several effects that I've been nervous about performing for quite a long time due to the fact that they are marketed (in one form or another) to large segments of the general population (e.g. Hummer Card). As a result, I'm worried that a larger proportion of the general population will know the methods for how these effects are accomplished.
I'm thinking specifically about IT right now. I really like the idea of levitation using IT, but with the proliferation of mall kiosks selling these kinds of effects is it best to stay away, or am I just being paranoid? |
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george1953 Inner circle Mallorca (Spain) 5943 Posts |
If done well you can do effects that the public know about but still fool them.Point in case D lites, these are readily available on ebay but I use Dlites all the time and have had kids say to me afterwards I got some light up thumbs, how do you do it, so just don't worry too much about it.
By failing to prepare, we are preparing to fail.
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Robin4Kids Veteran user Lower Alabama 396 Posts |
My opinion of using tricks that are mass marketed to the public is... Don't worry about it!!! The majority of tricks that are sold to the non-magician are usually in magic kits that are bought for kids or cheaper versions of a trick that may use the same type of gimmick. If you are using tricks that are in these kits, you may want to step it up anyway. Most of us that are still into magic got our start with one of these kits, but we are in a very small minority. Then you have those people that have an interest in "how they do it" and have a basic knowledge of the smoke & mirrors. They may watch you closely trying to figure out how it's done and every once in a while someone will blurt out the secret, whether they know it or not. It comes with the territory.
The companies that sell magic cannot be expected to qualify everyone that buys from them, but in most cases the only people that will put up the money and buy some of the same effects & tricks we use are also serious about it and won't be as likely to reveal the secrets. Most adults are smart enough to know that you cannot possibly make something levitate without having some gimmick to do it with. The best you can do for these folks are to perform it well and leave them wondering how you did it. One of the big benefits of entertaining kids is that they aren't yet savey enough to figure out how you did it and think it's all magical, when in reality they are probably some of the easiest tricks to figure out. I am often more concerned about all the tricks that are revealed on tv, the internet or YouTube, but then I have to remember that I am seeing a lot more of these than our typical spectators, because it's something I am more interested in. Just because you see it out there doesn't mean the whole world sees it too. One thing I do think it is important to remember that we shouldn't be just showing tricks... We should be entertaining and using our own creativity to make it a more magical experience for whoever gives us the opportunity to amaze them. |
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Cyberqat Inner circle You can tell I work on the net from my 2209 Posts |
As the pros say, its not the technique, its the presentation.
If you do the illusion exactly the way the pamphlet you got with it says, sure, you'll get busted by some wise-ass kid. Instead, think about your own presentation and play with the prop in a mirror. What can you do with it that's different from what every kid read? Sometimes you can take a prop that has been sold as a "trick" or stand alone illusion and package it with one or two other techniques or effects so its no longer the focus and people don't realize you are doing it. A great example is the Sevngali deck. It has had the heck marketed out of it on a number of occasions (when I was a kid they called it "TV Magic Cards.") Nonetheless there are pros that still use it everyday. What they DON'T do is the "giveaway" moves like the one which makes the deck look like its all one card. Instead, they just use it for a force or other subtle purpose. I do a multiple ACAAN with a deck that's really the combined halves of two different back-color invisible decks. To date, no one has figured out that the fundamental mechanism is the ID mechanism. Finally, the audience has a short memory. If something is very popular rigth now with the laymen, you might want to put it aside. In a a few years, it will be a miracle all over again. (Its about time I think I dug my Zombie back out, for instance. One of my favorite props but it became just a bit too popular with crap magicians on youtube for awhile.)
It is always darkest just before you are eaten by a grue.
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mrunge Inner circle Charleston, SC 3716 Posts |
I wouldn't worry about it. Look at it this way. You're into magic and know, yourself, how a lot of things are done. Yet, even with that knowledge, you enjoy a good magic show as much as the next guy!! Don't overanalyze things. Just go out there and have fun. Make the trick or effect your own and give it your own spin. Main thing to remember is it's all about entertaining others. We really DON'T have "magical powers" and everyone knows it.
Mark. |
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Dougini Inner circle The Beautiful State Of Maine 7130 Posts |
Great advice here! Also, simple tricks like Ball & Vase can be mind blowers! I showed a ball & vase to a guy and he told me he had one as a kid. I took the gimmick off and did a bit of SOH, and it blew him away! Also Multiplying Billiard Balls, Ball & Tube, Linking Rings. All of these have been exposed. Still, a routine can be performed that will fry those "in the know".
Doug |
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Cyberqat Inner circle You can tell I work on the net from my 2209 Posts |
Great advice from Doug!
If you take something they know and throw a bit of slight of hand into it, its actually MORE deceptive because they "know you can't do that!" Some thing as simple as vanishing the ball can turn it into a real mind-melter.
It is always darkest just before you are eaten by a grue.
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ShirtlessKirk Loyal user 236 Posts |
Most IT work looks exactly like what it is. The object is being supported by difficult to see thread. Even if they were not being exposed widely few can do a levitation with IT that doesn't look hokey. Most laymen will jump to the simplest (and correct) solution.
My question would be, why would you want to perform anything that is widely available to the public? Don't do something you can pick up at any magic store/mall kiosk. Do something they have probably never seen. |
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Cyberqat Inner circle You can tell I work on the net from my 2209 Posts |
Id imagine you could fry a kid who knew one IT trick with a clever/unique hookup.
It is always darkest just before you are eaten by a grue.
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ShirtlessKirk Loyal user 236 Posts |
Quote:
On 2013-06-06 19:33, Cyberqat wrote: Perhaps, but I think there are better uses for IT than levitation. But for sure stay away from mass marketed uses of IT. |
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magicman344 New user 85 Posts |
I would have to agree with everything that has been said so far. it's not the device, but the presentation. and also, even if somebody knows how its done, they will still enjoy it. I know I do. And also, its not like your going to be telling them the name of the trick. they may won the same thing and not even know that. Overall, I really don't think that things like that matter.
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ShirtlessKirk Loyal user 236 Posts |
Quote:
On 2013-06-08 16:36, magicman344 wrote: Part of the job of being a magician is to present the impossible. If through overexposure the modus oparendi is known to many it loses impact. Ultimately why do something that a large number of people know about? Do something different, there are plenty of effects/routines that have not been done to death. |
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B.W. McCarron Loyal user Seattle, WA USA 262 Posts |
If I'm attending a local performance, I often get stopped by lay people who ask me if I knew how it was done. As if that is the measure of a good performance.
I smile and good-naturedly reply that "knowing how something is done is far different from being entertained. For example, just because a professional musician is familiar with a particular piece (say Beethoven's Ninth Symphony), doesn't mean that this knowledge gets in the way of him/her being ENTERTAINED by a great performance. In this case, I was entertained and had a great time. I hope you did, too. Thanks for asking!" |
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ncsteve Veteran user North Carolina 313 Posts |
Quote:
On 2013-07-08 09:30, Mercurio wrote: When I'm asked how it was done I almost always smile and say: "Very well" ;-) |
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Brannon New user Austin, TX 29 Posts |
Own the effect, don't let the effect own you.
In music (specifically thinking about guitar), there are several variations to one chord. Let's take a G chord for example. There are tons of different ways to play a G. Everyone knows you are playing a G, but playing it differently than everyone else is what makes you unique. The same is true for magic, although magic is a lot more secretive. If you are using IT for example, like Robin said, many people when they watch you preform will use common sense and are going to see you levitating something and think, "He's using wires or strings." It's not about whether they know (or guess rather,) your method, but about how well you can preform the effect and disguise the method, or how yours is unique. Make them think, "Wow. I have never seen that before." Make them shift their focus from "How is this trick being done?" to "This trick is incredible!" How do you compare to a kid that just bought a Criss Angel kit and uses the thread to levitate dollar bills (me 6 months ago...)? What makes you stand out? |
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Herr Brian Tabor Special user Oklahoma City 729 Posts |
There are hundreds of shoes publicly marketed that ballerina dancers use. Off the top of your head, name one. Can't? That's because you're not a ballerina, and therefore you don't pay attention to it.
Any idea what the name of the tool you should use to properly cut a hole in a 2x4 board? Unless you do woodwork, you probably don't, and this tool sits in every hardware store available to the public. The same goes for muggles. They don't go online to see what the latest in magic is, nor do they pay attention when they see the rare commercial on TV for it. |
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RobertlewisIR Veteran user Colorado 367 Posts |
I'll concur with what others have said--if you do it well, you can fool them with tricks they already know. What's more, if you do it well enough, they won't *care* how it's done. My goal is generally to fool people, yes. But a more important goal is to entertain them.
Let's say I decide to do a Linking Rings routine. I know very well going into it that probably at least 85% of the audience knows *exactly* how the basic trick works. and the rest of them would have no trouble thinking of it. But if I do it, I'm doing it so well that they won't be worrying about knowing how it was done--instead, they'll just be impressed by the artistry.
~Bob
---------- Last night, I dreamed I ate the world's largest marshmallow. When I woke up, the pillow was gone. |
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David Fillary Special user 662 Posts |
Herr Brian Tabor is spot on. I've been performing the vanishing hanky at uni a lot recently. No one has a clue. Only one person has mentioned a fake thumb to me and that was when I vanished a coin (he thought it must be a rubber coin!). Someone showed me at trick they learnt when they were a kid (a bog-standard key card trick). I then did exactly the same trick, but secretly glimpsed the bottom card and retained it there with some shuffles and floored them! If you borrow a note and make it levitate while disproving the use of IT, I would imagine it would get very strong reactions.
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ssibal Veteran user 352 Posts |
If it is something that you learned or bought from somewhere that the general public has access to, then you should modify it someway to make it your own. At the very least you should change the way it is presented and depending on the effect you can even change the method. Someone who knows the trick likely won't be entertained if you do it exactly the same way that they "know" it.
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MRSharpe Special user Never a dull moment with 940 Posts |
I like this comment
If done well you can do effects that the public know about but still fool them.Point in case D lites, these are readily available on ebay but I use Dlites all the time and have had kids say to me afterwards I got some light up thumbs, how do you do it, so just don't worry too much about it. From what I understand, D'lite is the bane of many Las Vegas magicians. They are sold in a lot of magic shops, sometimes right outside the show room before performances. When the lights go out kids light up there new D'lites like lighters at a rock show. Nothing wrong with the prop in general, but this must really get old if you preform every day in Las Vegas.
Custom Props Designer and Fabricator as well as Performer from Indiana, USA
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