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TeddyBoy Special user New York, NY 595 Posts |
I have run into effects that require a setup and wherein the "instructions" are, e.g., "You may arrange this setup during your introductory remarks...." It is probably, at least in part, because I am a newbie that I cannot imagine how you can prepare a setup without looking like you are preparing a setup. If any of you have any knowledge of where I can learn such an approach I would appreciate being pointed in the right direction.
P.S. Do coins and cups/balls require setups? Maybe I'm in the wrong branch of magic.
So many sleights...so little time.
"Slow...deliberate...natural." Bill Tarr Cheers, Teddy |
Mr. Woolery Inner circle Fairbanks, AK 2149 Posts |
Put your time into the magic you love doing. I really enjoy watching card magic, but don’t do very much of it. I love other sorts of magic more.
Setups can exist with almost any branch of magic. If you don’t like setting up in front of people, perhaps set that trick aside for another phase of your journey. There are a great many things you can do without a setup in front of people. Patrick |
funsway Inner circle old things in new ways - new things in old ways 9982 Posts |
There are many incredible effects that require no set up or preparation other than a mastery knowledge of perhaps six sleights, psychological ploys and audience engagement skills.
You can use found objects rather than purchased things, and make selections of props and tricks based on a knowledge of what works for you. You can go to The Magic Nook and learn how to make you own props and become one with any set up. Not sure which "branch of magic" you are in or aspiring too. The "trunk" is the same -- the ability to create conditions under which magic is expected and appreciated. Any props or "in the box instructions" are secondary. If I was to guess 'card trick' then you have provided the answer to your own question. If a noticeable set up is required, I question whether or not "must be magic" will ever result. Why are you attracted to "set up required" effects at all? What is you expectation?
"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 |
TeddyBoy Special user New York, NY 595 Posts |
I agree that it does not really pay to obsess about doing set-ups. Actually, I am not attracted to set-ups at all -- in fact I feel a bit like I'm cheating when I've used them. It is just that I am working my way through Card College vol 3 and the number of effects offered for practicing the sleights taught are very limited. Therefore I try not to jump over any instructive trick, even if it has a set-up. In this case, the specific trick is The Dance of the Cannibals which requires pulling out only a few cards and placing them in a specific sequence. However, I decided to go with Michael Ammar's version of the similar Cannibal Cards, which does not require a set-up beyond taking the four kings out of the deck. Ammar's version seems to the point and has a nice punch at the end.
That being said I would still love to see what passes as a "professional grade" version of a set-up, just for my curiosity.
So many sleights...so little time.
"Slow...deliberate...natural." Bill Tarr Cheers, Teddy |
funsway Inner circle old things in new ways - new things in old ways 9982 Posts |
On that focus, I once saw a magician at our Magic Circle take up a strange deck and say,
"So many magicians use the four Aces that they become biased uppity - interfering with other impressive magic demonstrations. If you don't mind, I will remove those before continuing." He then searched for and removed the Aces and set them aside. In the process he culled and relocated several cards for three subsequent effects. Yes, some observers expected him to still use the Aces in some way so it served as misdirection too.
"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 |
Harry Lorayne 1926 - 2023 New York City 8558 Posts |
In my last few books I discussed/taught impromptu set-ups. Check out, for example, my take-off on Tamariz's Blown Away, called Blown Further Away...
[email]harrylorayne@earthlink.net[/email]
http://www.harrylorayne.com http://www.harryloraynemagic.com |
mlippo Inner circle Trieste (Italy) 1227 Posts |
Quote:
On Mar 6, 2019, TeddyBoy wrote: TeddyBoy, The Dance of The Cannibals is one of my favourite routines and the one (happened again yesterday) I am asked, from time to time, to show again. And it's very good. Why be put off by the setup, in this case? At the beginning I talk about the cannibal village and I show the four Kings as the four chieftains of the village. Then I show the two of spades as the drummer player (I don't call him the shaman in my story). But before beginning the routine I say I want to tell a story and that I need to look for the needed characters. And then I go through the cards. Yes, the set up is slightly larger than these five cards, but this can be done easily while you're looking for the needed cards. Once I'm done, I just say that I'm ready. So when I show the four kings first and the two of spades, it's not a surprise to them and it oughtn't be ... it's not a four-of-a-kind production. They're there because I put them there in order to tell the story! Hope this helps in this case. Obviously there are situations where the set up must not be known by the audience but that is another story .. and not difficult to do, once you've got a bit of practice and experience. Mark |
TeddyBoy Special user New York, NY 595 Posts |
Thanks Mark, your ideas do help and I am re-visiting Dance of the Cannibals. Frankly, another issue that frustrated me about Giobbi's rendering is that the effect is seven dense pages long!! Giobbi is really excellent but sometimes I feel he just has too much extaneous performance-related information that is not yet helpful to me-I find it frustrating wading through it. But to be self-critical and honest, I am a very impatient guy and want to get the moves down before I absorb the presentation advice that he provides. But, I shall give it another shot. Another reason I will give the Professor another try is that Ammar does an uncharacteristically VERY poor description of the very end of his version of Cannibal Cards which just leaves me hanging at the end.
Onward and upward...I hope.
So many sleights...so little time.
"Slow...deliberate...natural." Bill Tarr Cheers, Teddy |
Joeni New user Germany 73 Posts |
In many kinds of magic there are lots of tricks with and lots without a setup. In Coins and Cups and Balls it's the same. For Cups&Balls there is the complete course (a big PDF) by Michael Ammar for sale on LLEPUB.com. I'd recommend you to give it a try for it is really great. There is the possibility of putting together a full show of different tricks from cards to coins to c/b to sponges and so on while doing the setup for the next trick while doing or cleaning up the last one. This needs a bit of a longer thought process but can be done. So maybe you might try to start with one that needs no setup at all.
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Melephin Regular user 103 Posts |
Quote:
On Mar 5, 2019, TeddyBoy wrote: My way of working out the way to set up the deck is, to take the deck in my hand and play with the cards during the introduction (easy with no intent). Watch yourself, how you play with the cards and compare with the moves you need to make for the set up. Try to bring them together. |
mlippo Inner circle Trieste (Italy) 1227 Posts |
Teddy Boy,
another idea, which is in card College 5, but is actually nothing new nor fancy, is simply to force a card in a convincing manner, have the pack shuffled and given back to you. At this point you go through the cards pulling out some and placing them, face down, on the table. What you're actually doing is pulling out the cards that you need to set up + the forced card. Then you pick up this packet and go through it once more, discarding one by one, on the top of the pack, the cards that you need for your set up, but in reversed order. At the end you're left with the chosen card to reveal and your set up on top of the pack! Obviously you can use this strategy only once in front of the same people and I would use it at the beginning of your show, as a little introductory piece. And you have to have a good patter to go with it! Once you've set up, if possible, do one or two tricks which do not alter your preparation and then do the trick/routine that uses the set up. Delaying the use of it makes it even more impossible for the spectators to connect the sorting out of the cards with the routine that used them! Mark |
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