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Dennis Michael Inner circle Southern, NJ 5821 Posts |
This months Magic Magazine (October 04) has Mike Bent's Count Quackular routine in it.
Dennis Michael
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EvanMagic Elite user Manitoba 471 Posts |
It has to be Glass Gone. The effect is a glass disappears under a cloth after you "accidently" pass it over the pitcher. You can hear the clunk, and the effect was $40. Total Rip-off.
Evan |
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Bill Scarlett Veteran user Vermont 366 Posts |
I have an old pizza oven surprise that I have never and will never use in its current state. The problem is the very sharp and nasty hook that is supposed to be for hanging the ***** on the back of the kid assistant. If I used that hook on a kids back there would be no surprise because the child would be howling with pain. What was the designer of this trick thinking??
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Skip Way Inner circle 3771 Posts |
All these comments about magic props...and, except for Bill's most recent comment, the complaints are regarding the "worthless" routines rather than shoddy workmanship, poor materials or sloppy instructions. Seems to me...poor routines are the fault of the performer...not the apparatus. A great performer could take a crappy piece of equipment and build a killer routine around it. Think about it.
Skip
How you leave others feeling after an Experience with you becomes your Trademark.
Magic Youth Raleigh - RaleighMagicClub.org |
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Derek Rutt Creations Regular user thailand 172 Posts |
Just a little question from all that I have read above is this about the worst trick or the worst presentation .......it seems to me the only difference in people who like a trick and those who do not like it boils down to presentation .....or it does not fit their style .....this does not mean that the trick or effect is bad.........just a thought.
Derek
Hope this helps. Creation is life
www.derekrutt.com |
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Gideon Sylvan Special user Deerfield, IL 541 Posts |
I bought the most pathetic dream box on ebay for $20.
You know you are a magician when you have boxes full of lecture notes you have never read, but still are excited about going out and buying more.
www.gideonsylvan.com |
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EvanMagic Elite user Manitoba 471 Posts |
Quote:
A great performer could take a crappy piece of equipment and build a killer routine around it. Think about it. You're right. But even those "great magicians" take tricks we find amazing and call them junk. It's all at the beholders point of view. Since my glass gone is made from materials you can find at the dollar store, my earlier post was talking more about the horrible quality for the high buck. Evan |
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Donald Dunphy Inner circle Victoria, BC, Canada 7563 Posts |
Quote:
On 2005-08-25 19:13, Bill Scarlett wrote: Bill - I just did this yesterday in a show. I have used Pizza Oven Surprise in over 500 shows (possibly closer to 1000) since the late 90's. I don't only do the standard version, but do variations (see Tony Daniels video, Eric Paul's course, etc.) I don't put the pizza on the child's back, I put it on mine. I wear a tuxedo for my shows, so I don't feel the pin at all through my coat. BTW, other alternatives to the hook are a big ring of duct tape. - Donald
Donald Dunphy is a Victoria Magician, British Columbia, Canada.
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Bill Scarlett Veteran user Vermont 366 Posts |
Thanks for the tip Donald. I agree that the effect itself is a great one, I just don't think a big metal hook is the greatest means to attach something to a child volunteer, or a magician for that matter. I will do some experimenting with duct tape so I can get the Pizza Oven into my act. I think it has great potential.
I agree with Skip too, there are probably lots of props in our drawers that we have written off as junk that could be a winner if only we take the time to come up with a great presentation. |
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Harry Murphy Inner circle Maryland 5444 Posts |
Worst prop! I guess those would be the ones so poorly made that they could not stand up to the rigors of performing multiple shows! I remember some of the Supreme cardboard props in the lat 70’s that looked pretty until you used them more than five or six times. I have bought a couple of wooden props made in India that didn’t last through rehearsals! Those were poor props!
Blaming a poor routine on the prop is a waste of time. I would have said that the Chinese Washing Machine was a poor prop based on the fact that MY routine for it simply sucked. The kids responded so-so to the standard routine and my mugging but it did not garner the response that merited it being trucked with the show (it’s a fairly large and heavy prop). So I discontinued it in my kids show and put it aside for a while. Well I needed an adult routine and decided to use the prop. I repainted it and dressed it differently and built a different routine (same premise but way different routine, jokes, etc). It really plays big for the adults and gets the kind of reactions I wanted for the kid shows (go figure!). Hippity Hoppity rabbits is a staple for me! It not only gets the kids screaming and laughing it actually fools the adults watching (and gets repeat bookings). You can’t get more mileage than that! I wonder how you are playing your routine that it falls flat for you? Ali Bongo’s hat! I’ve glued a Shrek face on the monster (printed it on white contact paper and stuck it over the monster and I’ve made one using Fiona’s face for a girl). The kids identify it and with it instantly. It garners the laughs and doesn’t embarrass the kid assisting you (sometimes I do that final hat on me so that I am the monster/Shrek if the kid is really young and may get upset with his face covered). The routine is quick, easy and adds to the ongoing show.
The artist formally known as Mumblepeas!
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Starrpower Inner circle 4070 Posts |
But, Harry, you're straying fromt he topic and telling us what props you LIKE. I was curious about those that were real disappointments, or failed to get the reaction you thought it would.
I tried the "card duck" again in my resort shows this summer. I'm gonna sell it |
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Kent Wong Inner circle Edmonton, Alberta, Canada 2458 Posts |
The worst prop I ever bought for a kids show was a Lotta Bowl. It just can't play as a running gag without ruining the rhythm of my show. I'm not saying it's a bad effect. It just doesn't fit my the rhythm of my performance. Plus, I just can't get comfortable with that much water in someone else's living room.
Kent
"Believing is Seeing"
<BR>______________________ <BR> <BR>www.kentwongmagic.com |
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sluggo New user Mike B. 85 Posts |
Quote:
On 2004-09-26 23:37, RoyHolidayMagic wrote: I would have to agree, pizza to go looks great on paper but doesn't even look close to a real pizza and the trick isn't all that great.
Dad, magic, ventriloquism, facepainter & balloons.
A weakness for coffee (caffeine) |
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Smoke & Mirrors Special user 506 Posts |
I still think it's a great trick but one that I recently took OUT of the show was the popular Silk Serenade with the 45rpm records that change colors. Used to get good reactions, set to music, colorful, surprising, etc. Now the reactions are dead, I even had one kid say they didn't understand what happened..."you put it in and took it out"..."yeah, but it changed colors!" I said...."it did?" he asked.
...oh well. Any chance they make this in CD's? I bought the "Color Changing CD's", that's not what I'm talking about. It's OK, they can kinda tell your holding more than 3 CDs. |
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Starrpower Inner circle 4070 Posts |
I don't know if they make it in CD's (but I'd guess *someone* does.) But, have you considered the similar trick that uses rings or feathers (or, in some versions, yarn)? The "kicker" is they all turn into a giant tri-colored feather ring. Might be something to consider, as the ending emphasizes the color change (which, of course, has nothing to do with this topic!)
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Smoke & Mirrors Special user 506 Posts |
I got the feather rings, nice illusion. But my bag seems kinda thick at the end, the Silk Serenade allowed for you to open & show the envelope empty afterwards. But I think the feathers work better on a stage for sure. Thanks. (sorry, back to the topic at hand)...
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MagicB1S Inner circle Knoxville Tenn. 1039 Posts |
The worst prop I can say I bought was Milk Shake. It played well and I use a version today that I built myself but the original that I bought thru a respectable internet shop was pure JUNK. It was made in India and I think my three year old could have built a better version.
"There are Tricks To All Trades.... My Trade is all Tricks"
"An amature practices until he gets it right. A Professional Practices until he can't get it wrong" www.Themagicchest.webs.com bobswislosky@yahoo.com |
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Payne Inner circle Seattle 4571 Posts |
Quote:
On 2005-08-28 11:55, sluggo wrote: I bought one of these off a young magician at a local swap meet cause he had pretty much the same opinion of it as you do. I promptly threw everything away save for the pizza and came up with a mentalism routine with it. When he saw what I did with it he asked for it back. The best thing you can do with this trick is to throw the instructions away and develop your own routine with it. There are no bad props only undeveloped routines.
"America's Foremost Satirical Magician" -- Jeff McBride.
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Starrpower Inner circle 4070 Posts |
Well, I think that there ARE bad props. Poorly constructed, using inferior materials and/or poor craftsmanship. Shoddy paintjobs. Props that advertise something that they don't in fact do well. Clips or magnets that won't hold the intended item(s). Gimmicks and gaffs that are poorly designed or not well hidden. Props that are built bulkily instead of sleek and deceptive.
Yes, I must say that thre are, indeed, bad props. Routines are important, but that doesn't illiminate the need for, or effectiveness of, a good, well-made prop. |
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ed rhodes Inner circle Rhode Island 2885 Posts |
Quote:
On 2004-09-26 23:37, RoyHolidayMagic wrote: I think the problem with the trick is it's too obvious you're producing a fake pizza. I used the popcorn production from George Anderson's book "Magic Digest" (once I'd made a decent box) and the kids loved it!
"...and if you're too afraid of goin' astray, you won't go anywhere." - Granny Weatherwax
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