theory11 — Magic Tricks & the World's Finest Playing Cards

What is a Magician?

BrianationX

BrianationX

Banned
Jul 13, 2008
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Lately theres been a lot of discussion Regarding what a Magician Is?
Is he A sleight Of Hand Master?
Or a Guy that Entertains and amazes people?
Can it be A Guy whos act is Filled with Mouth Garbage?
What is A magician.
To Me this is A Real Magician

"More than twenty effects packed into a 1 min Routine!:mad:
Thats Crazy:mad:
Hes not a Magician":mad:
 
I am going to ignore the obvious talking points I could use regarding your Brian Tudor fetish and simply reply to the question at hand.


To me, a magician is someone who learns, appreciates, respects, and truly loves the art of magic. Whether they ever perform or not is irrelevant in my mind. Many of you consider the Bucks to be some of the greatest magicians of this time... they do not perform professionally. Does that make them any less of a magician than someone who does? Of course not.

Then there is the guy who is performing professionally every single day and yet has no love for the art, its just something that he "likes" or pays the bills. This guy knows nothing of the true art of magic and has no appreciation for it, its history or its growth. Chances are he's not even a good performer but does performing professionally make him a magician? Not in my opinion. Just because you have played a round of golf doesn't make you a golfer. Knowing the sport, practicing and learning about it makes you a golfer. Same for magic.

Also, I don't know what your point was about the "20 tricks in 1 min" thing, but that makes him no more of a magician than the 5 year old that shows you the amazing "glass through table" 20 times in a minute. It is the artful way that the effects are performed that makes them true magic. Whether thats 20 in 1 minute or 1 in 20 minutes, as long as you perform them well and do a good performance, thats all that matters.

C=B
 
Dude a post like this is a reason magic is not considered an art form - a magician is whatever he decides to be to a crowd, but as Jami Ian Swiss talks about in Standards of Deceptions (Theories notes)

A magician MUST fool - it is a limiting definition, but a true one. Like a musician playing the right notes and doing scales, a magician must first decieve.

THEN - all bets are off - after that...you can be a mime, a comedian, a classic performer....a dude that pretends he sucks...a guy that is arrogant and shows his skill.

The thing is - to be considered an art, we must allow diversity.

That being said - I find there are better ways than others to do magic - I find people will accept and enjoy it more one way, and not another. Anyhow - to me...and many audiences, Flourishes like Brian does is impressive, but it is not magic. It is juggling cards...eye candy...enjoyable and good, but in it's own way.

Anyhow - I am sure others will jump on soon - but for now B - you should read my thread,

Diary of a Nitwit Magician - it may be based on your life, in some ways.

Cheers.
 
Think like a layman, now what is a magician? In a layman's eyes a magician is a person who entertains you by doing impossible things using secret methods. A magician is a person who defies reality through methods that the audience can't see. I think the routine you posted is not true, pure, great magic. I think it is a fast bundle of confusion that gets boring because you can't tell what is happening. True, pure, great magic is when you know that the thing happening is using a secret method, but you don't care, you are amazed. I think true magic goes slow, the audience watches the card go in the middle, then you think that the card must be on top, but it can't be. In Brian Tudor's "ambitious card" they barely can tell where the card is, it went so fast that they can't tell what is happening. If I ever don't know what is happening, then it's impossible to be amazed. Thats's like being amazed at something levitating in a wood box, you can't tell if it levitating in there.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LrApPgoWZqE&feature=related
Here he goes slow, he goes slow, you are sure of the movements, but yet he fools you.
 
BrianationX said:
That was way too slow,
why did he take so long to get the card to rise
He could have done that in less than a second
Click to expand...

Because there's no drama in doing it fast. Slower movement creates anticipation, and anticipation is the lifeblood of drama.

One time I made the card rise to the top 52 times in one minute
I dint use different methods
Click to expand...

Assuming you're not lying to try and impress us, that sounds unbelievably boring.
 
BrianationX said:
No it wasn't boring
Click to expand...

I just have to take your word for that, and unfortunately your word isn't good enough.

Regardless, I personally would find such an act boring. The only person I know of who could make doing the same thing 52 times entertaining is Jeff McBride. You are not Jeff McBride. In fact, neither you or me is even a patch on his backside.

But here's the thing. Jeff McBride can do a backpalm production of an entire deck one card at a time and make it entertaining because he understands theatricality and drama. He understands the subtle nuances of entertaining an audience. He's extremely well-versed in international theater and has spent a lifetime honing his art to a level of true mastery.

If it were really as simple "do everything at warp 3", why isn't everyone doing it? Because it ain't that simple, and it never was.

You've got a lot to learn, Brian. But you need to stop talking long enough to let other people help you.
 
BrianationX said:
That was way too slow,
why did he take so long to get the card to rise
He could have done that in less than a second
Click to expand...

He could have, but he has something it appears you lack. Ability to hold a crowd, and entertain.

One time I made the card rise to the top 52 times in one minute
Click to expand...

Ya want a cookie?

I dint use different methods
Click to expand...

So you did the same move, 52 times in a row...?

No it wasn't boring
Click to expand...

Says who?

-ThrallMind
 
ThrallMind said:
He could have, but he has something it appears you lack. Ability to hold a crowd, and entertain.


Ya want a cookie?

So you did the same move, 52 times in a row...?

Says who?

-ThrallMind
Click to expand...

I think a crowd finds someone doing all sorts of sleights really entertaining
I don't just do sleights
I actually incorporate them to card tricks
"The faster you deliver the tricks the more tricks you will do"
ShowOff
I bet I could do a sandwich routine with 9 different sandwiches in 2 minutes
while the common slow magician will only do one .
WHy waste time talking when you can show them more magic.
1.How about Two
2.No I said I didn't do 52 different moves
3.My friends


Steerpike said:
In fact, neither you or me is even a patch on his backside.
Click to expand...

Speak for yourself
 
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I think what everyone is trying to say is that magic is not a race, it's not about how many tricks you can do in a minute, I don't recall anyone timing my performances. If you're a magician, you have to PRESENT. You can pull off a sleight amazingly or just get away with it, it won't matter because the audience didn't see it. Doing things slow is a part of magic, doing things quick is a part of flourishes, start practising your magic slowly. The slower your magic is, the bigger the reactions.
 
Far out BrianationX, do you purposely get on everybody's backside, or does it just happen accidently?

Honestly, you should read what you post, you sound so arrogant and up your self. I was talking to a friend today about sleight of hand, and how the audience perceives it. And we came to the conclusion that.... the audience doesn't give a poop. They honestly do not care. The only people who do care are magicians, and how many magicians do you perform to a day? You could all these amazing sleight, that have been perfected to a T. But in the end, to the audience, your only vanishing/changing/switching etc a card. And it all looks the same to the audience.

And about Mouth Garbage. Please, go and watch a film with the sound turn off and tell me how awesome it was. Nobody wants to see a routine that is silent and not entertaining.
That Tommy Wonder routine was brilliant, did you see, the audience actually enjoyed it, you could hear their reactions.

Could you please post a video of yourself performing one of your silent close up routines. And when I see that, I will shut up. But until then, I won't

Cheers, Tom
 
BrianationX said:
I think a crowd finds someone doing all sorts of sleights really entertaining
Click to expand...

They're not supposed to know how many sleights you're doing. And you can only do something so many times before it gets boring.

I don't just do sleights
I actually incorporate them to card tricks
Click to expand...

That's not terribly impressive, as that's the general definition of a trick.

"The faster you deliver the tricks the more tricks you will do"
ShowOff
Click to expand...

Quality and quantity, friend.

I bet I could do a sandwich routine with 9 different sandwiches in 2 minutes
while the common slow magician will only do one .
Click to expand...

Am I supposed to be impressed?

WHy waste time talking when you can show them more magic.
Click to expand...

Why blitz through a dozen mediocre effects when I can show one brilliant effect?

Speak for yourself
Click to expand...

Are you actually trying to imply that you are on par with Jeff McBride? I demand video proof complete with audience reactions.
 
As Steerpike said in his post, quality and quantity.

What's the big deal doing magic so quickly? Maybe you would like to get your name in the Guinness World Records Book?

If you perform so quickly, your spectators won't have a clue what you're doing. They will just get bored and leave.
 
BrianationX said:
I think a crowd finds someone doing all sorts of sleights really entertaining
I don't just do sleights
Click to expand...

If you are showcasing sleights, you aren't performing magic. You are merely showing you are good at manipulating cards. The point of magic is to leave the audience a sense of wonderment. Not "Well, when he turned over those two cards, that was cool."

I actually incorporate them to card tricks
Click to expand...

I'd hope so.

"The faster you deliver the tricks the more tricks you will do"
ShowOff
Click to expand...

Ya know, I can quote people too.

"It is better to keep your mouth closed and let people think you are a fool than to open it and remove all doubt."
-- Mark Twain

That quote will help you better than any of these quotes you've been posting from Tudor.

I bet I could do a sandwich routine with 9 different sandwiches in 2 minutes
while the common slow magician will only do one .
Click to expand...

As I've said before, it's because they understand performance. Why would you do a sandwich routine with 9 sandwiches? Once the effect is done, why do it 8 more times? *shakes head*

WHy waste time talking when you can show them more magic.
Click to expand...

So we are back to your MouthGarbage argument again. Can't you just accept you are wrong? And yes, if you can show them more magic, then by all means. However, you aren't showing them magic. You are throwing many things into their face that they may not even comprehend.

2.No I said I didn't do 52 different moves
Click to expand...

...

3.My friends
Click to expand...

Ya know, the team on the show Jackass are great friends. They also thought shoving a tube up their *** and pumping water into it was a good idea. Your friends are also baised by them being your friends. Upload a video of you doing your "magic" for people on the streets, and THEM saying what you do is good. Then maybe, MAYBE, I'll give you some credit.

-ThrallMind
 
BrianationX said:
That was way too slow,
why did he take so long to get the card to rise
He could have done that in less than a second
Click to expand...


Why'd they have to make Lord of the Rings into three three-hour movies? They could have just destroyed the ring right after the opening credits. The whole trilogy would have been over in 20 seconds and we could have gone home.
 
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