Saturday Night Contest - The Blaine Effect

[j.bayme]

Tonight is Saturday night, and that means it's time for this week's Saturday Night Contest. Tonight also happens to be the birthday of a certain someone that has inarguably had some effect on almost all of us - David Blaine. Today is David's birthday - April 4th, 1973.

Our contest tonight is a serious one and asks a single question - what effect has this individual had on you? How has his career affected your life? How has his performance style affected your magic? Did you get started and inspired in magic - like Dan and Dave - after seeing him on television? What effect has he had on you - and why?

I'm curious to see the sincere thoughts of each of you. Even if your performance style is the polar opposite of DB's, I think that the manner in which he has brought magic into a more mainstream, modern light has had a touch on all of us - as modern magicians.

Submissions should be in the form of a post in response to THIS forum thread, and must be in on or before 11:00pm EST. Submissions - regardless of content - should be respectful, professional, and sincere, as I'll send a link to this thread to DB after the close of contest tonight.

Up for grabs is the DB poster of your choice, shipped on the house. I'm intrigued to see the submissions come in for this tonight. The most impactful submission (to be determined by our crew) takes home the prize.

UPDATE : This contest has ended. See DB's response to your messages here on Twitter.

 

[aJohnson]

Awesome

 

[cedwards90]

what are these posters exactly

 

[Camel]

David Blaine always makes me feel like a layman again. Being a magician, as I'm sure everyone knows, sort of ruins magic for you, in the fact you most effects don't impress you as much now as much as they did. But Blaine always has something new, he always will have new material in his specials, filled with ideas I have never thought of. For example, in the Dive of Death special, when he performed lit, he changed a card in a persons hand to one they had thought of. I thought that was okay, but when they opened the matchbook to show that it was the previous card, I didn't even care how it was done. I was truly impressed and didn't want to know how it was done. I was left with the image that the spectator got and didn't even care to find out a method. That is the effect that David Blaine gives me, not seeing a trick and finding or making a method for it, just leaving it be and being amazed.

 

[j.bayme]

what are these posters exactly

Your pick - on the house.

 

[lord_of_magic]

David was the one person who actually did get me interested in magic.I remember it was a boring summer night when I was wathcing t.v. and I saw something on called "Street Magic"(David's t.v. special).I was totally blown away!. I had never been exposed to magic that much before, especially magic on that level before. This kicked in a passion/urge to find out more and more about magic. I was constanltly going to the library to find out anything i could about the guy. I would spend hours on the internet trying to find out more. My mind was begging for more about the knowledge of magic-card magic in general. I finally began practicing a few basic tricks i learned and i would spend hours upon end just sitting down tinkering with a trick. I was constantly wanting to perform my latest trick to anyone i could. ata the same time i was learining more and more about the art. I also fell upon cardistry due to my passion of magic that was sparked by david blaine, but that wasnt till later. David was definitely the first and probably the greatest influence I had when I was starting out and i definitely have him to thank for that. Eventually i came upon a site known as theory11, and that was the beginning of a new era in magic for me. This was all due to the wonderful, magical, mysterious , and marvelous david blaine!

 

[tally-ho]

Your pick - on the house.

the signed or unsigned?

 

[aJohnson]

Well... David Blaine was my main insperation and got me started in magic. After watching what he did and the astonishment he caused in both the spectators who he was performing for and the astonishment in me, I was gobsmacked at the effects he did and made me actually believe it was real, I wanted to be able to do that. After then, I decided I wanted to do card magic and began my search, the rest speaks itself.

 

[TheoryGV]

ok woow first off would like to say great contest JB

Well like many others DB got me started in magic. i remember watching his vertigo speical (which i still watch to this day because it had such an impact on me). I odnt really think his preformance style has effected me that much but like him i think therer are effect that dont need much patter. Like he says if you could really do this you wouldnt tell this story of so and so. Um what else i think that DB is the reason alot of us got into magic and for that i am greatful of him. And lastly one big effect is if you do a effect right you can get that wow adn freaking out action like david does and thta is one thing that all magicans should stride tolds getting that one perfect preformance but all the time. so here are some of my thouight i may update if i think of anything else but for now im going to see fast and the furious.
peace

 

[drop]

What a great topic, this is actually pretty personal for me, and here is my story.
---
Although Blaine didn't get me started in magic, he was certianly the one to get me involved in performing for strangers and friends. And this has had a massive impact on my life. A very close friend of mine had some personal issues at home, and has been kicked around from welfare housing in Washington, to the far reaches of the east coast. He's very bright, but had gotten involved in some drugs and more personal issues over time, and things were really looking down for him. One day the two of us were just watching some random videos on youtube, and this was after I had been performing for a while, when he asked about magic and wanted to see some clips of professionals online. Blaine was the first name to pop into my head, and the two of us just sat there and watched short clips, a few minutes each, for an hour or two. This really sparked his interest in magic, and since then has replaced drugs and binge drinking with performing. Things have been going very well for him, he's off to college now, something no one who knew him ever thought would happen, and on the weekends and over summer he's back home with either one of his parents, which is something else we didn't think would ever happen. This might be as a direct impact on me as it was on my friend, but I'm very grateful that he's cleaned up his life and is doing a lit better with his family, and a lot of that is because of Blaine.

 

[tally-ho]

While David Blaine's magic has always been an inspiration to me, it was not his magic that affected me and changed me to the way I am today. It was his actions, his stunts and his personality. I loved the way that he performed for anyone and only cared about sharing the magic and bringing entertainment to their lives. I realized that that is what I wanted to do.
His stunts showed that it is possible to overcome almost any difficulty in life and that still pushes me in magic and in my everyday life.
Through Blaine, I learned about performance, and how you should always be yourself, and because of that, I now have a job performing weekly at a pub.

And happy birthday, David. virtual handshake or high-five. your choice.

 

[Dizzi]

How has David Blaine Inspired me?

I was going through a hard time in my life. My marks were poor and I was being bullied alot. I thoguht back to when I was younger and I did magic. I was so happy. I had confidence and, most importantly, self esteem. The first magician I saw when I re-entered the art was David blaine, who started the flame and I have never looked back

So, in short, David Blaine re-ignited the spark, and helped bring me out of depression.


(That was really personal....)

 

[b+w]

I've always known the odd magic trick, like everyone does throughout their life, but it was when I first saw him on tv which got me heavily into sleight of hand. When I fiirst started, I always thought of magic like a comedy act, eg. top hat, rabbits and sawing someone in half, but when I saw his magic special, I saw how you could change someone with magic. It makes it seem more like he's just a normal person like them who just happens to be able to perform miracles, rather than someone who acts like he's above everyone else. It was the first time I saw how magic can make someone feel, becauase it is right in front of their eyes. He made the magic real and pure. For instance my favorite effect that he peforms is the coin bite. This is because, I saw how to do it on the masked magician, and when I saw other people do it, they just looked like they were bitiing. But his presentation made it feel real, and made it like it was actually happening. This is only one example of how he has inspired me to keep going, and how to connect with the spectator which I think he does perfectly.

 

[theJokerhahaha13]

Wow, how has David Blaine affected me? That is a big question JB.
Fortunately, I have an answer...

Before I saw David on TV, I thought magic was just a bunch of guys in top hats with magic wands, cheesy lines, you know what I mean.
I never thought magic could be...well...cool.
Then, when I was nine years old I saw Drowned Alive.
I actually didn't want to watch it at first, I thought that it was going to be the same load of junk I thought that magic was. But I did watch it, all the way through.
This was the man who changed my view of magic and of life...forever...no joke.
He was so effortless...the way he performed, especially card tricks, was flawless.
The feeling I felt watching him I am sure is what a snake feels like when it's charmer begins to play music. I was mezmerized as such.

After the show, I wanted to learn, and I did.
Now I can spread that sense of mystery into anyone I see
That sense of mystery that first captivated a nine year-old punk with no sense of wonder.

 

[Tarvi]

Although David Blaine has not been the only force which has pulled me into magic, and thence into flourishing, I feel his constant presence across many different media led to me not being able to escape his massive presence.

Searching for beginners tutorials, I would undoubtedly find a video of one of his performances, and looking back on some of them, I see how several of them were done, and I laugh, because the beauty of the man is his confidence, and pride and energy that he puts into his work.

The reactions of his spectators drove me to desire the same sort of respect, the same images of a persons face as they realise something truly beautiful has happened to them, and the realization in your mind that they would be locking that magical memory inside them for possibly the rest of their life.
Maybe even drawing them into the art! Who knows?

He has changed my perceptions of double lifts being used almost exclusively. It's all about presentation, and interaction with those who are keen to see what you have to show them.

Also, the many 'spoofs' of this man, surprised me. In the end, I found myself thinking that there must be something special in him, for people to go to all the effort for just gaining a few laughs. I believe I was correct.

Many may criticise him, many may dislike him, but for all their reasons, who can dispute the impact he has had on the art, and the community and artists behind it.

-David

 

[sky_lark]

Happy Birthday, DB!

Quick question - what is the minimum and maximum length for submissions? Ex. min. 200 words and max. 800 words or something.

Thanks.

 

[ZacEckstein]

I remember When I was Young and me and my family were watching David Blaine "Street Magic". My Mom was so amazed at the things he could do and to see her reaction to that was just... Amazing. I said Right Their "I want to be able to do that like he does!" She Even bought me my first magic kit but sadly, my mom had past away of cancer before I could show her my first trick. She always loved magic and it made her happy. Magic let's people let go of their problems and just have fun! I never got a chance to show my mom magic... But i knew I wasn't gonna stop! I WILL Make sure that i will continue to show magic and continue making people happy. If it wasn't for David Blaine being on TV that night, I probably would not be here Doing what I do. I thank you David, and my mom for in inspiring me to make people happy and Perform Magic.

- Zac

 

[tally-ho]

Happy Birthday, DB!

Quick question - what is the minimum and maximum length for submissions? Ex. min. 200 words and max. 800 words or something.

Thanks.

I don't think there is one.

 

[r.zhang]

David Blaine was the person that got me into magic. During the period of my life that I was in before i got started, I was always depressed and bored. I had nothing that got me interested or excited. I felt useless. Then one day, I was shown a clip of David Blaine. The reactions that he got from people were amazing. From there, I knew that I wanted to be able to get those type of reactions because I was for once excited by something. i wanted to make that emotional impact on people and ignite that sense of astonishment. From there, i was hooked.
The biggest influences on my magic and performance style have always been Dan and Dave, Derren Brown and of course, Blaine. Blaine had a major effect in terms of performance and showmanship. He took the simplest effects on the planet and was able to turn them into small miracles. He's one of the few people that can show you something and make you think that he's got real godlike abilities. While many people laugh at his performances for being nothing but "Look, watch this," I learned a lot from his style because that is the type of person that he is. He was being who he was and kept the magic as simple as possible which is something that i strive to do with every performance. From that I learned that I did not have to have this "Pick a card' watch and be amazed," type persona which at first was my impression of magic was supposed to be. I learned to be myself but exaggerrated in such a way that it's captivating, entertaining, and demands attention. That was a lesson that I learned to apply outside of performance. It's because of his influence that everywhere I go, I'm recognized for being able to know how to speak to people, be able to doing amazing things with almost nothing and being confident.
I thank him very much for starting me on the journey into magic. He's shaped the type of person that i am in and outside of magic.He's responsible for igniting a passion. Happy birthday.

 

[tally-ho]

this is why.