I'm sure most of you will say that Sleight of hand vs Gaffs is actually a false dichotomy, so let me preempt that objection . This is more of an essay on something I realized recently about using gaffs/gimmicks effectively. Before I proceed, I want you to have a look at these videos. The second video is especially relevant to what I'm going to say but the first one gives some context.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mRO8BaW8zJk
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LhadLDp8QXs&feature=related
Now that you have seen the videos, you will admit that Akira was being very bold there. He allowed multiple cameras to watch his every move from different angles. This looks like a lose-lose situation because the audience feels like they can easily catch his sleight of hand and undermine his ability. I wasn't sure why a magician would throw his audience this kind of a challenge. What is interesting is that after letting the audience catch his muscle pass, he moves into ultimate 3 card monte.
Ultimate 3 card monte is one of those "impossible effects" to start with. He goes on to present it in progressively more impossible phases. The audience keeps trying to catch some sleight of hand, even to the point of being within inches of his hands but no one suspects the real method.
My immediate question was - Why doesn't anyone suspect the actual method? If anyone told the audience the secret it would seem painfully obvious. In fact, look at it another way. What would happen if you showed only this trick to someone who is extremely analytical (Sherlock Holmes if you prefer)? He would probably be able to eliminate the possibility of complicated sleight of hand by the end of the trick simply because the whole thing is too clean and effortless. Unlike normal 3 card monte there isn't any single moment where the cards could be mixed/switched. So why doesn't the audience discover the secret?
The answer appears to be that Akira has convinced the audience that he has superhuman ability in sleight of hand. His initial trickery has conditioned the audience to watch out closely for some sneaky moves. Since they give him credit for amazing sleight of hand, they don't suspect the true method at all and are badly fooled.
Why am I writing all this? I am a beginner in close up magic and I think there is an important lesson here. The lesson we can learn is that if people credit you with great technical skill, you can get away with using gaffs/gimmicks more easily. Therefore, if you are a beginner in close up magic, you might want to think twice about that latest gimmick/gaff on the market. You should focus on your technique and sleights first. Once your sleight of hand is good enough to convince your audience that you can perform miracles, you can blow them away with tricks that could never be accomplished with only sleight of hand and they will never suspect.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mRO8BaW8zJk
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LhadLDp8QXs&feature=related
Now that you have seen the videos, you will admit that Akira was being very bold there. He allowed multiple cameras to watch his every move from different angles. This looks like a lose-lose situation because the audience feels like they can easily catch his sleight of hand and undermine his ability. I wasn't sure why a magician would throw his audience this kind of a challenge. What is interesting is that after letting the audience catch his muscle pass, he moves into ultimate 3 card monte.
Ultimate 3 card monte is one of those "impossible effects" to start with. He goes on to present it in progressively more impossible phases. The audience keeps trying to catch some sleight of hand, even to the point of being within inches of his hands but no one suspects the real method.
My immediate question was - Why doesn't anyone suspect the actual method? If anyone told the audience the secret it would seem painfully obvious. In fact, look at it another way. What would happen if you showed only this trick to someone who is extremely analytical (Sherlock Holmes if you prefer)? He would probably be able to eliminate the possibility of complicated sleight of hand by the end of the trick simply because the whole thing is too clean and effortless. Unlike normal 3 card monte there isn't any single moment where the cards could be mixed/switched. So why doesn't the audience discover the secret?
The answer appears to be that Akira has convinced the audience that he has superhuman ability in sleight of hand. His initial trickery has conditioned the audience to watch out closely for some sneaky moves. Since they give him credit for amazing sleight of hand, they don't suspect the true method at all and are badly fooled.
Why am I writing all this? I am a beginner in close up magic and I think there is an important lesson here. The lesson we can learn is that if people credit you with great technical skill, you can get away with using gaffs/gimmicks more easily. Therefore, if you are a beginner in close up magic, you might want to think twice about that latest gimmick/gaff on the market. You should focus on your technique and sleights first. Once your sleight of hand is good enough to convince your audience that you can perform miracles, you can blow them away with tricks that could never be accomplished with only sleight of hand and they will never suspect.