an ambitious card routine of mine

[chrisus93311]

Finally after one year of playing with card, i have the courage to post a video of my performance. There is a lot of you on this forum who is better than me, that is why i want to ask you to help me out. Can you guys tell me what i am doing wrong in my performance. i would really like to know, that is why i posted this. I have never show this to anyone else because i am afraid to mess up. i go really nervous when someone ask me to show them a trick. Any help with that?


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_wr5Uezp_Qs

Anyway, this is my first video, and don't tell me any thing about the quality of the video, i can't do anything about, my cam is 6 years old, and i don't know any program on editing or how to edit.

thank you

 

[=Gambit=]

Not bad, but you talk too much during the whole presentation try to make the presentation short and simple dun drag too long, and i like your pass

 

[Kontents]

First off I am no better then you, but as a up and coming magician here are my thoughts:

1: You have ALOT of body language.. i.e. hand movements, stepping around a lot etc. Take a deep breathe and just pretend that you have done this a million times already and it isn’t a problem to do it again.

2: You need to work on what you are saying to the spectator. Think of it as a Salesman pitch, you are telling me something that I *spectator* has to believe. Try to keep sentences brief and to the point to get your trick across. I suggest writing a little script and memorizing it to your best to always know what to say and to be good at saying it.

3: You are very good with your slight of hand work. Good job

4: When you are showing the rubber band you don’t have to show it so much. Putting something into a routine only needs an introduction so we understand it’s a rubber band you don’t have to tell us it’s a "normal" rubber band...we can see that.
__________________________________________________

Overall it was not bad at all. Work on staying calm and staying IN CONTROL of the trick that’s the way you sell the magic to the spectator.


Cheers!

 

[chrisus93311]

thank you

Thank you, i will definitely work on that.

I was moving around because i was really nervous.

Thank you, this forum is great.

 

[Kontents]

Remember the more confident you are about the trick the stronger the audience’s reaction will be each time that cards hits their faces.

 

[Valtica]

Overall, very nice. I like the way you incorporated many different sleights and tricks.

My only problem that I see from your performance is your body language, patter, a missing move from your routine, and your double lift.

Too much movement of your body. The spectator wouldn't want to "track" all your movements (because all spectators are like hecklers ). If there is too much body motion, it just gives the impression that you aren't being fair.

I like to keep my ACR very simple (maybe I'll add pixel to my performance too XD). Thus, I like to keep my actions comprehensible, this meaning, I want the spectators to know what I'm doing but, BAM! Something magical happens. I think this gives a more magical feeling, and Pixel is an example of that.

Slow down and don't move too much. For example, when you turned over the card for the pass (to show them the card), and turned it back over, your movement was too quick. In essence, people want to understand what you are doing and want to see a miracle happen at the same time. So slow down.

In your patter, although it's just my opinion, don't say that "this isn't magic, it's just sleight of hands." If they know it is sleight of hands, its still amazing, but not magical anymore. It gives an impression that you are cheating.

Also, in your routine, consider adding the pop-up move, because that is a simple but amazing finale to your ACR.

Lastly, your get-ready for a double lift needs some tuning. When you are using your thumb to get a break, tilt the pack up more towards you, so the spectators can't see what you are doing. Adding a slight riffle after getting the break may help make that tilting motion more natural. It will just seem like a habit.

 

[Kontents]

^^^^
Ya totally forgot about the DL in there. Its the way hes holding the card like hes hiding something.

Try to make it seem as if you are taking a spoon and scooping up the card"s" vs holding the DL with your fingers.

 

[chrisus93311]

practice

i am going to need to practice more, thank you.
i am so glad i didn't show it to anyone else yet.

 

[Kontents]

Honestly man its fine to show it out their most people really wouldn't see it the same way. We know what your doing from the very begining so its expected that our hopes of your presentation would be different.

But if you showed it to Paris Hilton she would flash you because you are so good

 

[Valtica]

Honestly man its fine to show it out their most people really wouldn't see it the same way. We know what your doing for the very begining so its expected that our hopes of your presentation would be different.

But if you showed it to Paris Hilton she would flash you because you are so good

I know I'm spamming..... but just LOL

 

[Chris W]

I agree with those above. The performance was pretty enjoyable. It wasn't what I was used to seeing with ACRs. It was pretty entertaining for me.

On another note, I can nervous as hell when performing, so know that you aren't alone. And the Braue Pop Up move is insane as an ending! FYI

 

[chrisus93311]

lol

i am glad it was entertaining

 

[Maximonti]

I think you just need to work on making your handling more smooth and calm.

But what I thought was a very weak choice to make; if I was watching you're performance, and you said "Magic doesn't exist, I'm just really good at sleight of hand and I've practiced a lot"

In my opinion that would make the audience feel ****ty. It's a pretty smug thing to say.

You also need to work on your pace. There needs to be less talking and it needs to go faster.

 

[hammad]

Awesome

Dude you are jsut awesome . . its quite good for the first time . yet you have the potential to mature even more though it'll take time. Showmanship is the most important thing which can only come through experience . your moves are almost flawless.

What i like to do in ambitious card is that i add Daniel Garcia's Fraud into it i got really cool reactions with it . I liked the King of clubs rising from 3/4 to 1/2 to the first cards it is mind boggling i really want to learn that !

cheers and keep practicing

 

[Jacob L]

You obviously have practiced a lot on your slights, they are very good, but that doesnt really matter if your nervous and your hands are shaking because
1: If you come across as nervous, the audience will start to feel sympathetic for you at first, and pay attention more to you than the magic. But if the nervousness continues, they will most likely just get annoyed because it can be distracting. ( I know from experience )
2: shaking hands cause slights to become ten times harder, even a simple DL. And there is no need to make anything harder than it already is.

Trust me on the nervousness part, I have and still do get a bit nervous when performing for people. This is what I do to calm myself down.

1: Take a deeeeeep breath and let it out, just let your body hang loose for a little bit.
2:Realize that the audience doesn't (or most likely doesn't) know the secret of the trick. If your thinking, "Omg I"m turning over two cards instead of one their gonna catch me!" then they probably will.

Wayne Houchin has a helpful quote in the beginners welcome video on this site. He says because your in on the trick and you know the secret, the experience is much different for you than the audience, because they do not know the secret. Keep that in mind when you are performing. If someone asks you to do a trick, they are willing to be entertained by you, so they most likely will not be burning your hands trying to figure it out, but rather enjoy the magic you are performing to them.

I hope this helps, any more questions feel free to PM me or anyone on here.

 

[Sinful07]

I disagree about the 'body language' part. Big movements can hide the smaller vital movements, such as that little tilt to the right much needed for the pass.

The sleights were good, but your patter was quite monotonous, and didnt quite make sense. You were blurting out magic terminology as well, which spectators would not understand. Bottom deal? 'Grip' ? As far as they know, its just 'Giving out cards' and 'Holding the deck'.

 

[Kontents]

I disagree about the 'body language' part. Big movements can hide the smaller vital movements, such as that little tilt to the right much needed for the pass.

Thats the thing though, he wasnt making big movements he was making a million small ones. The body language from him was not what to do to look good at doing what hes doing..


Doooooing.

 

[Retype.SW]

I watched most of the video, and from what I saw it was good. Like others have said, don't move around so much. Just keep the deck in one position and try not to play with it.

Also, it's sort of made of ending for the ACR, if you see what I mean. An ACR is meant to progress in impossible-ness (?). Usually people might put a colour change as the finale, or Shifty, but you used them just as phases, with the finale being Pixel.

You have the sleights down well, but it sort of just doesn't flow. Maybe it feels like it doesn't flow because the patter was rather choppy. Try writing out a script, having a progresion of phases, and keep the deck still and open.

A lot of people seem to like Ammar's approach to the ACR. But for me, the DL, placing the indifferent card in the middle, and showing the top card is far too strong to be a second phase. Or any phase really, I like to use it as my finale.

I think you might like this following video. It uses some hard sleights, which I'm guessing you like, it is short, it tells a story, and notice how he isn't constantly shifting around or doing anything suspicious with the deck. He just sits there, and tells you a story.

http://vimeo.com/2529746

The password is marlo, by the way.

 

[LuseifHo]

I wont talk about the routine and sleights and what not. You already know where to improve.
I just want to say that a magician who is afraid to perform is as useless as a deck of cards that are stuck together. Not trying to be mean, but what is the point of learning all this if you cant use it in the real world?
1. shaking hands and what not. If your hands shake in front of a camera... keep practicing. Same goes for the walking around and movements. tone it down.
2. Trim your patter and presentation. Audience want simple and interesting. If it is long, it needs to be able to grasp your audience. I dont suggest long patter for ACR.
3. Shaking in front of audience is more normal than in front of a camera. If you are fine talking to people you know, then you should be able to get hold of your nerves when performing. Its not that hard. Just keep trying and you will soon find the joy in performing and amazing people.
4. Confidence is key. If you act confident, your audience will forget one or two flashes. They will enjoy your company and automatically enjoy they way you perform and what you perform. It goes the same for mentalists. Some tricks if you are not confident, the trick doesnt work at all.

Perform for more people. Dont just hang in your room and shake in front of a camera.