Saturday Night Roundtable - James Dickson

[CaseyRudd]

Hope everyone is having a great weekend!

For tonight's contest, we're hosting a roundtable discussion podcast. Each time we do this, we invite an artist to join us in a podcast answering YOUR questions, posted by members around the world.

We are incredibly excited about our latest magic release, Aberdeen Thread. It is the most fair, clean, and simple torn and restored thread routine ever devised. The gypsy thread plot dates back to 1584, and since then, all other methods were either cumbersome or required a significant amount of setup. ABERDEEN annihilates all of that, and takes the classic Gypsy Thread trick to an entirely new level. Everything is handled fairly. No fumbling around to conceal the method: the secret is hidden in plain sight. Multiple routines are taught - including a 100% impromptu presentation.

In light of that, our guest this week on the podcast is the creator of this marvelous effect, James Dickson. Use this opportunity to post ANY question you desire for James to answer within the podcast. We'll get to as many questions as we can during the session - and you can ask about whatever you'd like; how he got into magic, his creative process, etc. Any question you have for James, ask away!

Questions must be posted in response to this forum thread on or before 11:00pm EST tomorrow, Sunday, May 22nd. Limit of THREE questions per member, so make 'em count!

One random member whose question is asked during the podcast will take home 1,000 Elite Member Points and their very own copy of Aberdeen Thread by James Dickson - shipped on the house. Excited about this month and looking forward to hearing your questions!

 

[Tower of Lunatic Meat]

Good luck to all...

Wha?!

Okay...well.

Think hard, friends!

 

[Furrukh]

1. What inspired you to take on an effect thats been established for decades and reinvent it again?
2. How long did it take to come up with Aberdeen
3. Are you a fan of custom decks or you just work with the regular ones?

 

[Gabriel Z.]

Question number 1 - Brett Hurley starts painting at noon. He can paint (140-kt) square feet per hour, where t is the number of hours since he started painting and k is a constant accounting for the fact that Brett slows down as he gets tired. If Brett paints 100 square feet between 2pm and 3 pm, what is k?

 

[Gabriel Z.]

I won't waste my other two questions I promise.

 

[Keshav]

1. How long do your personally spend refining an effect before you get it to a level you are happy with to show people or to release it?
2. Where do you draw inspiration for new effects from?

 

[Davidtong]

How long did the process of creating this effect take? From idea to publishing it

 

[Tower of Lunatic Meat]

1. In regards to the importance of inspectability. Should inspectable magic tricks have precedence over tricks that aren't inspectable when constructing a routine or a show?

 

[Tower of Lunatic Meat]

2. How did you come to the decision to make an inspectable 'Gypsy Thread'?

 

[Davidtong]

Do you purposely try to deviate from card magic towards laymen?
When presenting an effect, what are you trying to convey to your audience? Eg emotions, thoughts, lasting feelings etc

 

[Tower of Lunatic Meat]

3. What trick do you wish was inspectable?

 

[kardwell146]

1. When deciding to tackle an effect that's been around for over a 400 years what is more important the techniques or the technology that exists to produce the effect?
2. What effects would you like to improve on,that are also timeless?
3. What techniques or effects have you encountered that cannot be improved even with the materials that exist today?

 

[FTL_FTK]

How do you approach creating a routine?
Do you use interest outside of magic to aid you in creating magic? If so, how do you use them?
Thanks.

 

[mattstephens12]

So you're stranded on a desert island. All you have with you is an audience and three tricks/routines of your choice. What will be included in your last performance before you starve to death?

 

[Rumplestiltsken]

1 What is your creative thinking process?
2 What is 9+10?
3 What do you think the creator of gypsy thread thinks of you right now?

 

[TylerScottIllusionist]

Do you feel that old, classic effects should receive an upgrade such as Aberdeen Thread or should creators be looking to expand on brand new concepts? Which of these ideas benefits the industry best?

 

[Aarsh]

1. Have you been creating magic from the very beginning? Or you have spent many years just performing magic and now you got into publishing?

 

[Aarsh]

2. Do you first define a problem and then try to find a solution? Or you come across a principle or an Idea and then try to utilize that principle or idea in a specific routine?

 

[Aarsh]

3. Have you ever messed up the standard gypsy thread due to set up or anything else? Or have you seen anybody messing up that trick repeatedly? Did that inspire you to work on this classic?

 

[Davis West]

1.) Did you plan on trying to create a new version of the gypsy thread, or did the idea just come to you