I would love to create an effect, but i am not sure what to base it off and what moves to do, could anybody help ??
I'm not trying to sound mean or rude but can I ask, "Why?" Why do you want or need to create an effect. Is it to try and make some money? Is it to get your name out there? Both?
I'm just curious.
Sometimes to create an effect as Chris mentions, you need to go back in history. Try to read old Linking Ring magazines, manuscripts, etc. and then put an updated twist on them.
I would love to create an effect, but i am not sure what to base it off and what moves to do, could anybody help ??
I'm not the writer, but I like to make up my own effects for two reasons..
1: I love the feeling of knowing something is your's.
2: When I perform for people, I'm sure they can't go home and look it up, or I can say "Yeah, I made that up." When they ask me how I did it.
I'll even go further than Christopher and Rick... DON'T.
If you are a card guy, have you worked through RRTCM, ECT, Erdnase, and LePaul - or the Card College series? Do you know who John Bannon, Brother John Hammond or Larry Jennings is?
If you are a generalist, Have you worked through Tarbell? Do you know who Jim Steinmeyer, David Acer or Tom Stone is?
What I'm getting at, is that if you are asking that question, YOU AREN'T READY. Spend your time studying magic - not just sleights and methods, but principals like plot, midpsdirection, timing, etc. Learn to perform magic before you learn to create.
I don't know how you can flat out tell someone to not try and be creative.
I told him not to waste his time trying to create an effect - there is a difference between trying to create and being creative.
Think of it this way, what would you tell someone who has never cooked before (except making macaroni and cheese) and who wants to make a five course gourmet dinner without using a recipe? Would you say "go for it?" and encourage them to "be creative"? I wouldn't. I would tell them to study the art of cooking and to work through a variety of recipes using a variety of techniques. Learning by doing.
I've been around forums a lot and can tell someone's skill level from their posts. Sort of a forum cold reading. First off, nobody who has worked through the books I've mentioned would make a post like the OP did. Why? Because if they had worked through those books, they would KNOW the answer to their question. I could also guess the OP's age and what sources the OP has been learning from. Thus, I'm giving a beginner the advice they need to hear even if that isn't the advice they asked for.
To create in magic requires that you have a foundation - the more extensive the better. The people I know who can come up with a method for anything you could imagine are the people who have massive libraries that they have worked through. They can give you five methods and the sources they have came from. They haven't wasted their time trying to create, but in learning the craft. If you have ten hours to spend on magic, that time is better spent learning that sitting around with a deck of cards trying to create an effect using the five sleights they have learned to perform (most likely incorrectly) on YouTube. Most of the effort spent by a beginner in trying to create something will be spent reinventing the wheel or worse yet, developing a method that is inferior to what has already been developed.
So to answer your question, the reason I told the OP not to try and create, is that by focusing on expanding their knowledge and performing they will become a better magician. I've seen the crap that people without a foundation create. And here is the thing, if the OP follows my advice, he will learn to create along the way and his creations will be better (and hopefully tested in front of a live audience.. Hopefully over several years) So the difference is focus. A focus on learning will make you more creative (because you will have more tools to use at your disposal).
There is a very large difference between "cooking a 5 course gourmet dinner" and "create a magic trick".
As the OP only vaguely asked with advice on how to go about creating an effect, and NOTHING more, you jumped to some very fast assumptions, and then proceeded to shoot down his idea w/o trying to gain any pertinent information.
I would love to create an effect, but i am not sure what to base it off and what moves to do, could anybody help ??
I know you have been on these forums a while, and so have I. And yes, I too can to a certain degree of accuracy guess someone's skill level from how they post. However, there is something else that could be possible with the whole situation that I was trying to address in my last post, but failed to grasp the wording.
A magician can go through book on book on book, learning and studying sleights. However, people's minds work differently, and one person may absorb material very well, learn the mechanics, learn the step by step process to various effects to a high degree of success, but still lack the creative thinking skills to create one's own effect. Just as one person is strong at math, but poor at creative writing, people in the magic community are still subject to such "mental segregation" as you will.
Now, I am not saying this is the case with the thread in question, but it does apply to your notion that you can accurately pinpoint someone's abilities from how they post. There are always things unknown.
When I saw the original post, and then saw a veteran of the boards steering someone way from developing their creative thinking... I was disappointed.
This goes for Craig B's posts as well... The OP did not say they wished to create a marketable trick for a quick buck... let us please stop with the assumptions.
Granted, the OP should have provided us with more information to give us a better idea of his skill level and experience, we should not be quick to jump on someone's limited information post and go off giving advise based on pure assumption, ESPECIALLY when there are strong phrases such as, "DONT TRY TO CREATE."
Take a children's dance class for example. Do you believe a dance instructor will tell their students to not try and choreograph their own little dance on the premise that they lack the experience, know-how, technique, and knowledge of what makes a good dance? I believe not. The kids will create, and the finished product will be something that matches their level. It may be seen as extremely low level in the eyes of much more advanced dancers, but the creation process was successful in that it 1: challenged the students to think differently and create on their own, not just absorb what is given, 2: perhaps lets them see that they have a long way to go before they create anything of high level, and 3: most likely gave them a fun time and good memory.