theory11 — Magic Tricks & the World's Finest Playing Cards

Creating Tricks

forane

forane

May 8, 2008
91
0
...watching you...
www.corruptreality.com
Every now and again ive thought up a trick and i thought, "What a great idea". Then i spend the next couple of days figuring out all the do-and-donts of the effect, then i make the fatal mistake of thinking that the trick is ready for performance and faceplant right into the "accidental reaveal" of the effect. How long would you say to be working on a trick you thought up before going to perform it?
 
"Accidental reveals" are all part of the improvement process. You can't base everything on theory, sometimes you have to make mistakes in order to make improvements.

Figuring out the dos and don'ts isn't really possible without performing. You can come up with all the theories you like but until you have performed, you have nothing solid to go on.

Don't be afraid of making mistakes when you think an idea is at a workable stage, just make sure you test it out on people you are close to, that you can trust to keep your secret if something goes wrong.

I always go to my family first.

Hope this helps.

Huruey
 
the time is not matter, the only thing that's matters is how you feel about the trick and the way you're comfortable w/ it . Remember this, it's your trick so you're gonna do it your way and the spectator's going to like it. (as long as you keep it conservative);)
 
It really depends. i just got back from a meet up where I absolutely FLOORED a table of magicians with a new impromptu PK effect of mine.

I've been working on the effect in that form for about a week.

Practice until you feel you're ready, if you have family or people that it doesn't matter too much if you mess up in front of perform to them and amend your performance then according to feedback.

That's the way I'd play it.

D.
 
It depends on how the effect works and all

but what i have done when creating effects... is making it... practicing it for like only an hour in front of the mirror... revise if necessary... Then immediately show my dad or some magic friend... then based on there reaction i can judge what i do and don't need to work on....

Then i refine... try and make it as smooth and easy as possible (mostly by cutting down on any unnecessary sleights) and repeat this process until i'm satisfied to perform for a real audience
 
you should have some one you can practice the trick so you could tell him the method every time you think of sdomething or add something to it they might go oh ididnt see you do that or wow i didnt see that sleight and so on.
 
mini magician said:
you should have some one you can practice the trick so you could tell him the method every time you think of sdomething or add something to it they might go oh ididnt see you do that or wow i didnt see that sleight and so on.
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It's great that you added to the discussion, but can you PLEASE add some puncuation and check you spelling and grammar, so your post is actually readable!? Geez...'mini magician' actually makes sense as a username.
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Anyway, most people have already said what I would say about the creation of a trick.

One of the best ways to judge a trick was suggested by Wayne Houchin. Film yourself doing the trick as the 1st version, the raw trick you created. Then after some time, like a year or so, re-film the same trick- same angles, light, etc. Then, compare the two tricks. See how much it has changed, and wheter the change has been worthwhile or not.

Usually, you'll see drastic changes that make the trick much simpler, more effective, etc. Then, you're probably ready to showcase your effect to the world!
 
forane said:
Every now and again ive thought up a trick and i thought, "What a great idea". Then i spend the next couple of days figuring out all the do-and-donts of the effect, then i make the fatal mistake of thinking that the trick is ready for performance and faceplant right into the "accidental reaveal" of the effect. How long would you say to be working on a trick you thought up before going to perform it?
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You should practice it until you get it all the way perfect. Depending on how difficult it is maybe like a week or 2 or something.
 
practice every day and show one friend who you can trust and keep doing it until he feels that if he had only seen it 10 times he wouldnt have gotten it
 
timft said:
Months, probably 1 year or two.

It takes a really long time to perfect a trick.
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If you're working on a trick for this long without actually performing it, you're going about it in the wrong way. You want to go out and make mistakes in front of a real audience. This lets you know what exactly you need to work on.

You can "perfect" a trick in a year or two, but the instant you go out to perform it, you could find that it just doesn't work, and it doesn't hold up to a real audience.

I think a week or two is ideal. I get the basic handling worked out, and then find ways to improve. I'll show my parents and brother, and get feedback from them. Then, once I think I've done as much as possible without a live audience, I'll try it on the streets. After that, I'll go back and revise the trick as much as possible based on the reactions and feedback I received from the audience.

David
 
Well, the thing is, you really DO NOT know the do's or donts until you go out a perform. Of course you will mess up. Learn from the mess ups and apply them to the trick. The only way to perfect something is to fail miserably before. :D
 
You should definitely practice the living daylights out of it. Go through every aspect of the effect until you can see everything in your mind. You need to be able to play the entire performace in your head before you even practice for your parents (or whoever you practice tricks for). Then you start performing for people you know... that way they can tell you where you've gone wrong. Work out the kinks until you have it PERFECT to YOU. Then hit the streets.
 
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