Creativity and Creating Magic with Cards

[static.veil]

Creating original card magic seems to be an easy task at first. When you come up with the idea you go into thinking about a possible method to achieve the effect and then you grab a deck of cards and you make it work. But then you realize that when you perform it for other people the method isn't as smooth in the real world as it is when yuo are sitting at home by yourself. As you try to pinpoint the weaknesses you find that you will need to accomplish your trick by other means and soon you are stuck. If you are one of the lucky ones that even get to this point then good for you but the reality is getting to that point is very hard. It is not easy to come up with an original card effect. Sometimes I think about a cool effect but then realize it is just a slightly different presentation of something else that I can do.

I'm just wondering, how easy is it for you to create your own effects? What process do you use to arrive at that effect? What are your inspirations? etc.

Thanks,
dChan

 

[DavidMisner]

To create effects, I do two things. First, I look at what kind of effects are constantly being remade. Second, I think of what I want to accomplish. I hate making things that can be accomplished in a much easier way, so that is why I try to make things that are unusual. Take my effect 2wo, for example. The basic effect is a card turns facedown in the deck. Sure thereare triumph routines and the like, but they all involved misdirection or incredibly difficult sleight of hand. I started from scratch, creating two new sleights based off of the same principle, and found myslef with a clean, direct way to perform this classic effect. I love to make everything from scratch, so instead of going through all the hassle of crediting, I make mostly my own sleights, etc. I also look for simplicity. I try not to make an effect too knuckle busting or angly. A trick that is simple yet powerful is the best. It allows you to focus on the presentation more then the method, and as we all know, presentation is the most important factor in an effect. Just some tidbits to think about guys...

//David.Misner::

 

[static.veil]

Thanks d4v1dm15n3r! That was great information to read. I myself have also come up with a very easy way to do Triumph. I called it Triumphant because it isn't just the usual Triumph, it is a reveal and prediction effect. But it is way easier than the usual Triumph. However, you can see the trend with my tricks. Lots are just better versions of tricks already in existence. I can seem to really create effects that I can call very original. I made this trick that is basically a mini-ambitious card routine with two phases that absolutely astounds but it is still just an ambitious card routine. I make the card pop-up then I place it back in the middle and try to cut exactly to that card and make it shoot out. It's cool and the sleights are all my own but the effect is not very original.

What can we do to really just break away from all the other tricks out there? I am working on an effect right now called Fallen but I found that I am just doing a different presentation and handling of an old story trick. Every time I think I have something new I find out that the trick is rooted in old school methods. Any suggestions?

 

[DavidMisner]

Hey Static,

I understand your dilemma. It is pretty much impossible to create a completelely original effect, so I try to take old effects and make them more visual and simple. These days the style of magic is changing so much. Magic is not a "tuxedo" hobby anymore. It is becoming more and more urban, visual, and gritty. I think we need to look ahead, and invision what magic will be like a few years from now. What kind of effects will people want to see? What kind of things will be possible? If you are thinking of perfecting a trick and marketing it, you can expect to hold onto the effect for a few years to make sure it is perfectly polished. It is very possible something similar to your effect will come out in a few years, and you need to think ahead.

//David.Misner::

 

[PatrickDonovan]

There are only so many basic effects that one can utilize. Production, vanish, transposition, restoration, immunity, destruction, relocation, transformation, locating, and ESP effects . I would say most tricks fall into the categories listed above. A unique presentation is most important when creating an original trick. A small technical variation in an old trick dressed up with a completely new presentation is really what most "new" tricks are today.

 

[JackOSpadesNik]

I invent a load of effects and only a few are very practical and I use it instead of tricks that I bought every single day.

Heres how I came up with my methood of creating your own effects:

First, a lot of the time we always see a demo video of a trick and say " I could have thought of that" or you make your own way to accomplish the effect which is somewhat better than thte original. That is the key right there.

All that was happening was someone providing me with an idea then I easily thought of a method. All we needed was a vid.

You'll need a little imagination, but think of an idea. Not a method, but just how a trick would look. Anything. Just nothing too impossible.

After you get your idea it's time for the method. Ask yourself " How can I accoomplish this effect?"

Try to think of the simplest way. Even if it's unpractical stick with it. Run through the method and see if it works. Keep trying your ideas out.

Side Note: Keep a notbook. Everytime you have a method even if it's undeveloped write it down. There is time for improvement later.


That's how I do it. It works for me.

 

[-Ty]

My main premise when creating with cards is to have a reason for the magic, rather than coming up with soemthing then lathering on a presentational exuse for why I'm doing it.

That's why I'm very much against nearly all sandwhich effects, regardless of beauty, as I really can't see the point.

Effect comes first. I try and stick to this as much as I can.

Ty

 

[Shodan]

The classics of magic should not be ignored, or sidelined. The great effects are still great; humans haven't changed all that much in the recorded history of magic!

Most of my efforts at creativity stem from playing around with a deck of cards and experimenting with the methods and techniques employed in other effects. Most of the time, I simply tailor the handling of a trick to my own preference. Every now and then, I'll come up with something independantly. New? Probably not!

I suggest that you study long and hard before stating that you have improved on the previous efforts at an effect I certainly would make no such claim about my "creations", and they seem to do pretty well in front of laymen and magicians alike.

Food for thought.

 

[Shodan]

You may also want to look at particularly unqiue and clever moves for inspiration. For example, Harry Lorayne published a trick called "Ace's Wild" in Close Up Card Magic. In it there is a great application of the half pass. I learned the trick when I got the book, thought "hey, that's pretty neat" and forgot about it. Recently I went back and looked at it again whilst searching for effects which play with the concept of fate and coincidence, bringing the handling back up to the top of my head.

Now I have figured out how to use the essence of that idea in two more very interesting ways. From the description of the trick, it looks like the handling was created specifically for this trick, but obviously, it had more potential.

Another great example of this is the Colour Changing Deck taught in Card College volume 5; I have used it as a springboard for two very different colour changing deck routines.

Read, research and immerse yourself in the material of those that have come before. And always have a deck of cards in your hand; you never know when random fiddling may produce an interesting sleight! I am particularly fond of a different approach to the KM move I stumbled upon a couple of weeks ago...it has applications beyond the original, and is extremely fun to do. Moments like that make it all worthwhile if you ask me.

 

[DavidMisner]

I completely agree with JackOSpadesNik. Keeping a notebook handly is probably the best thing you can do to create effects. When you have an idea, even one that seems impossible, write it down. Don't trust yourself to remember what it was, as almost all of the time you will forget. Believe me, I've lost many a method when I thought I could remember it...

//David.Misner::

 

[static.veil]

Thanks guys. I do in fact keep a notebook which has lots of my ideas and methods for tricks I have created. I even have a stack that I created in my notebook but I still have no obvious use for it yet. Lately I would just jot down some words that sound cool or feel inspiring which is how I've come up with some new effects lately. I am trying to put your guys' tips to use so hopefully I'll be on my way. Thanks.

dChan

 

[Stillman]

I also agree, keeping a notebook around to scribble down ideas is a very handy solution. Writing things down always seems to help me remember things for future reference.

About cards. You can always have ideas for effects. The main roadblock that most of us come to when creating something new is a lack of history and sources to help guide you in the right direction. Most of the people doing magic aren't magic historians, or in tune with how sleights and effects have been working around the chain for the past few decades. There are always trends in magic, and your best bet is to go back, and study the trends that people have for effects.

Magic and movies are similar: You will have something released one month, and a few months later, something emerges that is along the same lines, or basic method, but is completely evolved into a monster. What I suggest, is to take your effect, search around for any similarities, and write down everything about anything that is similar. Try to wrap your head around what the others are doing, and what they are not. Collaborate, and make something unique, and groundbreaking. Everyone has the ability to do so, just sometimes you get lost in the process.

 

[sourboarder]

I just think of something awesome to see and work backwards. I write on my hand not in a notebook. then transfer to a file in my computer.and do the trick with absolutely no slight of hand on my camcorder. "double lifts" very openly pick up two cards and put them where you need them. and don't work fast work smoothly and intelligently. then thinking of the slights needed to acomplish this. Then put the slights together. then record finished product and check for flashes then send the tape to a friend to see what they think. That is a layman since that is probably who you are performing for.

 

[Bizzaro]

I keep a deck of cards next to my computer, for whne I am bored, watching a video, or rendering footage. Generally I just play and see what comes out of my hands. (That sounded vaugely dirty)

A lot of my magic has come from play.. and being bored. A lot of the sleights I have made come from the lack of there being a move to accomplish what I want.

What it boils down to is you have to know what you want. What effect do you want and how do you get from point A to point B. Whatever makes sense to you. Don't re-create or try to re-invent the wheel. Make your own wheels.

 

[NlightN]

i watched the TG murphy deck flip on the trilogy. so i did the flip but 1 card jumped out of the pack. so now i have a trick to find the spectators card that i lost in the deck.

this is so easy to do that it must have a name for it already but ive never seen it. im that new to card magic.

 

[RikAllen]

Always have a deck of cards in your hand if possible. Watching TV and just sitting around, always play with them.
Notebook=great idea. (and i thank whoever said it b/c its new to me)
Also-try to bring objects that are NOT a deck of cards into it.