Listen, J:G
The reason people like myself are beginning to become stiff with questions such as "Hard hitting tricks pleaz" or "okay, guys, which tricks are the best and get the best reaction?"
Such questions come from pure ignorance, and although I don't know you, i'm sure you'd rather not be ignorant. So - where are those tricks?
They're in you. Let us make an example of 'the worlds lamest trick'; huh?
I hear alot of people have something against a key card principle, they dissmiss it because it's old, simple - and they think everybody knows it.
You approach a spectator, and with an air of calmness, and a strong confident voice ask them if they perhaps would like to witness an experiment.
You ask them to take the deck as you hand it to them, and ask them to shuffle it, mix it - jumble them.
They handle the cards miserably, you may get a joke out of it - godness knows what you can do.
They give the deck up and in the action of an all-round square up (or the deck flip for those d&d people peek the bottom card. A seven of hearts. Casually tell them that you don't even want to touch the cards - hand them back the deck.
You ask the spectator to place the deck behind their back, and tell them to pull out any card they like, and simply place it on top of the deck. Tell them to bring their hand back, look at the card secretly, and leave it on top. Insturct them with a steady and confident, almost overpowering and entrancing voice to cut the deck so their card is buried in the middle of the deck.
You take back the deck, look through the cards, find their card - upjog it, look at them seriously - but replace it and take another card instead, whilst secretly palming, copping, or controlling their card to the top.
Marlo's add-on move (I believe) Is then used to place their selected card on top of the card you had miscalled, but this can be substitued by the lovely top change. Cut it to pieces, cast it off with an air of urgency, and place the pieces into the spectators cupped hand.
Ask for them to close it into a fist, and squeeze. "You will feel it...yes - feel it heat up..can you feel them heat up?" - hold their hand, look intot heir eyes. Show passion. Use common psychological surgery to suggest things to them, mysterious things - anything to add to the ambience and atmosphere you've worked up.
Blow on their hands - and tell them to open their hands.
Magic.
To a spectator, they shuffled the cards, chose one, you ripped up another one - and changed it in their hand.
If that had been the effect description in a $30 dollar dvd with Wayne Houchin's name on it (sake of argument Wayne - jus'cos you're popular
) then people would have pounced on it, eaten it, taken it apart; only to be found in hapless dissapointment at the easy and old teaching.
What Im saying is, although people such as those of Theory11 and Ellusionist, and Penguin come up with brilliant, new effects - "hard hitting" - If you will; You can do the same - you can create magic with presentation.
Look at these two videos, the first from Reawaken Wonder - whose persona I tried to imagine when describing the above effect, and the second is from Sheldon Casavant.
Scott Smith
Sheldon Casavant
These performers could easily perform the afformentioned effect becuase they have charisma, passion for the art - and poetic persona's.
Im not asking you to change who you are, but rather asking you who you think spectator's want to bond with, to share such a special moment with?
Right now, I've taken perhaps one of the simplest effects or utility devices in sleight of hand, masqueraded it and truned it into something beautifull, ambiental - almost poetic.
So the magic is not in the effect. The magic, is you.
I hope I have made this situation, and myself, clear, in fact, I think I will try to make a sticky.
Gustav
