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

PYRO by Adam Wilber featured in local NewsPaper

M

MOD

Jun 28, 2014
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I don't usually post anything in magic forums but this one i thought i must post. It is quite funny that something that is supposed to be a secret tool became so popular that it is featured in a local news paper in remote places like KERALA(where i am from). Here in KERALA people barely know anything about magic. Magic is one of the least popular performance art here and actually most people think magic is stupid (may be because of some magicians dress up and mannerism, its really sad anyway). (.........photos of news are attached above)
 
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MOD said:
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I don't usually post anything in magic forums but this one i thought i must post. It is quite funny that something that is supposed to be a secret tool became so popular that it is featured in a local news paper in remote places like KERALA(where i am from). Here in KERALA people barely know anything about magic. Magic is one of the least popular performance art here and actually most people think magic is stupid (may be because of some magicians dress up and mannerism, its really sad anyway). (.........photos of news are attached above)
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It's not a good thing whatsoever. It's treated as a gimmick, and people will be rolling up a magicians' sleeves to check for secret stuff. Pushy spectators will do whatever they want to. If the thumb-tip were exposed to many people, spectators would be yanking at magicians' thumbs all the time. If this becomes well known enough, another will be made that is mounted in some other fashion or works in a completely different way that will combat this, which is a situation that is utterly ridiculous for a magic trick to be in.
 
strudles said:
It's not a good thing whatsoever. It's treated as a gimmick, and people will be rolling up a magicians' sleeves to check for secret stuff. Pushy spectators will do whatever they want to. If the thumb-tip were exposed to many people, spectators would be yanking at magicians' thumbs all the time. If this becomes well known enough, another will be made that is mounted in some other fashion or works in a completely different way that will combat this, which is a situation that is utterly ridiculous for a magic trick to be in.
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The TT isn't a huge secret dude. Also, audience management.
 
strudles said:
It's not a good thing whatsoever. It's treated as a gimmick, and people will be rolling up a magicians' sleeves to check for secret stuff. Pushy spectators will do whatever they want to. If the thumb-tip were exposed to many people, spectators would be yanking at magicians' thumbs all the time. If this becomes well known enough, another will be made that is mounted in some other fashion or works in a completely different way that will combat this, which is a situation that is utterly ridiculous for a magic trick to be in.
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While I do get what you're saying, as the guys above me said, the TT was possibly the worst example you could have used. It's one of the most well known gimmicks outside of the magic world, I think. There's one in like every magic kit ever. And let me tell you, one of the more frequent stories I've heard from other performers is audience members telling them a variation of, "When I was a kid I had a magic kit that did that silk-vanishing trick .. mine used a fake thumb, though. You must use the professional's method."

Look - if you act like shooting fireballs out of your hand is THE trick, then yes, people are going to look for a gimmick. Because you're no giving them anything else to do or focus on. Integrate it into a routine where the fire isn't the point, but a highlight, and you won't run into this problem. This is commonly referred to as 'Being a good performer'.

Also - if a spectator is going for your sleeves, you should drop what you're doing and specifically work on audience management because that is not cool and you are not handling the situation the way it needs to be handled.
 
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I happen to be a Keralite as well. It's sad that this object won't even be secret
anymore
 
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itsurboi99 said:
I happen to be a Keralite as well. It's sad that this object won't even be subtle anymore
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With today's magic world, did you genuinely ever expect it to be subtle? But there may be something lost in translation here. I think you meant secret.

Look - the fact that people know about the device's existence is not a big deal. Adam never meant for this to be restricted to the magic world, he knew theaters, movies, and cosplayers would be interested in it, too. And they are. This thing is selling like mad and we're getting people from all over, in all kinds of industries, showing interest.

Does that mean you can't create mystery and intrigue with it? No. It means you actually have to create mystery and intrigue. The problem I see is that most people who perform magic rely on the trick to do all the work and put no effort into creating a real presentation. For those people, this device will be little more than a fun toy.
 
Its obvious where the fireball come from. If you present it as a fire shooting trick , people will definitely ask you to rollup sleeves. Think about this, use this device to enhance the theatrics. It should be there just for show, you don't have to make it central effect. I am sure about one thing, even if the spectator know the secret you will still feel like TONY STARK or BRUCE WAYNE with this device on you.
 
Pyro is nothing more than an expensive toy. It's not a magical gimmick. The ability to throw four fireballs on a remote controlled switch via a flash pot type construction isn't going to be something very many people can either use, or use well.

This is going to be another one of those dealers items that will sell like hot cakes at conventions, EVERYONE and their sister will have one for chirstmas, everyone will be playing with it right now, and in three months no one will see or hear of it again.

Why?

Because it's not practical for the common use of an everyday magician.

I love Adam to death, and I'm estatic that he's been able to publish this effect. But it really doesn't hold up practically speaking.
 
William Draven said:
Pyro is nothing more than an expensive toy. It's not a magical gimmick. The ability to throw four fireballs on a remote controlled switch via a flash pot type construction isn't going to be something very many people can either use, or use well.

This is going to be another one of those dealers items that will sell like hot cakes at conventions, EVERYONE and their sister will have one for chirstmas, everyone will be playing with it right now, and in three months no one will see or hear of it again.

Why?

Because it's not practical for the common use of an everyday magician.

I love Adam to death, and I'm estatic that he's been able to publish this effect. But it really doesn't hold up practically speaking.
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It's also going to cause so many injuries from kids and teenagers who are most likely going to ignore the "don't try this at home." prompts.
 
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