Reaction Hierarchy

[toyrobot]

Hello. Your magical reaction hierarchy goes like this:

• Interest
• Entertainment
• Shock
• Astonishment
• Emotion

Examples:
Twisting the Aces provokes Interest.
The Cups and Balls provide Entertainment.
Thread creates Shock.
Fraud brings forth Astonishment.
Very, very few tricks thereafter call out Emotion. Off the top of my head... for me, when David Blaine brought a dead bird back to life, performing for the bird guy on the street, and the bird on bird guy's shoulder trembled and grew quiet - watching that clip always makes me cry a little. It's the effect it has on the bird, not really the effect itself. I can't explain it. I don't need to. I don't need to justify it to myself. I just feel. Maybe a really great trick should provoke Emotion and not need you to explain it either.

You have to be Interested to risk getting involved in the hierarchy. It then takes Entertainment to keep you hooked. Shock has to throw your expectations out the window and catch you off guard. Astonishment has to show you that it's okay to experience wonder. The definition of art is a craft or item whose aesthetics provoke an emotional response - so you could say, Emotion is there to cement your performance as art in their mind.

Can you elevate a trick from one level to the next? Of course. Your cups and balls routine: you lift the final cup to reveal a spectator's wallet. Your bill switch ends with you changing George Washington's face into your spectator's face. Notice how escalating usually involves the spectator, getting them involved somehow?

Be warned - it's easy to also go down a tier or two. Presentation is the biggest factor - it can turn an astonishing trick into a cheap novelty, or a sincerely touching moment for a spectator into them feeling embarassed for getting involved.

Some might say Astonishment is on par with Emotion, and should be the same tier. If that works in your hierachy, be my guest. Astonishment is a fine end result, and if I ever reach it, I am happy for weeks. It's a perfect alternative. But to me, there is a level beyond awe and wonder, even if it's only the difference in HOW the spectator FEELS that awe and wonder.

Thoughts? Additions, addendums, feedback? Let those who disagree be first in line so that I may consider others' opinions and learn, and change what I know. This isn't set in stone, but a notion I welcome everyone to edit and expand upon.

 

[Cliff|Bumgardner]

I really like your point here, but have you ever read the infamous "Astonishment Is Our Natural State Of Mind" essay by Paul Harris? Takes most of what you said (which is quite valid) to different heights.

C

 

[toyrobot]

I really like your point here, but have you ever read the infamous "Astonishment Is Our Natural State Of Mind" essay by Paul Harris? Takes most of what you said (which is quite valid) to different heights.

C

That essay is the reason I perform magic.

Never would I be arrogant enough to imply that what I just wrote is Recommended Reading alongside that essay, but I think a discussion could certainly be brought forth after reading both. Paul discusses how we can use magic to revert spectators to a state of wonder and awe that is natural to us as humans, but is something we've let life get in the way of. Really all I'm doing is talking about the mechanics behind that.

Here it is, by the way.

 

[toyrobot]

Addendum: this follows the basic structure of a routine. You pique interest, you prove to be entertaining, you give the audience a reason to delve deeper, then you give them a memory they'll review for at least a few days.

Is there fault in having all your material at the last level, astonishment, and having instead your presentation and character fill the rest of the tiers?

 

[Morgan B]

Hey Toyrobot,

Where did you come up with this?

You could say that these are the stages of watching a single effect too.


Interest
Entertainment
Shock
Astonishment
Emotion

I would also consider switching Emotion and Astonishment - or consider Astonishment AS an emotion.

Cool thread - I will think more and hit back on it later.

 

[toyrobot]

You could say that these are the stages of watching a single effect too.


Interest
Entertainment
Shock
Astonishment
Emotion

I would also consider switching Emotion and Astonishment - or consider Astonishment AS an emotion.

Usually, I keep WordPad open as I mess around on the computer and just type what comes to mind, this being one of those things.

Astonishment as Emotion is something I'm debating with. It certainly fits. What I'm reviewing currently is whether Emotion is just a spectrum of Astonishment - when a trick makes you feel a particular emotion, is that just you filtering astonishment through your personal memory and feeling? Happy astonishment, sad astonishment, scared astonishment, or pure astonishment. Still needs work, but that's why I bring it here.

 

[Morgan B]

I am not trying to sound "off" here - but Astonishment is like the priliminary to emotion, I see it as the "just before orgasm" - it may only last a split second - but emotion is the release.

I can't believe I wrote that - but I hope it helps you understand my thoughts on it.

I also think Shock could be replace with a word that means - WTF? - but not confusion, but that moment of figuring...that goes into Astonishment when you realize the "changed" situation...then emotion is the outburst.

 

[CaseyC]

I can't believe I wrote that

neither can i..........

 

[Shanku]

• Interest
• Entertainment
• Shock
• Astonishment

These are all emotions.

 

[toyrobot]

• Interest
• Entertainment
• Shock
• Astonishment

These are all emotions.

I mean more of "the attachment of emotion to a memory". Let's say you see Bob Smith's Wounded, and as a spectator you go up to Shock. Sure, it's an emotion. But as far as this hierarchy goes, the farthest you've gotten is changing your opinion on the magician and being taken by surprise. When you recall the performance, you'll say, "That sure wasn't what I thought would happen!" Go up to Emotion, and as a spectator, (let's go with fear), you recall the performance and say, "Maybe there is some truth to that whole Stigmata thing. Maybe my view on religion is wrong. Or was it something else? Are there other people out there like him? What else don't I know?"

Could you achieve such a reaction? That's the challenge, but I certainly believe it's possible.

So, yeah, they're all emotions, but for purposes of what we're discussing here, they're used in a different context to achieve different things. At each level, you have invested that into the trick: mere interest ("Sure, I'll watch. But I have to go soon. Yeah, that was cool, bye"), entertainment ("That was really neat! Do you do parties?"), shock ("The hell? I'm expecting card tricks here, and... man." This sets you up to not feel weird when Astonishment arrives, like what's happening is super cool so don't worry), astonishment (everything is eliminated, it's just you and this moment, you'll tell everyone and exaggerate what happened, and it might touch you personally). And then you get to Emotion, and that says, not only are you astonished, but you then filter that astonishment through personal feeling and memory - a unique reaction personal to you.

I am not trying to sound "off" here - but Astonishment is like the priliminary to emotion, I see it as the "just before orgasm" - it may only last a split second - but emotion is the release.

I can't believe I wrote that - but I hope it helps you understand my thoughts on it.

I also think Shock could be replace with a word that means - WTF? - but not confusion, but that moment of figuring...that goes into Astonishment when you realize the "changed" situation...then emotion is the outburst.

Thesaurus.com yields no acceptable results, though I'm open to suggestions.

It's interesting to note that in this same way that Astonishment is tantamount to Emotion, so is Interest to Entertainment, and Shock to Astonishment.

You can be Astonished without attaching Emotion, can't you? What's the final push? Does it lie in the magician and how he treats the Astonished spectator?

 

[JDENredden]

DG's ''Life'' could be one for the Emotion Hierarchy.

JDEN

 

[Morgan B]

• Interest
• Entertainment
• Shock
• Astonishment

These are all emotions.

Interest is not an emotion..."How do you feel today Bob"? - interested. Also, entertainment is not an emotion - shock is an emotion, and astonishment could be considered an emotion.

I would say as for "adding emotion" it depends on how you want to define that - if you want to add emotion as making the audience FEEL emotion, that is one thing (like when they relate to a situation in your presentation, or to you as the main character) - but then emotion can be the expression of emotion or a hook - for example, has anyone ever lost something - yes! (this is in the interest stage, but the thoughts create emotion)...as you go through the presentation - entertainment creates emotion - happiness, laughter as a display - shock is an emotion - the display of surprise and then astonishment is the "confusion - for a lack of a better word, because magic should not confuse", between the original state (cards shuffled face up and face down) and the end state (cards are all face down). The more they think about it, the more they are fooled and amazed - so this is the "emotion' of astonishment.

These are my thoughts for now, but again - I am in a hurry.


DG's ''Life'' could be one for the Emotion Hierarchy.

JDEN

This is either brilliant - or really dumb...I don't know what you mean by stating a trick could be part of the classification of the Hierarchy - can you explain what you mean by that JDEN?

Also, I don't think this should be called the Emotion Hierarchy - as we are labelling the steps through the journey of a magic effect...and really - for the most part, it mirrors that of the "Stages of a Plot" in writing.

http://wiki.answers.com/Q/What_are_the_stages_of_a_plot

 

[Shanku]

• Interest - Above normal, generates a thought, hence an emotion.
• Entertainment - amused, wants to see more, happy, hence an emotion.
• Shock - suprised, scared, caught off guard, hence an emotion.
• Astonishment - unbelievable, extraordinary, wtf, hence an emotion.

These are all emotions. What you are trying to describe in your theory is different levels of emotion. Crying is an emotion and so is being happy. But crying is an advanced level of emotion while being happy is a basic level of emotion and this is what you are saying. This is not to say thay you are wrong, you have just worded it differently which gives a somewhat different meaning to what you are trying to get at. I hope this clears things up.

Refer to the following sites for more info on emotion:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Emotion
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_emotions

Cheers,
Shanku

 

[toyrobot]

• exposition
• rising action
• climax
• falling action
• resolution

I think it all fits except for the "falling action". The hierarchy continues to build, with each stage improving and changing. The rest of it seems spot on, though.

I would say as for "adding emotion" it depends on how you want to define that - if you want to add emotion as making the audience FEEL emotion, that is one thing (like when they relate to a situation in your presentation, or to you as the main character) - but then emotion can be the expression of emotion or a hook - for example, has anyone ever lost something - yes! (this is in the interest stage, but the thoughts create emotion)...as you go through the presentation - entertainment creates emotion - happiness, laughter as a display - shock is an emotion - the display of surprise and then astonishment is the "confusion - for a lack of a better word, because magic should not confuse", between the original state (cards shuffled face up and face down) and the end state (cards are all face down). The more they think about it, the more they are fooled and amazed - so this is the "emotion' of astonishment.

Emotion can be spurred throughout the routine, and it's the Emotion stage after Astonishment that's responsible for infusing the spectator with emotion. Seems a bit repetitive.

So either have Astonishment end the hierarchy, or have a new stage after it - though for the life of me, I can't think of what would go after that if not for emotional attachment.

 

[Morgan B]

So - here is how I see it...but maybe we are arguing logistics.

Interest = the introduction of a book, this is the part that hooks the spectator...why do I think this can LEAD to emotion and isn't an emotion. Ever take interest in something...and then walk away from it after you realize what it is - only if there is...an EMOTIONAL HOOK, do we stay and watch.

Entertainment = The rising action - this is where one would display various emotion to show they are enterained. If entertainment was an emotion, would it not be redundant to say, "I really enjoyed that entertainment"? That would be like saying, "I am happy because I am happy"..."I really emotioned that emotion" - furthermore, and perhaps a more concrete thing is that this is where you are taking the interest and making use of it. If it were emotion on emotion, where is the room for logic? There wouldn't be if this was stages of emotion.

Shock = Climax and Falling action - this is where they see something happen that is incredible, and try to retionalize what they saw...impossibly, the falling action is them coming down, I think this is where they say, "HOW DID YOU DO THAT" as a result of the surprise. Certainly has an emotional component, but also a logical one. It is not PURELY emotional based, as one must think about the before condition and understand the change in that and the final condition to appreciate the surprise.

Resolution = Astonishment - this is where they are resolved in the manner that what they saw defies explanation, and live in that moment of "awe". Again, emotion meets thought.

I could agree that if it is all emotion...it is a build from very little to ALOT to very little again, like a normal curve or interest curve - but truly I only argue this as this concept has more potential than just emotion - as it has room for logical thinking in combination (and I feel makes more sense).

Hope this clears things up.

Cheers

 

[JDENredden]

Interest is not an emotion..."How do you feel today Bob"? - interested. Also, entertainment is not an emotion - shock is an emotion, and astonishment could be considered an emotion.

I would say as for "adding emotion" it depends on how you want to define that - if you want to add emotion as making the audience FEEL emotion, that is one thing (like when they relate to a situation in your presentation, or to you as the main character) - but then emotion can be the expression of emotion or a hook - for example, has anyone ever lost something - yes! (this is in the interest stage, but the thoughts create emotion)...as you go through the presentation - entertainment creates emotion - happiness, laughter as a display - shock is an emotion - the display of surprise and then astonishment is the "confusion - for a lack of a better word, because magic should not confuse", between the original state (cards shuffled face up and face down) and the end state (cards are all face down). The more they think about it, the more they are fooled and amazed - so this is the "emotion' of astonishment.

These are my thoughts for now, but again - I am in a hurry.


DG's ''Life'' could be one for the Emotion Hierarchy.

JDEN

This is either brilliant - or really dumb...I don't know what you mean by stating a trick could be part of the classification of the Hierarchy - can you explain what you mean by that JDEN?

Also, I don't think this should be called the Emotion Hierarchy - as we are labelling the steps through the journey of a magic effect...and really - for the most part, it mirrors that of the "Stages of a Plot" in writing.

http://wiki.answers.com/Q/What_are_the_stages_of_a_plot

it involves Emotion, becouse you are breathing Life into a dollar bill, your making it come to life.

JDEN

 

[Morgan B]

I think many of us are making the leap of an action to emotion.

For example Shandu said - entertainment = amused, wants to see more, happy, hence an emotion.

JDEN says I do this effect, so the effect is emotion.

I can see how these things LEAD to emotion, but they aren't emtion directly - regardless of what Wikapedia says about the 1980's study from a personality psychologist (as I could quote many that don't agree with all of those relations, but please don't ask me to).

My point is this - I have fingers on my hand...my hand is not my fingers - my fingers are not my hand - but my fingers are PART of my hand and my fingers lead to my hand.

I think that what we are talking about, with the exception of shock and astonishment, are indictors of oncoming emotion, but shouldnt' be defined as emotion themselves....especially "entertainment" as we can all see it different. Emotions should be classed the same - happy is good, angry is bad - but entertainment can make me sad, happy, etc - so how can an emotion make me feel an emotion?

It is like defining a word with that exact word? AM I TAKING CRAZY PILLS!?

 

[toyrobot]

The guiding path towards emotion:

For now, let's do this:

• Interest - justification for the spectator to stick around. The "interest" tier of reaction deals with what hooks you in and what makes you invest yourself into what the performer has to show you.
• Entertainment - a reward for investing yourself. You are entertained at the very least, so you'll walk away smiling, laughing, and happy. You and your friends have something to talk about. This tier of the reaction hierarchy deals with rewarding the spectator for sticking around, and encouraging them to stay. Interest says "Watch this real quick." Entertainment says, "See? Told you it was cool! Want to see other things?"
• Shock - throwing the spectator a curveball, to make sure prolonged exposure doesn't get boring. "I pick a card, you reveal it. I pick a card, you reveal it. Then I picked a card, and you revealed it. Hmm." This achieves a number of things: it once again rewards investing yourself in the routine, it breaks you out of a pattern, and it marks you as unique. This tier of the hierarchy deals with how to throw in plot twists, how to surprise the spectator, and how to keep things fresh.
• Astonishment - concentrating all the emotion into a single moment. This makes your performance worthwhile to the spectator, letting her attach that emotion to the performance and the effect instead of just bringing it up. They'll be excited, nervous, curious, maybe happy throughout the whole thing, but walking away they might not remember all that. Here, they focus it with laser precision on you and what you've done. They relate the story over and over, amping up how excited, nervous, curious, etc. they were, and you can tell through the way they talk and tell the story. This laser-focus of emotion causes them to consider this significant, and what you WANT to happen is that they temporarily forget everything else and just enjoy what happened. Read Paul Harri's essay on Astonishment - it reminds us of what it was like to be a child again. It reminds us there's still wonder in life. It provokes the imagination and it spurs creativity. At its highest levels, it can change someone's world view.

Me, I value creativity and imagination as the most important aspects of a person, alongside their kindness and intelligence. In a world where you can see imagination and child-like wonder being drained all around you, it's refreshing and amazing to witness good magic. It takes you back to when anything was possible. It makes you act.

Now, the Reaction Hierarchy is specifically referring to drawing a crowd and performing one or more tricks, then nurturing the reaction you get. But with tweaking, you can apply it to multiple things - that's its function. It is my simplified view of how a spectator thinks when viewing a performance (if all goes well), and such things can help you eke out your creative self. Let's look at it as a trick:

Here, the different tiers refer to the different parts of the trick AND your patter and presentation.

Daniel Garcia's Life (or Robert Neale, wasn't it?)
- Interest: you've found an excuse to draw a spectator over and talk to them about performing magic. You are presentable and interesting, and you've made them curious. You take out a dollar bill and ask them to think of a small, delicate insect. This whole experience is rather odd, so, naturally, they're interested.

- Entertainment: the dollar seems to morph in on itself and form a butterfly. This is cool to watch - a creature you just named, and now the dollar just turns into it! You've been rewarded for listening to this guy. That was kinda cool.

- Shock: sometimes a step occurs and goes by in a split second. Sometimes it jumps around. You've inspired shock by making the bill morph, and by changing their expectations. Whatever they thought they'd see, this probably isn't it. Now, since you've put them on unsafe ground where they don't know what to expect, they will more comfortably fall into astonishment.

- Astonishment: you breathe life into the bill, and somehow its wings start to beat. It even floats. What emotions have you attached so far? Curiosity at this peculiar magician and his weird trick. Amazement as the bill's capability to morph into what you were thinking of. Disbelief that this thing is now moving. Happiness, because this is a really beautiful moment and you get to witness it. Special-ness, because it was YOUR thought of creature that it turned into. It's almost as if you have a connection with the dollar-creature. Here, you just stare and watch, without thinking of whatever it was you were thinking of ten minutes ago. Leave this performance, and you'll still think of it. You'll remember how unique to you it was, how happy you are, how amazed you were. It will make you think of some things during your childhood. It'll kill the stale illusion that reality is boring. It throws a party in your banal day, and that is the stepping stone to imagination.

Now, note that the trick itself doesn't accomplish this. You can't just whip out a dollar and do this and change someone's life. It's how you present it. What do you say? How do you say it? What do you do afterwards when they're stunned? Where do you lead them? What kind of lighting was there outside? Did a real butterfly flit about in the background? Do they like butterflies? Do they have a strong memory of butterflies? Did you turn their bad day into a good day?

It's very complicated. Simply put, as Morgician said, the effect =/= emotion. Rather, the right effect + an appropriate presentation + the spectator's state of mind = emotion. This could very easily just be "a cool thing" and stop at Entertainment. Or even a crappy trick that the person feels cheated for investing their Interest in. It relies so, so much on how you present it.

 

[Shanku]

Man, we should do Ph.D's and stuff.