Revealing a trick as part of a magic routine.

Dec 12, 2009
273
0
London Uk
Hey


I was browsing the internet, i then found myself watching Wayne Houchins daily blog, after he talks and play the yukalaylee (yes, wayne is Hawaii).then There is a video showing penn and teller doing an amazing trick, making a submarine vanish after they reveal it..... Wayne does not show the revealing bit but.People who have seen penn and teller, they know that they normally reveal tricks. Penn says if you just want the image of a submarine vanishing then just close your eyes. After that, now that my views on revealing magic have changed from when I was 2 weeks into magic, I wondered this:

Is it right to reveal a trick right after you show the magic as part of a routine?

Now I am not saying give the audience a step by step explanation, I am just saying just "show" them, also not card magic or coin magic I am saying Stage magic, stuff like the disappearing submarine..

So do you SHOW how the trick was done after a performence.
 
Sep 6, 2009
83
0
I don't show how the trick I just did is done, especially if I got a great reaction. It's just shooting yourself in the leg.

Sometimes, I do "reveal" certain tricks : For example, using a forcing deck and showing the ACR, then telling them to sign and do it again. It makes them become more amazed. This is because most of my tricks involve lowering the audiences' expectations, then performing a miracle.

However, I think it is not right to reveal a trick just because the audience wants to know it. Only reveal it if the revealation leads to another.

If you are worried about breaking the rules of magic, hear it from Dai Vernon himself : "Every rule in any card can be broken" - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VSvcqeOrDw0

However, remember this : It's just plain stupidity to reveal a trick if nothing is gained, or worse, if something is lost
 
Jul 13, 2009
1,372
0
33
Was Dai vernon at fault when he revealed where the ball hides during the cups and balls?


Also as an aside it's Ukulele (ooo-koo-Lay-Lay), uku meaning jumping lele meaning string I believe. I need to brush up on my Hawaiiana it is my culture after all. Except if your Jack Webster.....that is a joke for another day.


Edit:

To bulk out my post a little, it is not the best idea to expose an effect right after you have done it. Penn and Teller are an exception in my opinion, have you seen them do the cups and balls with clear cups?
 
Last edited by a moderator:
Sep 6, 2009
83
0
Was Dai vernon at fault when he revealed where the ball hides during the cups and balls?

To clarify, I meant to say Dai Vernon revealed the trick at the right time. As he did the vanish without the fake take after revealing the fake take, he made the audience believe that all along he did not use the fake take at all
 
Feb 27, 2008
2,342
1
33
Grand prairie TX
To clarify, I said Dai Vernon revealed the trick at the right time. As he did the vanish without the fake take after revealing the fake take, he made the audience believe that all along he did not use the fake take at all

in other words,not revealing but misleading them into thinking that he did,right?
 
Jul 13, 2009
1,372
0
33
To clarify, I meant to say Dai Vernon revealed the trick at the right time. As he did the vanish without the fake take after revealing the fake take, he made the audience believe that all along he did not use the fake take at all

Yes but showing how the false take is done is that still not exposure?
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=De2tyFK8WA0

Watching it from a laymen's perspective, he basically exposed what he was doing up to that point...kind of. But it was and still is a great way to guide your audience away from the final load sequence.

Now I just realized sidekick I read right over the part of your post about stage magic. Now Exposing how an illusion is done, is an old plot and is used by magician's like Lance Burton.
 
Nov 15, 2007
1,106
2
35
Raleigh, NC
Okay, to clarify something that a lot of you may not know, I did watch 'Off the Deep End' which was the special where the disappear the submarine and the reveal is one of the greatest moments in magic. Here is the clip after it is gone and the 'reveal' :). (click the smiley...it's a link)

There is a difference between revealing secrets and informing your audience. Information may or may not be true to the effect, and if it doesn't hurt the effect then it may be okay.

Showing a classic palm (very incorrectly done) can strengthen an invisible palm routine.
Showing how a trick actually works right after (or before) doing it will change the way people see the effect and could kill the impact.

Just a few thoughts, not something I think too much into.
 
Jul 14, 2008
936
0
Well, I never reveal my tricks because I always respect the creators. However, the creators has every rights to reveal their tricks to the audience.
 
Mar 15, 2009
77
0
Minnesota
You all bring up very good points - and it all seems to come down to this - revealing magic can destroy your performance. However, I think that the way Penn & Teller do it is far different than what we commonly consider to be revelation.

When they reveal how they do a particular trick, it is often an effect that involves and an at least decent amount of skill - which reminds us that we are not just magicians - we are entertainers. We have to do more than just magic if we want to be successful. If revealing a trick to our audience would increase their enjoying of the show, why shouldn't we? We just need to know which ones to reveal, and how much of the trick to keep hidden while revealing it.

If we reveal, say one card trick, that takes a very minimal amount of effort on our part, we would be making a big mistake. This does not impress our spectators at all - and this is because of the method. Penn & Teller come up with those tricks just to reveal, and they make sure that the audience will get a good amount of entertainment out of the revelation - and a very small amount of the audience members would be able to even come close to duplicating what they saw. If you'll notice, they usually still keep part of the secret hidden from the audience to keep them somewhat in the dark. As long as the audience enjoys the show more (and we don't reveal our best tricks), I think that it is fine to reveal some magic after performances - but only if we know which tricks to reveal.

Just my thoughts.
 
Hey


I was browsing the internet, i then found myself watching Wayne Houchins daily blog, after he talks and play the yukalaylee (yes, wayne is Hawaii).then There is a video showing penn and teller doing an amazing trick, making a submarine vanish after they reveal it..... Wayne does not show the revealing bit but.People who have seen penn and teller, they know that they normally reveal tricks. Penn says if you just want the image of a submarine vanishing then just close your eyes. After that, now that my views on revealing magic have changed from when I was 2 weeks into magic, I wondered this:

Is it right to reveal a trick right after you show the magic as part of a routine?

Now I am not saying give the audience a step by step explanation, I am just saying just "show" them, also not card magic or coin magic I am saying Stage magic, stuff like the disappearing submarine..

So do you SHOW how the trick was done after a performence.

As I read the title to this the first thing that popped into my head was Penn and Teller, often if they reveal a trick it isn't for the sake of revealing. Lots of people are just as astounded by the method as much as the effect. For example they did a show where they lit a cigarette, sntomped it out and lit another. After this they explained how they only used one cigaretteand that they had used some ridiculous method to make it look normal, very cool

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2azeC57Fn4c

This is a old version of this, the newer one is much better though you can see what I mean

HA found it, this is the newer better version

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_qQX-jayixQ
 
Last edited by a moderator:
Dec 12, 2009
273
0
London Uk
I saw penn and teller do a nice cups and balls routine then they did with clear plastic cups but they still did it with amazing fast sleight of hand, this is my point, showing them how its done but not explaining it to them.
 
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