Saturday Night Contest : Challenge Yourself :: RESULTS
- Thread starter j.bayme
- Start date
magicdasjfladsjfmasdfl. May I suggest putting the links to the images instead of posting the actual images so it's smaller and you can fit it all in one post?
My answer: No!
I win!!! I answered the question correctly!!!!!!!
haha you both win, give yourselves a pat on the back and a gold star.
My Story
Unfortunately, I was gone out of town last weekend and wasn't able to "reserve my spot" in this competition. However, I thought it sounded exciting and fun, so I decided to challenge myself anyway. My challenge to myself was to introduce three new pieces into my performing repertoire over the course of the week. And by the way, I pretty much do all cards, so to make it harder on me, I told myself two of these pieces would be something other than cards. I ended up introducing four, but no matter.
Part 1
Let me "set the stage" for you. There were about 25 High School guys, ranging from Freshmen to Seniors, and plenty in-between on a bus. Eventually, and I knew it was going to come... I was asked to perform.
Sweet 'n Low- Joel Givens
To start off, I asked a Senior if he drank tea or coffee. He did, and I asked him if he liked to use sweetener; yes again. I pulled a packet of Sweet 'n Low from my bag, and told him of a promo that was going on; with every tenth packet, you get a free stirrer. The reason behind this being that people always forget stirrers when they get sweetener. I ripped open one end of the packet, and from inside pulled out a 4 1/2" long stirrer. This puzzled people, but I told them what puzzled me was how they got it inside. With this, I grabbed the stirrer between my middle finger and thumb, pushed, and shrunk the stirrer to fit inside the packet. I handed everything out for examination. There were lots of smiles and laughs at this one... they liked it.
Scotch and Soda- Euro
After ripping up the packet and throwing it away, I pulled out two coins- a Five Cent Euro and a Fifty Cent Euro. I told them that my grandparents went to Europe over the summer (which they didn't, it was just for the sake of presentation) and brought me back the coins. Luckily, there was a German foreign exchange student on the bus, and he validated the coins. I rubbed the two together in my hand, and the Five Cent Euro disappeared. The Fifty Cent Euro was immediately handed out for examination. After having it back in my hands, I waved a Sharpie over it, and it disappeared... hands completely empty; except for, of course, the Sharpie. People started looking at each other with funny looks; smiles, raised eyebrows, mouths open.
Flashback- Gregory Wilson
For my next effect, I got out my cards, and asked if anyone remembered the trick I did where their signed card came to the top (ACR). A few of them said yes, and to them, I told them that I was going to teach them. Someone took out a card, I put it in the middle, and told them that it wasn't sleight of hand; what I really did was push the button on my "time machine". *presses button on watch* I revealed the top card as their selection. People were impressed at this, but not too crazy of reactions, because their could be duplicates for this phase.
At this point I went back to my Sharpie, asking someone to please sign the card. Now, with their signature on it, it would be impossible for me to use duplicates and such. I placed the card in the middle exactly like the time before. *presses button on watch and their card is turned over on the top* This phase got incredible reactions, with people screaming, yes, actually screaming.
*insert Slop Shuffle here* "So this time I'm going to mix the cards face up into face down, like so, to prove to you that I'm really using a time machine. Now there are two ways you can un-mix these cards, you can turn them over one by one like this *turns top card face down*, or you can press the button on my time machine." *presses button on watch and spreads the card to show them all back, facing the same way* Wow... just wow. Screams again, applause, smiles, laughter... the whole 9 yards.
*turns top card, Joker, back over* "Now if you put the Joker into the middle *puts card into the middle* and spin it *spins Joker*, it turns into your card." *pulls card out and shows it to be the selection* Fairly good reactions, but not as good as the previous phases.
"But, if you just flick the card, you can actually get the signature to vanish right off of it." *insert awesome Color Change here* Yelling, clapping... good reactions again.
"And if you take the Seven of Hearts (random card/selection), and place it on the bottom of the pack *places Seven on bottom*, and press the button on my time machine *presses button on watch* it actually changes back into the Joker. *turns over deck and shows Joker* But do you know why it changes back into the Joker? Because now the deck is back in brand new order, the way it was when I bought it from Target" *spreads through deck and proves it* Best reactions of the day. There was everything; screaming, laughing, smiling, clapping, "Wows!", etc.
My Thoughts-
This performance was one of my favorites, and I even managed to get in my two new pieces for the week: Sweet 'n Low by Joel Givens and Flashback by Gregory Wilson. As usual, reactions from the Tennis Team were great, and I thoroughly enjoyed myself. I think I did a very good job presentation-wise, maybe the best I've ever done. I feel comfortable around these guys, they're my friends, maybe that's why. But I wish I would have got it on film. I would have, but my friend got his camera taken away that day at school, so there weren't any video cameras on the bus.
Part 2
This performance, while a short one, was still fun, and I managed to introduce yet another piece of magic into my performance repertoire: 5 Speed. It was at my cousins' (two of them) High School Graduation Party, and I was performing for a few of my cousins, and I guy named Cole that I had never met before. He was one of the best spectators I've ever had.
Five Speed
So we've all seen the demo video for 5 Speed, and we all know how it goes, so I'm not going to describe each phase like I did for "Part 1". I'm just going to describe the reactions. The "Ambitious Sequence" of the two and the three rising to the top got average reactions; nothing too special. The "Monte Sequence" with "find the three", and the "three threes" got pretty good reactions, but when I revealed the selection at the end, Cole started freaking out, raving about the black three, four, and five, and his card, etc.
Eventually, Cole, put his head in his hands, told me he didn't like me, and walked away. I found it very funny and was laughing pretty hard, along with everyone else at the table.
My Thoughts-
I thought I did a pretty good job performance wise, and seeing as this is a fairly easy effect, my technical skills were good, too. But the thing that made the performance the amount of fun it was, apart from my presentation, of course, was Cole's reactions. He was a very funny character, and I thoroughly enjoyed performing for him.
The End
Well, as my story's drawing to a close, I regret not being able to enter myself into the contest, but boy did I enjoy challenging myself. I felt I improved as a performer and a magician overall by adding these new pieces. I had a lot of fun doing it, and even though I'm not in the contest, thank you theory11 for this great idea; I had a huge amount of fun participating!
Unfortunately, I was gone out of town last weekend and wasn't able to "reserve my spot" in this competition. However, I thought it sounded exciting and fun, so I decided to challenge myself anyway. My challenge to myself was to introduce three new pieces into my performing repertoire over the course of the week. And by the way, I pretty much do all cards, so to make it harder on me, I told myself two of these pieces would be something other than cards. I ended up introducing four, but no matter.
Part 1
Let me "set the stage" for you. There were about 25 High School guys, ranging from Freshmen to Seniors, and plenty in-between on a bus. Eventually, and I knew it was going to come... I was asked to perform.
Sweet 'n Low- Joel Givens
To start off, I asked a Senior if he drank tea or coffee. He did, and I asked him if he liked to use sweetener; yes again. I pulled a packet of Sweet 'n Low from my bag, and told him of a promo that was going on; with every tenth packet, you get a free stirrer. The reason behind this being that people always forget stirrers when they get sweetener. I ripped open one end of the packet, and from inside pulled out a 4 1/2" long stirrer. This puzzled people, but I told them what puzzled me was how they got it inside. With this, I grabbed the stirrer between my middle finger and thumb, pushed, and shrunk the stirrer to fit inside the packet. I handed everything out for examination. There were lots of smiles and laughs at this one... they liked it.
Scotch and Soda- Euro
After ripping up the packet and throwing it away, I pulled out two coins- a Five Cent Euro and a Fifty Cent Euro. I told them that my grandparents went to Europe over the summer (which they didn't, it was just for the sake of presentation) and brought me back the coins. Luckily, there was a German foreign exchange student on the bus, and he validated the coins. I rubbed the two together in my hand, and the Five Cent Euro disappeared. The Fifty Cent Euro was immediately handed out for examination. After having it back in my hands, I waved a Sharpie over it, and it disappeared... hands completely empty; except for, of course, the Sharpie. People started looking at each other with funny looks; smiles, raised eyebrows, mouths open.
Flashback- Gregory Wilson
For my next effect, I got out my cards, and asked if anyone remembered the trick I did where their signed card came to the top (ACR). A few of them said yes, and to them, I told them that I was going to teach them. Someone took out a card, I put it in the middle, and told them that it wasn't sleight of hand; what I really did was push the button on my "time machine". *presses button on watch* I revealed the top card as their selection. People were impressed at this, but not too crazy of reactions, because their could be duplicates for this phase.
At this point I went back to my Sharpie, asking someone to please sign the card. Now, with their signature on it, it would be impossible for me to use duplicates and such. I placed the card in the middle exactly like the time before. *presses button on watch and their card is turned over on the top* This phase got incredible reactions, with people screaming, yes, actually screaming.
*insert Slop Shuffle here* "So this time I'm going to mix the cards face up into face down, like so, to prove to you that I'm really using a time machine. Now there are two ways you can un-mix these cards, you can turn them over one by one like this *turns top card face down*, or you can press the button on my time machine." *presses button on watch and spreads the card to show them all back, facing the same way* Wow... just wow. Screams again, applause, smiles, laughter... the whole 9 yards.
*turns top card, Joker, back over* "Now if you put the Joker into the middle *puts card into the middle* and spin it *spins Joker*, it turns into your card." *pulls card out and shows it to be the selection* Fairly good reactions, but not as good as the previous phases.
"But, if you just flick the card, you can actually get the signature to vanish right off of it." *insert awesome Color Change here* Yelling, clapping... good reactions again.
"And if you take the Seven of Hearts (random card/selection), and place it on the bottom of the pack *places Seven on bottom*, and press the button on my time machine *presses button on watch* it actually changes back into the Joker. *turns over deck and shows Joker* But do you know why it changes back into the Joker? Because now the deck is back in brand new order, the way it was when I bought it from Target" *spreads through deck and proves it* Best reactions of the day. There was everything; screaming, laughing, smiling, clapping, "Wows!", etc.
My Thoughts-
This performance was one of my favorites, and I even managed to get in my two new pieces for the week: Sweet 'n Low by Joel Givens and Flashback by Gregory Wilson. As usual, reactions from the Tennis Team were great, and I thoroughly enjoyed myself. I think I did a very good job presentation-wise, maybe the best I've ever done. I feel comfortable around these guys, they're my friends, maybe that's why. But I wish I would have got it on film. I would have, but my friend got his camera taken away that day at school, so there weren't any video cameras on the bus.
Part 2
This performance, while a short one, was still fun, and I managed to introduce yet another piece of magic into my performance repertoire: 5 Speed. It was at my cousins' (two of them) High School Graduation Party, and I was performing for a few of my cousins, and I guy named Cole that I had never met before. He was one of the best spectators I've ever had.
Five Speed
So we've all seen the demo video for 5 Speed, and we all know how it goes, so I'm not going to describe each phase like I did for "Part 1". I'm just going to describe the reactions. The "Ambitious Sequence" of the two and the three rising to the top got average reactions; nothing too special. The "Monte Sequence" with "find the three", and the "three threes" got pretty good reactions, but when I revealed the selection at the end, Cole started freaking out, raving about the black three, four, and five, and his card, etc.
Eventually, Cole, put his head in his hands, told me he didn't like me, and walked away. I found it very funny and was laughing pretty hard, along with everyone else at the table.
My Thoughts-
I thought I did a pretty good job performance wise, and seeing as this is a fairly easy effect, my technical skills were good, too. But the thing that made the performance the amount of fun it was, apart from my presentation, of course, was Cole's reactions. He was a very funny character, and I thoroughly enjoyed performing for him.
The End
Well, as my story's drawing to a close, I regret not being able to enter myself into the contest, but boy did I enjoy challenging myself. I felt I improved as a performer and a magician overall by adding these new pieces. I had a lot of fun doing it, and even though I'm not in the contest, thank you theory11 for this great idea; I had a huge amount of fun participating!
Can i email my video to any one of the thoery11 stuff ..... because vimeo says that its going to take 120 mins to upload =/
Before watching the video, please take a minute and read this. Thank You.
Well, first of all this has been a very busy week, but since
we had to challenge ourselves I decided to study for tests, do my homework, learn a couple of flourishes and make a video of the two flourishes a learned. The flourishes were pretty difficult since all I knew (flourish wise) before making this video was:
1. Charlier Cut
2.Thumb Fan
3. Ribbon Spread
4. Card Spring
5. Card Dribble.
6. Pirouette
7. Faro (Shuffle, Fan, Spread)
8. Lots of shuffles.
9. Scissor Cut
10. One Handed Fan.
I selected this challenge because I haven't done flourishing in my entire life.
I started by learning One-Handed Revolution (the one taught in the Trilogy).
Then i started practicing the Molecule 2, took me 2-3 days to get it down (I know its not fast nor smooth),
after the molecule 2 i decide to learn vertigo, since i love to play soccer and hacky sack i thought this was going to be easy for me,
but it wasn't, as you can see in the video there is a point where i kick the hold deck, I was frustrated.
This was not an easy week ... i wanted to learn more flourishes but these two were very challenging for me.
Thanks to theory 11 for this opportunity, now i appreciate the art of flourishing much more, his is not an easy
art and you, the flourishers, know it.
I hope you guys enjoy my video and good luck!!!
PS. Sorry for the bad editing, this is my first video.
Thank You
Santiago Villanueva
Here is my video.
SNC-Challenge Yourself - Flourishes
Well, first of all this has been a very busy week, but since
we had to challenge ourselves I decided to study for tests, do my homework, learn a couple of flourishes and make a video of the two flourishes a learned. The flourishes were pretty difficult since all I knew (flourish wise) before making this video was:
1. Charlier Cut
2.Thumb Fan
3. Ribbon Spread
4. Card Spring
5. Card Dribble.
6. Pirouette
7. Faro (Shuffle, Fan, Spread)
8. Lots of shuffles.
9. Scissor Cut
10. One Handed Fan.
I selected this challenge because I haven't done flourishing in my entire life.
I started by learning One-Handed Revolution (the one taught in the Trilogy).
Then i started practicing the Molecule 2, took me 2-3 days to get it down (I know its not fast nor smooth),
after the molecule 2 i decide to learn vertigo, since i love to play soccer and hacky sack i thought this was going to be easy for me,
but it wasn't, as you can see in the video there is a point where i kick the hold deck, I was frustrated.
This was not an easy week ... i wanted to learn more flourishes but these two were very challenging for me.
Thanks to theory 11 for this opportunity, now i appreciate the art of flourishing much more, his is not an easy
art and you, the flourishers, know it.
I hope you guys enjoy my video and good luck!!!
PS. Sorry for the bad editing, this is my first video.
Thank You
Santiago Villanueva
Here is my video.
SNC-Challenge Yourself - Flourishes
Today...
I worked a gig without doing any magic!? I did balloon animals for 4 hours straight... This was the second time that I did balloons animals for a long period of time. I'm glad that my fingers didn't bleed this time. xD. Unfortunately, there was a good chance of rain so my parents didn't let me bring the camera. Best of all, I made about 50 dollars in tips to go to kids with cancer.
I worked a gig without doing any magic!? I did balloon animals for 4 hours straight... This was the second time that I did balloons animals for a long period of time. I'm glad that my fingers didn't bleed this time. xD. Unfortunately, there was a good chance of rain so my parents didn't let me bring the camera. Best of all, I made about 50 dollars in tips to go to kids with cancer.
A week later, and I have to say, I achieved more than I expected. I was fortunate enough to walk away with first place in my division (13 and above). I was very nervous when I first got up there, I was shaky, sweaty, you name it, I had it. about 30 seconds in, I got a grip of myself, settled down and everything went smoothly. When I went to talk to the judges to get there opinions on my routine they said that they didn't notice any shakiness so maybe it was just me. Of course I wasn't perfect, I had to work on presentation and what not but all was well and I am pretty much satisfied with my achievement.
Below are a few pics of the medal and the deck that I used and a picture of the back of my medal and I am not sure you can make-out what it says so I'll type it out to make all of your lifes easier...
Calgary Magic Circle Close Up Contest
*1st Place Junior*
Thanks guys, great contest and good luck everyone!
Attachments
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I posted last week that my challenge was to try to "pick up" a girl by doing magic to see if girls really like guys who do magic.
So last night I went to my friend Nick's party. I had already set myself up with a couple of tricks to perform beforehand, so I was good to go.. There was a lot of people there, so I was a little nervous because I haven't seen so many unfamiliar faces at my friends house before. I saw a few people who I knew( Kaitlin, Tom, Rob, and Nick) and they called me over to hang by them with some other people. It was a small crowd of 6 people. We started a conversation about tattoos, I don't even know how it got started. Then Kaitlin turns to me and asked if I remembered that trick I did to her with the card that I rubbed into my skin. I said yeah, but I can't do it tonight though. She asked if I could do any trick though, it doesn't matter which one. Then Nick said, "Yeah do a card trick, I know you got your cards on you." So I whipped out my cards and started flourishing/cutting. I had some people's attention, the group I was with and about 3 others who were just looking at me(all together 9). I started with my first trick, a trick I knew I had down pat. Biddle trick. They were easily impressed and shouted things which got even more people's attention.
"Is that kid doing magic?" I heard from the back of the crowd. Then this girl came over to me and said she loved magic and wanted to pick a card. I saw this girl earlier when I first walked in the house, but I didn't say anything to her. I just kinda walked the other way like an idiot instead of saying hey.
So of course, guess what happens now. My hands start sweating and shaking.I fanned out the deck anyway and told her to pick one. I could tell she was going to be a tough spectator because she touched every card in the fan to tell if it was a real deck and make sure I wasn't hiding anything. I guess she had seen tricks like that before. Anyway, she picked a card towards the end of the fan and showed everyone. I told her to put it back in the deck, and like that it was lost. I asked what her fav card was in a deck, that wasn't her chosen card. "Queen of hearts". So I went through the deck to take it out and give it to her to put in her hand. I said "Were gonna find your chosen card using your favorite card. I told her, when she's ready to put her card in the middle somewhere as I'm riffling through the deck, but to still keep holding onto her fav card.
She did exactly what I said, and I was surprised. I thought that she would accidently turn over her card or push her card in all the way and leave it there, but she didn't, which was awesome. I turned over the first card from the break, and asked if that was her card. "No, that wasn't it."
"Lets try this one more time." I said.
We did it again, and . . . . . .nothing. I went through the deck and asked what her card was. Everyone said it was the 3 of diamonds. "Nahh, seriously what was it."
"3 OF DIAMONDS!" everyone yelled trying to contain their laughfter. I said "That's impossible, . . . . . . .because that's the card your holding." as I pointed at the girl.
She turns it over..........
HOLY $41T!!!
The girl was in complete shock, just like everyone else in the room.
They were begging for more, so I said ok, one last trick.
Distortion.
I told the same girl to hold out her hand. I showed the 4 of diamonds and the 6 of diamonds. I gave her the 6 of diamonds to hold really tight between her two hands. To make it more interesting, I told my friends Nick, Tom, and other people as well to cover up her hands with theirs. Just making sure I can't take that card out. I showed the 4 of diamonds, and began to shake the card.
Suddenly the card morphs into the 6 of diamonds. People start flipping out at this point, as if the trick is over. They totally forgot what they were doing with their hands.
I bring attention back to the girls hands and everyone took their hands off of hers, and she turned over the card.
4 of diamonds. That was like a double whammy. You just can't beat that. Reactions - insane.
Cursing, Yelling, Clapping, Laughing.
As things settled down, I began to talk to that girl after awhile. I found out that her name is Lauren and that her little brother does magic too. Were the same age, so that's good. We hung out the rest of the night and became friends. I don't know where it will go, but I was told that good things take time. Were gonna hang out again next weekend with a bunch of friends and see what happens from there.
In conclusion, that was a great party and I had a blast. I think magic has a little something special for what girls like, but most is all personality.
If you do magic without explaining yourself what your doing, or just not talking throughout your whole routine, then don't expect a girl to just like you from your skill alone.
When I do magic, I like to keep it interesting by joking around and making people laugh. That's what I like to do.That's my personality.
Be yourself. Make any and every trick your own. Don't copy creators because I think everyone should have their own way of performing.
The way you act when your with your family/close friends is the way you should act all the time. When your with your family/close friends is your comfort zone. Instead of being shy around people you don't know, act the same as if your with your family. This way you can bring your comfort zone with you at all times.
So last night I went to my friend Nick's party. I had already set myself up with a couple of tricks to perform beforehand, so I was good to go.. There was a lot of people there, so I was a little nervous because I haven't seen so many unfamiliar faces at my friends house before. I saw a few people who I knew( Kaitlin, Tom, Rob, and Nick) and they called me over to hang by them with some other people. It was a small crowd of 6 people. We started a conversation about tattoos, I don't even know how it got started. Then Kaitlin turns to me and asked if I remembered that trick I did to her with the card that I rubbed into my skin. I said yeah, but I can't do it tonight though. She asked if I could do any trick though, it doesn't matter which one. Then Nick said, "Yeah do a card trick, I know you got your cards on you." So I whipped out my cards and started flourishing/cutting. I had some people's attention, the group I was with and about 3 others who were just looking at me(all together 9). I started with my first trick, a trick I knew I had down pat. Biddle trick. They were easily impressed and shouted things which got even more people's attention.
"Is that kid doing magic?" I heard from the back of the crowd. Then this girl came over to me and said she loved magic and wanted to pick a card. I saw this girl earlier when I first walked in the house, but I didn't say anything to her. I just kinda walked the other way like an idiot instead of saying hey.
So of course, guess what happens now. My hands start sweating and shaking.I fanned out the deck anyway and told her to pick one. I could tell she was going to be a tough spectator because she touched every card in the fan to tell if it was a real deck and make sure I wasn't hiding anything. I guess she had seen tricks like that before. Anyway, she picked a card towards the end of the fan and showed everyone. I told her to put it back in the deck, and like that it was lost. I asked what her fav card was in a deck, that wasn't her chosen card. "Queen of hearts". So I went through the deck to take it out and give it to her to put in her hand. I said "Were gonna find your chosen card using your favorite card. I told her, when she's ready to put her card in the middle somewhere as I'm riffling through the deck, but to still keep holding onto her fav card.
She did exactly what I said, and I was surprised. I thought that she would accidently turn over her card or push her card in all the way and leave it there, but she didn't, which was awesome. I turned over the first card from the break, and asked if that was her card. "No, that wasn't it."
"Lets try this one more time." I said.
We did it again, and . . . . . .nothing. I went through the deck and asked what her card was. Everyone said it was the 3 of diamonds. "Nahh, seriously what was it."
"3 OF DIAMONDS!" everyone yelled trying to contain their laughfter. I said "That's impossible, . . . . . . .because that's the card your holding." as I pointed at the girl.
She turns it over..........
HOLY $41T!!!
The girl was in complete shock, just like everyone else in the room.
They were begging for more, so I said ok, one last trick.
Distortion.
I told the same girl to hold out her hand. I showed the 4 of diamonds and the 6 of diamonds. I gave her the 6 of diamonds to hold really tight between her two hands. To make it more interesting, I told my friends Nick, Tom, and other people as well to cover up her hands with theirs. Just making sure I can't take that card out. I showed the 4 of diamonds, and began to shake the card.
Suddenly the card morphs into the 6 of diamonds. People start flipping out at this point, as if the trick is over. They totally forgot what they were doing with their hands.
I bring attention back to the girls hands and everyone took their hands off of hers, and she turned over the card.
4 of diamonds. That was like a double whammy. You just can't beat that. Reactions - insane.
Cursing, Yelling, Clapping, Laughing.
As things settled down, I began to talk to that girl after awhile. I found out that her name is Lauren and that her little brother does magic too. Were the same age, so that's good. We hung out the rest of the night and became friends. I don't know where it will go, but I was told that good things take time. Were gonna hang out again next weekend with a bunch of friends and see what happens from there.
In conclusion, that was a great party and I had a blast. I think magic has a little something special for what girls like, but most is all personality.
If you do magic without explaining yourself what your doing, or just not talking throughout your whole routine, then don't expect a girl to just like you from your skill alone.
When I do magic, I like to keep it interesting by joking around and making people laugh. That's what I like to do.That's my personality.
Be yourself. Make any and every trick your own. Don't copy creators because I think everyone should have their own way of performing.
The way you act when your with your family/close friends is the way you should act all the time. When your with your family/close friends is your comfort zone. Instead of being shy around people you don't know, act the same as if your with your family. This way you can bring your comfort zone with you at all times.
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http://myspacetv.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=vids.individual&videoid=5823947
well this week i did a lot most of them were of sponge ball routines and card routines but my favorite of this week was when i went to the mall.(click link to see vid)I love this trick but never had enough courage to do close up tricks, card tricks are not really my favorite let alone my best. SO this week i challenged myself to film a card trick; this was my favorite just bc if done right it really looks magical.
Best of luck to everyone
well this week i did a lot most of them were of sponge ball routines and card routines but my favorite of this week was when i went to the mall.(click link to see vid)I love this trick but never had enough courage to do close up tricks, card tricks are not really my favorite let alone my best. SO this week i challenged myself to film a card trick; this was my favorite just bc if done right it really looks magical.
Best of luck to everyone
The original plan:
So here’s my report:
My goal was to engage in some mentalist debauchery in the French Quarter. Mentalism is something that I’m kind of against on principle, so I decided to give it a shot. Results were…mixed. Initially, I started in the early evening just doing some sleight of hand stuff.
I met this construction worker, Donny (or Donnie) from Mexico, around Jackson Square and I did Twinsplit Remix for him. Then he made his cigarette disappear, which was pretty cool [photos].
I did my first mentalism experiment to these guys who were out on their balcony on Bourbon Street. It was just a number guessing one and I got it. They seemed to like it [photos]. I tried to do a card trick, but it was a bit awkward because of the angles.
I’ve been working on the Balducci levitation all week—it is definitely not my cup of tea. I tried it three times and got caught twice.
The haunted effects I did worked the best (probably since most of them revolved around playing cards). I did a few haunted packs when it got darker and they pretty much hands-down killed.
I did “Hair” once to a group of pretty drunk girls from Texas. They were the spectators for my second attempt at Balducci and the only ones that it worked for (probably because they were so hammered).
The whole “create a character” thing kind of went by the wayside, but I did try to act more mysterious. When I was more serious, I tended to get more serious reactions. I tried the “your dead relative” hook once (and only once) and felt like an a-hole afterwards. It was for a moving eye-glasses effect on this one girl and her siblings. They were amazed, quite frankly, but it really ended up being awkward for all of us. And boy did I feel like a sh*t bag. But now I know for myself that people can so easily be taken advantage of.
My best moment? When I got a reaction something along the lines of: “Oh my god, I’m on drugs!” (The Texas ladies with “Hair”).
My worst moment? The first time I screwed up the levitation. The reaction was something like: “That’s kind of obvious.” Or probably my “dead relative spirit” loops effect. I was really quite disgusted with myself.
What did I learn about myself? I still don’t like mentalism, I’m better with cards, and be yourself. I’m glad I did it. It was not a life changing experience, but if I’m ever in a situation where I need to do some mentalism, at least now I’ve tried it out and I have a feel for how people react to it. No harm in that.
It’s not easy to try something new.
Here are some pictures that I took of Donnie (Donny?), the guys on the balcony, and a few of Jackson Square (and then there's one of a bunch of booze...).
So here’s my report:
My goal was to engage in some mentalist debauchery in the French Quarter. Mentalism is something that I’m kind of against on principle, so I decided to give it a shot. Results were…mixed. Initially, I started in the early evening just doing some sleight of hand stuff.
I met this construction worker, Donny (or Donnie) from Mexico, around Jackson Square and I did Twinsplit Remix for him. Then he made his cigarette disappear, which was pretty cool [photos].
I did my first mentalism experiment to these guys who were out on their balcony on Bourbon Street. It was just a number guessing one and I got it. They seemed to like it [photos]. I tried to do a card trick, but it was a bit awkward because of the angles.
I’ve been working on the Balducci levitation all week—it is definitely not my cup of tea. I tried it three times and got caught twice.
The haunted effects I did worked the best (probably since most of them revolved around playing cards). I did a few haunted packs when it got darker and they pretty much hands-down killed.
I did “Hair” once to a group of pretty drunk girls from Texas. They were the spectators for my second attempt at Balducci and the only ones that it worked for (probably because they were so hammered).
The whole “create a character” thing kind of went by the wayside, but I did try to act more mysterious. When I was more serious, I tended to get more serious reactions. I tried the “your dead relative” hook once (and only once) and felt like an a-hole afterwards. It was for a moving eye-glasses effect on this one girl and her siblings. They were amazed, quite frankly, but it really ended up being awkward for all of us. And boy did I feel like a sh*t bag. But now I know for myself that people can so easily be taken advantage of.
My best moment? When I got a reaction something along the lines of: “Oh my god, I’m on drugs!” (The Texas ladies with “Hair”).
My worst moment? The first time I screwed up the levitation. The reaction was something like: “That’s kind of obvious.” Or probably my “dead relative spirit” loops effect. I was really quite disgusted with myself.
What did I learn about myself? I still don’t like mentalism, I’m better with cards, and be yourself. I’m glad I did it. It was not a life changing experience, but if I’m ever in a situation where I need to do some mentalism, at least now I’ve tried it out and I have a feel for how people react to it. No harm in that.
It’s not easy to try something new.
Here are some pictures that I took of Donnie (Donny?), the guys on the balcony, and a few of Jackson Square (and then there's one of a bunch of booze...).
Attachments
My challenge was as follows:
1) Create a somewhat original effect, and perform it.
2) Learn other effect(s) and along with more tricks and the created trick, perform!
3) Ideally perform on Friday night/Saturday morning: Health appointment, large party, rock climbing trip.
I chose this because I wanted to come up with something knew. I had the feeling most people would be going out and performing, but I wanted to go a step further.
So, how did I do?
Well... not great.
I learned a few great lessons this week:
A ) Don't put off performing. I didn't get to my own trick, and I barely got to perform.
B ) Don't be afraid. Go up and do it.
C ) Use effects that are simple and you know will work. I messed up on stripper deck, as I wasn't sure it would work.
So, in reality, I didn't make a life-changing experience happen. However, I put on a small, good act, and I'm sure I will do better next time!
This challenge has prepared my anxiety level of street magic - I'm not as scared anymore. Regardless of if I win or not, I had a bunch of fun and it was a good time.
Thanks, theory11!
1) Create a somewhat original effect, and perform it.
2) Learn other effect(s) and along with more tricks and the created trick, perform!
3) Ideally perform on Friday night/Saturday morning: Health appointment, large party, rock climbing trip.
I chose this because I wanted to come up with something knew. I had the feeling most people would be going out and performing, but I wanted to go a step further.
So, how did I do?
Well... not great.
I learned a few great lessons this week:
A ) Don't put off performing. I didn't get to my own trick, and I barely got to perform.
B ) Don't be afraid. Go up and do it.
C ) Use effects that are simple and you know will work. I messed up on stripper deck, as I wasn't sure it would work.
So, in reality, I didn't make a life-changing experience happen. However, I put on a small, good act, and I'm sure I will do better next time!
This challenge has prepared my anxiety level of street magic - I'm not as scared anymore. Regardless of if I win or not, I had a bunch of fun and it was a good time.
Thanks, theory11!
Many a day I perform with cards and with coins, some get good reactions, while others get great. This week was different, this week I got reaction that were incredible. Instead of just performing your old pick-a-card trick, i performed, what to many, was real magic. The feeling of being free from gimmicks, and free from any type of prop was like being on the beach with the warm sand beneath your toes, and the smell of salty ocean water prevading the air, and knowing that you don't have to worry about anything.
This week i performed only Psychological Effects, and the reason i call them psychological effects instead of mentalism, is because i used no gimmicks, and no back up plan. I performed for people on the street using nothing but, me and their minds.
Performing on the street i met some interesting people, some mean, some nice, but my overall favourite perfomance was for an elderly lady. she seemed to be taking her morning walk as most older people do, and so i went up to her with the biggest smile on my face, and asked if i could show her something. She said yes, and so i asked her to just picture a time in her life, and just remember the feeling, and what it smeeled like, and how it was. she said she had a memory so then i took a deep breathe in and closed my eyes. i gave her a pad of paper and a pen and told her to simply sketch what she had thought of. she did so, and then i continued by asking her to tear the page out. she did and then handed the pad of paper back to me. i asked her to just focus on her memory, and asked if the word rose had anything to do with it, she said yes in a sort of quite but surprised tone, i then clicked the pen and started to draw what i thought she was thinking of. i turned over the pad to reveal a picture of a rose. she looked as if i was there was something more, something greater than a picture of what she had just named, and there was.
I drew quickly a scene, a beach with a sailboat and an umbrella. She looked, and with a tear in her eye she said that that was when she was younger and her husband who is no longer around proposed to her.
It wasn't the reaction where people just curse and call you the devil, for her, and for me it was just a greater moment. she thanked me and said that was a great thing i did for her, and she would never forget it. that is how i pushed myself to the limit, by trying new things, i opened new possibilities as to what i could do.
This week i performed only Psychological Effects, and the reason i call them psychological effects instead of mentalism, is because i used no gimmicks, and no back up plan. I performed for people on the street using nothing but, me and their minds.
Performing on the street i met some interesting people, some mean, some nice, but my overall favourite perfomance was for an elderly lady. she seemed to be taking her morning walk as most older people do, and so i went up to her with the biggest smile on my face, and asked if i could show her something. She said yes, and so i asked her to just picture a time in her life, and just remember the feeling, and what it smeeled like, and how it was. she said she had a memory so then i took a deep breathe in and closed my eyes. i gave her a pad of paper and a pen and told her to simply sketch what she had thought of. she did so, and then i continued by asking her to tear the page out. she did and then handed the pad of paper back to me. i asked her to just focus on her memory, and asked if the word rose had anything to do with it, she said yes in a sort of quite but surprised tone, i then clicked the pen and started to draw what i thought she was thinking of. i turned over the pad to reveal a picture of a rose. she looked as if i was there was something more, something greater than a picture of what she had just named, and there was.
I drew quickly a scene, a beach with a sailboat and an umbrella. She looked, and with a tear in her eye she said that that was when she was younger and her husband who is no longer around proposed to her.
It wasn't the reaction where people just curse and call you the devil, for her, and for me it was just a greater moment. she thanked me and said that was a great thing i did for her, and she would never forget it. that is how i pushed myself to the limit, by trying new things, i opened new possibilities as to what i could do.
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