Aaron Fisher Answers All you questions about Panic
First, let me congratulate you guys on asking such terrific questions – your concerns demonstrate that you’re very serious about performing great magic. I’ve been on the road working, and answering a great many questions about this trick and Theory 11 – I just got home to Los Angeles and I’m here for 48 hours. Let’s get to it.
Normally, magicians want a trick to be gimmicked, so they know technical skill won’t be needed to achieve success. You guys are different – many of you sound like you don’t want to learn any gimmicked tricks. You seem to want magic that can be done with every day objects. To me, that sounds very familiar.
When I was first getting serious about card magic I felt the same way. I would never, in those days, use gaffs. I wanted to do things the old fashioned way, using only pure sleight of hand. Years later I turned pro. I’d learned the fundamentals, and discovered my priorities had changed. Now for the first time, I only cared about performing the strongest effect possible, whatever the cost. That’s how I developed PANIC. The answer to the question is yes – a very simple gaff is at work here. As we’ve said before, you can perform this trick wearing anything at any time – you only need a pocket for the deck to emerge from. Panic is so strong that I use it to close my professional show, surrounded or not, close up or stage.
Next concern: Are there any angle restrictions? No, there are not. You can perform this trick on the street, in a restaurant or on a stage. As many of you have already discovered, almost every performance setting will require a slightly different approach. The DVD of PANIC runs about 45 minutes, all to teach an effect that takes about twenty seconds to perform. We used this time to make sure you can perform the trick in every conceivable situation. We want to you be the best magician you can be – that means arming you with the knowledge you need to rock your magic anywhere, and still get the results you seek.
Last question – can you pass out the kings immediately after the deck melts away? This is a great question because it allows us to learn so much about how magic really works. If you watch the demo again, you’ll clearly hear the spectator respond, “Where did the deck go?” Not all effects are created equal – some technically beautiful effects leave the audience with a dirty aftertaste. “Let me see those cards!” The presence of this uncomfortable feeling denotes an effect which likely hasn’t been very carefully designed. Good magic doesn’t make us suspicious – it leaves us stunned, silent and mystified.
PANIC looks like a deck vanish, but if you watch the trick again, you’ll see that PANIC can be more accurately described as a transposition. The deck doesn’t really disappear. Rather, it changes places with the four kings, which you’ve previously placed in your pocket. Your spectator will want to know where the deck has gone – when she reaches into your pocket and removes the pack, the illusion is complete. A moment later, when she’s done freaking out, you can hand her the kings. In my experience passing out the kings isn’t necessary, unless you wish to perform another trick using the kings and the ordinary pack.
Thanks for the thoughtful questions – keep up the great work, and you’ll all be rocking PANIC, and every other effect you want to perform, in a way that looks like real magic.
Gratefully,
Aaron