Honestly, when you think about card magic, what do you think about? Do you think sleight of hand? Do you think epic changes? Do you think about impractical controls? They are neat, right? They are fun to watch, arnt they? But are they magic? NO. Neat changes and cool controls are nothing more than flourishing. Im here not to tell you that card magic is dead, but that it never existed.
When magicians today think about card magic, they think about the moves used to achieve the effect. The effect IS IN THE MINDS OF THE SPECTATOR. You cant simply show your audiene a bunch of moves and expect them to call it magic. You have to give them reason to call it magic. How? Giving a meaningful presentation behind your effect works some of the time. Some of the time, its letting them do the magic. Remember, the magic is in the minds of the spectators, not in the cards.
Think about the first trick that really fooled you. Were you fooled by method, or were you entertained by magic? Your goal as a magician is to awaken the magic in the spectators mind. When you were born, you didnt know what a doctor was, you didnt know what a light was, you didnt know anything other than ignorance, and even then, you didnt know what that was called. Astonishment soon followed. You were fasinated by everything around you, everything around you was so new and amazing. You quickly started learning how things and people worked, until by the age of about sixteen, you thought you had learned everything. This is where our jobs come in. We are the peter pan, if you will, into neverland, where everything is magic. Taking them to this state of mind is very difficult, and will take much time. If you show them real, actual magic, they will remember this forever.
Creating magic in the specatators mind is not obtained by the greatest, newest looking effect out there. It is obtained by gaining their trust and sprinkling it with deception. Making them believe something is not there, but it is. The first step to magic in the mind of the spectators mind is gaining trust. Proving to them that what they see is truth, If they dont, they WILL **** with you, and they will not give you they're trust. A few different ways to handle this are:
1. Just say no.
2. Better Audience management.
3. Having the cards shuffled/handled throughout the performance.
Lets Handle number one first:
Just saying no, to me, rarely looks good in the eyes of the spectator. Basically it cancels out the whole "magic" thing. You want them to believe their card is lost in the deck, or that the aces are lost in the deck, etc. And when they cant shuffle, they can and will believe that you where their card is and you dont want to lose its position. This is why I usually never say no when they ask to shuffle the cards. Worst case scenario, they ask to shuffle, you glimspe the card real quick, take back the deck, cull the card, talk for a minute, and bam, your right back on track. But in order to do that, you have to have good number two. No, not that number two, i ment audience management.
Number two:
Good Audience management is key to a good performance with a pain in the ass spectator. The strategy behind audience management is to control them so they DONT ask to shuffle the cards, look in the packet, etc. And, in my opinion, the best way for this to be done, is great technique. Your double lift should look like your single lift so they dont get suspicious and think you are cheating. If they really feel their card is lost in the deck, they wont ask to shuffle the cards. Another way to control the audience is to show things how they are once in a while, provide convincers if you will. When you say you are losing their card in the deck, so them that that is in fact their card. When you place the aces on the table, show them the aces! So later on, when that selection isnt the selection, or those aces arnt really aces, they wont ask, simply because you proved that what you say is truthful, so that they dont have to check it themselves. When they ask to shuffle, its alot like a lady looking through her house to make sure everythings their after a strange person they cantquitetrustbutwontsayanything leaves the house. Shuffling the cards to them ensures that everything is what it is. Another great convincer is in fact, number three.
Number three:
Having them shuffle when its not nessecary. To you. No, to them shuffling the cards makes all the difference in the world. It proves everything is fair and just how it needs to be. Of course your just giving them the packet that doesnt really have the card(s) in it, or you are in between effects, or youve already loaded the card where it needs to go. You are already ahead of the game, shuffled deck or not. This convincer is fantastic when you want to prove everything is as its should be. Also, let the cards that are about to be in question handled before they cant be handled. To them, they stay the same throughout the entire performance, when in reality, you let them handle the normal card, and then switched it for the not so normal gaff. Letting them shuffle and letting them handle the cards are two of the best, controlling convincers available, but you have to be able to combine this, and other convincers to gain the entire trust of the audience.
And that truly is what you are trying to obtain: The trust of the audience. When they dont trust you, they start asking to see the packet in question, the deck, etc. Only when you have the entire trust of the audience can the magic begin.
The next step is selling your magic. In order to sell a product, it must be a great product, or it must SEEM like a great product to them. The steps to a great product(effect in the eyes of the audience):
1. Solid effect. The effect you are trying to sell to them must make since and it MUST pretain to their everyday lives. A color changing routine by itself is NOT a solid effect. It is just a series of moves.
2. Solid method. They should NOT be able to spot any part of your method. What you explain as your effect SHOULD ACTUALLY BE what the spectators see.
3. Solid presentation. This is where you give your method life. This is where the magic comes in. As stated, you must give a presentation related to the everyday situations of spectators. This makes things much easier to believe and understand.
Many magicians say you dont have to have the best technique possible in order to perform magic. This is not so. Your technique must NOT be flawed. You dont want your spectators to notice a double lift or a break. It automatically breaks the trust, which in turn breaks the thought of magic from ever crossing the spectators mind. You will just be another guy who is smooth with the pasteboards. Just like someone who flourishes. If you are a move monkey, you are a flourisher, because you are not performing magic, you are just performing moves. But in that same breath, you must know your moves well in order to create magic in the minds of the spectator, because although it may be illusion in reality, its not in their minds. The only way to have solid moves and a solid presentation, PRACTICE IS NESSECARY. If you dont practice, you will be nothing but a crummy, piece of **** magician.
Style is also bery important in the performance of magic. You cant perform as a loudmouthed carney for one routine and a smoothtalking gambler for another. You must be you. What is the best way to do this, you ask? Well. it is actually simple. Do not study Dvds for anything other then pure move method. If you study Dvds for effect presentation, even subconciously you will copy them, which is no good. Spectators will feel that you are not being your self, and they will not trust that. They simply wont. In order to create your own style, you must study books, and you must perform as often as possible. This is the only way for you to gain your own style.
Many think that to be a card magician, you have to create your own material. This, also, is not true. In most cases, your material is not worth performing. This is not to say dont work it on, but you should make what you are creating worth watching. If its not, why bother? You must also decide if what you read or learn is even worth learning. It may not have what you need or fit your style. THAT IS OK!! What is popular is not always right for you.
Card magic is dead, but cards and magic arn't.
bossglass
When magicians today think about card magic, they think about the moves used to achieve the effect. The effect IS IN THE MINDS OF THE SPECTATOR. You cant simply show your audiene a bunch of moves and expect them to call it magic. You have to give them reason to call it magic. How? Giving a meaningful presentation behind your effect works some of the time. Some of the time, its letting them do the magic. Remember, the magic is in the minds of the spectators, not in the cards.
Think about the first trick that really fooled you. Were you fooled by method, or were you entertained by magic? Your goal as a magician is to awaken the magic in the spectators mind. When you were born, you didnt know what a doctor was, you didnt know what a light was, you didnt know anything other than ignorance, and even then, you didnt know what that was called. Astonishment soon followed. You were fasinated by everything around you, everything around you was so new and amazing. You quickly started learning how things and people worked, until by the age of about sixteen, you thought you had learned everything. This is where our jobs come in. We are the peter pan, if you will, into neverland, where everything is magic. Taking them to this state of mind is very difficult, and will take much time. If you show them real, actual magic, they will remember this forever.
Creating magic in the specatators mind is not obtained by the greatest, newest looking effect out there. It is obtained by gaining their trust and sprinkling it with deception. Making them believe something is not there, but it is. The first step to magic in the mind of the spectators mind is gaining trust. Proving to them that what they see is truth, If they dont, they WILL **** with you, and they will not give you they're trust. A few different ways to handle this are:
1. Just say no.
2. Better Audience management.
3. Having the cards shuffled/handled throughout the performance.
Lets Handle number one first:
Just saying no, to me, rarely looks good in the eyes of the spectator. Basically it cancels out the whole "magic" thing. You want them to believe their card is lost in the deck, or that the aces are lost in the deck, etc. And when they cant shuffle, they can and will believe that you where their card is and you dont want to lose its position. This is why I usually never say no when they ask to shuffle the cards. Worst case scenario, they ask to shuffle, you glimspe the card real quick, take back the deck, cull the card, talk for a minute, and bam, your right back on track. But in order to do that, you have to have good number two. No, not that number two, i ment audience management.
Number two:
Good Audience management is key to a good performance with a pain in the ass spectator. The strategy behind audience management is to control them so they DONT ask to shuffle the cards, look in the packet, etc. And, in my opinion, the best way for this to be done, is great technique. Your double lift should look like your single lift so they dont get suspicious and think you are cheating. If they really feel their card is lost in the deck, they wont ask to shuffle the cards. Another way to control the audience is to show things how they are once in a while, provide convincers if you will. When you say you are losing their card in the deck, so them that that is in fact their card. When you place the aces on the table, show them the aces! So later on, when that selection isnt the selection, or those aces arnt really aces, they wont ask, simply because you proved that what you say is truthful, so that they dont have to check it themselves. When they ask to shuffle, its alot like a lady looking through her house to make sure everythings their after a strange person they cantquitetrustbutwontsayanything leaves the house. Shuffling the cards to them ensures that everything is what it is. Another great convincer is in fact, number three.
Number three:
Having them shuffle when its not nessecary. To you. No, to them shuffling the cards makes all the difference in the world. It proves everything is fair and just how it needs to be. Of course your just giving them the packet that doesnt really have the card(s) in it, or you are in between effects, or youve already loaded the card where it needs to go. You are already ahead of the game, shuffled deck or not. This convincer is fantastic when you want to prove everything is as its should be. Also, let the cards that are about to be in question handled before they cant be handled. To them, they stay the same throughout the entire performance, when in reality, you let them handle the normal card, and then switched it for the not so normal gaff. Letting them shuffle and letting them handle the cards are two of the best, controlling convincers available, but you have to be able to combine this, and other convincers to gain the entire trust of the audience.
And that truly is what you are trying to obtain: The trust of the audience. When they dont trust you, they start asking to see the packet in question, the deck, etc. Only when you have the entire trust of the audience can the magic begin.
The next step is selling your magic. In order to sell a product, it must be a great product, or it must SEEM like a great product to them. The steps to a great product(effect in the eyes of the audience):
1. Solid effect. The effect you are trying to sell to them must make since and it MUST pretain to their everyday lives. A color changing routine by itself is NOT a solid effect. It is just a series of moves.
2. Solid method. They should NOT be able to spot any part of your method. What you explain as your effect SHOULD ACTUALLY BE what the spectators see.
3. Solid presentation. This is where you give your method life. This is where the magic comes in. As stated, you must give a presentation related to the everyday situations of spectators. This makes things much easier to believe and understand.
Many magicians say you dont have to have the best technique possible in order to perform magic. This is not so. Your technique must NOT be flawed. You dont want your spectators to notice a double lift or a break. It automatically breaks the trust, which in turn breaks the thought of magic from ever crossing the spectators mind. You will just be another guy who is smooth with the pasteboards. Just like someone who flourishes. If you are a move monkey, you are a flourisher, because you are not performing magic, you are just performing moves. But in that same breath, you must know your moves well in order to create magic in the minds of the spectator, because although it may be illusion in reality, its not in their minds. The only way to have solid moves and a solid presentation, PRACTICE IS NESSECARY. If you dont practice, you will be nothing but a crummy, piece of **** magician.
Style is also bery important in the performance of magic. You cant perform as a loudmouthed carney for one routine and a smoothtalking gambler for another. You must be you. What is the best way to do this, you ask? Well. it is actually simple. Do not study Dvds for anything other then pure move method. If you study Dvds for effect presentation, even subconciously you will copy them, which is no good. Spectators will feel that you are not being your self, and they will not trust that. They simply wont. In order to create your own style, you must study books, and you must perform as often as possible. This is the only way for you to gain your own style.
Many think that to be a card magician, you have to create your own material. This, also, is not true. In most cases, your material is not worth performing. This is not to say dont work it on, but you should make what you are creating worth watching. If its not, why bother? You must also decide if what you read or learn is even worth learning. It may not have what you need or fit your style. THAT IS OK!! What is popular is not always right for you.
Card magic is dead, but cards and magic arn't.
bossglass