What magical gestures do you use?

[praetoritevong]

But in the end it depends what your after. Skill or Magic....

Cheers, Tom

As Tumble alluded to - aren't we performing magic?

 

[Dima]

As Tumble alluded to - aren't we performing magic?

Some people do want to simply impress with skill. Are we against that on this forum? It might not be magic but people ARE different and considering this is also a cardistry "epicentre"...just throwing it out there.

 

[Dylan P.]

I take no sides with either. I say that gestures can be used in some instances, but other times they can just be sort of tacky. It all depends on the situation. But usually I will Snap my fingers, wave my hand, riffle the cards, or spring the cards.

 

[Steerpike]

Picture two performers.

One has you select a card and return it to the deck. He place it in the box, which he holds up. He just stares at the box and your card rises up out of it.

The other has you select your card, return it to the deck, and places it in a wineglass instead of the box. The glass is placed on the table. He asks you to clear your mind and think only of your card. He stares into your eyes a moment before pursing his lips slightly in thought and nods. He turns to the glass and holds his open hand out. For a moment nothing happens. But as he begins to gesture slowly as if pulling something up, your card starts to rise out of the deck until it reaches the top of the glass and falls out.

Which one is more interesting?

 

[Randy]

Picture two performers.

One has you select a card and return it to the deck. He place it in the box, which he holds up. He just stares at the box and your card rises up out of it.

The other has you select your card, return it to the deck, and places it in a wineglass instead of the box. The glass is placed on the table. He asks you to clear your mind and think only of your card. He stares into your eyes a moment before pursing his lips slightly in thought and nods. He turns to the glass and holds his open hand out. For a moment nothing happens. But as he begins to gesture slowly as if pulling something up, your card starts to rise out of the deck until it reaches the top of the glass and falls out.

Which one is more interesting?

I had the idea to do something like that with Blizzard or John Lovicks I Dream of mind reading. Only after they've cleared their thoughts. All the cards but one still has a face.

 

[toyrobot]

Picture two performers.

One has you select a card and return it to the deck. He place it in the box, which he holds up. He just stares at the box and your card rises up out of it.

The other has you select your card, return it to the deck, and places it in a wineglass instead of the box. The glass is placed on the table. He asks you to clear your mind and think only of your card. He stares into your eyes a moment before pursing his lips slightly in thought and nods. He turns to the glass and holds his open hand out. For a moment nothing happens. But as he begins to gesture slowly as if pulling something up, your card starts to rise out of the deck until it reaches the top of the glass and falls out.

Which one is more interesting?

I would say that there are two types of magical gestures: explicit and implicit. Your's is implicit. There's no flash, no bang - just subtle, natural movement. Your hand pulls at the air, and the card rises towards it. You don't need to add anything to it because it makes sense, and the audience can draw the conclusion as to what happened.

Derren Brown, in I-can't-remember-which-but-one-of-his-books, talks about the audience needing to see the magic happen, of there needing to be an actual process that the audience can identify. The magical gesture lets them know that the magic has happened.

But also consider explicit gestures, of the sensory and visual nature: an electric jolt coming from your finger and pulsing to a friend's finger as you read her mind, a wisp of smoke coming from nowhere as a coin appears at your fingertips, an impressive flash of fire as an image teleports from one scrap of paper to another, or a cold chill in your skin as you feel a magician's pulse begin to slow.

What's weird is that some of these explicit gestures fly in the face of making sure your routine is logical. Coins don't come from smoke, and people don't get zapped when you read their thoughts. But that's only on the surface - ask yourself, how would a coin appear, if it did visually? Why not in a wisp of smoke? What would thought transfer feel like? Why not a tingle? In these cases, you can get away with it, because you're already playing by the rules of magic and sorcery.

The point of all this being what Derren was saying, you need to show the magic is happening other then standing by while it happens then pointing it out. But that's not enough - you also need to find a logical way to do that.

 

[Mat La Vore]

Picture two performers.

One has you select a card and return it to the deck. He place it in the box, which he holds up. He just stares at the box and your card rises up out of it.

The other has you select your card, return it to the deck, and places it in a wineglass instead of the box. The glass is placed on the table. He asks you to clear your mind and think only of your card. He stares into your eyes a moment before pursing his lips slightly in thought and nods. He turns to the glass and holds his open hand out. For a moment nothing happens. But as he begins to gesture slowly as if pulling something up, your card starts to rise out of the deck until it reaches the top of the glass and falls out.

Which one is more interesting?

In all fairness, there is more going on in the second scenario that has nothing to do with magical gestures. Performance, of course, is always important. But whether you choose to specifically use a magical gesture or not is a focused issue. Not using magical gestures when you perform does not mean you can not present your effects.

 

[Steerpike]

The point of all this being what Derren was saying, you need to show the magic is happening other then standing by while it happens then pointing it out. But that's not enough - you also need to find a logical way to do that.

Which is part of the reason some of it comes across as cheesy. The move is just too contrived.

Not using magical gestures when you perform does not mean you can not present your effects.

Never said that. Merely making a point that magic is theater. Treat it as such.

 

[Mat La Vore]

Which is part of the reason some of it comes across as cheesy. The move is just too contrived.



Never said that. Merely making a point that magic is theater. Treat it as such.

A bit too vague on making your point then, although it is a good one with which I agree.

Happy Magic