Your Secrets for the SNC Contests

[Tower of Lunatic Meat]

I figured this would be an interesting topic and maybe help some of the new guys out to 'get competitive'.

So here it is: What is a secret you contest veterans are willing to divulge in regards to the SNC contests?


I'll start with this: poster putty!

Oh man! Poster putty. It saved my bacon for 9 months until I was able to afford a proper tripod and tripod adapter.
Being able to slap some poster putty on the back of my phone and splat it on the wall helped out in recording videos for most of the contests I entered last year.

Plus, it's just really handy stuff. Trust me.

 

[Gabriel Z.]

I figured this would be an interesting topic and maybe help some of the new guys out to 'get competitive'.

So here it is: What is a secret you contest veterans are willing to divulge in regards to the SNC contests?


I'll start with this: poster putty!

Oh man! Poster putty. It saved my bacon for 9 months until I was able to afford a proper tripod and tripod adapter.
Being able to slap some poster putty on the back of my phone and splat it on the wall helped out in recording videos for most of the contests I entered last year.

Plus, it's just really handy stuff. Trust me.

 

[Timewise64]

I am not surprized that Magicians do not like to share secrets.....SMILE!

 

[Josh Burch]

The thing that has helped me the most is when I have been working on something for a while and the SNC just happens to coincide. You always need to be honing your craft.

 

[Justin.Morris]

• I try to write down (in point form) what I am going to say
• Try to have patter that motivates the effect (and say it like you believe it!)
• Lol I will take a picture of my current 'Tripod'
• I feel that background and lighting is always important -anyone can control these two factors
• Always try to think outside the box. In magic contests, originality of presentation or effect is usually noticed
• Remember that unfortunately there is only one winner every week, so although every week I enter and lose I'm disappointed, it's so fun to create, and is so helpful for me to keep doing new things.
• And enter often! Don't sit out! Even if you don't have a unique idea. My plans change so much as I'm pulling things together. Creativity is a process, and you lose that process if you quit before you begin. Wayne Gretzky said "you miss 100% of the shots you don't take". So try every chance you get!
• Remember that you may just come up with something that you can use outside of the contest! I created a gimmick like the invisible card for one exposure contest as a fake reveal for Inferno. My wife watched it and pointed out that it was really good. I never posted it and continued to work on it. (about 6 months later, Invisible card was released). So I had a good idea just from tinkering for the contests. You never know!

 

[Tower of Lunatic Meat]

I think a big thing that even I forget sometimes is to just take it easy.

Sometimes the prizes are really great (like the recent Gold Monarchs) and can cause great frustration when we try hard and don't win.

Just keep in mind--it's a free contest. You lose no money (unless you go to Walmart or something to acquire extra materials), only your time. The contests are made to get you to operate outside of your conform zone for 24 hours.

It's all meant for fun and to get you to try your hardest.

That said, I am a competitive guesser. So these 'random' or 'guess the card' contests. No quarter from me!
Source? Two SNC wins from random and guess a card contests.

 

[Khaleel Olaiky]

If I'm stuck with no ideas I open the prize's page and stare at it for few minutes and in my mind a voice is telling me "This could be yours for free" LOL, this is my type of motivation.

Another thing is my friend Sherl we discuss the contest almost every week, he never gave me any ideas but talking to him about it definitely helps.

 

[j.bayme]

My best advice: first and foremost, whenever possible, be there on Saturday night when the contest is just posted. The more time you have to think about what to do, the better your final result will be (and you'll be less rushed to do it).

In terms of specific advice on creative contests: think broadly on what you expect MOST people would do in that situation, and then think to yourself "okay, now how would I go about doing something totally different?" Before you can think outside the box, it's a good exercise to first fully establish what's "inside" the box, in a sense.

Good luck!