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LobowolfXXX Inner circle La Famiglia 1196 Posts |
Three thumbs up. One of the very best theory books around. Systematic and thorough, with emphasis on the most salient factors in assessing effects from the design perspective. All backed up by real world effects that illustrate the points Darwin is making. Darwin makes indisputable cases for assertions that are critical to understanding one aspect (design) of outstanding magic, including (most importantly in my view)
- "design" is a stand-alone factor that is distinct from the criteria most magicians consider. - lay audiences don't merely "know less" than magicians; they think differently about an effect, and it is extremely difficult to construct the most powerful magical effects without realizing the difference and accounting for it. - tied into the previous point, what it is that distinguishes a "puzzle" from a magical effect (how to create inexplicable effects vs. effects the spectator cannot explain. This book lacks absolutely nothing in its exploration of a particular aspect of magic, and includes nothing that is extranneous. I cannot overemphasize the tremendous job Darwin did here.
"Torture doesn't work" lol
Guess they forgot to tell Bill Buckley. "...as we reason and love, we are able to hope. And hope enables us to resist those things that would enslave us." |
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silverking Inner circle 4574 Posts |
I have read, enjoyed, but then passed along "Our Magic", "Strong Magic", "Absolute Magic, Nelms, Fitzkee and many other theory books.
IMHO, "Designing Miracles" surpasses them all by a large margin. Yes....I know they're all focused slightly differently, but the kind of information that makes a better magician is (for me) more densely packed into the pages of "Designing Miracles". Don't misunderstand, I enjoyed every one of the books first mentioned above. It's just that the only one I'm keeping is "Designing Miracles"..... I'm onto my fifth read through. It's that good. |
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Andy the cardician Inner circle A street named after my dad 3362 Posts |
I would not place it above the books you have mentioned, but it certainly has its place . . .
Cards never lie
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silverking Inner circle 4574 Posts |
Ahhh, you don't agree with me then Andy.
Why don't you elaborate for us. |
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Silly Walter the Polar Bear Special user 506 Posts |
Quote:
On 2007-09-03 17:23, silverking wrote: I'm with you on this one. I also really love Strong Magic but Designing Miracles is in a category by itself. On a separate thread, someone posted that Mr Ortiz has taken a topic that is a bit more esoteric (effect construction) and has given clear and practical advice on how to use it to make your magic foolproof, or as foolproof as possible. I have probably read the book 5 times as well and I keep finding things that either didn't click the first time or that I forgot. Excellent book and definitely one of the best purchases I have made in magic. |
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Andy the cardician Inner circle A street named after my dad 3362 Posts |
Quote:
On 2007-09-07 23:36, silverking wrote: Let me first say that DM is a great book. And as always in life, it stands on the shoulder of other giants - most of the books that are mentioned in comparison - including Strong Magic. Darwin himself refers and quotes those sources in DM. Pushing away those giants would be unfair and unjustified. That is why I say that DM has its place amongst its giant peers - without wanting to downgrade it. Besides its contents, DM has one strong point and that is its readabiliy and clarity. Darwin brings a lot of complex things into simple terms . . . cutting away the clutter in some other sources. Andy PS - for a discussion on DM, also see http://www.themagiccafe.com/forums/viewt......orum=110
Cards never lie
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silverking Inner circle 4574 Posts |
You mean we finally agree on something Walter?
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Silly Walter the Polar Bear Special user 506 Posts |
Quote:
On 2007-09-08 19:58, silverking wrote: Be careful, Rod Serling may walk out any moment. |
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Jake Austin Loyal user Colorado Springs 237 Posts |
Wonderful book. The effect "Deadwood" looks like it has the potential to get some great reactions.
Jake
S.A.M Assembly 170, Colorado Springs
170sam.org |
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JamesTong Eternal Order Malaysia 11213 Posts |
DM is really a great book. I just keep reading it and with each revision I still learn something new.
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sirbrad Inner circle PA 2096 Posts |
This is on my loooooong wishlist.
The great trouble with magicians is the fact that they believe when they have bought a certain trick or piece of apparatus, and know the method or procedure, that they are full-fledged mystifiers. -- Harry Houdini
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Kjellstrom Inner circle Sweden, Scandinavia, Europe 5203 Posts |
Yo can read this book many times (as I do) and you will absorb more and more useful things every time. This is a enlightenment campaign for magicians, sure.
The info in the book is new and very eye opening to me. This is a first-rate book about designing (or re-designing) routines to make them seem more impossible (better). |
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necro555 Veteran user 335 Posts |
I had never really thought about the construction of an effect until this book. I'm glad I bought this.
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KLG Veteran user Hong Kong 348 Posts |
This is by far my favourite magic book. Totally changed my point of view on what are good tricks.
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Cameron Francis V.I.P. 7025 Posts |
Even though others have said it, I need to say it, too, this book is phenomenal. What Darwin has done here is a bit like what Stanislavski did for acting: he has articulated a system for designing strong magic. There are bits and pieces that can be found in other sources, but, he has distilled the information to its core and done so beautifully.
I had quite a few, "Ah-ha!" moments when I read this book, just as I had in grad school when I first started studying Stanislavki's System. Excellent book. Do not be intimidated by it. Don't be afraid to learn and have your views challenged. Just buy the book and give it a read. It'll make you think and you will probably change your views regarding some methods. Some of this stuff you will already know intuitively. But it's always nice to be able to articulate it. Some of the information will be things you've never even considered before. Definitely one of the better theory books I've read. And I don't like most theory books. He's spot on about many things. One of them being how magicians go on and on about art when what we should be concentrating on is the craft. Once we take care of that, the art WILL take care of itself.
MOMENT'S NOTICE LIVE 3 - Six impromptu card tricks! Out now! http://cameronfrancismagic.com/moments-notice-live-3.html
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Philippe Noël New user Belgium 71 Posts |
Hi everyone,
Here is a short book report on Designing Miracles. Enjoy... Did you ever wonder how laypeople think when they watch magic? Darwin Ortiz’s book titled Designing Miracles tries to answer this fascinating question. Taking as hypothesis that a spectator concludes that something is impossible, which is to say magic, when he concludes that what he has just seen is simply inexplicable, Mr. Ortiz gives many methods and examples throughout the book to make your magic more inexplicable. Designing Miracles contents has 10 chapters each with numerous subsections. With the foreword by With Haydn, the introduction, the afterword, the appendix 1 containing Darwin’s Laws and appendix 2 containing a glossary, that makes 200 pages. In his introduction, Mr. Ortiz explains that “the craft in magic consists of three elements”: the methods, the presentation and the effect design. The effect design is the strategy that makes the effect inexplicable for the spectator on an intuitive level. Chapter one talks about “Picking the best method” and our usual motivations to select a method over another one based on the cleverness of the method, the creativity of the method, the easiness of the method, the efficiency of the method, whether the method fooled us, the novelty of the method but rarely on “the soundness of its design in terms of the psychology of deception” as Mr. Ortiz explains. Chapter two defines what a magical experience is all about. Mr. Ortiz explains that magic “creates an illusion, the illusion of impossibility” and this illusion is only possible if the spectator realizes that what he sees is just inexplicable. Chapter Three analyses how a spectator thinks when he watches magic. At the end of the chapter Mr. Ortiz comments on the difference between the reality perceived by the audience, what he calls “outer reality” versus the situation as the performer knows it to be, what he calls “inner reality”. Chapter four talks about “Temporal Distance”, the first tool that Mr. Ortiz analyses to make an effect inexplicable. He begins the chapter with a definition of the “critical interval” which means the critical moment between the audience‘s last view of the initial condition and their first view of the final condition when the spectator is convinced that something must have happened. He then gives you techniques making possible that the method happens before or after the “critical interval” thus making the effect inexplicable. He also discusses the notion of “critical moment” for a move which means the moment where the audience feels that you are going to do something. He insists on the right moment to do a move depending on the effect which often implies choosing the right move for each effect. Chapter five talks about “Spatial Distance”. It is the second tool analysed by Mr. Ortiz. It means separating the method and the effect in space to make the effect once again inexplicable. Mr. Ortiz covers strategies such as removing the evidence, secret transfers, shifting location of revelation, isolation, producing a distant duplicate, creating false proximity. Chapter six talks about “Conceptual Distance”. It is the third tool explained by Mr Ortiz. It consists in creating a “physical barrier” or an “information barrier” between the method and the effect. In this way, the audience do not consider some explanations as possible because they are fooled by such barriers. In this chapter, Mr. Ortiz also explains what he calls the “veils principle” which he defines as such : “The notion that combining several conceptual barriers may produce an impenetrable mystery even though each barrier, by itself, might be susceptible to a spectator's analysis.” He also explains that it is also necessary to create barriers to false explanations that spectators can think of such as “the magician used his sleeves or used marked cards”. He ends the chapter by advising to eliminate suspicion before it forms. Chapter seven talks about “The false frame of reference”. It is the fourth tool explained by Mr. Ortiz and it consists in getting people asking themselves how you did something that you never did. Indeed the author warns us against tricks where the method is the effect because there is a risk that the spectator reconstructs the method. That is why he recommends indirect method to accomplish our effects. He also recommends when that is possible to offer to the spectator “a solution that will later turn out to be false”. Chapter eight is dedicated to visual magic. Mr. Ortiz gives a definition of visual magic. He then explains the possible use of visual magic to make an effect more inexplicable knowing that the audience usually believes that the effect happens when the visual moment happens. Chapter nine is entitled “Correlation: Making and breaking patterns”. In this chapter, Mr. Ortiz analyses in particular the role of repetition and its impact in creating the illusion of impossibility. He warns us against the danger of repeating the same patterns to accomplish the same effect. Mr. Ortiz explains that it can become a clue for the spectator to guess the method. He then explains what he calls “the composite perfect method” that is to say “combine different methods that nullify each other’s weakness”. He also defines what is called the rule of three. He ends the chapter by recommending to create false correlations by the use of a magic gesture for example. Chapter ten talks about “manipulating memory.”In this final chapter, Mr. Ortiz talks about incidental actions that are usually called in-transit actions, accidental and extraneous actions. These three ruses permit to do actions that are not registered by your audience. I would conclude by saying that reading this book makes you think a lot and that is very pleasant. It is also an opportunity to make a guided tour into the classic repertoire of magic thanks to the many examples given by Darwin Ortiz. Philippe Noël |
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ASW Inner circle 1879 Posts |
What a shame Richard Kaufman deleted Noel's post from the Genii board. I was very much looking forward to Dustin Stinett and Richard providing their view on the book in the usually interesting BOTM thread.
Whenever I find myself gripping anything too tightly I just ask myself "How would Guy Hollingworth hold this?"
A magician on the Genii Forum "I would respect VIPs if they respect history." Hideo Kato |
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Blindside785 Inner circle Olympia, WA 4541 Posts |
I just ordered this book along with Strong Magic. I'm going all the way with Ortiz..not that way...but...nevermind.
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todsky Inner circle www.magicstore.ca 2354 Posts |
Finally read Designing Miracles. Wow, fantastic book! My brain cells have been magically infected forever.
Todsky's Magic Shop: over 15,000 tricks, books, DVD s and Card decks. www.magicstore.ca
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Darwin Ortiz V.I.P. 486 Posts |
I just wanted to let everyone know that Designing Miracles is now officially out of print. And it may take a little while before I can reprint.
Meanwhile, you can order autographed copies directly from me at the email address below. Sincerely, Darwin Ortiz |
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