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The Magic Cafe Forum Index » » The April 2012 entrée: Doug Brewer » » Plot -vs- Premis » » TOPIC IS LOCKED Steve Brooks Manager Northern California - United States 4208 Posts Posted: Apr 25, 2012 2:06pm       Okay Doug, We often here about an effect having a great premis or plot, fine. So, that being the case, how do you feel the two effect each other and why would that be important in our magic? You can now follow me on and See you there! doug brewer V.I.P. 1101 Posts Posted: Apr 25, 2012 2:28pm       A great trick has a great premise when you don't really need to explain "why" the magic is happening. If an audience has to sit and think and try to figure out why something is happening or if it, indeed, did happen - then you've got a crappy trick. I've sat through counting tricks (with cards) and sometimes they are excrutiating. Six Card Repeat suffers from the effect happening over and over with no real reason why. Terry Lunceford's version is the only one that I truly fell in love with and makes sense in a comical way. There are some tricks, like Goshman's salt shaker trick, that the entire premise is "how the hell is he sneaking those coins under there" - but this premise or plot isn't known by the audience until they're half way down the garden path. Ambitious card CAN be like this; same with card on forehead (Mike Close' version is a great study in mis-direction and premise) - the audience doesn't really know "where" they're going until they've been fooled a couple times in a row, then they're on the lookout for the move and you still fool them. Great fun. Part of the fun of magic is the surprise element. I think stage magic has the most difficult job, because if you're going to cut a lady in half, the audience already knows what's coming and what to expect. They just sit there passively and try to figure out the puzzle. If a lady got in a box and it split in half unexpectedly or the plot went in some direction not even imagined, then you've got something special. I don't see this too often in stage magic, however. www.dougbrewermagic.com Curtis Kam V.I.P. same as you, plus 3 and enough to make 3430 Posts Posted: Apr 27, 2012 3:42pm       Plot, Premise, Surprise...Phoowey. It's really all about Character. People care about other people. Nerds care about Plot. Geeks care about Continuity ("But the Storm Troopers in episode Three should have been wearing their winter uniforms..."). Dweebs care about whether that last period should be before or after the parenthetical. (see what I did there?) Discuss if you agree. Is THAT a PALMS OF STEEL 5 Banner I see? YARRRRGH! Please visit The Magic Bakery doug brewer V.I.P. 1101 Posts Posted: Apr 27, 2012 3:59pm       After the parenthetical The magic is you. The magic is you. The magic is you. (repeat) A good routine should fascilitate connecting your character or persona to the audience. I agree with Senior Kam that you DO have to make your audience care. An act is made up of moments that should tell us something about you, the performer. I guess if the performer chooses confusing and inconsistent effects then that is telling us something about the performer too. But will we care? www.dougbrewermagic.com MagicMason Regular user 170 Posts Posted: Apr 27, 2012 4:18pm       I thought what Mr Kam said was very interesting. Especially the statement "people care about other people". But if I may ask Mr Kam... do you mean the magician cares about the spectator?... or the spectors(s) care about the magician?... or that this is a general principle of sociology... that what people care about mostly is other people and their stories? (Sorry if I am being too analytical... but I think your point is very important). Thank you Mr Kam! Thanks Doug for your great answers as well! Tom Mason Curtis Kam V.I.P. same as you, plus 3 and enough to make 3430 Posts Posted: Apr 27, 2012 4:57pm       Tom, I was referring to the "hierarchy of interests" stated by someone (I forget who) repeated by marketing trainers, and brought to the magic discussion by John Carney, among others: "People are interested in themselves, first; Other people, second; and things, third." Assuming this is true, audiences should respond most easily to presentations that are about them, or about feelings or issues that concern them. Next easiest would be the feelings or issues of someone else who interests them. (with any luck, this would be the magician) Finally, it's possible to get people to care about things, but it's harder. Doug and I have kicked this stuff around a few times. I have no interest in hearing what anyone else thinks but Doug might enjoy the discussion. Is THAT a PALMS OF STEEL 5 Banner I see? YARRRRGH! Please visit The Magic Bakery MagicMason Regular user 170 Posts Posted: Apr 27, 2012 5:46pm       Thanks Curtis... that is extremely helpful. I totally agree with that and I see it all the time in life. So the wise magician (agrees with Al Goshman... the magic is YOU) but then takes his art and makes it all about THEM. I watched once, years ago, a street magician in Calgary who took 20 century silks trick and did a 5-7 minute bit with a little girl and made her out to be the fairy princess. She loved it. Mom loved it. Everyone loved it. Magician wins! I learned a lot for that one performance. Later he said to me... I try to take a trick and figure out.. how I can make the spectator look or feel good. I think he made good success with that. Thanks for your time Curtis!! Brad Burt Inner circle 2419 Posts Posted: Apr 29, 2012 10:07am       The most overtly likable and charismatic performer I have ever watched was Mike Rogers doing a trade show gig. He literally radiated good humor and, well, niceness. And, a kind of audience focused performance style that was extremely compelling. The fact that his magic was terrific was more icing on the cake than anything else. You cared about the performer, thus you cared about what he had to say. It's a powerful combination that kept him in well paying work right up to the end. Parenthetically... off the floor he was as nice as he seemed performing. A what you see is what there is kinda thing. He is missed. Brad Burt Brad Burt's Magic Shop Online www.bradburtsmagicshop.com Brad Burt's Private Lesson Teaching DVDS: http://www.nexternal.com/bburt/Category18 The Magic Cafe Forum Index » » The April 2012 entrée: Doug Brewer » » Plot -vs- Premis » » TOPIC IS LOCKED <<< Previous Topic   Next Topic >>>

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