|
|
Andy the cardician Inner circle A street named after my dad 3362 Posts |
Andrew,
I think that you are one of the most creative and out of the box thinking magician of this generation. Can you share a little bit about your creativity process and how you develop a trick? Thanks Andy
Cards never lie
|
andrewmayne V.I.P. 142 Posts |
It's really a simple approach: I ask myself what would be cool to see. Then I try to figure out how to make it happen. It's really just problem solving.
It's important to think like a storyteller and an intelligent observer and not just a magician. One of my favorite thought experiments is to try to imagine how other people would think about magic. How would the Wachowski brothers saw someone in half in the Matrix? Quentin Tarantino? The South Park guys? I think it's really helpful to see how other people look at things. Especially creative people outside of magic. |
magic4u02 Eternal Order Philadelphia, PA 15110 Posts |
Great stuff Andrew. I would like to pose a question kind of opposite of what was posted here. You told us a lot on how you try and stay creative and the creative process you go through to seek fresh ideas.
In your own mind, what do you feel are some of the stumbling blocks most magicians have that prevents them from being as creative as they could be? Thanks in advance. Kyle
Kyle Peron
http://www.kylekellymagic.com Entertainers Product Site http://kpmagicproducts.com Join Our Facebook Fan Page at http://facebook.com/perondesign |
andrewmayne V.I.P. 142 Posts |
"In your own mind, what do you feel are some of the stumbling blocks most magicians have that prevents them from being as creative as they could be? "
Knowing where to be creative. Sometimes we look at things so differently than our audiences that we have no idea what's important and what's not. We also avoid the easy place to be creative: What we say. Most magicians will spend hundreds of dollars on new effects and practice for weeks but never sit down and write out what they're going to say. Let alone make it original and unique to them. Harry Anderson, Penn & Teller and Derren Brown are great examples of magicians where the real magic is the words coming out of their mouths (or not in Teller's case). They take really good magic and make it incredible by wrapping it with well thought out presentations that are just as entertaining as the effect. They pass the phone book test: I'd watch any of them read the phone book for 15 minutes. |
magic4u02 Eternal Order Philadelphia, PA 15110 Posts |
This is great to hear Andrew. Thank you. I come from an art background as I have a double degree in graphic design and illustration. Yes, my parents wanted me to have a real job before I did the magic. lol
Any ways you touched on something I talk about a lot. That is the power of presentation and of patter. Studying and thinking and knowing what you are going to say and how to say it. Not just taking the directions or patter a trick comes with and doing it like everyone else. I think many of us forget that we each have our own style on stage and that needs to be portayed in how we do things and how we say things. what works for one person may not work for another. I simply love your analogy of the "Phone book test". that actually makes so much sense. You literally could watch Penn read the phone book and nothing else and still be entertained by it. Wonderful concept that really shows the power behind what you say. May I ask how you yourself work out patter? Do you find sources or ways in which to discover patter that works best for you? Kyle
Kyle Peron
http://www.kylekellymagic.com Entertainers Product Site http://kpmagicproducts.com Join Our Facebook Fan Page at http://facebook.com/perondesign |
andrewmayne V.I.P. 142 Posts |
"May I ask how you yourself work out patter? Do you find sources or ways in which to discover patter that works best for you?"
I have a simple formula: How would I perform this for a friend? Would I use Mr. Fake Magician Voice (which I hate)? Or would tell it like I would an amusing story that happened or one of my crazy ideas? This works well for me. It allows me to be sincere with my audience. Much of my presentation is based on me being able to get away with more than I should. |
magic4u02 Eternal Order Philadelphia, PA 15110 Posts |
I like the fact that you stated "It allows you to be sincere with your audience". Would you also say that you have found out who you are and who you are not when you present your magic? In other words, you know what works for you and what would just plain not go over at all just because you have found your "character"?
Kyle
Kyle Peron
http://www.kylekellymagic.com Entertainers Product Site http://kpmagicproducts.com Join Our Facebook Fan Page at http://facebook.com/perondesign |
jordanjohnson Special user Hiding in the Shadows 593 Posts |
Here is a story to reinforce my point of what spectators think is magical and cool.
This guy I work with and knows that I am a magician asked me tonight if I could shoot lighting bolts out of my hand. I don't own this but immediatly I wish I had electric touch on me. So that's what Yigal Mesika did with this trick. Either someone asked him to throw lighting out of his hands, he saw it on tv, or thought of what superheros could do and sat down and figured out how to do this. Which if you are having a creators block then just sit down and watch tv or think of superpowers that would be cool to have or just ask people if they could have any magical ability what would they do with it. Make a mental note of responses and then start racking oyur brain to figure out a SIMPLE (dont overthink it that will get you nowhere) WORKABLE (anyone that practiced it can learn it and perform it) VISUAL (not a lot of questionable moves, cover, and the spectator fairly sees whats happening) and if you follow all these you will no doubt have a wonderful visual peice of magic that will stun laypeople and build you a reputation Thanks, Jordan Johnson |
The Magic Cafe Forum Index » » The October 2007 entrée: Andrew Mayne » » Creativity » » TOPIC IS LOCKED (0 Likes) |
[ Top of Page ] |
All content & postings Copyright © 2001-2024 Steve Brooks. All Rights Reserved. This page was created in 0.02 seconds requiring 5 database queries. |
The views and comments expressed on The Magic Café are not necessarily those of The Magic Café, Steve Brooks, or Steve Brooks Magic. > Privacy Statement < |