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Jeff Hayden New user 88 Posts |
I am putting together my new stage show. I would like to open up a discussion on your philosophy on when to tell the audience what you are going to do.
At some times, telling the audience what is going to happen (before it happens) will hurt the effect and make it much more difficult to accomplish. At other times, it will enhance it. Look at Copperfield for example: The Statue of Liberty, The Train Vanish, The Imploding Building (and appearing on the platform afterwards), The Great Wall, etc... He told us what he was going to do BEFORE he did it, and then he did it and still amazed everyone. There is a point where the audience will be left confused if they do not know what is going on. On the other hand, over-explaining the effect can reduce the suprise factor and other things. So, depending on the effect, there is a "just right" amount of information that you should give the audience. I would like to hear some philosophies on "audience information management," specifically as it relates to a stage show (although much can be applied to any type of magic). -Jeff Hayden
Did you see that?
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Bradacal Special user 591 Posts |
I remember I used to do a Murder Inc. and I would tell them that the head was going to disappear, only because there were a lot of blades in there, and people would get confused about the effect. They thought you were just stabbing someones head and then they were going to come out unharmed. Sometimes letting them know isn't that bad.
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Bob Sanders Grammar Supervisor Magic Valley Ranch, Clanton, Alabama 20504 Posts |
In practicing law, the lawyer tells the jury what he is going to prove early in his/her statements. This is to cause the jury to recognize evidence that will support the requested decision. It makes it logical to the jury.
That is not what we are trying to accomplish in magic. In grand illusion we are taking recognized evidence to an illogical end. That is what makes it entertainment instead of work. Remember, they pay us! You have to pay a jury to be there. The defendant appears free. Bob Magic By Sander |
MichaelKent Special user 560 Posts |
Quote:
On 2004-07-19 21:21, zaam101 wrote: By doing this to a head chest, you are KILLING the effect! The whole point of a head chest is the double climax of having both a penetration and then a surprise vanish of the head altogether. To audience, the effect SHOULD be that you are stabbing someone's head and they will come out unharmed. The idea that the person's head vanishes is a bonus. Otherwise, why even put the knives in? When I perform my mismade lady illusion, I tell the audience I'm going to stick half a dozen blades through her and she will come out unharmed. I don't tip the idea of mismaking her. That makes it entertaining when I do it accidentally. Sometimes, we can mislead our audiences by telling them something ELSE is going to happen, and it will cause a greater effect. |
muzicman Special user LaCenter, Wa 989 Posts |
I see very few effects that need to be explained prior to the demonstration. Not knowing exactly what is going to happen is part of the surprise of the effect which, in my opinion, adds to the entertainment value. Sometimes I like to give the audience a false explanation to get an even greater effect. For instance, with "Wolfs Chicken Sword", I explain that the selected card will slowly rise and hover over the Chicken Bucket...when infact, the card fountain shoots cards out 10 feet in the air in all directions. I act like the trick went south when that happens and the climax is the chicken ends up with the selected card in his beak from these fast flying cards. The surprise ending adds to the climax.
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Bradacal Special user 591 Posts |
When I am talking about the MURDER INC. I tell them because when you perform for a bigger crowd, not everyone sees that the head has vanished. It is a small viewing space. I even took the time to talk to some people about the effect when I performed it and a majority of the people I talked to said that they didn't even realize the head was gone because they were so distracted by the amount of blades. I agree that in most cases you shouldn't tell them because it takes away the element of surprise, but in this case, I think you can get away with it.
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Doug Higley 1942 - 2022 7152 Posts |
I even experimented with NOT doing the head missing reveal at the end and toyed with shortening the box so it didn't look so big from a slight side angle. The trick was good enough to just do the blades...I did it both ways but when the head has disappeared I always kind of cringed thinking that it ruined the effect and mystery of the blades. I kind of liked the idea that 'they' thought somehow the head had twisted itself around the blades like the old side show full body blade box. hahaha. I know it sounds stupid...but...no body complained a bit!
Doug
Higley's Giant Flea Pocket Zibit
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