|
|
Go to page 1~2 [Next] | ||||||||||
John Long Inner circle New Jersey 2826 Posts |
It wasn't pretty. This 7 year old got me, repeatedly!
Then insult to injury, her mother scolded her for spoiling my trick - where's the door! I was trying to do the sponge ball routine from Wilson's Complete Course, when she apparently noticed my first load from my pocket, and I couldn't do a basic retention vanish(stealing with 2 & 3 fingers) without her saying "its in that hand". I do the initial load from my pocket after giving the spectator a breakaway wand - I thought that should have been very good misdirection. I don't know exactly what she saw during the retention vanish, or when, but I would like some suggestions on what you do to avoid being caught. Here's a list that I am considering. 1) steal happens before fingers provide cover (I don't think this was the issue today) 2) If spec is on my left, and the sponge ball is in the right hand, it can be seen between the opening between the thumb & fore finger. For this I try to face them, or keep them on the opposite side. 3) Finger "Windows" (a chronic problem for me, there's not much meat on my fingers!) I find yellow and red balls help with this, blue seems more easily noticed(at least to my eyes) 4) Guilty hand is not low enough relative to the specs eyes. After getting home, I noticed that w/o great care, my guilty hand needs at least 5" below there eyes! Ugh! Since she was in a hospital bed and I was standing, this is likely my problem. Other thoughts for what to watch for, or comments on the above are appreciated. John
Breathtaking Magic;
Not Breath Taking |
|||||||||
Bill Palmer Eternal Order Only Jonathan Townsend has more than 24312 Posts |
This forum is too open for me to discuss the niceties of sleight of hand. I have posted a solution or two at the following link in the secret sessions.
http://www.themagiccafe.com/forums/viewt......37&0
"The Swatter"
Founder of CODBAMMC My Chickasaw name is "Throws Money at Cups." www.cupsandballsmuseum.com |
|||||||||
John Long Inner circle New Jersey 2826 Posts |
Thanks Bill, I wasn't sure where to post this
Others should post to the new thread, if interested. John
Breathtaking Magic;
Not Breath Taking |
|||||||||
Bill Palmer Eternal Order Only Jonathan Townsend has more than 24312 Posts |
Actually, that's okay. You got our attention. Most of the time, I don't check that part of the forum. But when there is a technical thing like this that calls for, shall we say, advanced information, then a link over there makes it all work fine.
"The Swatter"
Founder of CODBAMMC My Chickasaw name is "Throws Money at Cups." www.cupsandballsmuseum.com |
|||||||||
sethb Inner circle The Jersey Shore 2719 Posts |
Following Bill Palmer's lead, I'm posting a link HERE to a question I raised in the "Secret Sessions" forum about a particular Miser's Dream gaff.
I've had no replies to date, and am hoping that some increased visibility here may generate a few responses. Thanks! SETH
"Watch the Professor!!" -- Al Flosso (1895-1976)
"The better you are, the closer they watch" -- Darwin Ortiz, STRONG MAGIC |
|||||||||
quickhands Regular user 132 Posts |
Mr. Long, one thing that I have noticed with my 21 months old son is that when I try to vanish a ball so that he does not choke with it, his eyes seem to go to the right place after a couple of seconds, if you know what I mean. Granted, I do not have a lot of experience in this craft as some of you and that could explain my observation, However, I think that kids, or at least some of them, have a special ability to spot things that would seem perfectly normal to most adults. I am not a child psychologist to offer an explanation for my observation but I guess that regardless of what the "problem" was (if in fact, there was any), the take home message is that one should always be aware of the fact that kids have a different way of perceiving and analyzing events and never understimate their ability to understand what is happening. I rememeber my father being very cautious when performing in front of children. I wished I could read the whole thread about your experience performing the sponge balls routine.
QH. |
|||||||||
ed rhodes Inner circle Rhode Island 2885 Posts |
Henry Hay mentioned it in "The Amateur Magican's Handbook." He said one of the prime requisites of misdirection is association. Your hand, holding a half dollar, comes down, then goes up. The adult association is "toss" and they look up for the coin. The child, not having 1/10th of the adults experience with association keeps his eyes on your hand and might even catch you palming the coin!
"...and if you're too afraid of goin' astray, you won't go anywhere." - Granny Weatherwax
|
|||||||||
Sammy the Kid Veteran user Southern Illinois 314 Posts |
I would like to add that after seeing Mark Wilson perform his retention while demonstrating the Chapstick Caper trick at a recent seminar, I no longer get busted by the spongeballs. Seeing the performance by a seasoned profesional really helped alot.
Sammy the Kid |
|||||||||
Ray Haining Inner circle Hot Springs, AR 1907 Posts |
I believe John Carney has stated that with every move there should be some form of misdirection.
|
|||||||||
Bill Palmer Eternal Order Only Jonathan Townsend has more than 24312 Posts |
Misdirection doesn't help if you hold your hand wrong! There has to be more than that. I'll post more to the other thread. We are getting into "need to know stuff" now.
"The Swatter"
Founder of CODBAMMC My Chickasaw name is "Throws Money at Cups." www.cupsandballsmuseum.com |
|||||||||
Michael Baker Eternal Order Near a river in the Midwest 11172 Posts |
Quote:
On 2006-05-11 13:26, Bill Palmer wrote: Absolutely correct! This is a wheel with many spokes. The more of them that are missing, the less likely the wheel will roll correctly. That is one of the things that I love about the study of magic... it is so much more involved than a quick scan of the surface reveals. ~michael
~michael baker
The Magic Company |
|||||||||
Josh the Superfluous Inner circle The man of 1881 Posts |
I had a little kid bust me on a fork bending. The whole audience was fooled, but to him it was clear as day. Everything the others said is valid, and I'm sure I modified my handling after that, but some kids just don't look where all the attention is directed.
What do you want in a site? "Honesty, integrity and decency." -Mike Doogan
"I hate it, I hate my ironic lovechild. I didn't even have anything to do with it" Josh #2 |
|||||||||
Jaz Inner circle NJ, U.S. 6111 Posts |
I've been caught by a 5 year old while doing Hanging Coins.
She wandered in and caught a glimpse of the concealment from down under. Lesson learned. Next time I'll keep an eye out for those short folks and step back a little. Young kids are not yet fully conditioned to follow what appears to be logical sequences like adults are. |
|||||||||
Michael Baker Eternal Order Near a river in the Midwest 11172 Posts |
Quote:
On 2006-05-11 16:20, Jaz wrote: There's a lot to be said for bad angles, too. The only thing worse than kids and balconies might be kids on balconies. LOL
~michael baker
The Magic Company |
|||||||||
Ray Haining Inner circle Hot Springs, AR 1907 Posts |
I believe what Carney means is that no matter how well a move is executed, it should still be covered by misdirection.
|
|||||||||
John Long Inner circle New Jersey 2826 Posts |
Interesting comments about how a childs perception/association may differ from an adults. I'll have to look for that section in the Amateur Magicians handbook.
Hope the rest of you take a look at the comments in the secret session sections. John
Breathtaking Magic;
Not Breath Taking |
|||||||||
Jaz Inner circle NJ, U.S. 6111 Posts |
Quote:
On 2006-05-11 16:31, Michael Baker wrote: Ain't that the truth! When at one convention I saw the Pendragons do thier Metamorphosis from the balcony. |
|||||||||
Bill Palmer Eternal Order Only Jonathan Townsend has more than 24312 Posts |
Quote:
On 2006-05-11 16:32, Ray Haining wrote: The move should be covered; however, after the move is finished, you still have to hold your hand correctly. Even if you have a trumpet blast when you do the move, if you don't finish correctly, you will get busted. BTW, did you read the other thread, Ray? It covers aspects of misdirection that most people don't consider. Misdirection is not "Hey look over there, it's a roach!" Misdirection can be as subtle as the way you breathe. Misdirection is not just getting people to look where you want them to. It is getting them to THINK where you want them to. If you don't know this, then you need to read Magic By Misdirection.
"The Swatter"
Founder of CODBAMMC My Chickasaw name is "Throws Money at Cups." www.cupsandballsmuseum.com |
|||||||||
Michael Baker Eternal Order Near a river in the Midwest 11172 Posts |
I have also been impressed with Tommy Wonder's thinking on misdirection, and in particular, his desire to push it to the finest degree he can (the smallest amount of misdirection), and still have it work. That is truly walking the thin line! There is something to consider in his thinking that theorizes that too much misdirection can be as bad as not enough. Interesting thoughts.
Jarle Leirpoll has some nice links to info on misdirection on his website. Well worth the read. ~michael
~michael baker
The Magic Company |
|||||||||
Bill Palmer Eternal Order Only Jonathan Townsend has more than 24312 Posts |
One theory of misdirection that intrigues me, and that I disagree with intensely is "The big motion hides the little motion." If the big motion is unmotivated, it calls attention to the fact that you did something. Misdirection is a matter of focus and motivation.
I'm going to post some thoughts about that in the thread I started as a companion to this one.
"The Swatter"
Founder of CODBAMMC My Chickasaw name is "Throws Money at Cups." www.cupsandballsmuseum.com |
|||||||||
The Magic Cafe Forum Index » » Ever so sleightly » » Busted by a 7 year old! (0 Likes) | ||||||||||
Go to page 1~2 [Next] |
[ Top of Page ] |
All content & postings Copyright © 2001-2024 Steve Brooks. All Rights Reserved. This page was created in 0.03 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 < |