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Sean Macfarlane Special user 880 Posts |
I'm wondering if any of you use the Okito coin box in your professional work? Just Curious as to how it plays for laymen?
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Larry Davidson Inner circle Boynton Beach, FL 5270 Posts |
No, I don't use it professionally because I only use props that look like or that are common objects (with one exception, and there's a logical justification for using that uncommon object).
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CloseUpMagicKid Regular user Los Angeles 105 Posts |
I use it for one simple routine.
Coin through hand. ANd its as simple as saying... take a look how cool this is... and then moving on to something else. I also have developed a coins across with it which is pretty nice. The idea of the prop or box in this case is very magical. How can you do those things with a solid brass object? |
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Darrin Cook Special user 621 Posts |
I have a routine that I perform regularly at the restaurant. I explain the box as my grandmother's pillbox. It is unusual, but not fake, like a magical contraption. It can be examined, which I have them do at the outset.
I do three coins through the box and into my fist. I think a key is to avoid the constant opening, counting, returning, and closing, that I see in so many routies. |
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Sean Macfarlane Special user 880 Posts |
Cool guys, I've had my Okito boxes sitting around forever and wondered if anyone was actually using them in their real world performances. Glad to hear that you are.
Chad Long has a pretty cool effect on his first video tape that gave me inspiration. |
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Darrin Cook Special user 621 Posts |
Sean,
Would you describe the plot of the Chad Long routine? Is it a combination Matrix and Okito box routine? Where could I get Chad's tape? While I think of it, I think a problem of the Okito box is an over-reliance on the turnover move. (David Roth says this is why the first routines were so short --you only had one move.) Scotty York has an Okito box routine without any turnovers. (My routine doesn't use a turnover, either.) Does anyone here have any knowledge of, or experience with, Scotty's routine? |
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Bernard Sim Inner circle Singapore 1095 Posts |
Darrin,
I've not seen Chad Long's video but I have seen a live performance of his coin box routine. It is very cleverly constructed and no extra coins were used. However, a Boston box was used instead.
Bernard Sim
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David Neighbors V.I.P. 4910 Posts |
Yea Chad's routine is cool! Also I have just put out a new book on the Okito/Boston ( 10 routines) and have used some of the routines to good reaction. Thanks!
Best, David Neighbors The Coinjurer |
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Chris S Veteran user 393 Posts |
I don't know about the box. Whenever I have used it for people, they can inspect it to their satisfaction and you can justify it with the old pill box chestnut, but I think the idea always lingers in their mind that this is an odd object, and that the magic undoubtedly is done by the box itself.
Maybe it's just paranoia on my part, but I have not been able to explain the tepid reactions through any other justifications (especially when compared with stellar reactions from the simplest coins across).
May your moral compass guide you true - South West is where the honourable man fare. Pity those who lose their way...
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Curtis Kam V.I.P. same as you, plus 3 and enough to make 3498 Posts |
Chris, check out Tommy Wonder's routine. It combines a very cool coins across with some sparingly-placed box effects. Brilliantly constructed routine, but it takes a Boston box.
Is THAT a PALMS OF STEEL 5 Banner I see? YARRRRGH! Please visit The Magic Bakery
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Daniel Faith Inner circle Neenah, Wisconsin 1526 Posts |
I don't think the Okito coin box is un-natural at all. I, too, use it as a pill box.
It can be examined to remove all suspicions! What more could be asked? I like to use it to vanish various objects. For example, a lady's ring. It is VERY effective and I use it often! Also, you scotch and soda fans...you can use the Okito box to vanish the centavo leaving the 1/2, then produce the centavo from another location. I prefer the spectator's jacket pocket. Very strong! Very simple.
Daniel Faith
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joseph Eternal Order Please ignore my 17407 Posts |
David Roth's rethinking of the Okito Box is fantastic. It really simplifies the moves, and IMO is way better than the original handling. No turnovers, and lots of fun to practice and watch.
"Everything should be made as simple as possible, but no simpler." (Einstein)...
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Chris S Veteran user 393 Posts |
Yeah. I am not sure the critical issue has been addressed, though. Guardian, you said it can be inspected all that they like. That is true, but it is still going to be an odd object. When specs see an odd oject, they usually just employ the default "I can't find the way it works, but it MUST be the reason why these unexplainable acts are occuring."
Compare this default reaction to what they think when they see a coins across with just your hands and the coins. In this case (and provided you actually have the capacity to carry off a good coins across), they have no "rationalization scapegoat" (please forgive the odd euphemism for an Okito box) to place their disbelief on. I guess my point is, no matter how effective and powerful the routine, my suspicion is that most audiences will just resign themselves to the explanation that it was just something about the box that made the magic happen. I would sooner have them think it was me, and not an object that caused the magic.
May your moral compass guide you true - South West is where the honourable man fare. Pity those who lose their way...
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Daniel Faith Inner circle Neenah, Wisconsin 1526 Posts |
Chris,
It doesn't matter that it is an odd object. That is the point. Because they examine it, it removes suspicion from the object. It is not to say the box is doing the magic. It isn't. It is up to you to make it clear that YOU are doing the magic and simply using a box to whatever means you desire. Like I said, I use it for vanishing small objects while doing close up. Most often a ring or a coin. If it is your personal preference to use only common objects, there is nothing wrong with that at all. But, there is nothing wrong with using unusual items either. Magicians always have and always will. It's all in how the routine is structured and how you use it. I have been doing magic with an Okito box for probably about 25 years or so now. Always gets a great response. However, I am not doing a coin across with it, either. I have to agree that the box is un-necessary and clouds the magic for coins across and I, too, would use my bare hands or the spectator's hands even better. Good luck
Daniel Faith
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joseph Eternal Order Please ignore my 17407 Posts |
I agree. When the spectators inspect the box and the coins, it really adds to the mystery. However, when you introduce a gimmicked box, or the solid box, etc, then I think although it is a startling variation, the spectators have to suspect the box.
"Everything should be made as simple as possible, but no simpler." (Einstein)...
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bigchuck Veteran user Nothing clever has ever been said in my 400 Posts |
I havent used an okito box or worked out any routines with one (yet) but FWIW I think if you explain the box away as a box you found (at a garage sale, grandma's attic or wherever) and act as though it is just a box where you carry your coins, put it on the side and do some sleights and THEN bring it in for a couple moves, I don't think people will really notice the difference between using the box or straight sleights.
Essentially what it is, is subtle misdirection comparable to a card to wallet routine in that they are both just 'containers' (even if the box IS a little bit of a harder 'sell' than a wallet is). I think it is all about where the emphasis is in the routine. IMO it adds a nice variation (and if you couldn't tell, I am planning on purchasing a set of boxes SOON , but then again -- if you use it too heavily, then of course people will begin to suspect the secret. In this, as in most things: Moderation is the key.
"The computer can't tell you the emotional story. It can give you the exact
mathematical design, but what's missing is the eyebrows. - Frank Zappa" |
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Mike Powers Inner circle Midwest 2983 Posts |
I recently released a new item called "Boston Massacre." It was a hit at the MagiFest a couple of weeks ago. It's based on Chad's routine but puts the box at center instead of at one corner. Four coins are cleanly covered by cards and all four vanish and end in the box. At the end, the box is left open (and full) at center. The four coins visibly vanish leaving an empty box. The cards are removed showing that all four have returned.
There's also a second routine which accomplishes the same effect with no cards. The coins are vanished one by one and end in the box. At the end both hands are placed palm down on the pad as the spec covers the full box. The hands are lifted to show that all coins are back in their respective corners. The box is empty. Boston Massacre should be reviewed in Linking Ring in the next couple of months. I'll try to post a video in the next few weeks. Mike
Mike Powers
http://www.mallofmagic.com |
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John Kokot New user 96 Posts |
Does anyone know where I might obtain silver-dollar sized Okito boxes and Boston boxes?
Thanks. |
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Chris Meece Special user Somerset Kentucky 864 Posts |
Problems with justifying the box? I go for the obvious, it is a box ... for my coins. I use gorgeously aged walking liberty coins and if I feel the need for more explanation I tell them I carry the coins in the box to protect them. And guess what .. that's exactly what the box does when I am not using it in an effect.
All small town magicians know what 793.8 signifies.
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NateReeves New user 97 Posts |
I think with a little creativity, you could justify carrying just about anything.
Also, when you are justifying something to the audience, you shouldn't make a big deal out of it (unless the justification relates to the plot of the routine). They really don't care all that much what you use. |
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