Magic on a Budget

For young adolescent magicians who may want their pocket money to stretch a bit further or someone that just wants to jazz up his act with out blowing the budget, cheap magic is easy to find. But do you have to sacrifice good magic to cater to the price of good effects? The answer is no, and I will show how in just a minute. First one must remember that the magician makes the trick, not the trick the magician. So then why shouln't every trick be as good as the next? As shown by many magicians in our art, just about anyone given the right knowledge can raise the entertainment level of any effect. But everyone wants a good start, so when you?re buying effects you must have ones that hold strong in their own right. Some tricks might over prove, while some might under prove their conditions. Some might have a clean handling while others are more messy. The simple fact is that not all effects are created equal. But the other side of the equation is that a weak effect could be moulded to be much better.

So I?m guessing by now that you're thinking that magic on a budget is looking very bleak indeed, but the fact is that the opinion just expressed helps us in our budget magic endeavours. You see, when buying magic on a budget you must have a broad mind so that when looking at a gimmick or an effect you can see the inherent strength in it and the possibility to make it stronger, also the performance aspect for entertainment value as another. In a market of knockoffs, versions and new ideas, many of your problems as stated above just require a change of product, depending of course the allowance in your budget. But the key to magic on a budget is a broad mind and a little knowledge. I will endeavour to show how many classic and conventional gimmicks and effects (while remaining cheap) can turn into strong pieces of magic.

The TT: Many magicians shy away from the TT as it?s included in many magic starter kits and is seen as an over exposed concept of our art. But a neglect of this piece of apparatus is a sad deprival to magicians of a very powerful gimmick.

The Bill Switch: There are many bill switches on the market boasting they're more visual, more easy, more practical, but really just more expensive. Most notable is Money Morph which goes for about Aus $50.00 in a video format. But a much cheaper alternative is Michael Ammar?s $100 Bill switch. Requirements are a TT and two bills to switch for each other. It?s explained in the book ?The Magic of Michael Ammar? which is a big purchase considering our aim, but even compared to individual tricks, is a sound investment. But since we are talking about magic on a budget here we need other resources other than buying a book.

One underestimated resource is other magicians, books like the already mentioned one are in circulation among magic circles. So what?s my point? Ask if they know anything about the topic or issue you're after. The best result is they actually have the book that you?re after, which if you know them well enough, they might even let you borrow or photocopy the pages of the effect. They could just pass on information, which is just as valuable. So my tip is get advice, because advice is free, and is the most valuable resource to us to gain knowledge and experience. Where to get this advice? From clubs, conventions and magic shops to name a few, and this does not just apply to TT, but to all effects.

Signed Bill in Play dough: A magic classic for many years has been the bill in the lemon. The preparation depending on method was always a restricting factor. But a while ago a magician I once saw made a very fine example of the power of simple things. He asked a spectator to come on stage. The magician asked him to take some play dough and form a ball. A hanky was shown and signed and vanished, to which he poked a hole in the ball of dough with his thumb. The fingers of one hand went into the hole to extract the signed hanky as it seemed to come from inside the dough. A hanky was used in that instance but it could have been easily substituted for a bill. The principle of the play dough made for some very convincing options available, and made me think about how to make the effect stronger.

By getting the spectator to flatten the dough out and then rip it into little bits, it could be established that nothing in the dough is present, which is a more strengthening feature than any classic approach. The practical side of the method made it a breeze to perform, so no tedious preparation made it restrictive. A vast improvement should be assured, but most importantly it should not blow the bank.

The Reverse Drinking Straw: Armed with a TT, this can be the most powerful of impromptu effects. You take a sheet of paper and roll it into a cylinder, then proceed to pour water in the top of it. However, the water does not seem to come out the other end, that?s why I call it the reverse drinking straw.

There should be a much stronger effect with a new but still cheap product called ?Snow Powder?. It?s like the common slush powder and with the same use, but instead of turning water into a solid, it turns water into what appears to be snow flakes. So what would you say if I said that you could pour water into the top of the cylinder and snow came out the other end? Brings a new meaning to North Pole hey, but it?s a possibility.

IT: Thread seems to have taken a revival of late, but it?s interesting to note how the magic market capitalizes on such trends. There is a marketed effect that has been out for some time called ?Loops?. As the name suggests, it is simply a loop of thread. You can perform ?The Haunted Deck? or move a dinner fork without touching it as well as a few other effects. You could pay up to $50.00 for a full kit that includes the loops, instructions for the tricks, as well as any refills you might want for up to $20.00 each for a set of five.

The sad thing about all this is the fact that these could be made for quarter the price by looping a single bit of thread (which can be done if given the right instruction). So what can you do with a single strand of thread? The video ?easy to master Thread Miracles? gives many great ideas, but here are some more.

The Haunted Deck: As already stated above loops could perform this effect as well as many other gimmicks on the market. But you can perform this with a single piece of thread using a borrowed deck and ending clean just like the others boast. Explanation for this approach can be found in ?Dai Vernon?s Inner Card Trilogy?.

The Rising Pack: This effect is explained in Jean Hugard?s ?Card Manipulations? book, where a card case is placed on the table. Monstrously the flap opens up and the deck rises from the case, all with the aid of a cheap piece of thread.

I hope by now you have an idea of what buying magic on a budget means. Just before I close I want to give a final example.

Another popular trend that has developed into our magic climate is the ?Card through Window?. The cheapest way of course is simply a deck of cards and a confederate, but there are many small technicalities. On the other end of the scale is a marketed version with the most expensive being ?John Kennedy?s Card Through the Window? which goes for the price of a small house. But what if I said that this effect could be done without a confederate, have the index corner torn for later identification and no contact if the performer chose with the object that the card was to appear behind. Sounds like a dealer?s ad doesn?t it.

But this can be precisely done with the aid of the old and classic card frame. Don?t think this would be any lesser effect because it dose not use a window per se, because this similar approach was seen fit for Paul Daniels to perform on TV. Another form of this effect was published in volume 81 Number 8 of the August 2001 edition of the linking ring by another magician that had seen the Paul Daniels version. He was so taken by the effect he added his own take of it and added it to his repertoire.

So with the addition of a deck of card, and a card frame that I have seen on sale as cheaply as Aus $30.00, you could be out there performing this effect with the best of them. Doing so in the comfort in knowing that you did it on a budget, yet still getting the same reaction as the other magicians do.

So there you have it, magic on a budget. There should be no excuses now, so get out there.

Aus,
Excellent post!
That should be required reading for everyone in magic!
Well done.

Aus,
Great post!
I'd like to add something here, since we're talking magic on a budget with TT's, Loops, etc.

Deck of Cards: Several effects you posted already incorporate cards. But, for the cost (about 2 bucks) per trick (dare I say hundreds of thousands)you just can't beat a plain old deck of cards for magic value!

Sponges: Balls or Squares or Tubes or whatever. Make 'em yourself or buy 'em. Still a great value for the incredible amount of magic produced.

Coins: Yep, plain old ordinary spending coins. You can do wonderful effects too numerous to mention, and still use your prop to buy groceries at the end of the day! My number one vote for holding their value.

Regards,
Brett

A very very informative post Aus, great work!

Aus,

For a good low budget bill switch, how about Danny Archer's 1-100 Switch? It's a good switch, and it sells for around $7.00 bucks.

You forgot ropes and handkerchiefs. There's a lot of tricks to do with those !

Thanks guys for your feedback. I just hope that the article might help some one out as there starting up so they don’t think that buying the latest and greatest is the only way to progress in magic. I have talked to many young and starting magicians on what they have been doing magic wise in the last few days, and they say “nothing, haven’t had the money”, so this buying set of mind I felt needed to be addressed. Also I hope that some of our less financial brothers in this world of high prices don’t loss hope.

Magically

Aus

I think it has to be repeated again and again. The best thing you can do is: Buy books! There are many excellent and very inexpensive books out there with first class magic inside. Bobo's Modern Coin Magic and The Royal Road to Card Magic are two popular examples.

If you should think of yourself "I don't like reading" or "I hate books", consider this: If you buy a trick at a magic shop you will still have to read the instructions that come with the trick. With books like the aforementioned Modern Coin Magic you get hundreds of "instruction sheets" for only a couple of bucks.

And how aobut "The Card Magic of LePaul." $10 and you get excellent explanations of many useful sleights as well as several very powerful effects.

Excellent article.
People added sponge balls, cards, handherchiefs, coins. I would like to add cups & balls. Very entertaining routines can be done with plastic cups from your local grocery store and some small balls.
For less then $3.00 you too can perform the effect that has entertained more generations (and continues to do so) than any other.
For this and many of the previously mentioned effects, a book like "Mark Wilsons Complete Course in Magic", would serve you well

Again, great post

Mike

And don't forget your local library!
I was fortunate that, growing up in a small town with no magic shops or clubs or even magicians (that I knew of at the time), the local library had a good magic section: Mulholland, Elliot, etc.
And don't forget to check out the juvenile/children/young adult section; there is always a host of magic material there.
(The Dewey Decimal number in both cases is 793.8)
BTW, I have very little money at the time but still managed to put together a presentable show with things that I made myself from books from the library.
Probably didn't spend $100 total on magic until I was well into my 30s!

That is really saying something. I am working on my sleight of hand and getting a bit better. I am also raising an 8 year old step daughter who loves magic. It is fun to try to teach her some stuff as well. I love the idea of using inexpensive or household items to do magic with.

Thanks for the inspiration Peter.

andy

I'm with you Uli on the topic of books; one because you can get more for what is really the price of a single trick as books contain multiples of information, and I would refer a new magician to books any day. But well we give this information; we neglect the issue of tricks, which despite our opinions about this, there still going to come across again and again. How many reviews have you seen were the person (mostly young I find) say they were really impressed by the effect, but really disappointed with the handling or the method once the package is opened? I covered this in my article because I feel it was needed.

Magically

Aus

The Mark Wilson Complete Course in Magic. I found one for under $20, and it has ALOT of
magic!

It's the very 1st place I learned The Ring Off String. Alot of very good magic for a very good price.

Learning magic in countries other than UK and US is a bit different. I did not know much about how to learn magic in my country. The magic shops always have high-priced props. There are not many magic books in local libraries.

Thank God, I finally had a chance to read "The Mark Wilson Complete Course in Magic" from a UK friend. This really ignited me. And, the development of magic business in the internet also helps me a lot.

Hirase

What a good post.

Also, armed with a pack of cards and going to the public library helps. That's where I found books like Marc Wilson's of course and Lorayne's Magic book. Also had books to get started like Bob Longe's greatest tricks.

Thank you Aus, great post. I wish I had read this years ago before spending way to much money on un-collectable props/paperweights

Wow, Aus! Your post may be a year and half old, but it's making a fine 2004 Christmas present for me!

John

Thanks a lot for that post!
I actually was toying around with the idea of producing a signed hanky from an orange, but always felt a bit "guilty" using food. (you may say that I'm too sensitive, but that's how I feel)
I will now try the play dough version. This actually fits perfectly into my childrens birthday set.

yfirum

You can find a great number of used magic books around. You can make your own effects using the books. I have found used books for as low as $1. Flea markets
are a good place to find magic items.