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Alan Wheeler Inner circle Posting since 2002 with 2038 Posts 
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In the interest of increasing magical taste and discernment, I suggest a topic in which we can post and rate some magic performances according to three criteria: (1) strong magical impact, (2) appeal of the effect, and (3) presentation.
Granted, these three areas are interrelated and not always mutually exclusive. Yet I think analyzing each as a discrete element is a beneficial exercise. The following performance comes from Ali Cook on a British TV program called "Fool Us" with Penn and Teller. I would say the performance is high in all three areas but best demonstrates number 2--appeal of effect. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S0RRSgfBJpw Posted: Apr 2, 2011 1:45pm ------------------------------------- [edit] By way of contrast, here is a performance from the same TV show by John Archer that, again, rates high in all three areas, but perhaps is strongest in impact or the "oomph factor" (Haydn/Lewis) as the method is deceptive enough to even fool Penn and Teller, to their own delight. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YYfjCUeCPMM&feature=related While there is clarity and appeal of effect and while there is an entertaining, comedic presentation, the outstanding feature of Archer's performance may be the impact of impossible, strong magic.
The views and comments expressed on this post may be mere speculation and are not necessarily the opinions, values, or beliefs of Alan Wheeler.
A BLENDED PATH Christian Reflections on Tarot Word Crimes Technology and Faith........Bad Religion |
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Lawrence O Inner circle French Riviera 6811 Posts
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I support the fact that you didn't include difficulty in the equation. Sam The Bellhop is not difficult but done half way decently (as Larry Jennings would have said) it would rate very high on the three acounts.
Now I would have considered including audience participation as a fourth rating criterion (but this shouldn't come as a surprise)
Magic is the art of emotionally sharing live impossible situations
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landmark Inner circle within a triangle 5194 Posts
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I much preferred the Archer, but then it's apples and oranges. And I think the strength of his performance was not exactly audience participation, but the magician's communication with the audience; his willingness to have fun, his willingness to let his guard down a little as a person, and his allowance for a good-natured battle of wits.
Click here to get Gerald Deutsch's Perverse Magic: The First Sixteen Years
All proceeds to Open Heart Magic charity. |
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Alan Wheeler Inner circle Posting since 2002 with 2038 Posts
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Here's Michael Vincent on the same show for your rating pleasure, since no one else is posting performances yet:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mh8aHrk14cc&feature=related
The views and comments expressed on this post may be mere speculation and are not necessarily the opinions, values, or beliefs of Alan Wheeler.
A BLENDED PATH Christian Reflections on Tarot Word Crimes Technology and Faith........Bad Religion |
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Lawrence O Inner circle French Riviera 6811 Posts
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Who are we to dare rating Michael Vincent?
Magic is the art of emotionally sharing live impossible situations
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Alan Wheeler Inner circle Posting since 2002 with 2038 Posts
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We are magic analysts. I think we can rank and rate which elements of magic are strongest in his performance without being insulting or presumptuous because even the greatest performance will exhibit a different strength and focus, providing us with a better understanding.
Whit Haydn has applied Kurt Vonnegut's advice about art to magic, telling us to consider 1,000 performances so that we might come to understand what good magic is. This topic is my small contribution to that vision. Here's another performance from Richard Bellars on the same program as the previously submitted acts: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XfGybFz6GRY&feature=related
The views and comments expressed on this post may be mere speculation and are not necessarily the opinions, values, or beliefs of Alan Wheeler.
A BLENDED PATH Christian Reflections on Tarot Word Crimes Technology and Faith........Bad Religion |
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landmark Inner circle within a triangle 5194 Posts
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Happy with the respect that Penn showed Vincent; not clear how to separate Alan's three criteria. Vincent is excellent at what he does, but Bach is never going to be Beethoven. Strangely, the unblinking camera eye was not kind to some of Vincent's sleights. So while cognizant of Vincent's skill and taste, it was a bit boring to me.
Bellars has some comic flair, and some nice audience interaction, but his subliminal influence bit is a direct steal from Mr. Brown, and is fast becoming a cliche in mentalism. Obviously not much of a magician fooler, the effect is a little too confusing and indirect (why the gambler vs. magician set-up? Why the blank deck rather than think of a card?) to be very hard hitting as magic. I thought he was headed toward McCombical Deck territory which might have suited his personality better than the mindreading.
Click here to get Gerald Deutsch's Perverse Magic: The First Sixteen Years
All proceeds to Open Heart Magic charity. |
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Alan Wheeler Inner circle Posting since 2002 with 2038 Posts
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Criterian 1 is "magical impact" or the oomph factor of strong magic. It relates to the deceptiveness of the method and to conviction as brought about by effect design, conditons, convincers, and so on. As far as I understand, this is what Tamariz called the "skeleton," the bare bones, the purest and most essential element of magic.
Criterian 2, "appeal of effect," regards the special effect aspect of the performance--clarity of effect, progression of the magical plot, the attraction of the basic idea of the effect. Causing a candle to light might be experienced as cool on some primal level, for example. This, I think, is what Tamariz called the "flesh" of the performance. Criterian 3 is the presentation, what Tamariz called the "clothing," and I think it relates to how the effect is dressed up with character, narrative, and any meaning--whether substantive or situational--that is put on in addition to the inherent meaning of criterian 1 and the primal meaning of criterian 2. I know these are not mutually exclusive and actually work elegantly together in a good performance. But we are analysts here! Here's another one from the "Fool Us" show, a performance by Benjamin Earl: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=97b2qCVBykI&feature=related
The views and comments expressed on this post may be mere speculation and are not necessarily the opinions, values, or beliefs of Alan Wheeler.
A BLENDED PATH Christian Reflections on Tarot Word Crimes Technology and Faith........Bad Religion |
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landmark Inner circle within a triangle 5194 Posts
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Loved that, I've never seen Ben Earl before.
I thought the construction was terrific--the callback to the photo was a gasper, and doubled the impact of the effect. Really smart. The effect itself was clearly the result of lots of skill, the first locations more impressive to me than the second set. But nice to set up a challenge, and then rachet up the conditions. Humor, drama (I cared whether he was going to be able to do this one handed), a pleasing personality. Yeah, I'd pay to see him. Only caveat--as in most gambling demos, the focus is the supposed skill of the performer; what makes it magical and separates it from juggling? But I don't mind watching skill of this caliber at all. Hey is anyone else going to play?
Click here to get Gerald Deutsch's Perverse Magic: The First Sixteen Years
All proceeds to Open Heart Magic charity. |
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Michael Kamen Inner circle Oakland, CA 1315 Posts
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Kudos to all the performers and thanks Alan for sharing the links. Although both Vincent and Earl had presentations and styles with much to commend them, their effects (with exception of Vincent's climax) were often brazen outcomes of specific sleights. These have the appeal of being simple and visual, but tend toward a demonstration of what is possible, not impossible. I think demonstration of juggling is fine, especially when leading up to Vincent's excellent conclusion. I draw the line where the juggle becomes the obvious secret means, which I think it did for both performers. I do not see this as mere genre. Ricky Jay manages to create powerful effect of magic even as he claims it is all sleight of hand. Earl did excellent sleight of hand, but his outcome was no more than that.
Michael Kamen
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Alan Wheeler Inner circle Posting since 2002 with 2038 Posts
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I am learning as much from the analysis here as I am from the performances. Thank you, gentlemen!
Finally, for this round at least, here are the last two performances from "Fool Us" as Penn and Teller open and close the show: Cell Phone to Fish: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eRw69htzQnU&feature=related Sawing Teller in Half: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jsP7D2XoL0A&feature=related All of these performances posted so far are for a single audience and under the same conditions, providing a kind of "control" as used in experiments.
The views and comments expressed on this post may be mere speculation and are not necessarily the opinions, values, or beliefs of Alan Wheeler.
A BLENDED PATH Christian Reflections on Tarot Word Crimes Technology and Faith........Bad Religion |
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Michael Kamen Inner circle Oakland, CA 1315 Posts
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So, the girl gets cut in half, blood spatters everywhere and she dies. Iconoclastic demonstration, but the magic is. . .where exactly?
Michael Kamen
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Alan Wheeler Inner circle Posting since 2002 with 2038 Posts
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Their take is similar to the famous Richardi presentation.
The views and comments expressed on this post may be mere speculation and are not necessarily the opinions, values, or beliefs of Alan Wheeler.
A BLENDED PATH Christian Reflections on Tarot Word Crimes Technology and Faith........Bad Religion |
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landmark Inner circle within a triangle 5194 Posts
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Well, P and T are all about, how the F did they do that?? And they certainly elicited that reaction from me on their fish story. The fun part with P and T is that the most outlandish explanation is often the correct one. No "a simple method and the rest is presentation" for them. They are always implying the cleverness of their solution, if not giving it away. The subtext (and often the text!) of their performances is almost always, "see how much more clever we are than all other magicians?" So given that is their goal, they certainly accomplished it with these effects. For me, this is very entertaining, for many it is simply annoying grandstanding. But the price they pay is the limited amount of emotional involvement that they can create in their intellectual game. I can be entertained, and momentarily even shocked by P and T, but never moved.
Click here to get Gerald Deutsch's Perverse Magic: The First Sixteen Years
All proceeds to Open Heart Magic charity. |
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Michael Kamen Inner circle Oakland, CA 1315 Posts
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I loved the cell phone to fish -- brilliant and very magical. The sawing was legitimate theater, but I would describe as special effect serving a socio-political message. Effective, but not magic. Moot point perhaps. Who says everything they do has to be magic.
Michael Kamen
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landmark Inner circle within a triangle 5194 Posts
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Here's a young magician from Spain. I think there's something to talk about here.
http://www.youtube.com/user/Grunjarra#p/u/8/hXeDjmsrmEg and she speaks in Spanish in this one, but even if you don't know the language, I think you can make some judgments: http://www.youtube.com/user/Grunjarra#p/u/5/yah8t38M0Qs
Click here to get Gerald Deutsch's Perverse Magic: The First Sixteen Years
All proceeds to Open Heart Magic charity. |
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Whit Haydn V.I.P. 5449 Posts
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Quote:
On 2011-04-10 20:58, landmark wrote: Never moved? I was moved by the Shadow of the Rose, and by the Miser's Dream routine. Why would you say they can never be moving? Sometimes a tear in the eye of a cynic can be more moving than the wailing of Hecuba. |
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Donal Chayce Inner circle 1770 Posts
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Quote:
On 2011-04-11 13:55, Whit Haydn wrote: Ditto, and much to my surprise I was also profoundly moved by their "Patriotism" routine. |
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landmark Inner circle within a triangle 5194 Posts
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Not like I am by Ella (Claudia). See links above.
But it's okay, I like vanilla and chocolate, and even strawberry.
Click here to get Gerald Deutsch's Perverse Magic: The First Sixteen Years
All proceeds to Open Heart Magic charity. |
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Alan Wheeler Inner circle Posting since 2002 with 2038 Posts
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One answer to Michael's question concering what is magical about the sawing illusion might be that it is impossible that Teller could survive to perform another day. Or maybe like escapes and flourishes, it's just magic by association. I do believe the stronget of the three elements is the appeal (or shock value) of effect, the special effect element of the performance, although the impact/deceptiveness and presentation seem pretty good too.
I need to watch those close up performance links a couple more times before I respond. At first viewing, some of the segments made me want to cry "camera tricks!", which means it must be strong magic!
The views and comments expressed on this post may be mere speculation and are not necessarily the opinions, values, or beliefs of Alan Wheeler.
A BLENDED PATH Christian Reflections on Tarot Word Crimes Technology and Faith........Bad Religion |
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Posted: Apr 2, 2011 04:38 pm 
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