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obrienmagic Special user 752 Posts |
The biggest issue I see in my last performance was that people didn't clap during the moments I expected them to and they did for moments I didn't expect either. Weird because normally they clap at appropriate times, however this particular audience seemed to be a bit unresponsive... I know it is more than likely my timing... does anyone have any suggestions for future performances?
You are welcome to critique all parts of the performance as well (not just the timing All I ask is that you please say at least 1 thing you liked about it as well as at least one thing I need to work on Thank you!!!! Here is the link to my live close-up show last night: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4EXNlEol2Io
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ThomasJ Special user Chicago 999 Posts |
Hi Michael,
You were definitely very likable, and the variety of effects was nice. I think the applause cue at 3:53 was one of the only times you varied your speech during the climax of an effect. Below are some things I noticed might have contributed to the lack of responsiveness: 1) The emcee lacked energy and enthusiasm, so that didn't help. But more importantly, you never introduced yourself at the beginning. The audience's energy started low due to the emcee's introduction and you didn't do a whole lot to increase it off the bat. 2) I'm assuming you expected applause at 3:04. However you were in the middle of a sentence, so the audience was probably being polite thinking you were going to finish the thought. 3) The ring thru the finger went thru on the count of two, and by the time you said "three" the moment was lost. 4) The Chinese rings with wedding ring effect was confusing. I think if you put a story to it, you wouldn't have lost them. Seems a marriage premise would be a relatable place to begin building a presentation for that one. I didn't feel there was a whole lot of build up or more impossible things happening. Just linking and unlinking. 5) The blank deck 5 of Hearts printing might have garnered a bigger reaction if you had built up the fact that the girl was thinking of a card. You asked her, but it was very brief. Definitely could have taken more advantage of that, especially since the audience probably forgot you had even showed her a "blank card" at the beginning. For the reveal, perhaps a Carlyle Turnover followed by the face printing while it's on her palm to finish would be better than the thru the fist. 6) After the printing of the deck, your words trailed off and got softer. I think if you used the technique you did at 3:53 it would have helped get an applause there. (More energy/build up). 7) 12:25 - display the card for all to see. Only a few people could see his signature, the rest would have no way to tell other than his reaction. 8) The 2 of Hearts/2 of Diamonds made the effect confusing. I'm doubtful those were the cards you expected to use for it(?). It definitely muddied the effect. 9) The blank card outro - I think the audience was perhaps expecting you to do something with their thought of card, but then you didn't and by that point the rest of what you said was probably just too ambiguous for them to relate to. Overall, I think if you add more relatable presentations throughout, you'll get the applause you want. Much of the show seemed like you were explaining exactly what you were showing them, which I'm sure you know is never great for the effect. I've seen some of your other videos and know what you're capable of, so perhaps it was iust an off-night for you. Thanks for sharing with us. I hope my thoughts were constructive/helpful for you. T.J. |
Vlad_77 Inner circle The Netherlands 5829 Posts |
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On Nov 18, 2016, obrienmagic wrote: Hi Michael, Your magic is excellent but your presentation takes a few hits at critical times. One that I immediately noticed was when you would introduce props - specifically the pack of cards - you stated that it was a "regular" deck of cards. In my experience, when you state the obvious, i.e, what Terry LaGerould would refer to as the belief state you are actually raising the audience's suspicions. Yes audiences know there are trick decks, but, by casually handing the pack and NOT calling attention to it verbally, you allow the audience to come to the conclusion that if you are handling the deck so casually then it's a normal deck - and, you lock that in with your AC routine. You missed a few great interplay moments. When the guy was signing his name, notice that he cups his left hand over the writing action. I believe that THIS moment is open to some really fun interaction. The act of covering his writing is funny, but, it needs you to make it memorable. I would save the rose effect for a bit later in the act. It's a beautiful routine and you perform it wonderfully but, it doesn't establish you yet as a person who can manipulate reality. I would start with the finger ring routine because a LOT of magic happens immediately quickly. In the ring routine you again comment on the ordinary nature of the props which is unnecessary. Do the Garret Thomas thing twice then hand the ring to the spectator without comment as you retrieve the larger ring. I'm sure you know that the spectator WILL examine your finger ring VERY closely because you had just made it travel magically from finger to finger. In live theater we learn about pauses and framing and it seemed to me that you were not creating these moments where they should have been. These pauses and frames give audiences a moment to appreciate the impossible thing you have just done. I agree with ThomasJ that the Two of Hearts and Two of Diamonds routine may be a bit confusing to the audience; I found myself questioning what a spectator might think and I was confused. Why not play up the signatures? Making ink vanish and move to another card is VERY powerful. Overall, I think you are a VERY good magician. You come off as a affable and polite and as Nate Leipzig wisely noted that "people love to be fooled by someone they like." You accomplished that. I do think however that you should quickly surmise which spectator plays well with you and in this video, the guy was a great spectator such that you had a lot of missed opportunities to interact with him. All of the above are constructive criticisms Michael. I am formally trained in live theater so my critique has its roots in that. And one last thing: sometimes audiences don't applaud right away because they are truly stunned. You might want to review what Paul Harris wrote about the moment of astonishment. Really great work mechanically and I think that if you study your act from the perspective of a non-magician spectator you'll see those moments I spoke of. Thank you so very much for sharing! Best, Vlad |
obrienmagic Special user 752 Posts |
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On Nov 18, 2016, ThomasJ wrote: Hello T.J. Thank you SO MUCH for your feedback! 1. Very valid point! Next time I will do my best to establish my own energy right off the bat and hopefully set the tone for the rest of the performance. 2. Yes I need to work on my timing for sure. Timing and tone seem to be the big 2 roadblocks in this performance. 3. Maybe doing a 1.. 2... pause....... 3! may be better? 4. Maybe something about how rings are meant as a bond permanently holding us together? 5. I will check that reveal out! Definitely anything to make it stronger! Will also do a better job at really milking that "The card you were merely THINKING of" moment. 6.More timing... haha 7.Yes. I caught this the second time (when I showed her signature on the back. haha) 8. This was unexpected, however short of me setting up right in front of them, there wasn't much I could do about it so I tried to roll with it. 9. Maybe to put a finish on the "everyone else think of a card" I can spend more time saying "Now I want you all to imagine the card you are thinking of and if you can see your card in the deck go ahead and clap" then print the deck as though all the different cards are from the audiences imagination like the 5 of hearts was for hers? Thank you SO MUCH! Great feedback and will study some more on my presentation. Wont hurt to run more free shows like this till the timing and performance are better.
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obrienmagic Special user 752 Posts |
[/quote]
Hi Michael, Your magic is excellent but your presentation takes a few hits at critical times. Really great work mechanically and I think that if you study your act from the perspective of a non-magician spectator you'll see those moments I spoke of. Thank you so very much for sharing! Best, Vlad [/quote] Hello Vlad! Your feedback is always welcomed so I am excited to read through it!!! 1. Ah. yes the "Regular cards bit." If you listen closely I actually say it "isn't a regular deck." because they are blank. Maybe I can change that patter to something else? Maybe it would be fun to just show the cards and say "Everyone go ahead and see a card and remember it....." then say.... oh I forgot to tell you this is a game of the imagination because these cards are blank." or something to that effect. Same with the ring. Rather than ask for examination maybe I can simply hand him the ring and say here my friend can yu hold onto that for me? 2. What kind of interaction are you referring to when Tim was signing his name? Like when he said "a 3 year old signed it?" I could have said more. I was on a bit of a time crunch so I guess I was worried about too much time in between (which I actually ended up being 5 mins under my time so I now know I have way more time to play with the audience in between moves.) 3. I could try moving the rose routine for a later part of the act! maybe open with the ring stuff and do rose second? could be cool! 4. The 2 of hearts/diamonds was an unfortunate coincidence, Short of setting up for a different card and moving the "force card" around right in front of the audience, there was nothing much I could do. Maybe I could even remove that matching card from the deck completely? For example if my force card is the 4 of diamonds, maybe I can just get rid of the 4 of hearts completely to avoid that in the future? Thank you so much for your feedback Vlad! I think all of this is great and will definitely help make my effect more magical and build proper climaxes in which people will be more inclined to react the way I intend.
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JoeHohman Special user Erie 706 Posts |
Michael, take some of these suggestions with a grain of salt -- I have been performing for many years, but sporadically, while it looks like you are performing regularly. As TJ and Vlad said, your technique is fine. I think you might benefit from some reorganization.
Ditch the rose production. In fact, ditch ALL the stuff where you aren't really doing anything magical. To wit: 1. People actually applauded at your folding of the red silk, which is more of a gag than a real effect. Then when you really did produce a rose, they felt like they had already given you some token recognition. This threw them off, which in turn threw YOU off. 2. I liked the use of the petals for a sponge ball routine --- but then the "change places!" gag fell flat. Why? Well, it is over-used, but I think it's another case where nothing is happening. 3. The gag with the blank card returning to the top, a la an ACR. This goes on too long, and it isn't funny to non-magicians. I have more to say later. I will return! |
obrienmagic Special user 752 Posts |
Thank you for the feedback!!! I will give it a go with less of the gags
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obrienmagic Special user 752 Posts |
Also, the reason for the rose handkerchief gag was to give more emphasis on the actual production. Before when I simply did the rose out of nowhere there was literally no reaction almost to the point where people were like "yeah it's a rose.... and?" Like they didn't realize I produced it because it was so quick and were not expecting it. How can I acheive a similar result donyou think without doing the gag or intro I have here?
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JoeHohman Special user Erie 706 Posts |
Sorry, I had to leave in a hurry there.
So anyway, the last couple things I wanted to mention were not things you need to do better, they are simply things I would do differently. One of them is, and this is actually a good thing, you ARE a likable and engaging performer already -- so if it were me, I would avoid a few of the "sucker" vanishes with the ring. There were just too many of them. Now, in this performance, it all worked out, because as Vlad pointed out, the guy on your right was a good sport and was digging your performance -- but in my opinion, you had already performed some hard-hitting stuff with the ring jumping from finger to finger (this fooled me bad, by the way), and pulling it off your pinky, so it seemed to cheapen it when you once again went to hand it to him and it was already back on your other hand. In fact, you had already done that at the beginning of the routine -- no need to go back to it again. The sucker vanishes are done well, and your timing on them is quite good. It's just that I wouldn't do them. They don't fit my character, and I actually don't think they fit yours that well either. 99 times out of 100 people will smile and take them the right way; but there is always that one guy out there who will be offended. It is interesting that you posted this, because a similar thing happened to me last Saturday. I was performing my cups and balls routine at a church fund-raiser, and my son's girlfriend started applauding after the first minor sequence, which is an assembly under the center cup. It totally threw me off! I had to stop to acknowledge the applause, and then other people started to clap faintly, and then I very awkwardly tried to make a joke -- "Yes, yes, Haley, but you have to wait until the big finish!" And then I realized how lame this little impromptu aside was, and this made me forget for a second the next part of my routine! I recovered, but it was an unsatisfying feeling…. Michael, I think your chops are solid, you have an agreeable personality, and I think it is very brave of you to open yourself up to critiques like this. It shows me that it is important to you to be better. Best of luck to you! |
Kanawati Veteran user Australia 301 Posts |
Hi Michael, if you just posted that performance for us to watch I would have thought good job🙂 Do the exact same trick for one group and you may get them screaming and laughing...another group might just politely clap. Kudos to you for not getting out of character...right to the end you didn't look at all like you were thrown off by not getting the reactions you expected. It happens to me. I'm not nearly as polished as you but I try and remind myself that I'm there to make the audience feel good but I don't have to make them laugh even though I throw in all the gags too. A little less about me and more about them. It's taken some pressure off me. This isn't necessarily advice for you because I wasn't sitting there thinking it's all about him! Quite the contrary but just wanted to share a lesson I'm learning for myself. Question. This looks like an intimate parlor setting. Were you the first act? Where they warmed up? Were there other magicians going to perform? Were there magicians in the audience? What was the audience being invited to? Had they already had dinner? Do you always get a couple of volunteers to sit up next to you and if so has that worked well in the past for you? I ask that last question because I like to pull volunteers from the audience. You don't need to answer these questions but sometimes the makeup of the audience could have a bearing? John
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Mark Williams Special user Las Vegas, Nevada 513 Posts |
Michael, I have a line for you that I think might work. As you bring out your cards say: "This is nothing but a deck of cards. (Pause) No, really it's nothing at all. (Pause) It's nothing because (Pause) it's blank on their backs , as well as, their faces."
Introducing yourself to the group is a key element to any performance. It will make the audience drop their guard and like you even more. As mentioned before, there was some missed fantastic byplay, as the gentleman signed his card and covering with his other hand. It's okay to be steeped into your own performance, but always pay attention for ab-lib moments. I also noticed that you never called your spectators by their names...after you had asked. You kept referring to them as "My friend" or "My dear". It would help if you had called them by their names throughout the entire show. By doing so, it shows them that you care. It also shows them that you are polite. It will also help the rest of the audience know that you are a really nice guy. I liked the mix of magic in your routine, yet also agree the the 2H and 2D trick was confusing. Perhaps replace it with something easier to follow (Gemini Twins eg.) Best Magical Regards, Mark Williams
"Once is Magic!! Twice is an Education!!"
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JoeHohman Special user Erie 706 Posts |
"I also noticed that you never called your spectators by their names...after you had asked. You kept referring to them as "My friend" or "My dear". It would help if you had called them by their names throughout the entire show. By doing so, it shows them that you care. It also shows them that you are polite. It will also help the rest of the audience know that you are a really nice guy."
--- Excellent advice from Mark Williams! (Something I had intended to comment upon and forgot...) |
obrienmagic Special user 752 Posts |
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On Nov 19, 2016, Kanawati wrote: Thank you so much for your kind words! To answer your questions, I was the first act, though we did have a bit of warm-up beforehand (rub cube demo that got them participating) it wasn't much other than that. The audience consisted 100% of laymen (minus the 3 magicians that were performing that evening.) The show was a promotional tool for the venue to bring in more business. Some people were walking off the street who were curious bout the show, and others were people who were there either because they were regulars of the Café, or were made aware of the show via marketing. The room is the small lounge area in back and seats around 20 people, though this particular audience was only about 12 or so. We had a time limit and I was trying to make sure to keep it under the time, so I had 2 volunteers chosen just before the show (to eliminate the time it takes to pick people then have them come forward.) Hope this clears up more about the venue
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obrienmagic Special user 752 Posts |
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On Nov 19, 2016, Mark Williams wrote: Thank you so much for the feedback mark! I am so bad with names I often worry ill call someone by the wrong one. Are there any good excursuses I could learn to help remember names better? I would love to use their names more. Maybe even be honest and say "Im terrible with names so I'm going to say it a few times" or something. may even get a laugh but it would be genuine as I really am terrible with names.. lol Great idea for the blank deck too. I may even do something like this: "I will spread the cards out, please see and memorize one........ oh... I forgot to mention, they are blank so we will have to use our imagination for this one" or something then go into the blank ambitious thing.
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obrienmagic Special user 752 Posts |
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On Nov 19, 2016, JoeHohman wrote: Thank you so much for all of the feedback! Yes I will try to do a little less "pick on the audience." I don't typically do that anyway, but I do like to do it just a bit to kind of get that playful banter going. Maybe I can say something like "whoops, it does that sometimes.... my wife doesn't like when I take it off." or something. Makes it less like I am messing with him and more like it just happens and I am sorry it happens but it is what it is? Who knows. I will definitely play around with all these suggestions. As of now the biggest question mark in my mind is how to open the rose routine. My patter used to be a story that built up to me producing the rose but it fell flat. Never got a reaction from it. Maybe a shorter story about how I met my wife or something? I could open with the ring stuff and then go into the rose thing as a more "intimate" connection between two people? A lot to try but I will not know until I have done every version at least a couple times. haha ill keep you all updated!
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JoeHohman Special user Erie 706 Posts |
The rose routine is essentially a sponge ball routine, right? Maybe you could consider..... just using sponge balls? (Not the most original suggestion, I admit...)
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Claudio Inner circle Europe 1927 Posts |
Nice job Michael.
I enjoyed watching the video and from a technical viewpoint you did a great job. You got so many insightful comments that I have little to add. Here are a couple of remarks: I would start with a bit of humour when introducing the deck of cards, maybe something like this: “Here’s a regular deck of cards …” Pause so that the audience has time to react and maybe object to your comments so that you have a chance of a little byplay with them. … Well yes, beside the fact that it has no faces … and no backs…” It’s a real pity that the whole pack printing climax did not get more of a reaction as you performed this effect very well. I think it requires some thinking about the presentation to extract applaud at the climax. One can clearly see that both your assistants are amazed. I would actually end with the rose production and give it away as a parting present and do a sponge balls routine instead of rose petals, as suggested by Joe Hohman, as it might have more impact. (Entirely subjective comment, but aesthetically I prefer sponge balls to lame rose petals ) Something was definitely lacking during your show but I can’t quite put my finger on it. I think that the lukewarm introduction (as previously mentioned) was a dampener on the whole show. |
Mark Williams Special user Las Vegas, Nevada 513 Posts |
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On Nov 20, 2016, obrienmagic wrote: Michael, Yes I have some more advice on remembering names. The spectators in your video are Tim and Mandy. When asking their names, repeat them back (as you did) then introduce yourself to them. "Tim, it's nice to meet you...I'm, Michael" and "Mandy, charmed. Thank you for helping. (Handshake) Michael O'Brien." This way not only do you lock your name into their minds...you are also learning their names. The audience will also hear your name again, as well as, the spectators names. Perhaps try to think of something silly (to yourself, of course to help yourself remember)...like "T and M" (Tim and Mandy). They key is to keep using their names. In your video, asking their names came off as just a formality and it really didn't matter. Make your spectators the center of attention and remember their names. Michael, I have been performing magic for over 46 years...believe me when I tell you that your show is for your audience. Respect them. Best Magical Regards, Mark Williams
"Once is Magic!! Twice is an Education!!"
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