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peprby New user 4 Posts |
Hello friends, I have a genuine request and I hope it is ok to ask it here.
So, I have developed a rather intricate card handling system which allows for powerful card magic to be possible without any sleight of hand, and all of it can be done while completely in the spectators hands. I have fooled many lay people with this system and it has been impeccable. However, I need to see if this is in any way obvious or easily seen by magicians, before I proceed forward to perhaps market it. I have told no one the secret to this system as of yet. I have a video home demonstration -sorry, it is all I have right now; please endure till at least the first reveal. You will see why the somewhat lengthy shuffling is needed. It was recorded at a private home (no stooges or pre-show fishing at all) and this performance really highlights the potential of this system. Now, I am not sure what would be an appropriate way to post the link or how to invite people interested to help me to be able to view it? I am not sure of proper etiquette here? Is it ok to post a YouTube link here? A different area? I am not promoting anything, I am seriously just trying to get a few magicians to endure watching this performance and then to be willing to be honest with me. Truth: 100% no gimmicks, gaffs, markings, camera tricks, stooges, duplicates, or trick decks…the cards are regular, brand new from factory, fully examinable, and I give them away after the performances. The only edits in the video are purely dialog areas to try to shorten the time overall. It was an extended evening performance, but I can streamline it however I like. NO CAMERA TRICKS. I have the full unedited version - 1 shot straight unedited- if needed. Any advice on how I should move forward for this request wound be greatly appreciated. Thank you for your time, Pep Robey |
peprby New user 4 Posts |
If anyone is willing to watch this performance (video link below) and let me know your thoughts, I would be very grateful.
In the video here, I have built the performance up as being a group participating in an Intuitive Community Exercise, one reaching deep into the pre-cognitive level. What Fun! Sorry for the length. Really. I am going to film a 2 spectator version of this that will be between 6 to 8 minutes in length, hopefully. This is why I am waiting feedback now. Thanks for helping if you can. Pep. https://youtu.be/2z1-jYRue30?feature=shared |
Mr. Bones Veteran user 328 Posts |
That was lengthy.
You may want to focus less on trying to determine if folks can guess how the trick was done, and more on the typical process of determining if the sleights and/or principals involved have been used previously, and whose creation has already been attributed to somebody. In other words, do your academic research (and share that information) before reaching out to the general population for opinions on the effect itself. You need to be fully prepared to answer (in detail) any questions as to the provenance of each element of your card effect. You wouldn't be the first card magician to develop a "new" card trick only to find out that it already exist as a well known and established effect in a card magic book already on many card magicians bookshelf. Generally speaking, and obviously a highly personal take on things ... lengthy or complex shuffling/handling sequences in card tricks are attention-killers to be avoided at all cost, as they always cause the viewer(s) to lose interest rather quickly. On the plus side, the above is not to say you may not have an original, effective series of manipulations or principals on your hands ... but in the demonstration video you linked to, I would (and did) completely lose interest far too quickly due to the overall length, endless shuffling and occasionally wandering and unclear plot point.
Mr. Bones
"Hey Rube"! |
Nikodemus Inner circle 1345 Posts |
Firstly, welcome to the Cafe.
Secondly - sorry but I am simply not willing to watch a 29 minute video in order to give you feedback. I suspect others think the same, as you have so far only had one response. Is that a whole show you have videoed? If so, why not just post a video of 1-2 effects? There is a section here which is intended for people to post videos for feedback - https://www.themagiccafe.com/forums/view......17&39051 Typical video length is about 2-5 minutes I think. |
curtiswallen New user NY 61 Posts |
Hi Peprby,
Hope you're still around to read this. My first instinct was to agree with the above regarding a gut aversion to the procedural/mathematic approach and it being difficult to endure. BUT your audience seemed to be having a great time, felt that the impossibility of what was happening grew with every phase, and seemed truly blown away in the end, so I feel like it is sort of hard to argue with the overall impact. My thoughts, including a bit of prodding at the method since you asked if it was obvious how it works: The general form of the effect obviously brings to mind the Tamariz classic, Total Coincidence. Also a very lengthy and procedural effect with a stunning pay-off that absolutely fries people. I personally think one of the key reasons Total Coincidence is so powerful is that the spectators riffle shuffle the decks multiple times throughout the effect, which really throws a wrench in the "mathy" feeling, and there isn't TOO much dealing and a lot of the dealing is "disguised" as separating cards. I assume at the beginning when you say the spectators shuffled the decks themselves "in a way no one could know where any card is" that means they "shuffled" them in some mathematical way that unbeknownst to them set them into a stack from new deck order? I think there *is* something nice (and unique?) about them opening the two fresh decks and doing everything in their own hands, but I don't know if you gain more than you lose there. That inkling may be proven true by the fact that you didn't include the procedure in the video. I don't love all the explicit "cut this exactly in half" and alternate dealing, because it screams math/stack, but understand it is necessary for the method. And of course, they all very eagerly said yes when you asked if they thought the deck was completely "jacked up," so for laypeople it seems to fly. I also understand why the whole routine is so long, because you want to keep it totally out of your hands, but I think in the end it might be better for the trick if you'd already set the stack yourself (two halves with the top quarters of each reversed) then you could do a couple false shuffles and split the deck yourself with a rhythm count, or a crimped card pre-show, etc., but sell it like it isn't *exactly* half. "We'll cut about half of each. Does that look like about half to you? Close enough. Now each of you pick one packet to use and one packet to put back in the box." Something like that. That would significantly reduce the dealing/counting and there is still a lot of spectator card handling that happens after, leaving them feeling like they "mixed them up". I also might scrap the side reveals with the king of hearts and queen of spades, etc. The card at number, single prediction, and final ace revelation seems like enough to still really fry the audience and it will make things a bit clearer/more focused. I love that by using two decks you end up with moments where the spectators have a completely free choice, but don't know it's between two of the same card. The true freedom in those selections really adds a lot I think. Massive props and respect to you for figuring out the stack/math/etc. Curious to see where you land with the shorter version. |
peprby New user 4 Posts |
Thank you my friend for the comments, encouragement, and suggestions.
I do know that the overall feeling is that this vid is too long, but this vid IS my full show for the whole evening. I do not do a lot of shows so I am not sure if most magicians do shorter shows than this, but for the audience in this vid, they wanted more, it was not long enough for them. They stayed over an hour after I finished and asked me questions about what they just witnessed. I have never had reactions nor interest with any other tricks or shows I have done in the past that are anywhere like what I get with this system. I have gotten compliments before that were good, but with this system (specifically the peeps in the vid) I had 2 people tell me they have never seen magic performed at this high a level. I developed this shuffling/mixing system and routines primarily for a way for myself (and others hopefully) who would like to be able to do really great card magic but are not able to handle some of the needed sleights very we, especially when trying to do real convincing false shuffles in front of a crowd staring at your hands! Unless you are at pro level, most people know you did something fishy when false shuffling and will question if the deck is really shuffled, even if they do not say it out loud. -At least in my experience. The effectiveness of this system is simply in the complete assurance the audience feels in how they all shuffled the deck, which proved to them that the deck is starting in an unknown, random state. In that condition, people loose their minds and they have NO explanation because they know there was no sleight of hand utilized. So, the actual final set up comes in the shuffling itself. I do deck switches right before we start (with unidentifiable stacks when examined) and all of the shuffling and the truly authentic mixing ultimately serves to be the anti-faro type mechanism that actually sets the deck in order for me once finished shuffling. I have never once had anyone question if the cards were not 100% random and completely unknown to any person after shuffling. Its a very fun and freeing system. This system can for sure be streamlined and any magical outcomes can be set up. It is just a matter of memorizing that specific dealing algorithm. Thanks again for watching and taking time for this. I really appreciate it. Peace :p |
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