|
|
dpe666 Inner circle 2895 Posts |
When Dunninger would begin his Linking Rings Routine, he would say something like "Most magicians, when doing this effect, use a ring with a gap in it like this one" He would then remove a key ring from his set, and show it to the audience. "I don't.", he would say, and then throw the key ring off stage. Of course, he had 2 key rings, but the audience now believes that all the remaining rings are solid. What are your views on exposure when it makes an effect more powerful such as this example? Also, what other effects can be made better with this technique?
|
Mike Wild Inner circle NY, PA, TX, MA, FL, NC 1290 Posts |
My routine, the Totem, is a spoof on exposure, in a way. I talk about the Magic Secrets Exposed television show, and how "all of the secrets of magic are now out... except this one that I'm about to show you.... but you have to promise never to tell anyone... blah, blah, blah...". I strive to come off extremely serious at first. My actions and demeanor tell the audience that I'm really about to give up the best kept, deepest, darkest secret in magic. Everyone in earshot is hanging on my words, and watching me intently, some of them want to know the secret, some of them think I'm setting up for something big, but everyone is tuned in and waiting nonetheless.
I then pull out the Totem (a 150 year old Japanese 2 Sen SunDragon coin) and begin the routine. The build-up gets their attention, the reality ("it's only a ****ing coin!?!") creates an emotional "bump" in the road, and then silver coins start to appear all over the place, which snaps back the focus quickly. It wouldn't play as strongly as it does were it not for the intial patter about secrets, and about telling them to the audience. Using the illusion of giving up secrets to the audience has definite advantages... as long as you're not giving away the farm, or ruining the act that follows you Best, Mike |
Jonathan Townsend Eternal Order Ossining, NY 27297 Posts |
Exposure can bite you later.
What you expose in one trick can get you busted in the next trick. Such is my concern with any fake explanation phase in a routine. Worse still is the likely fallout onto another performer. Who would like to be busted on something by someone saying 'this other magician did that and they had ....' The bit with the extra key ring, like the Ramsay bit with the extra glass disk, plays to a certain kind of audience mentality, one that believes it knows of the 'other side of the mirror' . This thinking is very much a zeitgeist thing. The ealy 20th century in the USA had quite a bit of this going on. Such is also the allure of the 'backstage' musical or movie. I can't say as to how such a routine will play, as it all depends on the character and dynamics of the performance, and also the willingness of the audience to be led down a garden path.
...to all the coins I've dropped here
|
snilsson Regular user Stockholm, Sweden 186 Posts |
To perform a convincing magic effect you need to expose all possible methods to your audience. You must prove to them that you didn't use any of the methods that they could possible think of. If you fail to do this, there will be no magic.
For example, if you perform the linking rings you have to prove that the rings are solid and separate and that you don't switch them. Trust me, Joe Average will figure out these "secrets" if you don't stop him. Of course, there are many ways to provide the proof. You don't have to expose the key ring. In fact, it may be more effective to spin the rings around and have people handle them during the routine. Implicit proof is often more convincing. Magic that depends exclusively on a single secret that the audience isn't supposed to be able to figure out, is typically weak magic. Good magic tend to be much more complex than that. Tamariz has many interesting things to say about this in his book The Magic Way - The theory of false solutions and the magic way. This is required reading for anyone who wants to understand how and why magic is working. |
Jonathan Townsend Eternal Order Ossining, NY 27297 Posts |
Between nanobots, smart ink and clones, there is not much you can't do.
There is more to magic than the puzzle.
...to all the coins I've dropped here
|
Partizan Inner circle London UK 1682 Posts |
Send in the clones!!!!
Quote:
To perform a convincing magic effect you need to expose all possible methods to your audience. You must prove to them that you didn't use any of the methods that they could possible think of. If you fail to do this, there will be no magic. I fail to understand this comment. By exposing all possible methods, you have just given them viable answers to questions they never had. eg. "notice, I have no TT on my hands". would be a wrong thing to say. "I am now going to vanish this card, but not with a backpalm" - wrong. You may have expressed yourself badly, but that is my breakdown of that comment.
"You cannot depend on your eyes when your imagination is out of focus."
- Mark Twain |
snilsson Regular user Stockholm, Sweden 186 Posts |
Partizan, please give my message a second chance. I can assure you that every word is there for a reason. When writing about things that are dear to my heart, I try to express myself with accuracy and precision.
|
irossall Special user Snohomish, Washington 529 Posts |
Quote:
On 2004-08-23 15:02, snilsson wrote: I couldn't disagree more with this statement. Real Magic depends entirely on Presentation not method. How an effect is acomplished is of no importance to an audience but how an effect is presented is most important. Magic without purpose is not very Magical but spin a story around the effect and input your personality and what may have been nothing more than a curious puzzle now becomes Magic. Magic is a state of mind and the mind, like modeling clay, can be manipulated and made to momentarily suspend reality in favor of belief in real Magic. The Magician creates the Magic, not the props or the method. Iven
Give the gift of Life, Be an Organ Donor.
|
snilsson Regular user Stockholm, Sweden 186 Posts |
Iven, trying to create a perfect mystery doesn't need to clash with the rest of the presentation. David Copperfield's Flying is a good example. Much of this routine is about disproving possible methods. This doesn't take way from the other elements of the presentation. If Joe Average could figure out a plausible solution, David Copperfields flying would be much less appealing.
Presenting a perfect mystery is only part of performing good magic. But it's an important part. You could even argue that it's the one thing that is truly unique to our profession. This is why nanobots, smart ink and clones won't make a dent in our art. These things might be amazing and difficult to understand; really good magic paints a picture of the impossible. |
Jonathan Townsend Eternal Order Ossining, NY 27297 Posts |
About DC's flying: Much of this routine is about disproving possible methods.
The important half of the whole staging etc is the imagery of underwater. From the lighting to the set design and choreography, the very look of of the thing is set up to suggest a pool. Even the fish tank used later on is congruent to this image. Why do folks spend so much time on the trite while ignoring the bigger picture of how the magic needs to have context?
...to all the coins I've dropped here
|
snilsson Regular user Stockholm, Sweden 186 Posts |
Jonathan, I fail to understand your remark. Why do you suggest that folks ignore the bigger picture? The name of this thread is "Exposure that heightens the effect". Discussing one particular aspect of magic performance doesn't mean that you ignore the rest. Let's get back to the subject. It's an important and interesting one.
|
Jonathan Townsend Eternal Order Ossining, NY 27297 Posts |
The feeling of magic does not need to associate with the feeling of clever or complicated.
There is no proof of a feeling. There is only the meaning of the moment. The moment you describe in the Dunninger thing amounts to what Ramsay use to do. He would work with what the audience probably knows, and use that to make a better magic moment later. Those where his feints. The tactic is very simple once you pick the context.
...to all the coins I've dropped here
|
Patrick Differ Inner circle 1540 Posts |
I don't like disproving; I think it's a mistake. The example of Dunninger showing the audience the key...that's criminal where I come from. Think about every other magician that performed the rings for those people after Dunninger's mistake. It was wrong.
Also, centering a performance around disproving methods doesn't work for me. I think it only makes the "puzzle." It lacks that something that makes the difference. It may work for others. But I'll pose an idea...there are ways to "disprove" without being blatant. Dig deeper. ...Patrick
Will you walk into my parlour? said the Spider to the Fly,
Tis the prettiest little parlour that ever you did spy; The way into my parlour is up a winding stair, And I've a many curious things to show when you are there. Oh no, no, said the little Fly, to ask me is in vain, For who goes up your winding stair -can ne'er come down again. |
dpe666 Inner circle 2895 Posts |
Quote:
On 2004-08-24 15:16, MRD Friday wrote: Why was it wrong? To the audience, he was now doing something even more impossible than what they had seen other magicians do. Therefore, in the eyes of the audience, he was a better magician than the others. |
Jonathan Townsend Eternal Order Ossining, NY 27297 Posts |
Ah... the begged question(s)
Okay, if one ring has a gap, I guess they all do. What's the magic? Without a specific context set up by the performer...
...to all the coins I've dropped here
|
Patrick Differ Inner circle 1540 Posts |
I could be wrong.
I'm not looking at it from just Dunninger's performance. I'm looking at the consequences of his actions. Dunninger's performance may have been astounding because he convincingly disproved the use of the key, which is strong in the eyes of his audiences. However he sets a precident of exposure, and I'm not sure if this is the right road to take. Once he exposes the key, all other ring routines shown to members of HIS audiences by other magicians (at different times, perhaps) are seriously weaker in their eyes because they know "how it's done." This cannot be good. Maybe it's good for Dunninger, but not much else. And it's Dunninger's fault, not the other magician's. Dunninger exposed the method and weakened the other performer in the eyes of the spectator. Is exposure the road we want to take? Is this the way to make magic better in the eyes of our guests? Or can we dig deeper for methods and presentations that will accomplish these goals? ...Patrick
Will you walk into my parlour? said the Spider to the Fly,
Tis the prettiest little parlour that ever you did spy; The way into my parlour is up a winding stair, And I've a many curious things to show when you are there. Oh no, no, said the little Fly, to ask me is in vain, For who goes up your winding stair -can ne'er come down again. |
landmark Inner circle within a triangle 5194 Posts |
See the thread on the Great Dumbunni who was so clever that he used a key ring with two gaps.
Jack Shalom
Click here to get Gerald Deutsch's Perverse Magic: The First Sixteen Years
All proceeds to Open Heart Magic charity. |
Patrick Differ Inner circle 1540 Posts |
I heard that an internet magic store was going to knock-off that idea of two gaps. Problem is that they don't know who to knock off! Who came up with that clever idea anyway?
Landmark...I'm still laughing at your post! Thank you! Patrick Differ
Will you walk into my parlour? said the Spider to the Fly,
Tis the prettiest little parlour that ever you did spy; The way into my parlour is up a winding stair, And I've a many curious things to show when you are there. Oh no, no, said the little Fly, to ask me is in vain, For who goes up your winding stair -can ne'er come down again. |
meilechl Special user 657 Posts |
Of course it heightens the effect. Did anyone see 'Don't Try This At Home' where Penn first disproves all the methods of running a truck over Teller? It makes the mystery even stronger. All sucker tricks use exposure to make the magic stronger.
|
Jonathan Townsend Eternal Order Ossining, NY 27297 Posts |
Penn first disproves all methods?
ALL methods? Really? You mean you believe they used magic? Then what about the ..... (someone thought the gag was exposed in an earlier post, even though P&T exposed the trick on their special) What you make efforts to demonstrate are the things you will be asked to repeat. What you ask them to suspect, they will when you are least prepared. What you omit is what they will deduce or infer. It's a mugs game. You can be a mug if you want. Do you really want to taint their innocent eyes? What is the benefit to you? What is the true cost to them?
...to all the coins I've dropped here
|
The Magic Cafe Forum Index » » Food for thought » » Exposure that heightens the effect (0 Likes) |
[ Top of Page ] |
All content & postings Copyright © 2001-2024 Steve Brooks. All Rights Reserved. This page was created in 0.05 seconds requiring 5 database queries. |
The views and comments expressed on The Magic Café are not necessarily those of The Magic Café, Steve Brooks, or Steve Brooks Magic. > Privacy Statement < |