Economy of Motion…

Yesterday was a building day over here. Just me with my headphones in listening to music and working on building props for other performers. I’m very thankful for days when I can spend the day just building props without any distractions.

It’s also nice to be able to get ahead and build some extra things so I have some things in stock. Today I managed to be able to get a couple of extra Take Up Reels finished, so now I have some in stock and can ship them out immediately.

take up reel vanishing birdcage

Before 2020, I really didn’t keep anything in stock, and everything was made to order. At that point you could really only get my magic tricks from Hocus-Pocus.com. After the venues closed in 2020 I started offering my magic trick for sale here and have a lot more in stock, that’s ready to ship out than I did two years ago.

It’s been great to learn that making items in batches, even when I only need to ship out one of them is a HUGE timesaver. It’s like in sleight of hand, it comes down to the economy of motion. With magic manufacturing, making four of them is usually the same effort as making one.

Now look at what you do in performing. Do you do several different shows, that may share a prop? Would it be easier and ultimately save you a lot of time if you had two of that prop, so you didn’t need to move it case to case? Could you have more than one of your show costume to save time taking it to the cleaners? All of these things could potentially save you a lot of time when you add up all the wasted time over the months and years.

-Louie

Economy of Motion…

Recently I added the Silk in Light Bulb trick to my show. Essentially a silk that has disappeared reappears inside a light bulb. To do this or similar “in light bulb” type of tricks I’ve always used glass light bulbs. I hollowed out real glass light bulbs and used those. These look great and work … Continue reading “Economy of Motion…”

Recently I added the Silk in Light Bulb trick to my show. Essentially a silk that has disappeared reappears inside a light bulb. To do this or similar “in light bulb” type of tricks I’ve always used glass light bulbs. I hollowed out real glass light bulbs and used those. These look great and work great, but travelling with them is a pain as they are fragile.


About a week ago I was talking to another magician and he mentioned he started using plastic light bulbs. These have the metal base that unscrews giving you access to the inside. I ordered some and they showed up a couple days later. They look great, and I’m glad I ordered them, it’s going to make travelling much easier.


One problem with this style light bulb is how long it takes to unscrew it. There’s too much threading on the base:

silk in lightbulb magic trick

I took my Dremel and sanded off some of the threading:

Now it unscrews in less than one twist. That speeds up the moment from when the audience realizes it’s the silk in the light bulb to when you are displaying it.


Look at your show and figure out where there’s wasted procedural motion. Once you find that, try to figure out ways to eliminate it. That will tighten up your show.

Too Much Economy of Motion

When I was a kid I remember someone telling me the secret to sleight of hand is “Economy of Motion“. Using the least amount of motion to get the job done. I agree with that…for the secret stuff. However moving efficiently isn’t always what you want the audience to see. A good example is in … Continue reading “Too Much Economy of Motion”

When I was a kid I remember someone telling me the secret to sleight of hand is “Economy of Motion“. Using the least amount of motion to get the job done. I agree with that…for the secret stuff. However moving efficiently isn’t always what you want the audience to see.


A good example is in my card to wallet routine. I can open and remove the wallet too easily and quickly. When I do the trick I have to remind my self to slow down and fumble a bit, like it’s the first time I’ve done this.


Slowing down also lets the audience catch up with you, or even get ahead of you. I want them to think, “no way that’s my card…wait, it’s going to be my card…” when I do card to wallet. If I want that, I need to give them time to think it!