There’s a growing group of magicians that are anti-technology in their magic. The are against using thing that use electronics, and while I partially agree with them, I don’t completely agree. I agree that you need to have a base in sleight of hand, and be able to make the trick happen if the tech … Continue reading “Phone Book in the Google World…”
There’s a growing group of magicians that are anti-technology in their magic. The are against using thing that use electronics, and while I partially agree with them, I don’t completely agree. I agree that you need to have a base in sleight of hand, and be able to make the trick happen if the tech fails, but I disagree that you shouldn’t use tech.
If we didn’t use technology, then we wouldn’t have latex or plastic thumb tips, they’d still be made of metal. Technology makes magic grow, otherwise we’d still be doing the tricks out of Discoverie of Witchcraft.
While some of those methods are still valid, a lot of them are antiquated. That’s why embracing technology is a good thing. While you don’t have to use electronic methods, you don’t shouldn’t judge others who do.
This morning I upgraded a prop that I’ve been using for years. Current technology allows me to make part of the gimmick smaller, lighter and slightly more durable. The prop was working just fine, so why upgrade it? Simple, by upgrading now when I’m not in a time crunch, like it broke while I’m on … Continue reading “Upgrade Your Show!”
This morning I upgraded a prop that I’ve been using for years. Current technology allows me to make part of the gimmick smaller, lighter and slightly more durable. The prop was working just fine, so why upgrade it?
Simple, by upgrading now when I’m not in a time crunch, like it broke while I’m on tour allows me to make sure I get it right. I’m making a lateral replacement, it’s an actual upgrade.
As a general rule, upgrading before replacement is required will get you better results. Upgrading along with proper maintenance of your props is essential to avoid them failing during your show.
Last night I went out and saw Michael Carbonaro at the Moore Theater in Seattle. It was a great show, and I highly recommend checking it out. The show was a great showcase for his personality, and all of the tricks were solid! I’ve always said one of the things that takes you up a … Continue reading “Michael Carbonaro LIVE”
Last night I went out and saw Michael Carbonaro at the Moore Theater in Seattle. It was a great show, and I highly recommend checking it out. The show was a great showcase for his personality, and all of the tricks were solid!
I’ve always said one of the things that takes you up a level as a performer is tightness. How you get from one thing to another, and Michael did it expertly. There were no slow spots in the show, or down time.
Eliminating downtime between tricks makes your show a show, and not a collection of acts. It’s not easy to come up with transitions that make sense, but the work is worth it!
One of the things I’ve been doing over the last few years is getting rid of props that I don’t like, and replacing them with custom versions that are made how I want them. I’m sure you have something that you use, that just not quite right for how you handle it. Maybe you’d like … Continue reading “Custom Props…”
One of the things I’ve been doing over the last few years is getting rid of props that I don’t like, and replacing them with custom versions that are made how I want them. I’m sure you have something that you use, that just not quite right for how you handle it. Maybe you’d like the prop an inch longer, two pounds lighter, or whatever.
Having a 3D printer has made doing a lot of this very easy. I can print something, and if it’s not perfect I can easily tweak the design and reprint it. For example, I 3D printed all the props for my bubble act.
There are a few things that I can’t easily do at home. One of the things is my table top. I love it for when I’m actually working on the table top, but not for stage show where basically just holds props. For my stage show the table top is about an inch too short and I don’t like how everything sits. I just ordered a new custom size table top from Viking Magic:
I got a nice bonus with the table top, besides being the size I want for my stage show, it’s also about a pound and a half lighter than my other table top! That means I can pack a little bit more in my case when I fly.
When I’m out watching magic shows, whenever possible I like to stand in the back and watch. I don’t do it because I don’t want to be part of the audience, or feel I’m better than anyone, I do it because I want to see the show. One thing that happens with local acts is … Continue reading “Keep It Up (Literally)”
When I’m out watching magic shows, whenever possible I like to stand in the back and watch. I don’t do it because I don’t want to be part of the audience, or feel I’m better than anyone, I do it because I want to see the show. One thing that happens with local acts is that they don’t realize how much of their show can’t be see from the 3rd row.
Let’s start with the worst case scenario, you are performing on the floor and the audience is also seated on the floor in multiple rows. If anything happens on your table, it’s really only visible to the first two rows. Yep that means all the action in your cups and balls is really only seen by a fraction of your audience.
Oh, I should clarify what I mean by happening on your table. By this I mean a prop on the table, like a dye box, not something flat like a card. Something lying flat will never be visible to anyone unless you have video projection.
Now let’s look at a better scenario, you are performing on a raised stage. Great, if something happens on your table, it is now visible. However you need to be aware that anything below your knees is invisible. Here’s an example of a group of cloggers I worked with recently, look at the picture:
How much of their clogging can I see from the 4th row?
None of it!
What does this mean to me as a magician? Basically it means I either need to elevate myself, or all the action needs to happen above my bellybutton.
Whenever I work with an act I always try to watch their promo video. I also do this whenever someone posts their “new” promo video on social media. I do my best to watch them all the way through, but I would say I bail on about 60% of them halfway through. Why don’t I … Continue reading “Good Audio…”
Whenever I work with an act I always try to watch their promo video. I also do this whenever someone posts their “new” promo video on social media. I do my best to watch them all the way through, but I would say I bail on about 60% of them halfway through.
Why don’t I watch them all the way through?
It’s simple, they are really bad. For me the make or break thing for a promo video is good audio, with video quality coming is second. With all the HD cameras now and how cheap they are, there’s no reason you video should have the resolution of a 1980’s sitcom.
Let’s get back to the audio, which is the big one. If the audio isn’t clear, you are better off not having any audio. There are tons of promo videos I’ve seen from comedy magicians, and you can’t understand what they are saying…what’s the point?
I was guilty of having bad audio, until I figured out how to do it. I now record my audio with a voice recorder.
There are two ways to do it, directly off the soundboard, or off of a mic that plugs into the voice recorder. Personally I prefer the mic as it gets my voice clearly (most of the time) and it also picks up the person on stage and audience reactions. I can then mix this with the audio that the camera takes and have audio that’s easy to understand on my promo.
The other night I did a corporate gig and before the stage show I did some roving during the cocktail hour. Personally I prefer to do this than not do it at a corporate event, as it basically lets me be my own “opening act”. People start to warm up to me before the show. … Continue reading “Solid Background Helps…”
The other night I did a corporate gig and before the stage show I did some roving during the cocktail hour. Personally I prefer to do this than not do it at a corporate event, as it basically lets me be my own “opening act”. People start to warm up to me before the show.
When doing roving magic, I’m always looking for miracles to make happen. Things that aren’t part of my normal close up set. Typically these use things that are in the performing environment. The round tables in this room had a table cloth with a square cloth napkin in the middle. I’m assuming a center piece was on the napkin at some point. That led to a miracle!
I was performing for a group. I asked a guy to name any card. He said 10 of Diamonds. I handed him the deck, he shuffled them tossed them in the air so they landed on the table, and his named card ended up under the middle of the napkin!
How did I do it? I remember watching Eugene Burger’s video on Matt Schulien’s Fabulous Card Discoveries.
On that VHS tape he did Matt’s Card Under Tablecloth and that’s basically what I did. I did have to adjust it a little bit for the situation. That’s where having a solid background in different tricks and sleight of hand moves comes in very handy! This trick was the talk of my roving set and was totally worth the risk of trying something I’d never done before.
Several years ago I went and saw Kreskin perform a the Pantages Theater in Tacoma, WA. He’s an amazing performer and I highly recommend checking out his show if you get a chance. At the end of the show he got a standing ovation from the audience! He deserved the standing ovation, and he worked … Continue reading “Last Night I Pulled a Kreskin…”
Several years ago I went and saw Kreskin perform a the Pantages Theater in Tacoma, WA. He’s an amazing performer and I highly recommend checking out his show if you get a chance. At the end of the show he got a standing ovation from the audience!
He deserved the standing ovation, and he worked for it. By worked for it, at the end of the show, he stood, arms outstretched and waited. People clapped, eventually some stood. Kreskin didn’t move. Eventually everyone was standing clapping!
That’s something very important I learned from watching Kreskin. You have to wait for them to stand up. They aren’t going to instantly leap to their feet like other performers bragging will make it sound like. Go see virtually any show that gets a standing ovation, it’s a slow burn. Some stand, then others, it’s a wave that takes a few moments. My advice is that if you feel a standing ovation coming, wait for it!
Last night at the Seattle Magic Club, I got talking about “improvised” card magic. What that means is magic where you don’t have a formal plan and kinda figure it out while you are going. I got into doing this style of trick through some books by Justin Higham. It’s an interesting style, and it … Continue reading “Improvised Card Magic”
Last night at the Seattle Magic Club, I got talking about “improvised” card magic. What that means is magic where you don’t have a formal plan and kinda figure it out while you are going. I got into doing this style of trick through some books by Justin Higham.
It’s an interesting style, and it works out your brain while you perform. In a nutshell, what you are doing it looking for things you can do while you are doing other tricks. Let’s say you are doing Triumph and when you spread the cards at the end, you notice 3 kings together in the deck, that’s something you may be able to use later in an improvised trick.
The key to this is that you don’t always do something. For example, let’s say I have the three kings at the bottom of the deck, but the 4th never comes up, then I don’t do the trick.
While talking to some of the magicians about this style of performing, one commented that it’s probably hard to think that quick. It is, but the more you do it, the easier it is. Also when you remember that no trick is an acceptable outcome, then you can’t lose!
I recommend you check out Justin Higham’s books on this and try it out!
Last week I was hanging out with some magicians and while we were jamming we stumbled upon an idea. What we were doing with this idea at the restaurant wasn’t very sophisticated, but we got the general idea down. The next morning I got up and made a quick 3D model of what we wanted … Continue reading “From an Idea to a Physical Trick in Under 18 Hours”
Last week I was hanging out with some magicians and while we were jamming we stumbled upon an idea. What we were doing with this idea at the restaurant wasn’t very sophisticated, but we got the general idea down.
The next morning I got up and made a quick 3D model of what we wanted the trick to look like. I printed it, and it wasn’t quite right. I banged out a Version 2 and it still needed a little bit of tweaking. Within 18 hours of having the idea, and me sleeping about half of that time, I had an ideal working model!
In their current form, they look like a Tenyo Magic product and the next step will be to have them made in metal.
Being able to produce these in a physical form tells me a lot about the idea and how it will actually work. Versus it basically dying in a notebook. Knowing how to use a 3D printer is a game changer for magicians!
