Video – Page 54 – MagicShow.Tips

One of the tricks I’ve always loved is the Haunted Deck. It’s an amazing trick, the first one I ever bought as a kid was horrible, half the deck was gimmicked, and you were attached to it, so it wasn’t the most practical version of the trick. It worked, but it could be better.

This is where innovating comes through, there’s are better ways to do the Haunted Deck, and it’s a good thing we didn’t stop at the version I bought as a kid. A similar version is the one popularized by Eugene Burger, which while similar in method, allowed you to use the deck after the trick. This is a huge leap in the method.

Then you have a version using Loops, which allows you to use a borrowed deck, but can be unreliable as the gimmick is fragile. A few years ago I discovered Haunted 2.0, which fit the bill for me. 100% reliable, allowed me to use the deck before and after the trick, it’s great and the version of the trick that I do. However last week at a magic session a friend of mine showed me an impromptu version. It’s at about the 37 second mark of this video:

I think this version looks amazing and the only reason I haven’t switched to it is that in Haunted 2.0 you don’t have to touch the deck, which is one of the strong points of that version.

If we stopped innovating with “good enough” the Haunted Deck would be a trick that I wouldn’t be doing now. So go out there and make good tricks better!

Solve Problems…

Today I’m working to fix a couple of small things on props in my show. In my show I do shadowgraphy, which is commonly known as hand shadow puppets. This is where you use your hands to make shapes on a wall or a screen. If you’ve never seen it, here’s some historical footage of … Continue reading “Solve Problems…”

One of the issues that I’m having with my screen rig is that the bottom isn’t fixed to the stand. Sometimes if the air conditioning turns on and hits it just right, it will start to pivot a little bit on the stand. While not a huge problem technically from the performers standpoint, as I can easily adjust, it can make it hard for some people in the audience to watch.

My goal today is to make some sort of clip or clips that will hold it in place. Realistically what’s going to happen is I’ll probably create some sort of clamp with magnets, then 3D print a clip to hold it in place. It’s the little things that make big differences in the show and how the audience perceives the show!

Can’t Stop the Hustle, But Maybe You Should…

Oh man, so recently in an Facebook group for magicians someone posted a news report about them with a streaming TV deal. The problem with post it in a magicians group was mainly that it really served no purpose for that group. It was a “Look at how great I am” sort of post, but … Continue reading “Can’t Stop the Hustle, But Maybe You Should…”

Oh man, so recently in an Facebook group for magicians someone posted a news report about them with a streaming TV deal. The problem with post it in a magicians group was mainly that it really served no purpose for that group. It was a “Look at how great I am” sort of post, but more that, in my opinion it’s all smoke and no fire.

I’ll let you watch it and decide for yourself:

So, do you think it’s relevant in a magicians group? I personally don’t and it’s someone trying to inflate their ego and I’m not a fan.

Here’s the nuts and bolts of this. In my opinion he hired someone to do a news report, as there’s no news company’s logo on the video. So far that’s fine, it’s a promo video. Second the news stories is that he’s “shopping” a show to the major streaming sites, which really isn’t news, but still in some sort of promo that’s fine. Next he tagged all three streaming services on it, which is unusual. I’m not an expert in pitching TV shows, but I’ve heard that once you get to the actual pitch, usually things go on lock down so no one swipes your idea. Once it’s out there, someone with a higher profile, more money or connections can steal your idea and get it made.

The big one is that he’s saying he has almost 40K views, which I’m sure he does. This is what he’s selling hard, that he has 40K views in the post. However personally I’d guess he bought those views. Here’s why I think this, the post only has 70 likes/hearts/etc and 5 comments. His rate of engagement is insanely low for having 40K legit views. With my high school math the rate of engagement from the video is something like 0.0018%! That’s not a good rate.

Maybe in May 2019 when this is on Netflix I’ll be eating my words, and I hope I do.

How is this relevant to being a magician? Pretty simple, if we are supposed to be good at the art of deception, at least think about what you are doing. Look at it from all angles. Don’t just buy views, buy likes and comments. Now look at your tricks from all angles, what do you need to cover? Is there a bad angle to that palm? Can you fix it?

Make your magic better than just “good enough”!

Four Dollar Routine…

This week I was on the road performing for a few days. Earlier in the week Barry Mitchell in his Facebook group posted a picture of some kids magic tricks that Target was selling for dollar each. At one point I was at a Target so I picked them up.

Two of the tricks that Target sells are the Ball and Vase and the Burglar Box. The Burglar Box is a clear box that a ball penetrates the bottom of to end up inside. Unlike the Ball and Vase, the Burglar box isn’t the best first trick for a kid as it will take a fair amount of practice to do well.

My initial idea was to buy three of the Burglar Boxes and do some sort of shell game with them. I bought three of them and three Ball and Vases. Here’s the little routine I came up with:

It’s a decent little routine for $4, and a fun little exercise to try to make more out of a beginner’s trick.

Ripping a Deck of Cards…

A few days ago I wrote a post about figuring out trying out my little routine for ripping a deck of cards in half. Now that I’ve done it once and confirmed that people like the bare bones of the trick, I can start to expand up it and work on a routine. Here’s the … Continue reading “Ripping a Deck of Cards…”

A few days ago I wrote a post about figuring out trying out my little routine for ripping a deck of cards in half. Now that I’ve done it once and confirmed that people like the bare bones of the trick, I can start to expand up it and work on a routine.

Here’s the bare bones (the deck ripping trick starts about halfway through):

First thing with a routine is what is it going to reveal about “me”. I used the word me in quotes, because it doesn’t have to be the literal me, it can be what I want to portray on stage as “me”. It’s going to reveal that I hang out with some unusual people. My idea for the opening/hook is:

“When I was younger one of my roomates was a circus strongman. He could do things like rip a phone book in half, take a cast iron frying pan and roll it up like a burrito, open a pickle jar on the first try.
While I lived with him, he helped train me to rip a deck of cards in half”

Another idea for an opening/hook would be:

“I’m always amazed at how many people come up to me to show me a trick they can do. What other profession does this happen in? Imagine after open heart surgery, you wake up and ask the doctor if you can borrow his scalpel to show him that you do a mean amateur appendectomy.”

Both are decent approaches to the presentation of the trick. I think I prefer the first one. I think learning stuff from an old roommate is more relatable than people wanting to show you a card trick. If working at a magic convention, then the second one is probably good.

Ok, so we’ve got the hook, now where to go from there? Tomorrow we’ll start to build the meat of the routine.

Another Day, Another Shell Game Move

A while ago I posted a picture of some newly acquired three shell games sets for my collection of them. Michael of Wack-O-Magic offered me a set of clear walnut shells he had made, but never figured out a use for. He sent me the only two sets he had made. This isn’t the first … Continue reading “Another Day, Another Shell Game Move”

Posted by Louie Foxx on Tuesday, February 19, 2019

This isn’t the first set of clear shells, I also have a set of La Maggiore Cristallina shells, which are beautiful! I never really used them much as they don’t fit into the routine that I do.

With Michael sending me two sets, one set went into the collection and the other set sat on my desk for me to play with. Here’s what I came up with:

Staring at the shells led me to some out of the box thinking that gave me another unique shell game move! I think Terry Seabrooke mentioned how he creates with a prop on an old VHS tape. He said, he puts the prop somewhere where he’ll see it all the time, a place where he’ll basically trip over it every day. That makes him think about the prop in short chunks all day.

I think Terry’s method is a good one, it makes you think about the prop, but you aren’t sitting at a desk having a staring contest with it. I know I’ve come up with many tricks simply using stuff that’s within eyesight of my desk.

Be Social…

One of the things that I think is important to do with magic is to be social. Hang out with other magicians, see what they are doing and learn from it. When I was starting out, there was no internet, so that’s how new tricks got around, someone learned it in another city and they … Continue reading “Be Social…”

Simply knowing what other magicians in your market are doing is HUGE. Personally, it let’s me know what tricks not to do in my show. It also let’s me know who someone is talking about if they saw a magician can can’t remember their name.

Close Up Music?

Recently I was talking to a magician who wanted to use music in a close up set. Lots of magicians have done this. It’s usually done in more formal close up or really a small parlor show and not in a roving magic context. For me one of the early example of this was Jean … Continue reading “Close Up Music?”

More recently this has gained popularity with Shin Lim’s performances on America’s Got Talent. One thing about Shin’s performance is that it’s really not a “Close Up” act, it’s a parlor act and I think a lot of magicians don’t realize that because it feels more intimate on TV. I’m not saying it can’t be done close up, but it’s bigger than most close up.

Back to using music in close up. One of the great things about close up is that you can quickly and easily connect with people, and with music you are staring out with a wall. It’s a “I’m the performer, you are the audience” scenario. There’s nothing wrong with that, but it does make it harder to connect.

Personally I prefer a “we’re in this together” vibe to my show. That is easier to accomplish by talking with people. However, that’s just me, and if we all did everything the same way, the world would be boring.

I’m pretty sure I’ve written about his before, and I’ll say it again, we live in an amazing time to be magicians. You can watch videos of old master magicians perform, or the new upcoming magicians on YouTube. You can stream a magic lecture from your favorite magician without leaving your couch.

While all of this is great, I also thing an important part of being a good magician is “jamming” with other magicians. Not just demonstrating tricks, but playing with magic. When you play and start “riffing” with tricks, some amazing stuff happens!

Go out to your local magic club, meet some people and start jamming, you never know when you’ll stumble upon the next big magic trick!