tik tok magic – MagicShow.Tips

Do a Back Flip!

A while ago I wrote about a thing that kids do, which is asking performer to “do a back flip”. I happened to me while I was performing in Nebraska and I came up with a trick to do when if someone asks me that. After I came up with the trick, no one asked me to do a back flip…until last week!

It happened, and I got to finally do the trick and it hit hard!!

So then I decided to try to manufacture a kid asking me to do a back flip. What I’m doing is simply saying, “Is there anything you want to see me do?” It gets them to say “do a back flip” about 1 out of 6 times, which is good and feels organic.

Here’s the odd surprise, people have been asking me for some pretty specific magic tricks…and magic tricks that aren’t stereotype magic tricks. I had a kid ask me to “do a trick where the a ring comes off of a rope”. I think that people are exposed to a lot more magic than magicians think they are. Magic is really good for social media and especially things like TikTok, and combine that with things like America’s Got Talent and you have a very sophisticated audience you’re performing for.

I think the notion that you’re the first magician people are seeing is kinda false. They see tons of magic, maybe not in person, but audiences are definitely exposed to magic! That’s why you need to do good magic and not lame, tired ol’ tricks.

-Louie

My 60% Rule

It doesn’t take much to create an “original” magic trick…well it depends on your definition of original. My goal for at trick to be original is 60% unique. How I came up with this number is there are really three parts to a magic trick. You have the method, prop and routine. If I can get two of the three, then it fits my criteria as original, however the goal is all three.

Here’s a trick that fits my 60% rule:

@louiefoxx
Fun Canadian Money Fact! #funfact #canadianmoney #fiftydollars #canada #mapleleaf #louiefoxx #maplesyrup #waffles #magictrick #magician
♬ original sound – Louie Foxx

At it’s core, it’s a thumb tip production from a bill and this part isn’t original. However the presentation and props are unique to me. I honestly don’t think there’s anyone producing syrup out of Canadian money…but there could someone that I’m not aware of.

Having metrics makes things easy. Without the rules and the goal, it’s really hard to create.

-Louie

Coin Flourish

I’ve always thought Charlie Frye‘s trick Frye’s Chips was a great little flourishy thing. I didn’t like that I was made as a poker chip and not a coin. A little while ago I found a coin that I could do the flourish with and finally put together the gimmick:

@louiefoxx Lazy day got me practicing dumb stuff! #balance #cointrick #magic #numistmatist #practice #closeupmagic ♬ I Can’t Stop (Ekali Tribute) – Flux Pavilion

After trying it out, I do like it with a coin much more than a poker chip!

-Louie

Key and Ring…

The trick “Stirring Silver” by Jay Sankey has always fascinated me. I can do the trick, but really only do it in impromptu situations when I need to bang out something quick. I’m not sure what I don’t like about it, I think that ring spends way too much time on the handle of the spoon in the first phase. I do understand that it needs to be there for how the trick works.

Here’s a version of it that I came up with and I posted a video of it on Tik Tok a bit ago:

@louiefoxx Magic trick while waiting for the store to open… #waiting #ring #key #sleightofhand #magictrick @therealjaysankey #magician #louiefoxx #closeupmagic ♬ original sound – Louie Foxx

The method is different from Jay’s routine, but the effect is visually the same. The challenge with a key is with the shaft soo much shorter than a spoon you have less room to hide things, which is why I had to go in a different direction with the method.

I think the trick came out well, but it’s something I’ll probably never do in my actual work.
-Louie

Chop Cup Routine

One magic trick that I’m fascinated by is the Cup and Ball trick. Most of these are “Chop Cup” routines as that reduces a lot of sleight of hand. Unfortunately many of these routines are very similar and use the gimmick in the exact same way. My Cee Lo routine uses the gimmick as a holdout, and not to replace sleight of hand and it’s a great, working cup and ball(s)/chop cup routine.

I’ve had an idea in a notebook for while and finally got around to figuring it out and posted it on Tik Tok. Also if you’re on Tik Tok, give me a follow @LouieFoxx

Here’s the routine:

@louiefoxx Magic trick from my hotel room! #magic #dollarbill #twentydollars #magictrick #dollarbillchallenge #closeupmagic #surpriseending #chopcup #magician ♬ original sound – Louie Foxx

What’s interesting about it is that it doesn’t have the traditional chop cup move where you shake the ball in the cup. It also has a final load not being a physically larger version of the ball, but the bill changing to a larger denomination bill. I don’t know if that ending is better than producing a bigger item…

It was fun to get another idea out of a notebook!

-Louie

What Qualifies as Original?

I’ve recently started posting on Tik Tok, and you can follow me there @LouieFoxx. When I post magic trick videos, I have some criteria. The trick has to have something original about it. I’m not just buying a trick like the card to watch trick and doing it.

@louiefoxx

What qualifies as original?

It could be in method, presentation, or prop. For example, I do a trick that was popular on instagram in 2020 where you make a pen float and pass a hoop over it. The original angle is that I’m doing it with a chicken wing. Then there’s some tricks that are 100% original like this one:

@louiefoxx Kitchen Magic with Louie Foxx! #magic #magictrick #egg #whiskey #magician #magicshow #fyp #foryourpage #kitchenmagician ♬ original sound – Louie Foxx

My goal is to use Tik Tok as an outlet for ideas that I have, and ones that I’ll probably never do in my show, but I think still has some sort of merit. My goal is to publish a trick every 2-3 days, which is a lot!

We’ll see how long I can keep it up.

-Louie