OddBall - Marc Oberon

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Postby StevieJ » Mar 23rd, '07, 02:25



I get what you're saying MagicBill,
I was thinking of doing the same thing.

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Postby IAIN » Mar 23rd, '07, 09:46

the thing is though, its not about performing this to friends or family really...though, yes, its a good practice ground usually...

do this to a small audience, ask each person to take one ball, and not even look at it themselves, build this up into a genuine PERFORMANCE and a display of your "skills", and you'll never question the props ever again...

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Postby StevieJ » Mar 23rd, '07, 10:34

Yep, definitely, as I said with the right situation and a well controlled performance, it should never be about the balls. There should be no heat on your balls at all. The whole thing should be about you connecting with the specs I suppose. But I just don't know why the balls don't at least look like they are made of the same material, would that be so hard?

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Postby IAIN » Mar 23rd, '07, 11:12

doesnt having the heat on your balls make you sterile? :)

anyway, in answer, i dunno...but im not fussed...you could always try painting them with some silver acrylic paint i suppose?

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Postby seige » Mar 23rd, '07, 11:22

This is at the stage of nitpicking now, I think...

The actual colour of the balls isn't important at all.

But it it's such a big deal, clean them with alcohol and spray them with white gloss acrylic paint.

But seriously, perform this once to strangers, and you'll not find the additional work necessary.

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Postby Martin Le Guerre » Mar 23rd, '07, 11:27

Reading through all the comments I'm starting to form some vague notions of how this might work. I've already got and used Body Language quite successfully though I've ditched the supplied gimmick in favour of a more common version now widely in circulation, the newest version of which works far better than the original gimmick supplied with BL.

In Body Language the balls all look and feel the same, the only significant observable difference to a spectator being the colour.

So I'm starting to get the feeling that there's not much to be gained for me by buying Oddball as well. Does anyone disagree who knows both versions of this?

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Postby IAIN » Mar 23rd, '07, 11:31

i'd say, rather than try and reverse engineer the effect, buy it, and revel in its simplicity... :D

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Postby Farlsborough » Mar 23rd, '07, 12:10

Hi Martin, I don't own Body Language but I do know it's method.

To be honest, now you've bought BL I see no reason why you would really need to buy Oddball. For me, Oddball was the better choice because a) it's significantly cheaper and b) whilst I do own the "common gimmick", in my circle of friends who I largely perform to, it is out of the ordinary and would be noticed and suspected.

Body Language is a really good method I think, I just think £50 is a lot to ask for it and I don't have £50 to spend on one effect! Because of that and the other problem I mentioned, I actually felt Kurotsuke was a better option for me (to be honest I still use this regularly as it can be done with sweets, or any impromptu items) but the extra performance flexibility it gives, Oddball was a good choice for me. If, however, you're happy with Body Language and it is not out of place for you to use the "gimmick", I wouldn't bother with it.

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Postby magicofthemind » Mar 28th, '07, 09:23

Can anyone please tell me if this uses the same method explained by Ali Bongo at the last Magic Circle Summer School?

Barry

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Postby I.D » May 15th, '07, 12:05

I dont see what all the fuss is about. I got this this morning from Mike Danata. There are 4 white balls and a black ball. The one small 'discrepancy' is not going to be noticed by the audience as you clearly show them all the balls before you begin!!

Because you are not trying to hide anything they are unlikely to question the props..

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Postby magicofthemind » May 15th, '07, 12:19

Marc demonstrated and explained this in his lecture at The Magic Circle last night. He credited Ali Bongo as an earlier inventor of the same effect.

The "off-white" balls looked perfectly OK on stage and on the large screen. I'm sure the golf-size balls that Ali uses would be easier for the performer, but no doubt more detectable for the participants.

Barry

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Postby Mahoney » May 15th, '07, 23:49

I agree that the difference between the balls is not a big issue. However, it does disappointed me. The product supplied is not finished to a high standard. Yes, it works. Yes, it is good enough, but it is not finished. All I'm saying is that these cuts are obviously made to save money. I don't feel like it's as complete a product that it could have been.

But like I've said, yes, it is a good little effect.

Andrew
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Postby magicmonkey » May 16th, '07, 11:20

yes, things may have been done a certain way to save money, who knows....this is probably why you got a nice effect at a good price!

Things were kept simple for a reason. What do you want for 10-15 quid, a DVD, a hammered leather pouch, 4 gold encrusted pearls and an onyx stone?

I have this, I am happy with what I received.
It does what it should...If you get busted using this, then you need to practise a little spectator management.

Not aimed at anyone in particular, just observations.

not a fan of sigs, so I won't bother adding o..... oh
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Postby greedoniz » May 16th, '07, 11:34

I have to agree with magic monkey here. I have performed this many times since getting it and not once has anyone even questioned the props at all.
This effect really is more a performance piece than most effects as you need to sell a 'fake' method to how you are able to find the black ball. If you sell this method then they will not even be thinking about the props at all. Most of the reactions I have experienced are the spectators waxing lyrical about how they've heard about peoples 'tells' or asking me for further knowledge on how to read body language.
I really think that if you are being caught out on this effect then this isn't either for you or you need to work on the presentation a bit.

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Postby Mahoney » May 16th, '07, 14:21

I'm not worried about being 'caught out', I just think the balls could have been better. It is fine as it comes (I was well aware of how htey would look too after reading htis thread so I wasn't surprised). It just disappoints me that many magic props and gimmicks are poorly finished. My point is that while it does its job very well and the ball thing really is a non-issue, I just feel that the cosmetic enhancements that could have been made, have been skimped on.

It's like buying a silk with scruffy edges.

I am however, happy with the product I recieved, and I really like it.

Andrew
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