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Hi. I have had 'White Star' for some time but can't get my head around it being anything other than very obvious - and as such I have done nothing with it.

Granted i don't play too many crowds (am a family and friends performer) but this seems really obvious to me i.e. not as baffling as 'Out of this world'.

Could be just because i know how it works i think everyone else will but...can anyone confirm to me that they've done it as suggested and got fantastic responses?

Even the YouTube video looks weak. I want to be inspired but am unconvinced. Help!

performed this very effect last nite and the lady started crying. that is how strong it can be. Get behind the story. Believe in it. After all it is true, it did happen. she could not get her head round how she managed such a thing.

White Star is a great effect, and yes, it works. I've only performed it a handful of times but put in the work and present it properly and there is no reason why anyone should get suspicious. Remember, the props can all be handled by the audience at the end; nothing is added or taken away. (I sound like I'm promoting it now!) But yeah, it's all about telling a good story. WS is not an effect you can just pick up and perform; if you put the work in, it will be a rewarding experience for all.

bradderz123 wrote:Could be just because i know how it works i think everyone else will but...

BINGO!

I've done White Star a few times and felt like the biggest fraud in the world, but in most cases people have been thoroughly freaked. My most subdued response has been stunned silence.

It all comes down to the presentation - and the fact that the audience doesn't know who these people are or what the point of the exercise will be. For the most part, they're just choosing photos based on an instinctive like/dislike reaction.

Once the reveal hits home and they find out what it's all been about, the method is so foggy that they won't be able to reconstruct it.

Trust me, it plays well!

Pete

I thought it might be me - I'd love to get someone as involved as 'mindpaul' clearly did - I've just printed some stuff off the net about the Titanic to get me going. Thankyou for your inspiration.

This hits every time, whether done for a small gathering of friends or a bigger crowd.

There are a number of subtleties to this that can really make it sing.

I did this in China last weekend to a crowd of about 40 after dinner. It was the last thing I did for them and I am still getting emails from them talking about this. Words like 'meaningful', 'moving',' and 'unbelievable' are common.

Do not underestimate how good this is. Everyone identifies with the story in different ways and it has a lasting effect on them.

I am now making this into a theatre style routine....

My only grumble with things like White Star and From Hell is that themes of the Titanic and Jack the Ripper just seem a bit too 'mainstream' for my liking.

Sure, none of my audiences have ever rolled their eyes and said 'oh, how original', but I feel that more obscure tales give the performer more of a need to spin the yarn, draw audiences in, and make it real.

Just an opinion.

Pedte

I don't own this effect, so cannot comment how people react to it, but don't you think it is bad taste to perform a trick revolving around the death of over 1500 people? It almost seems as though the whole story has a romantic flavour since DeCaprio's movie. Maybe it's just me, I'm not sure, but I don't think, although along the same line, it would work out for something closer to us, say, the genocide in Rwanda? More cards maybe. I can't say I like the premise of it at all, each to their own of course.

History is full of death - as is bizarre magick. If you want to evoke a genuine sense of creepiness into your act, death is probably going to be a central theme.

And it's a lot more credible to relate a true story than to make one up. Hence all the Jack the Ripper routines. It's also bad taste to present a piece of entertainment about the murder of London prostitutes, but the closer to home a subject is, the more involved the audience will become.

Personally, though, I'd prefer to take the audience somewhere they haven't heard of before. Spin a yarn about something completely new to them. And if they choose to Google the name and place after the event, they'll find out it was all real and might actually learn something in the process.


I think it all depends on context too. A tragic accident like the Titanic is far different to an act of mass genocide. It stirs different emotions in the audience and presents the performer in a very different light.

Just my opinion.

Pete

I love these sorts of routines, I think that they can be really interesting. Things like Jack the Ripper and Titanic are great fun because everyone knows the stories, they're true but far enough in history not to be likely to cause any real upset.

I have preformed White Star about eight times and it always plays very well

I use a old fountain pen and a old brooch that's been left in salt water.

I present these in an old pouch and let the spectators choose what they will have, then I let them decide who looks at the first photograph.

It all seems very fare after all it is an experiment

that said it is definitely down to your script and how you present the story

These effects are absolutely excellent. I find one of the cons of being a magician is that you never seem to realise how hard hitting effects will be. I for one get the feeling that spectators will see through all my tricks and it puts one off performing - Out of this world, however is different, it's a fantastic prop and dressing it up with a theme like this works wonders.

My learning style is very visual - I'm suprised something which appears as potentially strong doesn't have someone performing it to gasps of amazement on YouTube - or even better as part of the original purchase.

I appreciate its about adding your own style but at least then you would have a baseline to work to.

Easy effect which allows you to focus on presentation, half an hour on Wikipedia for a little background knowledge always a nice touch. I use sea scented candles and I have the routine timed so that when the cards have been dealt, the dead side's candle is extinguished, this is done by timing the burning of a candle, then severing the end of wick so it will no longer burn yadda yadda fairly straightforward. Take your time and go slow as this is not a explosive reaction effect, let it sink in (no pun intended) and allow them to create a moment for themselves, and don't as a magic friend of mine did, open with this effect, kills a mood, and linking rings not a good follow on....

Chris Tennant

Here are my thoughts and I am ready to take the heat.
I feel OOTW with red/black is boring
I feel sometimes the spectators do not understand just how impossible it really would be to do such a separation


This effect takes a boring effect and makes it a great routine.
I have an original paper from 1912 which you do not see every day.
I add in a Nostradumus by Gaucci.
Not needed, but the number matches the year on the paper
The paper has an article about the sinking
I also have a replica letter talking about disregard of human life of 3rd class passangers.
A lot different then red/black