talkmagic.co.uk

I'd like to know everyone's views on how convenient their tricks are in regards to pocket space and reset time.

If you're a stroller or table hopper,do you consider 10-20-30-40-50-60 seconds of private reset time to be too much?Do you keep it in your routine anyways based on how effective the trick is itself?

Same with pocket space.I feel that most people stick to their cards and coins because they're more impromptu and you can perform 1000s of tricks just with a normal deck and normal coins taking up absolutly minimum pocket space.

I just want a magi's input on what your own personal philosophies are in regards.What's too much?What's just enough.What are you working with at the moment?

I think the main reason I ask is that when I do gigs I always end up with every pocket on me full of props and makes it a real pain to reach for things.So a lot of the time I just tend to stick with the cards for this reason

30 seconds reset away from anyone is acceptable for me. I normally have something in every pocket, perform most or all of them & then reitre to my case, empty & re-set anything that needs doing & 30 seconds should be enough. Anything which needs onger prep I either do at home beforehand (envelopes etc) or I don't do that effect. Real workers should be quick to re-set I think, otherwise it's eating into your performance time & that isn't great for whoever is paying for you.

When i was still performing magic i always had a max reset time of 30 secs but tried to use effects that reset quicker. I always carried a maximum of 12 effects with me and that was more than enough for reception and dinner. By choosing carefully i avoided the problem of over stuffed pockets.

It's funny that whenever you read about a new trick with the reset only being 30 seconds you initially think it's good but whenever I'm out strolling or hopping I find that 30 seconds is an eternity especially when a trip to the loo is the only way of doing it privately.

Most of my material is instant reset but I'm currently doing a coin vanish to a box of matches inside another 2 nested matchboxes.It's such a great routine and I'm fond of my presentation.The only gripe is the bloody well reset and pocket space.

I aim to reset everything in 30 seconds. So I can just walk from one table to the next in the restaurant and be ready to go. Longer resets are only needed if something goes horribly wrong, e.g. Mnemonica deck gets accidentally shuffled.

I have 8 pockets with tricks in but they aren't bulky. I only do a couple of card tricks. None of my tricks need time to reset so I am instantly ready for the next set of people.

I've seen magicians who wander off after every table to reset and I think it looks bad & suspicious.

I think that this is another case of magicians overthinking the issue.

If you are a table hopper and have to wander off after every table to reset it is inconvenient but really, don't think the customers notice, they don't. If you are working reestaurants the punters have not come in to see a magician, they have come in to eat a meal with friends and familly. You are hardly noticeable to them unless you get a noisy reaction from a table.

I, unlike most people, stuff my pockets so that I can perform for the longest possible time without having to reset but a lot of stuff almost resets as I do the tricks.

Apart from cards I do things like Holy Moly, that can be reset betrween tables, sponge balls, this more or less resets itself, sponge rabbits, just a bit of pocket management between tables.

I have recently started to do Wayne Dobsons Ring Flash which does need a little bit of organisation between performances but as you don't want to repeat this too close to the original performance place it is easy to find the time to just stand at the bar or an empty table and do the necessary.

The ID is a simple reset, I do that on the fly and I have screwed up and got to a table to find that I have forgotten to reset it (I always take a peek in to the box before I start the trick which I am currently doing as a mind reading piece). If I have forgotten to reset I just play the trick as "I am going to turn my back and turn one card upside down in this deck, please think about the 52 cards in the deck and tell me which one you have chosen when I turn back....".

I have a place to keep my bag at my regular venue which I go to if I have a major reset to do and the pub has a big garden so if the weather is suitable I go outside to reset.

Hope some of this helps.

ok, I could cram my pockets full of stuff - sometimes I do, but then it just annoys me all night, much better to be decisive and work a few routines / take 30 seconds to switch props during the night - sometimes I do this too, tell myself after an hour, i'll go and switch this for that, etc...

reset time - most of the time there is none - I have to be able to reset at the table, ready for the next table, or as I am walking to the next table. rare effects need a bit more.

The trickiest element of pocket management is when you've got multiple magnetic objects and things (camera, phone, credit cards, etc) that don't like to be near magnets. Keeping everything appropriately separated can be a bit tricky. Magnets are often a bit of a pain. I was at a wedding fair with a big tin of Quality Street on the table to attract people over. After demoing one routine with a (PK) ring I put it down on the table and it flew across and attached itself to the QS tin with a resounding clang. Not good!

Every single routine I do resets as I do it, so I have no need to have reset time. Everything goes back in the pocket it started in when its been used or ditched etc. Theres nothing worse than watching a magician standing in a corner patting down all his pockets. It looks sloppy and unprofessional. Try and routine everything you do so that you don't have any dead time at all.


Mark

I always perfered tricks that self reset and carried only a few items in my pockets. The effects that did require some reset were all one that took but a second to do. Lol at one place I even had the tables set with spoons and forks that I would bring so I could perform bends without the owners getting upset. Got to love Wal-Mart for cheap silver ware