talkmagic.co.uk

How many magician's on here think that some of the card slights, & tricks
are overly complicated.
I no I am pretty new to all this, compared to most of you on here, but, I have both read, & watched
many magician's telling, & teaching us how to make a DL look as natural as possible.
Only then to watch them doing moves with a pack of cards which looks to me like he, or she is doing something
which just doesn't look natural.
I no many of you will say "misdirection" is the key, but having watched some of the card greats.
There is still that unnatural look to many of the more complicated moves.

My own personnel opinion is.
There are hundreds of very good effects out there which can be done with ease, & raise no doubt at all in
the spectators mind that you have just done something which looks very suspicious.

Just curious as to what the general opinion is.

CArl...

For me, it doesn't matter what devious methods are used or how you go about executing moves.

The all important thing is the audience perspective. As long as they see/remember what you want them to, its a job well done.

Some moves are magicians mental masterbation and I will wager are hardly used to lay people. (or I could just be jealous)

Alec

Yes - some things are overly complicated, especially as they should never be seen by the audience. I find a simple "Classic" pass works just as well as any other "better" method with the addition of some well-timed redirection.
What Alec says is correct, some magicians forget this, and what the audience sees is different to the intended effect because the magician is "technically clever" rather then "performance savvy".
Many magis have a view on this, however, whether audiences EXPECT magicians to look "unnatural" is something that I do not know.
Bruce

I do very basic moves and have very high standards when I do card stuff on the street. At the moment, I only do 2 card tricks in my show, and both get very strong reactions with very basic moves (DL, rub a dub vanish, mercury card fold, Ascanio spread). After one performance, in which the card stuff got their usual strong reactions, a teenager who watched the show came up to me and said he liked the show, but I need to work on my DL technique. I don't do anything fancy, but I know my DL doesn't flash or anything. Typical magician of him to make such a comment. Don't worry about impressing magicians with your technique; just make sure your stuff is strong for lay spectators.

many a true word spoken in jest,, and the overall gist of this thread, is seemingly, the end justifies the means.
As far as the lay public is concerned this is true. no question about it. Ive been performing close u p professionally for over twenty three years and i have never had a spectator turn round and say '' well i loved the show, but id substitute the elmsley for a hamman '' .
the4 only time it maters that i have found ,, is when you enter a clubs close up competition,, thats when it doesnt matter how slick and honed for the public the act is, it will be beaten by siomeone using finger flicking regradless of how tedious it is..

ok rant over

alex

Alec Kobain wrote:Some moves are magicians mental masterbation
Alec

Hello Alec,

I don't seem to have come across this move yet

Seriously though, it's interesting to hear what the more experienced amongst us think.

Thanks.

CArl...

PMSL at:

Ive been performing close u p professionally for over twenty three years and i have never had a spectator turn round and say '' well i loved the show, but id substitute the elmsley for a hamman '' .

Ah Alex, given all this destructive YouTube exposure that is destroying our art, I am sure that day will come....
Bruce

I always try to keep everything as simple as possible. Some moves are just far too complicated with the same effect often being achievable in a much simpler way.

But on the other hand, some people enjoy learning complicated moves, for them it's the challenge of mastering those moves that is the magic. At the end of the day, you're out to entertain your audience and as long as you can do that, it doesn't matter how complicated or simple you make things.