talkmagic.co.uk

Here's some of my live performances from school hope you enjoy =P



Svengali Routine 1
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k6ywH3TdZbU

Svengali Routine 2
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DonnWkLL8wQ

Cosmos
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3Fca1hC-TGI

Very good performances.

You have a very good performance style. Very confident, clear, and nicely presented.

However, i think the svengali routines need some work. There are people on this forum that would be better at giving advice about structuring routines than me, but a few pointers.

- You need to make some kind of magical gesture, when the queen is supposedly jumping through the pack.

- Don't reveal the queen so often, and so quickly, you need to build up the moments more. To me there were bits that screamed TRICK DECK.

- For example when you cut the pack into 4 piles and had a pile selected to reveal queen on top. Gather them up, cut a few times, then divide into 4 again, instead of having another pile pointed to streight away. That will make it stronger.

THIS IS NOT CRITICISM, JUST ADVICE.

I agree with everything said above.

Here would be my suggestion if you MUST have 4 separate decks with queens on top. Instead of doing them together, pick up one pile at a time, revealing the queen, then put it back face down. Set the deck back near your waste and cleanly leave it be, then continue with the next few decks. This leaves it more open to subjective observation what method is being employed, which makes it more difficult for the laymen.

As expected I shall have rather a lot to say about this. However I shall say it later. For the moment I would suggest to Syaoran to go to www.marklewisentertainment.com and then go to the trade show page. A good way down the page he will be able to link to a videoclip. I think he will get great interest from it.

After that he can go to the "For magicians only" page and he will see more information about this routine.

I expect he will not be able to link to it from this page since there seems to be something embedded here which stops you from going to other websites. However if he takes the trouble to type it into his little bar thing that I do not know the name of he will get to it in the usual way. It will be worth the trouble I can assure him.

Oh. The link works after all and everything is hunky dory.

I have been a little distracted by impertinent ramblings on other threads but I shall tear myself away to further advise the young man from Alaska even though it is not part of the British Empire.

First I think it is excellent that he performs in school. He should show tricks every chance he gets. That is the way he will get good.

I would advise him to master the sleight known as the Run a little better. He should let his left hand drop a little more to show the falling cards more clearly. He should also turn from side to side as he is showing the cards in this fashion.

He should also tighten up the routine a little better. Make it faster. Actually he needs to get a better routine. I would recommend a certain book to him but it will set off a lot of twitterings from people who have too much time on their hands.

A svengali deck can indeed be used in a performance situation providing there are certain cautions used since the deck is a trifle well known. I am pleased that he is using my spread idea and I have no idea where he got it from. However word seems to have now spread (no pun intended) about the moves in my wondrous book which weren't prevalent until I published them.

But back to my point. By using my spread idea and other moves from my book it will tend to dissuade spectators who know the deck from thinking it is the same thing. Second there are ways of getting over the problem that magicians worry about that people will think you are using a trick deck. A lot of magicians will make the damn silly suggestion that you shouldn't show the deck to be all the same on the grounds that people will think it is a trick deck. They ignore the fact that the strongest reaction comes when the punters see the deck change to all queens and then back again.

Indeed I notice on the videoclip the strongest reaction this young man received was when he showed the deck to be all the same with the spread move. It doesn't surprise me in the slightest that this would be the point where the reaction sets in.

But back to my point. One way of assuaging the problem is to simply say at the beginning "this is a trick deck I purchased in a magic shop" Just that may suffice but if you switch the deck and then leave it on the table people will grab at it to find out how it was faked and they will be amazed to find that the deck is fine and dandy.

There are other subtleties you can use too without having to switch the deck. For example you can make only half the deck change to queens. This shouldn't be hard since the deck consists of only half queens anyway! Then give the deck out to be examined and they are exactly how you said they would be. Half queens and half not. Take them back and make them all queens now and then all different.

Easy. Isn't it.?

And don't cut them into 4 piles. That is pathetic. Cut them into at least 8 or more. Much better. And when you turn up the queens in rapid succession the reaction will be all that you could desire.

And speed up. You have to hold people's attention. If you work too slow you should become a mentalist and put everyone to sleep.

Which reminds me. That is exactly what I am going to right now.

I have heard talk of a rather good book on the subject of svengali by the name of "the long and the short of it". It has improved many a person's sveng routine, so I hear.

The name of the author escapes me, however, I believe there may be a brief mention of said product at the kind gentleman above's website.

Really? How fascinating! I am intrigued and would like to purchase a copy of this wondrous book. Where would I get a copy?

i will research this for you, I hear it really is quite good indeed.
To be honest, most good suppliers would carry such an item as standard stock, even the mighty ellusionist so I am told.
I say standard merely from a stocking point of view, you understand, the book itself is said to excel. I really should chance upon a copy myself one of these days

I nearly forgot, I liked the routine that you presented syaoran
I agree with above posters that more piles can be more impressive, and I also love it that you can also have any number named and count down to it and did not see that there. That and a change in the specs hands.
cheers for posting, keep it up!

I wanted to just say a few things about your performance. I agree with thsoe that have posted before me in saying that you expand your svengali trick too much and that gives away the fact that it obviously is a trick deck. I do, however think that the Cosmos trick was wonderful and was wondering if you would reveal the secret in the restricted section.

monker, perhaps you should read the rules - Cosmos is a marketed trick and as such it cannot be revealed here - or in the MO section.

sorry about that

No worries

monker59 wrote:...the restricted section.

You've got access to the restricted section? And to think I've been waiting patiently for nearly a month (and expect that I'll be doing so for some time to come).