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Hi thought id post this short coin routine on here, just abit of freestyle, not scripted very well, feel free to comment good or bad! http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tWV-yITpKc0

Okay, how hard do you want it?

Off hand, though, it is a nicely constructed routine...My points will be on subtlety and handling changes. But, it depends on how hard you want it...

Mike.

ok pay atention to your loads the last one just looked like a drop in and was telegraphed worse than bt.
your classic is a bit stiff and watch your hand shapes there also a bit mechanical, thumbs need special atention.

routine nice and well thought out but you need more pauses between the reveals and a couple of times the reveals teleghraphed the vanishes.
the audience needs that mental break point between the vanish and the reaperance otherwise there just going to think you never took the coin in the first place, check anything by paul daniels on utube for some master class training in routine pacing and mental breaks, ie pauses.

Way to many ocins rolls for me it become "Hey look what I can do" rather then magic one or two is ok but to many then you are just showing off.

Magic-al-brighton wrote:Hi thought id post this short coin routine on here, just abit of freestyle, not scripted very well, feel free to comment good or bad! http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tWV-yITpKc0

Some comments from me to you:

1. Your coin roll is fast and smooth, good work
2. You need to slow down your magic. You don't give time for reaction.
3. After your false transfers, you need to relax your "dirty hand". It stiff, in both the first and second transfer. Relax, keep the tention and focus away from the dirt.

Thanks for all the comments, i do listen and take your advice!! I realised it was very rushed. when performing this i use patter so it is not presented in the way it is on this vid. i agree too many coin rolls!! keep your comments coming. Thanks

Michael Jay wrote:Okay, how hard do you want it?

Off hand, though, it is a nicely constructed routine...My points will be on subtlety and handling changes.

But, it depends on how hard you want it...

Mike.

Just be honest mate!! im not offended when magicians critisize, just when normal spectators do then i know im really doin sumthing wrong!!!

Well, magicdiscoman, Markdini and rcarlsen have already covered the bulk of my comments...

First, slow down. You move far too fast and this only allows for spectators to believe what they've always suspected: the hand is quicker than the eye. We, as magicians, know that it is a false statement, but the amount of spectators who are convinced it's true is overwhelming.

Second, a coin roll is visually compelling and can add a flavor of class to a coin routine (especially a one coin routine), but it can also be over-used. Further, I've found that spectators are more appreciative of the coin roll when done a bit more slowly that you are doing it. Yes, you have it smooth and fast, but give it a try in front of specs doing both fast and (a bit more) slow and see which gives you the best reactions from your audience.

Piece by piece:

The French Drop, as stated above, will be more convincing if you relax your right hand. Pause the vid at 10 seconds and take a look at your right hand, particularly your thumb. A very unnatural and uncomfortable look to the hand isn't good. You've got the mechanics and the false transfer appears real, but the right hand then gives it away. Possibly add in a Ramsay subtlety here to drive the point home.

Throwing the coin back and forth isn't a good idea. What is it accomplishing? Okay, for you and me, I know that it accomplishes a repetition, making the vanish a bit more convincing...But, to your spectator, what is it doing? I mean, what purpose does it serve from the opinion of the spectator? It's easy to think like a magician, not so easy to think like a spectator - you have to try to see anything that you do out of their eyes and not yours. Without a reason for tossing the coin back and forth - a reason that the spectators will swallow - it is a very bad presentational mistake.

Pausing at 23 seconds, the left hand and arm are in an unnatural position. Allow the arm to drop to the side of your body and further allow it to swing a bit (when someone drops their arm back down to the side of their body, there is a bit of a swing, rather than just coming to a dead stop, if you catch my drift).

Immediately following, your Kaps subtlety is very good. As you wipe the right hand with the left, it looks good.

Pausing at 27 seconds, take a look at the terrible shape of your left hand. Extremely uncomfortable and very unnatural. This can only serve to draw attention. Your classic palm needs work in this area.

The Kort style reload is good, though.

Again, the tossing back and forth...The false transfer looked good, though, albeit far too fast and your dirty hand is kept natural - good.

The coin through hand - not bad.

Now, this maneuver that you do at 49 seconds - I don't know what the name of this sleight is, but I honestly thought that I was the only magician doing this trick. The up-down motion gives it away, so I strongly suggest that you make it part of the trick. That is to say, don't just go up and down once...It is very obvious at that point as to how the trick works. Instead, add a couple more up and down motions, but each subsequent up and down motion a bit slower and then come to a stop (three, maybe four in all). Yes, the coin is out and positioned on the very first up and down, but the subsequent up and down acts as a misdirectional tool - as if to say that you really have to shake the coin to get it to penetrate the hand. You'll find that the whole maneuver is much more convincing when you add in the extra couple of up and down motions.

The "back through the hand" that immediately follows is given completely away when you come up and touch the dirty hand, dropping the coin at that very second. If you cannot smooth this out, then get rid of it. It isn't deceptive in any way.

The final thumb palm vanish is good, but then destroyed when you bring your hands upward. That simply does not look good and, with the thumb continuing to be tucked in the way that it is, fully unnatural. The thumb tuck when wiping the arm makes sense, but you should immediately move the coin to finger palm (or classic) to allow for thumb movement again.

One last comment...If the coin starts as known, it should finish as known. In other words, you started with a coin and finished with it fully vanished. Had you started by making it appear, rather than just having it, then it makes sense that it has returned to the nothingness from whence it came. So, either start and finish with a coin, or start and finish without a coin. But your finish should logically follow your start and it isn't logical that a known coin simply disappears. I suggest that you start the whole thing by showing both hands empty and then producing a coin.

Anyway, I hope that some of that helped.

Mike.

Hi Mike, thanks for taking time to study the routine in full detail. I agree with almost everything you said although i would like to stress that i perform this exact routine (maybe with a couple more tricks thrown in or taken out depending on situation) to people with patter, so the routine prob takes about four - five minutes when done smoothly with no interuptions. my misdirection and palming is alot smoother in a real situation also i was keeping my hands above the table so that didnt allow me to drop my hand to oneside which i normally do. (I should of casually placed it on the table or sumthing!) Your advice definately opened my eyes to alot of bad habbits and i will try and improve on this routine.

Thanks again.

Magic-al (Alex Welsh)