talkmagic.co.uk

I'm not sure if in my own head the fact that he came 3rd place after such little preparation does all the hard we do any justice, or devalues the work real performers have to do. I'll have to mull that one over.

You have to bear in mind that although he has achieved so much in 4 weeks, I'm sure he would have done nothing but eat, slept and practiced and rehearsed for this period. Plus he had a mentor and someone who designed the act for him. For those of us with full time jobs, wives and kids, we seldom get the time!

I think it was a great show, very well presented and clearly not taking the p**s!

Yes, I agree that he must have practised like mad during those few weeks, although they made it look as though he hadn't. That's purely to improve the entertainment value for people.

I must admin, I found the exposure of the Wizard PK Ring quite comical. Maybe he should have bought a Vortex

I was really cringing when he started his live performance, but he pulled it off. Good on him!

Overall, not a bad performance. Scott Penrose was quite right about what could and couldn't be achieved in a short space of time, as someone who advises on magical effects for a lot of theatrical and film productions, as well as being a superb performer, he knows what he's talking about. If JLC was adamant about performing box box stuff then certainly the smaller scale rope and coin effects were never going to be on the agenda. Nice to see all the adverts for Alakazam in so many shots and it was so reassuring to see how his expenditure ran away with itself - just like it does for us! I don't really think the PK Wiz was compromised, the leaflet was shown clearly enough and although the reality of what it was was mentioned loud and clear, most non magicians probably wouldn't really pick up on that - or even remember it - as it wasn't shown in use to expose the method and working with it. In fact, it's good he dismissed it as worthy because that leaves it alone for the rest of us to carry on using.

Frankly, the costume was awful but somehow seemed appropriate in a comical sense and he carried it off very well indeed. I was more alarmed at the other guy's shirt covered in playing card images - tacky, tacky, tacky!! This programme seemed to suggest that if you get the big boxes and put in a bit of effort you can perform illusions, which may very well be true, but let's not forget he had an experienced magical assistant in the form of Zara to help with a lot of the unseen and unsung work.

The image of Magic Conventions as being full of aged, balding, overweight men, served by almost equally ancient dealers and professionals was a bit depressing. Yes there are lot of guys in that category in magic but, as The Blackpool Convention shows every year, there are youngsters, women, blokes with a full head of hair and no extra fat about their person so I took heart from the fact that although the Convention JLC attended may be like that, it's certainly not the full story.

Best bit of all? Seeing him trying and failing to do the Haunted Key - it pays to read the instructions for basic positioning, it really does!

Next week Ventriloquists will be under the spotlight so let's all start practising...gottle o geer, gottle o geer....

I did see the program and overall (apart from giving the idea that almagicians are middle aged and balding with little charisma) I thought he did a good job in his own special way.

Just one question.. the knife trick he did.. what on earth is this called. I've seen it a few times and would love to get my hands on it (It would fit my style perfectly) but still don't know what it's called or where to get it.

Any help would be appreciated.

Thanks

Slippery

I quite like the haunted key and was a bit worried about that one for second... my fears were relieved with his note to camera... "His hand was very still, he's definitely not moving his hand... there's something else going on there..."

SlipperyPenguin wrote: the knife trick he did.. what on earth is this called.

http://www.emagictricks.co.uk/product_i ... ts_id=1349
or
http://www.magicworld.co.uk/magic-shop/ ... oductid=71
ta-da!!!

I can see I'm going to get some comments in the pub about the haunted key. I thought for one horrible moment exposure had come to Darkest Cheshire. Fair play to him though for explaining how it doesn't work I really felt for him at the end when his pyro wouldn't go off.

What a great soundtrack, though. Kim Wilde, Japan, The Cure. Marvellous stuff.

Thanks Mandrake..

Much appreciated

Slippery

To quote Sophie from another thread...

The Programme is called "The Convention Crasher", and Justin has 4 weeks to learn how to be a master illusionist. The convention takes place in Canton, Ohio~Canada.

FYI...Both Canton, and Ohio are located in the United States, not Canada[/b]

On a slight tangent myself and my housemate were trying to think of a blander name than The Battle of the Magicians but failed. Perhaps The Magic Competition just about pips it?

Tomo wrote:
What a great soundtrack, though. Kim Wilde, Japan, The Cure. Marvellous stuff.

Plus also Imagination and the tremendous disco classic, "Supernature" by Cerrone, which will eternally remind me of a particularly funny Benny Hill sketch.

I thought the show was pretty good.

It showed magic in a good light and highlighted how difficult it "really" is

Scott Penrose - "to learn a rope trick would take you 6 months"
Pete Firman - "He's f*cked"

It also was quite sensitive to exposure. Even the bit with the PK ring was good (imo) as it hinted that it was just a ridiculous prop and no magician worth his salt would use one.

As mentioned by others his costume was less than flattering and a mistake on his part - yet of course it fitted in with Justin Lee as a performer - so why not. He certainly made his act his own - which is one of the more difficult lessons to learn as far as magic goes.

I almost was disappointed that he came third, as that doesn't say much for the quality of the other peformers does it. It kind of makes out that anyone can be a magician after just four weeks.

The best bit for me was the performance at the holiday club afterwards. Seeing the reactions of the lay audience as opposed to the magic competition audience was such a pleasure. I loveseeing people enjoy magic. The look on the faces as he did the knife through arm compared with the "whatever" looks on the faces at the magic competition was priceless.

All in all an enjoyable show. A pleasant surprise.

Lord Freddie wrote:Plus also Imagination and the tremendous disco classic, "Supernature" by Cerrone, which will eternally remind me of a particularly funny Benny Hill sketch.

I was thinking of that sketch too!

I thought they were very clever in what they exposed (or didn't). Even the items that were apparently explained were shown out of context, or otherwise in a way that limited the impact on the magic.

I got the distinct impression that the encounters at the Magic Circle and Alakazam were set up to make JLC's task look that much harder, and add a bit of drama.

I wonder if his claustrophobia has improved after having to get inside a bag in a trunk.

I think the subtle thing is that some illusions are relatively easy to learn in a short space of time, if you have a good teacher and a good assistant. With the particular illusions chosen, only Metamorphosis required much technical skill on Justin's part. The other effects need more in the way of performing skill and showmanship, and that was perfect for him.

There is an implication that magic can be easy, but even so, the problem with the final pyro effect showed that it's not easy to be smooth! I think he might have come second, had that effect popped on schedule.

I am fairly sure he knew exactly how tacky that costume looked. The hair colouring was too much of a coincidence, I think! He is a comedian, after all, and a flame-coloured lyrca outfit stretched over his slightly overweight frame was entertainment in itself.

I was wondering how the routine would go down at a local club audition? Perhaps less the pyrotechnics? Would one only need four weeks of practice to get through, if so it makes the whole thing very accessable (not necessarily a Bad Thing).

Must confess that I while I generally find the fella irritating, I was impressed at his presence; it makes one realise that one doesn't need to learn a vast repetoire and spend years perfecting the pressure fan to produce a repeatable cabaret show.

I thought the program was very entertaining and funny and I enjoyed it. I like the guy - I think he's quite charismatic in a clumsy sort of way. The Alakazam bit was amusing - did he say he paid £40 for the Wizard PK Ring?! I'm sure he did; Peter Nardi must be laughing. (Come to think of it, he may have said £14. That would make more sense). I thought the Magic Circle guy was a bit hoity-toity, though. I'm not surprised he walked out of there with less confidence than when he walked in! Doesn't do much for the image of the Magic Circle.

And I thought his assistant, Panache, was very nice.