talkmagic.co.uk

ever wonder what the audience really see when you do your tricks? i mean, no matter how long wve been into magick, and how much we know, we still get floored by some. but we also see through quite a few, and sometimes even work the whole trick in our heads even before the trick is concluded. look at the humble color change which employs a DL. the cards are turned over, second card shown, treated with some mumbo-jumbo, and presto!
dont the audience suspect that it was simply a double? ive been pondering this for quite a while now, so your thoughts are pretty much welcome

It all depends on when and how it's been presented I guess.

To take your example of the DL/Colour change. Firstly there are actually numerous methods for a colour change, the DL just being one.

If you presented an effect where you showed the top card, turned it face down again, waved your hands and it changed, then yes I would say there is a relatively high chance of someone working it out. If you did the same trick to the same person 10 times, then I would say that there was an extremely high risk of soemone working it out. Howver if you did the same effect as just one part of an ambitious card routine then I would say that the spectator is very unlikely to work it out.

It's like the princess card trick. A real classic of magic. Think of any card, and the card you were thinking off will disappear. It doesn't come any stronger than that.

And yet now, because that effect is so readily available to see on the internet, everyone has the opportunity to try it over and over again until the penny drops and they work it out. Consequentally I don't do this one much any more.

yeh i see where your coming from... i saw a magician do a scarf vanish with a TT, and he vanished it in front of me and about 6 or 7 other people... i saw the TT plain as day, he even held it sideways, but used misdirection towards his other hand and no one else saw it.... they were amazed....

thats another difficulty, performing under the observation of so many pairs of eyes your patter may be the best but there would inevitably one pair that would be burning you. it makes one feel paranoid...it doesnt affect me that much in performance but it does feel like an itch that cant be scratched!

It is amazing me how much an audience misses. I've only done tricks for my family but despite some sloppy double lifts they still haven't sussed it out.

Interestingly the one time I really blew it was a trick I didn't have confidence in and on the second presentation part of it was revealed. I think performing with solid confidence helps to blind the audience to what is really going on.