talkmagic.co.uk

Hi Guys,

This is a variant of the pass that I usually do. I usually don't use the riffle cover, but recently I'm trying to make my pass more invisible, so I can cut down on the amount of misdirection I use. Now I'm not going to make any excuses here *like I have a c*** (not the best) camera, not as good as I can usually do it etc. ), and I'd love some constructive criticism as to where I can improve.

PS Mods, if you think this video amounts to exposure, then feel free to take it down.

Well...... here we go Clickety Click!!

It's pretty swish, but your timing is rushed during the move... pace everything the same... i.e. you seem to be placing the card in the centre nice and slowly, then all of a sudden you go into warp speed!

Yeah, I know the video frame rate may be a bit to blame, but if you sort out the pacing to make a nice smooth transition the whole way through, it will be pretty much perfect!

I hope you don't find this too blunt, but I have a few criticisms.

The reason that pass seems good on video is because the camera is at waist height and you tilt your hand upwards as you transpose the packets. Spectators will not be watching you from that position, they will be looking down on your hands from normal eye level.

When you perform the pass, your covering hand should be as still as possible - the underneath hand should do all the work. On the video your covering hand seems to make a strange circular motion like your wrist is being dragged on a string, and there's no need for it.

After you insert the selection, you seperate and then replace the packets square, which looks unnatural and there's no need for it unless you're getting a break. Obviously you are getting a break, but by closing a spread you can disguise it a lot better. If you don't want to use a spread to cover the break, you should dribble the top packet so that the motion of squaring will cover the pass.

It all looks very unnatural to me, although with the right misdirection I know people can pull a pelican out of their butt and no one would see. Still, I didn't really like it very much. When you do a pass it should look like you're doing nothing.

queen of clubs wrote:The reason that pass seems good on video is because the camera is at waist height and you tilt your hand upwards as you transpose the packets. Spectators will not be watching you from that position, they will be looking down on your hands from normal eye level.

Not always true. When performing to tables at weddings etc. the magician stands, the spectators are seated. This is the first thing I found commendable about Cymru's video, is that by using the returning of the card to the centre as a cover, the pass here is being performed square-on.
Many magician's learn the pass from their own eye level—i.e. looking down on the deck—and ignore the fact that a spectator sees it from the FRONT... so for me, this immediately earns a gold star for Cymru.

Also, if you read Cymru's post, he's actually ADAPTING a pass to make it more invisible... of which he's doing a pretty good job. I've seen a lot of people attempting to learn the pass over the last 15 years, and in fairness almost everyone I know who gets it RIGHT actually do it their own way—using the textbook descriptions as a GUIDE.

queen of clubs wrote:Still, I didn't really like it very much. When you do a pass it should look like you're doing nothing.

Show me a pass which—from start to finish, including returning the card to the deck etc.—looks 'like you're doing nothing' to a forum of magicians, and I'll accept that comment. Otherwise, remember that what's perceived as invisible to a spectator is a far shout from what's invisible to a scrutinising magician.

This is tricky, (excuse the pun). I believe a spectator will figure something is going on but will be unsure as to what. Your hand does do this swirly thing that is unnatural. I understand you are trying to make your pass more invisible but I honestly don't think it is working or even really necessary. The problem with the video, and most magic video's on youtube is that all we are seeing is your hands. The best invisible pass I've ever seen done is when the spectators are not looking at the cards. Because we are forced to look at the deck and nowhere else on video it is hard to know exactly how this is going to play out in the working world.

Kate has a great invisible pass as seen somewhere on this forum, Again I've only seen it from the camera's point of view so I only have that one angle to go by. But I would certainly take her advice into consideration on the matter. What she is doing may not work for you, but it may just fine tune what you are doing.

Like Siege I think the use of cover with placing the card is a great idea. The two issues I see is that the move is telegraphed by the change of speed and the movement of the hand is really suspect as stated above.

Overall I think it is a work in progress and it is on the correct track.

Thanks all for the comments so far. Just a couple of queries I have. I am unsure of what is meant by my wrist doing a circling motion. All I was doing was riffling the back end of the deck with my thumb, and I implore anyone to give the rear end of a deck a pronounced riffle with the thumb without the wrist doing a forward circling motion (that is what you're talking about, right?) Thank you Kate, Bmat and Seige for your comments- Very useful.

seige wrote:Not always true. When performing to tables at weddings etc. the magician stands, the spectators are seated ... Many magician's learn the pass from their own eye level—i.e. looking down on the deck—and ignore the fact that a spectator sees it from the FRONT... so for me, this immediately earns a gold star for Cymru.

You've got a point there. Although, when performing a pass as I'm standing and a spec is sitting I'd tend to very slightly tilt the deck forwards rather than backwards, but maybe that's just my technique. Also, I'd tend to hold my hands low relative to their eye level.

seige wrote:Also, if you read Cymru's post, (Funnily enough, I did) he's actually ADAPTING a pass to make it more invisible... of which he's doing a pretty good job.

Well, I've got nothing against him. Please don't think I was trying to be a bitch - I save that for when I talk to Mr Lewis - I just provided the constructive criticism he asked for as I saw it. I obviously wasn't as impressed as you were.

seige wrote:Show me a pass which—from start to finish, including returning the card to the deck etc.—looks 'like you're doing nothing' to a forum of magicians, and I'll accept that comment.

I'm quite tempted take you up on that. Although I've had private comments from various members of this forum that seem to suggest I've already done it...

The thing about a successful invisible pass is the misdirection, of course. I often use... I don't know what to call it... kinetic misdirection? By which I mean my hands move from one side of my body to the other, or I adjust my feet slightly, and the motion of shifting my weight makes it fly over people's heads.

I don't think realistically there's such a thing as a totally invisible pass from two squared packets being gently lowered onto each other, but what I meant by "it should look like you're doing nothing" is that it should look like you're doing nothing strange, or questionable, or unnatural.

Apologies, but I thought Cymru's vid ticked all those boxes, so I said so.

Okay it is not really a twist, I watched the video again, I'm not sure what it is. It is almost like you are raising your shoulders just as you perform the move, (something many magicians do) There is just a movement I'm seeing that isn't right.

Sorry I don't have the words to describe it.

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queen of clubs wrote:
After you insert the selection, you seperate and then replace the packets square, which looks unnatural and there's no need for it unless you're getting a break.

I actually think this looks quite open as your patter could be along the lines of 'look - here's the card going into the middle fair and square'

I agree that tilting the hands backwards gives cover but looks suspicious, something has gone on even if the spectator doesn't know what. Sadly I have to resort to the same thing because I haven't figured out a better way of covering the packet movements yet. I sometimes use the approach suggested in Card College whereby the pack is lifted up to the ear, riffled and then the transfer of the packets happens on the way down.

In summary, I'm pretty confident that this pass would work in practice with some misdirection but on close examination it is obvious that some shennanigens are taking place!