talkmagic.co.uk

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6RKC_6PV ... re=related

Recently I've been interested in the manipulation side of magic. I have a reasonable knowledge of card & coin magic but want to do something more dynamic. That performance is stunning and although I doubt I'll ever be able to do any of his moves at all as fluidly as him (although his movements are a little... robotic for obvious reasons) after practicing for years, I would like to hear what the best material is for these kind of manipulations. I'm still quite young and fast (one of the requirements here, I guess ), and would like to build up some moves.

I could put a name to some of the moves like The Interlock, but what I really want is a comprehensive start to this kind of manipulation of cards, and other objects. Where to conceal them on your person, etc. I've had trouble finding any books on manipulation apart from ones on mind manipulation. Or do you only get good at this genre from mixing and matching card sleights that you learn as you go along and building them into a routine, or do you need a professional teacher to be able to attempt it?

Thanks, I realise that this question may sound stupid. But I've been amazed by manipulation performances recently (FISM) and its a farcry from what I've usually performed and seen. I would like to get reading some books, watching some DVDs.

Best place to start is probably Jeff McBride's manipulaion series. 4 Volumes I think, from memory

Covers a hell of a lot of stuff!

Florian should be the entertainment for Al Gore's birthday.

I'm not sure if you want to specify in any specific area of manipulation i.e. cards, coins, silks, thimbles, etc.

If it's cards manipulations you're interested in, in my opinion Jeff McBride's Card Manipulation DVD's are the best. I'm sure others would agree as well. His series of dvd's works you up from the easier manipulations: split fans, back palming, etc.

This leads up to the more difficult manipulations: Interlock production (I'm always impressed when I see this; it is very difficult to get right and even then it's angly) Diminishing Deck etc.

If you get the first dvd you'll receive a firm starting point to begin manipulation and if you get all of the dvd's, you'll have a wide array of manipulations to form a great routine.

-Ian

Indeed - here is a video of part of dvd one

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9LCFYv4tzIU

Edit: and take a look at this - if you like manipulation, you'll love this!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Jucxw56RDik

Thanks. I had seen this DVD set but hadn't looked at the demos. It seems a lot of that performance was actually learned straight from Jeff Mills. I'll have a look.

I absolutely agree here - Jeff McBride's dvds are pretty well all you'll need to put together any kind of manip act - they are a resource I would have killed for when I did manip - between his three sets of dvds he teaches card, coins, thimbles and billiard balls and also the other types of material you need to give a manip act a change of pace - zombie, dancing cane, linking rings etc. There are other dvds out there too which may help with specific types of manip, but the McBride ones are the way to go. If you'd like a list of books I can give you some references, but for once this is where I break my general rule that books are better to learn from than dvd - it is easier to learn manipulative techniques from video than print.
As far as building the routine goes you'll have to do both sides in tandem - many sleights do take a lot of time to get smooth and you can add the more advanced ones as you master them, but you could also try putting together a sequence that contains some manip and gradually build up the technical level, starting with some other effects and replacing them as your ability improves.
Oh, and Beardy is bang on - Soma's act is the best motivated manip act I've seen in years.....and definitely more eco-friendly.