Idiosyncratic legerdemain blog.

nonfluff

  • John Raven Stacks the Deck

    Franklin
    Category:

    It feels like there has been a renewed interest in the Curry Open Prediction plot recently (what with all the drama surrounding Unnamed Magician), and behind the scenes here, it’s a plot we at the Oval have discussed on multiple occasions. Each of us has our own favorite methods, but methods are useless without a presentation.

    It feels like 99% of the presentations out there for this and similar plots fall into two veins: prediction and influence. Both of these lean more toward magician-centric than participant-centric, and the specific mechanics of the plot don’t seem well-justified by either of these presentations. So here’s my attempt at truly making the participant the star of the show in a presentation that feels grounded in reality and makes the mechanics make sense in context:

    “Have you ever seen those IQ tests where they give a sequence of abstract images they say form a pattern and then ask you what the next one in the series should be?”

    From Wikipedia user Life of Riley

    “After the first few easy ones, I always struggle with figuring out what the rule is supposed to be with those things. But it feels like I get them right more often than I should even when I’m just guessing. It’s like my intuition is better at continuing a pattern than my rational mind is at explaining how that pattern is constructed. So the last time I played with them, I tried a trick: I overloaded my brain to see if I could get that rational part of my mind to just reinforce instead of override my intuition. The way I do it is like this: I sing an old song I know the lyrics to while I study the pattern, and then, even if I can’t figure out what the rule I’m supposed to be following is, I just go with my gut after a minute or so. Would you like to see if it works for you?”

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    Read more: John Raven Stacks the Deck

  • Shuffling for Virtual Audiences: Free, Fair, and Fully Fraudulent

    Franklin
    Category:

    The following presents two alternative approaches for shuffling on behalf of audiences who are on the other side of a camera from two different Oval writers. We’ll start with Drew’s take, and move on to Franklin’s which you can do half asleep.

    Drew’s Version

    The following technique was inspired by my friend who was performing a card trick for me over Skype. The trick he was doing starts from a shuffled deck, and he wanted me to know that the deck could start in a random order. He said “If you were here, you could shuffle it any way you wanted. Since you’re not here, just tell me how to shuffle. Do you want me to overhand, cut, or riffle?” Whatever shuffle I chose, he proceeded to do the cleanest, slowest version of that shuffle he could for me.

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  • The Theatre Behind the Fold

    Drew
    Category:

    Editor’s note: Short post this time. We have several meatier posts in the queue, but they need a bit more polish. So use the time we’re saving you today wisely so you’ll have more time to read in the coming weeks.

    This is a small way to improve the revelation of a folded card. It’s something I’ve done in performances to ensure any drama isn’t lost.

    If you fold a card into quarters, the indices of the card usually peek out and you run the fairly large chance of ruining the revelation before they unfold the card. They see what card it is before they even unfold it. 

    If the technicalities of your effect permit you, try this simple approach instead. 

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    Read more: The Theatre Behind the Fold

  • On Weight and Touch

    Lisbeth
    Category:

    On page 13 of desTROYers, Joshua Jay wrote something that completely changed how I perform (I know, I think it’s strange that he’d say something insightful too!). In a section within the chapter “Commentary” labeled “…Troy Touch” he describes Troy Hooser’s technique this way:

    “The first noticeable difference in Troy’s work is his unique touch. He grips objects with an effortless, light grip that actually produces the illusion of weightlessness within the handled objects. It is often surprising to examine heavy silver dollars after Troy has performed because they appear like feathers in his hands, jumping about in an animated fashion, as if carried by the wind.”

    This description struck me because of how well it portrayed a kind of beauty that I was seeking in my work. And while I’ve never gotten to see Hooser perform live, nor have I conferred with him about how he achieved this quality (or even if he thinks it’s accurate), it made me think about how I could find it in my own manipulations, particularly in my sleight specialty, coins (sorry card-cunts, you’ll have to sit this one out). And, of course, it took a while to show, but given the ways in which my manipulation has been complimented since this work started, I’d like to think I have some semblance of it. So here’s how I did it:

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  • Justifying the Vanishing Deck’s Leftover Joker

    Drew
    Category: ,

    We all know and love Paul Harris’s Vanishing Deck. A true modern classic. I’m a big fan of it because it’s cheap and easy to set up, and once you know how to make one, you have a very versatile and powerful gimmick for life. I’ve been fooling around with it again lately and I wanted to share how I’ve been presenting it.

    When I first read Paul’s standard presentation for his Vanishing Deck, I wasn’t a huge fan of it. I mean, having them think of a card, saying it vanished, then vanishing the whole deck (but not the Joker for some mysterious reason) because “you take no chances”? Eh. Mr. Harris, if you’re reading this, I’m sorry and I love you… but no, just no.

    In the book I really enjoyed the alternate idea of pushing the deck through the box, and making it be a visual moment. What follows is my tiny presentational tweak on Paul’s effect, born from trying to justify that pesky leftover Joker at the end.

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  • I Hate “In & Of Itself”

    Lisbeth
    Category: ,

    And it’s not for the weird stolen valor of the brick. Nor the strange exploitation of having someone read a surprise intimate letter on stage. Nor is it for the fact DelGaudio’s voice sounds like he’s a Muppet about to cry the whole show. No, I don’t really hate the special: I hate us.

    In the years since it debuted, first on stage and then on Hulu, In & Of Itself has been a staple in the conversation about what magic is and means in the 21st century. It is, for many people, the pinnacle of what magic can do. And, for someone used to a typical magic show structure, I can see how that special might be somewhat mind-blowing. It handles its magic in a fundamentally different way than the specials that came before, for the most part, and is a work of very successful storytelling. I get it.

    But now, almost a decade after it was performed, and half since it came out on streaming, have we really got nothing to replace it with? Is this really supposed to be all magic can achieve artistically?

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  • Hanging for Later

    Lisbeth
    Category:

    I’m admittedly not much of a restaurant worker (I’ve done it a couple times, and it went… fine? I’m much better on stage), however I’ve shared this idea with a few experienced restaurant magicians and they seemed to like it, so y’all get to have it.

    I love incidental magic. The kind of magic that isn’t meant to be focused on or acknowledged, but clearly still happens and is impossible. It brings a fun vibe to any performance, this sense of casualness that makes the world feel magical for a moment. A deck production is a classic example of this, in certain presentations. I need a deck of cards, I don’t have a deck of cards, I make a deck of cards appear, problem solved. But what can be done with the end of a set to bring about this feeling?

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  • Hey, Doxxing Isn’t Cool, Actually

    Lisbeth
    Category:

    In case anyone hasn’t seen it, a few days ago, Mishaal Khan posted a video exposing the true identity of (or doxxing) “The Mask Magic,” a content creator who’s made his name exposing magic tricks to his audience on various social platforms. To be clear, I’m not stating that I’m in favor of The Mask Magic’s style of content. While I don’t have any problem with “exposure” overall (a subject I will probably discuss further in the future), I do find his style of content, where the creator shows secrets to their audience in an attempt to let said audience act smug and superior, to be shitty and unhelpful to anyone. Exposure for the sake of lauding power is a bullshit thing to do, and I ultimately don’t think The Mask Magic is doing much to help magic grow.

    However. He’s also not hurting it. If exposure of any kind could kill magic, none of us would be doing this right now. People wouldn’t be increasingly seeking magic in the age of the internet if access to information was enough to destroy our lives. And yet, once more, all the magicians see a guy doing what is, ultimately, an annoying but compared to what happened to him quite neutral action, and treat it like it’s the coming of the magical Antichrist, screaming and kicking like children at the thought that someone who didn’t pay $500 for the secret to their favorite card trick might learn it (as if we don’t freely share ideas and secrets at our own jam tables).

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    Read more: Hey, Doxxing Isn’t Cool, Actually

  • Get Rid of the Get-Ready

    Drew
    Category:

    I wanted to share a principle I try to keep in mind when I practice and perform sleight of hand magic. I don’t mean to be boastful, but this tip really took the moves that I do to a whole new level. I thought to write about this concept when I came across this video on Instagram. Give it a watch before you continue reading.

    I really don’t mean to pick on this magician; he seems like a perfectly nice, friendly guy that performs some stellar effects (hell, even David Blaine commented “Incredible” on it). He just did something in this video that we all do, a bad habit we all have. You might’ve guessed already knowing the title of this post, but it’s the little repositioning he does with the coin before he gets into the effect. It’s what I (and many others) call “the get-ready”. It’s that little action that puts the object in one’s hands into the needed position to execute the sleight of hand.

    The get-ready move could be an array of different actions, depending on what effect you’re performing, what sleight you want to do and what object you’re using. That repositioning, although very subtle, is a tell. Another example where you’ll usually see the get-ready is for any false deal.

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    Read more: Get Rid of the Get-Ready

  • An Actual Hello From the New Girl

    Lisbeth
    Category:

    Oops! I started posting shit on the blog (The “Creativity” Discourse) without saying anything first, didn’t I? Oh well.

    Anyway, I should introduce myself. I’m Lisbeth (she/her), the new writer for the Oval. I’ve been involved in magic to varying degrees for 15+ years, but made it a central part of my output about 3-4 years ago. Outside of magic, I make a lot of art in different media (seriously, I have too many projects going on right now, someone stop me), and generally bounce around doing what I can locally.

    I was scouted for the Oval at a convention by the Editor, whom I initially brushed off as another ill-fated suitor trying to woo the hot, smart woman in a sea of magicians who embody none of those descriptors. But once I understood that what I was being offered was not a ring, but a chance to write for the most prestigious publication in the history of magic, I joined immediately. I’ve been here at the compound office for a little bit now, and it’s starting to feel cozy. I’m even starting to like the off-brand instant noodles we get fed every day. (Anne’s note: The ramen I mentioned in The Annual Company Picnic (In Lieu of Bonuses) declined in quality severely after the two Mystify sponsorships. Oh, was I not supposed to mention we’re sponsoring Mystify again? If we had some Shin Ramyun up in here again maybe I would’ve held my tongue.)

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    Read more: An Actual Hello From the New Girl

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