Putting on a magic hat (no pun intended) for this post … so I'll take on my DAMEON persona …
My good friend Charles D-R posted a video to my FB I'd seen a few days before. It's Dan and Dave - the Buck Twins. Two good looking, quiet … unassuming guys who turned the entire Magic World upside down with amazingly deft card flourishes/fancy single and multiple card handlings/the creation of high end custom pasteboards/a bevy of magic related "things" and … a score of "MOVES" related DVD's that turn even the most mundane sleight or trick into an Oscar Worthy Clip (okay - maybe I've gone a little overboard - but they do a friggin' great job with everything they touch). I guarantee the generation preceding mine (and I'm 56 - barely that is) would have - for the most part - turned a blind eye to the incredible "finger flinging" additions to standard "magic effects" - saying it's not magic. Of course they turned a blind eye to Cardini's flourishes, or Kaps or Richard Ross … or ………
Here's the link: Dan and Dave Vid
And I was so taken by their initial concepts I purchased their "Tricks and Flourishes and Everything Else" DVD set … which I love. I've practiced a few things from the set … because I totally agree that a flourish added at the right moment can enhance the visual appeal of the magic presentation.
On the flip side …
I have seen a lot of younger guys flourishing their fingers to the bone, doing moves that would boggle the mind … without an effective conclusion … more of a "see what I can do" with this deck of playing cards. And if they did have a trick or effect … it was over or happened in the blink of an eye … garnishing more oohs and ahhhhs for the move then the "trick" - which is not really what you are looking for with a MAGIC trick. You kinda want the MAGIC to illicit a response.
… and I've seen a few younger "folk" flourishing up a storm while standing around waiting to "do their thing" only to get up in front of an audience and present sub-standard CU magic … sans any of the moves they so deftly presented just for themselves (and anyone who turned and caught their not so covert "warm-up") prior to their performance.
I think you need to insert the moves throughout a routine … use it as misdirection … use at as a joke to get the audience to relax … use it as a way to get yourself to relax … use it … because you can, understanding that if you are going to present a magic TRICK (normally I use the word effect) then make sure that the trick is magical at the conclusion and not simply a series of flashy finger moves.
Dan and Dave are brilliant … they understand the use of digital imagery and getting it right on camera, they understand internet marketing, they understand design, they understand and followed a vision to take a mundane deck of cards and turn it into the "weapon of cool" …
They don't ever have to perform, and have been seen my hundreds of thousands of folks … maybe even millions (since they've done some fancy stuff for commercials too).
I hope they keep up the amazing work of moving the "art" and skill set forward …
Dameon - the Magician
aka Hal Meyers
 |
| Hal Meyers - AKA Dameon - doing a medium sized Anaconda card Flourish |
Here's the link: Dan and Dave Vid
And I was so taken by their initial concepts I purchased their "Tricks and Flourishes and Everything Else" DVD set … which I love. I've practiced a few things from the set … because I totally agree that a flourish added at the right moment can enhance the visual appeal of the magic presentation.
On the flip side …
I have seen a lot of younger guys flourishing their fingers to the bone, doing moves that would boggle the mind … without an effective conclusion … more of a "see what I can do" with this deck of playing cards. And if they did have a trick or effect … it was over or happened in the blink of an eye … garnishing more oohs and ahhhhs for the move then the "trick" - which is not really what you are looking for with a MAGIC trick. You kinda want the MAGIC to illicit a response.
… and I've seen a few younger "folk" flourishing up a storm while standing around waiting to "do their thing" only to get up in front of an audience and present sub-standard CU magic … sans any of the moves they so deftly presented just for themselves (and anyone who turned and caught their not so covert "warm-up") prior to their performance.
I think you need to insert the moves throughout a routine … use it as misdirection … use at as a joke to get the audience to relax … use it as a way to get yourself to relax … use it … because you can, understanding that if you are going to present a magic TRICK (normally I use the word effect) then make sure that the trick is magical at the conclusion and not simply a series of flashy finger moves.
Dan and Dave are brilliant … they understand the use of digital imagery and getting it right on camera, they understand internet marketing, they understand design, they understand and followed a vision to take a mundane deck of cards and turn it into the "weapon of cool" …
They don't ever have to perform, and have been seen my hundreds of thousands of folks … maybe even millions (since they've done some fancy stuff for commercials too).
I hope they keep up the amazing work of moving the "art" and skill set forward …
Dameon - the Magician
aka Hal Meyers
 |
| Dameon - Magic Business Card |
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