Browsed by
Month: November 2019

Illusionist Derren Brown’s four magic tricks for success onstage and in life

Illusionist Derren Brown’s four magic tricks for success onstage and in life

The acclaimed performer and author on how he keeps things interesting in his Broadway show—and how those lessons apply to living your best life.

English illusionist, mentalist, and author Derren Brown has headlined Olivier Award-winning shows on London’s West End and performed in several TV series and specials, including Sacrifice on Netflix. He has also written five books on topics ranging from magic tricks to the philosophy of happiness.

By his own admission, Brown first started practicing magic as an under-confident 19-year-old studying law at Bristol University just to impress people. Gradually, he developed his act, which now incorporates elements of magic, hypnosis, misdirection, memory techniques, and psychology to manipulate audiences.

On a break from starring in his Broadway debut, Secret, which is playing at the Cort Theater through January 4, 2020, Brown talks embracing vulnerability, connecting the audience, and how Greek philosophy has shaped his approach to performing.

DON’T LIMIT YOURSELF

Brown’s work defies categorization, mixing theatrical and conjuring techniques with social psychology and science.

His secret?

Not limiting himself. According to Brown, his work revolves around “stories that we tell ourselves, the narratives that we live by.” He says that moving away from traditional magic performance has allowed him to develop a deeper connection with his audience, “one of the difficult things about any sort of magic . . . is that it’s just this quick route to impressing people. And I think for that reason magicians tend to be interesting for a little while and then become figures of fun or dislike, because it’s sort of posturing after a while.”

Now, he relies on psychological techniques to manipulate outcomes in addition to magic tricks. “When a magician shows you a trick, he’s guiding how we edit reality to form this story that’s amazing. But we’re doing it all the time,” he says, adding, “it’s a great analogy for how we interpret the world. So we live in this infinite data source, there’s all this stuff going on, there’s an infinite number of things that we could pay attention to, but we edit and delete and we choose what we’re going to pay attention to. And we make up this story and then we mistake that story for the truth and we live by that.” READ MORE

Zen Magic with Iain Moran – A Review

Zen Magic with Iain Moran – A Review

ZEN MAGIC – A Review
Zen Magic with Iain Moran – Magic With Cards and Coins..

Iain Moran’s ZEN MAGIC is a collection of absolute barns storming close-up effects – 10 routines (eight card tricks and two of Iain’s signature coin routines) – and each is a SOLID GOLD winner. Indeed, each one could have been a best-selling single trick release. Iain has truly honed and perfected each one into a tour-de-force of magical jujitsu.

Perfectly constructed for maximum impact and pure magical content, Iain also prioritizes a ‘belt & braces’ approach to handling. With the practiced hand of a man who performs professionally day in, day out, these tricks are built to WORK.

Counting on Them: Imagine performing a trick that fools everyone, and then explaining how to do it…and then leaving them even more fooled than before!

Magician’s Nephew: You and your spectator both choose cards, and lose them back in the deck, and then, astonishingly, find each other’s cards!

Thanks to Lance, John and Dave: A signed card vanishes and appears back in your pocket, time and time again, before the kicker that they never see coming!

Quantum Sandwich 2.0: A baffling double sandwich routine, with a signed card, then finishes with a visual and shocking kickback! Brains will fizz!

TUC3: Fast and furious is the vibe for this unrelenting coin routine, with productions, transpositions and vanishes that will leave them reeling!

Easy To Find: A super-clean sandwich style effect with a dash of mentalism to finish them off!

Fifty Some: A double whammy that you can build into any card box! First a chosen card appears inside, and then a prediction impossibly appears on the case – and it’s examinable!

Prime Importance: A visual shocker where a blank card visibly prints into a selection, first the back design, and then the face, and then finally the signature!! This is a keeper!

Silver Sequence: Another coin routine that will leave you spectators picking their jaws from the floor!

Picking Pockets: Easily the most astonishing version of the ‘Interchange’ plot ever conceived. Four jacks, isolated in four different pockets, slowly and cleanly change places with four signed aces, which are then removed from the pockets the jacks had been in! KILLER!

And, you’ll also learn these utterly indispensable sleights:

Convincing Control
Ackerman Varies Kelly
JK Hartman RS Bluff Control
Underspread Force
Gary Kurtz Slip-Cut Force

My Thoughts..

There are average videos teaching card and coin magic.. and there are very good videos teaching card and coin magic. Zen Magic is one of the best I’ve reviewed in 2019. I’ve reviewed so many videos full of self working card tricks it was quite a pleasure to watch something more challenging.

Iain is a very good teacher and thinker, and offers up a nice cross section of effects and sleights. Some will be more challenging than others, naturally, but there are NO complicated sleights. He uses a variety of picking, kicking, culling, top controls, bottom controls, double undercuts, spread forces.. and a fair amount of pocket work and post-predictions to keep the effects both enticing and within range of what I would call advanced beginners to intermediates. There are a few sleights that are specific to a certain effect.. but Iain includes a section at the end of the video to teach these specific moves. Again, nothing is outside the range I mentioned.

I wish I could say..” Oh, you’ll use this and you’ll use that..”, but I can’t. We are all different and have our own likes and dislikes. I catch myself reviewing videos and saying.. ” You’ll love this effect”, or “This one wasn’t my favorite..”.. and when I read reviews of the same videos by others.. they make me realize our vast differences. ( One thing I NEVER do is read a review of an item I’m reviewing before I write my review..)

I think the one thing we can all agree on is whether the video is full of strong, usable material.. and Zen Magic IS full of strong material. I couldn’t find a single ‘filler’ in the bunch. Sometimes I want to.. it gives me a chance to draw distinctions.. but not in this one.

I do know anyone with a serious interest in card magic will find effects that’ll go in their repertoire. Which ones.. I don’t know. I have my favorites.. for sure, but I would encourage you to buy Zen Magic and watch every minute of it and see what fits you..

In fair disclosure.. there are several effects that use either a stack of some sort, or gaffed cards. Not all effects, but enough I should bring it to your attention. This goes back to what I meant when I said we all have differing preferences. Some folks don’t like stacks. Others appreciate the advantage a stack offers. Same with gaffs. So, I’m just making you aware of something that’s NOT a problem for me.. and something that doesn’t taint my review.

Iain and BigBlindMedia has done a good job with their descriptions, and I can’t add much to many of the effects.. but.. I will try to be a little more specific as to sleights and gaffs.. without giving anything away..

Counting On Them.. Paul Cummings, John Carey and Karl Hein..
Basically, the spec selects a card and picks a number. After a lite bit of handling, a packet of cards matching the picked number is dropped from the center of the deck.. and the selected card is found at the picked number. A little complex but worth the effort. Oh, did I mention a Joker with the spectator’s number and selected card is tossed from the performers pocket to end the effect?

Magician’s Nephew.. Darwin Ortiz, Al Koran, and Sean Carpenter. Uses a memorized deck. The magician picks a card.. then the spec picks a card. The deck is cut. The magician takes the top card and places it in his pocket. The spec cuts the deck and places the top card in their pocket. After a little patter the magician’s pocketed card is revealed to be the specs and the specs card is revealed to be the magicians.

Thanks to Lance, John, and Dave.. Francis Carlyle, Lance Pierce, John Carey and David Williamson. A spec selects and signs a number card. The card is placed in a packet of four Kings. After a little byplay, the card is shown to have vanished from the packet.. and traveled to the magicians pocket. Now, a series of misadventures occurs as the signed card appears, vanishes again, is found by the spectator, supposedly, and finally the finale reveals the entire deck, except for on card.. has travelled to the magicians pocked.

Quantum Sandwich 2.0.. Karl Hein, Eric Anderson and Mike Gallo. A slightly complex sandwich effect with a couple of Kings and a chosen card. This will take a little practice, or should… I suspect you will either love this effect.. or avoid it. It’s good, it’s strong, and it’s a great effect for sandwich lovers…

TUC 3 .. Marcelo Insula, Troy Hooser, Gary Jones and Reed McClintock.
Coin production and vanish with Tango Ultimate Coins in Eisenhower dollar size. One of the ungaffed coins is gaffed (?) with a small magnet by Iain. Although not overly complicated.. it’s a confounding effect for a lay audience. I know all about the argument over gaffs/no gaffs, but I do like these Tango Coins.

Easy To Find.. Uses two Jokers. They catch a selected card in the middle of the deck, very fairly. One of several effects that uses a end-of-trick prediction to show you knew in advance the identity of the chosen card.

Fifty Some.. Jason Dean, JK Hartman.. Basically, a card to card box.. but very tricky. Uses a homemade gaff card but not necessary to perform the trick. One of my favorites. Could be commercial.

Prime Importance.. Aldo Colombini, Roy Walton.. A printing press type effect with seemingly blank cards turning into a chosen card. Needs a couple of blank cards and one blank backed card. Short and sweet. Ideal for walk around as its very visual and happens mostly in the hand.

Silver Sequence.. Homer Liwag, Gary Jones, R Paul Wilson, Gary Kurtz, Jonathan Townsend and Chris Kenner. Nice coin effect with American Silver dollars. Lots of flights and vanishes. Three regular coins and a shell are used.

Picking Pockets.. David Solomon, Jerry Sadowitz, Gary Kurtz and Ed Marlo… Eight card packet trick, using twelve cards, with a couple of gaffed cards you can create yourself.. (roughing fluid) and a double facer. Very confounding trick for those who love to look like a real shark. Your audience has no choice but to assume you are a true master of the pasteboards. Probably the most complicated of all the effects, but a guaranteed magician fooler.

Picking Pockets – No Gaffs. Similar to above except gaff-less. Elmsley Count and a Buckle Count or two eliminate the gaffs.

These sleights are taught in detail and add considerable value to the video.. me thinks.

– Marlo’s Convincing Control.. Ideal method of apparently placing a card in the middle of the deck, but secretly bringing it to the bottom. From there, take it wherever you want..

– Ackerman Varies Kelly.. Dribble the cards, allowing the spec to say ‘stop’. Show the card. Perform the equivalent of a second deal.. except from the middle of the deck.. carrying the viewed card to the bottom and visibly leaving the second card protruding from the middle.. to be slowly pushed into the middle… representing the selection.

– JK Hartman Bluff Control.. Another convincing method of substituting a selection with a second card. One of my personal favorites.

– Underspread Force.. Secretly take any card touched by the spectator to the bottom of the deck.. to be controlled to wherever you need it.

– Gary Kurtz Slip Cut Force.. The slip cut can be a very sloppy way of getting a card from point A to point B.. unless you know and use the proper handling. Gary Kurtz handling is the real thing and provides proper cover for the selected card.. and NO snap..

Zen Magic is produced by BigBlindMedia and fits nicely among all their work as far as quality and sound. I appreciate that I always know what I’m getting with their productions. Not sure about the time of the DVD. I couldn’t find the time listed anywhere and the DVD itself is divided into individual segments. It’s at least as long as typical DVDs of this type. I do feel the total time should be printed somewhere. I do know some of the dealers offer Zen Magic as either a DVD -or- a download. It’s the same price either way.. so pick your poison.

Zen Magic is a considerable collection of card tricks, with a couple of coin effects to pace the action. These are NOT self-working effects, and are created for magicians who enjoy fooling an audience -and- entertaining a table of magicians. Closing kickers on a number of effects add a level of sophistication magicians welcome.

$25.00.. From Murphy’s Magic and dealers who carry their line of products..
https://www.murphysmagic.com/product.aspx?id=65796

Review by Rick Carruth for the Magic Roadshow.
https://magicroadshow.com

‘Magic for Humans’: Justin Willman’s Netflix Returns…

‘Magic for Humans’: Justin Willman’s Netflix Returns…

‘Magic for Humans’: Justin Willman’s Netflix Returns, Confusing Santas and Making People Disappear..  (Steve Greene for Indiewire)

Season 2 of the magic series premieres next month, and it’s bringing more than just holiday-related freakouts.Magic for Humans Season 2 Santa

December is a month of surprises. Year-end gift-giving, best-of list making, various accomplishments being snuck under the wire before the calendar year comes to a close. To those, add “a Season 2 of ‘Magic for Humans‘” to the collection.

The unscripted Netflix magic series, starring magician/comedian extraordinaire Justin Willman, will return for a new batch of episodes filled with random Angelenos taken aback by the show’s broad spectrum of unexpected tricks. This year, to build on last year’s Invisibility Challenge phenomenon, Willman is mixing some tried-and-true street magic segments with some larger scale magic selections.

Along the way, it looks like he’ll be making some stops at a Renaissance Faire, various L.A. city streets, parks, and transportation hubs, and even the Los Angeles Chargers practice facility.  READ MORE

3 Important Sales Lessons From Magicians Penn & Teller

3 Important Sales Lessons From Magicians Penn & Teller

Nice article by Gregg Schwartz for  ALLBUSINESS.Com

I’ve become addicted to the show Penn & Teller: Fool Us, a reality TV contest where magicians perform magic tricks in front of legendary magician-comedian duo Penn and Teller, and see if they can fool them. Those guys have been performing magic Magicianfor nearly 50 years, and they know just about all the techniques in the book.

After each contestant performs their magic act, Penn and Teller evaluate their performance and tell them whether or not they’ve been fooled—and if they are not fooled, they will say certain things about the trick or technique that indicates to the magician they have recognized it. 

I’m the type of person who always wants to know how something works. When we watch a magician perform, we know it’s not real magic—it’s just a trick. But how was it done?

It’s hard for me to take my “sales and marketing” hat off, and I view this show as a kind of sales presentation, where Penn and Teller are the “decision makers” and the magicians are the “sellers” who are trying to get the audience to “buy” into the trick. Any time you look to close a deal, you need to impress the decision makers. After all, they are essentially the “judges” of the sales pitch.

Here are three strategies that the most successful magicians use to “sell” their acts, and what other salespeople can learn: 

1. Try a different way of doing an old trick

For this category, it’s the same punchline, but a new or unusual technique is used to get there. The intrepid magicians might do a trick that Penn and Teller are familiar with, yet they will do it in a different way than Penn and Teller are used to seeing.

In sales, one way of getting the deal is showing how your solution, methodology, or approach offers something different from what your customers are currently using at their company. This is where the value really comes in to the equation. You’re providing a solution, but you’re doing it in a novel way that distinguishes your business and gives your customers an edge on their competition. 

2. Be better

Oftentimes, Penn and Teller are familiar with the trick that’s being attempted, and so they know precisely what to look for when the magician is performing it. However, some magicians are so quick and skillful that Penn and Teller “miss it.” Penn and Teller know what to watch out for, but the trick is still performed successfully—and completely undetected by them.

It’s typically a cliché to say “be better than your competition,” but it’s true! Sometimes just doing something better, more efficiently, or cheaper than everyone else can land you a deal. The client may not necessarily want to reinvent the wheel with their business strategy, but they might be open to finding new ways to improve the practices within their organization. If you can establish yourself as the superior purveyor of a product or service, that might be enough to turn the tide in your favor.  All businesses are trying to stay profitable in a very competitive environment, and if your solution can offer even incrementally better results, it makes sense to highlight this selling point. The devil is in the details, and every little advantage counts. 

3. Present a new concept

Some magicians have done the impossible: they develop a trick that Penn and Teller have simply never seen before. In the business world, these are the true innovators and industry game changers. For these types of sales, you just need to impress your clients with the exciting new features, powerful capabilities, and other groundbreaking benefits that come along with what you’re selling. In today’s market, these tend to be the solutions that include AI, machine learning, and other such cutting-edge technology. 

Inspiration for sales and marketing

Penn & Teller: Fool Us is a really fun show to watch, and the magicians and illusionists are really skillful and entertaining in the way they perform their tricks. Penn and Teller are a tough but supportive audience; they are not often fooled, but they almost always have lots of encouraging words for the magicians.

This show is also inspiring for sales and marketing people to see some examples of salesmanship in its purest form—trying to persuade and sell an audience on what you do, and responding to feedback along the way. 

Visit  https://www.allbusiness.com/sales-lessons-from-magicians-penn-teller-123959-1.html  to read the original article and  sign up for their once a week very informative newsletter geared to small business owners.