On contemporary, there is this big misconception on the art of magic which is held not only by spectators but also by other magicians. Magic is regarded as the art of deception, art of trickery, art of lies. This simply happens because of the poor performances of so- called "magicians" or people who just had a hand on some magic equipment they bought from a local magic shop. Being a magician does not mean being able to do simple card tricks with the svengali deck or even normal decks. People who are acting like this simply put the art of magic next to what criminals do.
Magic is an art that requires appreciation, passion and respect. If people especially wanna be magicians act this way without understanding the nature of the art simply buries the art of magic way down to the ground.
I have no grudge against magic shops selling cheap magic stuff to people but the thing is, please have the decency to let people understand what magic is. Its nice to sell magic equipment to people but please put in mind that in every equipment you
sell the code is being broken.
For a time, I was happy seeing people buying magic stuff at least I won't have so much trouble
promoting my craft but in the long run I asked myself "does these people really know what
the nature of magic is?". All I wanna say is, to all the magic shops out there, if you sell magic stuff to non-magicians make sure they understand the art magic first, like give them a copy of the code or ethics regarding magic. Don't think about profit, coz without letting people understand what magic is, later on magic would just be congruent to mere trickery just like what con artists (manggaganchu) do and believe it or not, people won't buy from magic shops anymore.
Nonetheless, magic was never an art of lying and deception. It is an art that should be respected. Magic is not about the feats you do, it is about the MAGICIAN.
Monday, May 19, 2008
Categories of effect
Here's an article from wikipedia about magic.
The 7 Categories of effect.
Production The magician produces something from nothing—a rabbit from an empty hat, a fan of cards from thin air, a shower of coins from an empty bucket, or the magician themselves, appearing in a puff of smoke on an empty stage -- all of these effects are productions.
Vanishing The magician makes something disappear—a coin, a cage of doves, milk from a newspaper, an assistant from a cabinet, or even the Statue of Liberty. A vanish, being the reverse of a production, may use a similar technique, in reverse.
Transformation The magician transforms something from one state into another—a silk handkerchief changes colour, a lady turns into a tiger, an indifferent card changes to the spectator's chosen card. A transformation can be seen as a combination of a vanish and a production.
Restoration The magician destroys an object, then restores it back to its original state—a rope is cut, a newspaper is torn, a woman is sawn in half, a borrowed watch is smashed to pieces—then they are all restored to their original state.
Teleportation The magician causes something to move from one place to another—a borrowed ring is found inside a ball of wool, a canary inside a light bulb, an assistant from a cabinet to the back of the theatre. When two objects exchange places, it is called a transposition: a simultaneous, double teleportation.
Levitation The magician defies gravity, either by making something float in the air, or with the aid of another object (suspension)—a silver ball floats around a cloth, an assistant floats in mid-air, another is suspended from a broom, a scarf dances in a sealed bottle, the magician hovers a few inches off the floor. There are many popular ways to create this illusion of the magician himself being levitated, such as the Balducci levitation, the King Rising, Criss Angel's stool levitations, and the Andruzzi levitations.
Penetration The magician makes a solid object pass through another—a set of steel rings link and unlink, a candle penetrates an arm, swords pass through an assistant in a basket, a saltshaker penetrates the table-top, a man walks through a mirror. Sometimes referred to as 'solid-through-solid'.
Prediction The magician predicts the choice of a spectator, or the outcome of an event under seemingly impossible circumstances—a newspaper headline is predicted, the total amount of loose change in the spectator's pocket, a picture drawn on a slate. Prediction forms the basis for most 'pick-a-card' tricks, where a random card is chosen, then revealed to be known by the performer.
Many magical routines use combinations of effects. For example, in the famous 'cups and balls' a magician may use vanishes, productions, penetrations, teleportations and transformations all as part of the one presentation.
On my point of view there are more than 7 categories of magic. It has been argued by magicians for some time now but my own contention there 9 categories
effect. I consider switch and sensory distortion other categories of effect.
Switch - is where a magician shows you a card and he himself has his own card. Basically both cards are different. A few shake there and as it was revealed, you switch cards in a blink of an eye without you knowing it.
Sensory distortion - this is where visual senses are distorted in a way that objects appear to be real but in reality they're not.
The 7 Categories of effect.
Production The magician produces something from nothing—a rabbit from an empty hat, a fan of cards from thin air, a shower of coins from an empty bucket, or the magician themselves, appearing in a puff of smoke on an empty stage -- all of these effects are productions.
Vanishing The magician makes something disappear—a coin, a cage of doves, milk from a newspaper, an assistant from a cabinet, or even the Statue of Liberty. A vanish, being the reverse of a production, may use a similar technique, in reverse.
Transformation The magician transforms something from one state into another—a silk handkerchief changes colour, a lady turns into a tiger, an indifferent card changes to the spectator's chosen card. A transformation can be seen as a combination of a vanish and a production.
Restoration The magician destroys an object, then restores it back to its original state—a rope is cut, a newspaper is torn, a woman is sawn in half, a borrowed watch is smashed to pieces—then they are all restored to their original state.
Teleportation The magician causes something to move from one place to another—a borrowed ring is found inside a ball of wool, a canary inside a light bulb, an assistant from a cabinet to the back of the theatre. When two objects exchange places, it is called a transposition: a simultaneous, double teleportation.
Levitation The magician defies gravity, either by making something float in the air, or with the aid of another object (suspension)—a silver ball floats around a cloth, an assistant floats in mid-air, another is suspended from a broom, a scarf dances in a sealed bottle, the magician hovers a few inches off the floor. There are many popular ways to create this illusion of the magician himself being levitated, such as the Balducci levitation, the King Rising, Criss Angel's stool levitations, and the Andruzzi levitations.
Penetration The magician makes a solid object pass through another—a set of steel rings link and unlink, a candle penetrates an arm, swords pass through an assistant in a basket, a saltshaker penetrates the table-top, a man walks through a mirror. Sometimes referred to as 'solid-through-solid'.
Prediction The magician predicts the choice of a spectator, or the outcome of an event under seemingly impossible circumstances—a newspaper headline is predicted, the total amount of loose change in the spectator's pocket, a picture drawn on a slate. Prediction forms the basis for most 'pick-a-card' tricks, where a random card is chosen, then revealed to be known by the performer.
Many magical routines use combinations of effects. For example, in the famous 'cups and balls' a magician may use vanishes, productions, penetrations, teleportations and transformations all as part of the one presentation.
On my point of view there are more than 7 categories of magic. It has been argued by magicians for some time now but my own contention there 9 categories
effect. I consider switch and sensory distortion other categories of effect.
Switch - is where a magician shows you a card and he himself has his own card. Basically both cards are different. A few shake there and as it was revealed, you switch cards in a blink of an eye without you knowing it.
Sensory distortion - this is where visual senses are distorted in a way that objects appear to be real but in reality they're not.
Gensan's Magic Shop
Gensan's very first Magic Shop has just opened last Friday. They sell all sorts of magic equipments. Its temporary though so if you're interested in buying some magic stuff you better do now since they will be back to Davao this 31'st. Just look for Chona if you want to buy something and pls tell her that nate referred you.
By far here's the cheapest magic stuff you could buy:
Svengali Deck - 100.00
3 ropes to one - 100.00
Cups and Balls - 100.00
Magic Jokers - 100.00
Color Change - 100.00
Magic Ring - 300.00
These are what people usually buy from them, wheew.. at least I dont use these kind of tricks for my shows.. heheh... I'll sell magic stuff too, I'll just post in on my site. I made them by myself so basically you'll have a top of the line equipment from a top of the line magician/mentalist.
By far here's the cheapest magic stuff you could buy:
Svengali Deck - 100.00
3 ropes to one - 100.00
Cups and Balls - 100.00
Magic Jokers - 100.00
Color Change - 100.00
Magic Ring - 300.00
These are what people usually buy from them, wheew.. at least I dont use these kind of tricks for my shows.. heheh... I'll sell magic stuff too, I'll just post in on my site. I made them by myself so basically you'll have a top of the line equipment from a top of the line magician/mentalist.
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