Here you see magician Steven Bridges doing "Detach" by Rick Lax. (He does it well btw)
The problem is shown in the comment section of the video:
Jahhshhdhdhdj wrote: "Not an illusion. Simply a gimmick piece concealed by the hands"
sam smolyar wrote: "fake"
kostasdeath1 wrote: "lol After Effects ? :D"
And Steven Bridges defends his point by answering to those comments.
So here is the problem. The trick itself might be a cool, impromptu little thing. But the mere thought of an extra piece would destroy the illusion. And you cannot really fight the thought. Sure you can have them select a balloon in the beginning. You could have them sign the opening and the balloon itself. But suddenly we are venturing into a realm of necessary overkill in order to accomplish this illusion.
That makes it a bad trick. The same way the linking rings is a bad trick. The thought of "oh probably a gap" would explain ALL. That is why handing out the linked rings is so important.
With this you cannot hand out the balloon in it's magically altered state. And that is the downfall of the trick.
So to be a little more constructive here is the following:
1. Is the prop you are using free of the suspicion of duplicates? (like any borrowed object)
2. Can the altered state be handed out for examination?
3. Is there no "simple" explanation possible?
If just one of these points is true you have something to work with. If two of the points are true you have a gem. And if all of the points are true you have a freaking miracle.
This is a good example of: even if I don't know WHICH method you used, if I can tell that there are a variety of possible methods, it's not a good trick.
ReplyDeleteI really like this routine myself and I think the strength is if you can perform it in such a way that the the nozzle of the balloon is never obscured from sight, which is where this guy sort of messes up.
ReplyDeleteThat said, the main reason I do it now is to judge the audiences reaction to balloons. If I'm doing a signed coin to balloon, the last thing I want is for someone with a latex phobia or allergy to freak out when I introduce the balloon. By that point it's kinda too late to say "Oh, lets do something else then."
So by doing something simple and amusing with a balloon at the very start, I can change where things are going before I have anything at stake.
This is when I learned the answer is 'magnets'. Always. Magnets.
ReplyDeleteCard to impossible location? Magnets.
Three fly? Three Magnets.
Cups and balls? Magnetic cups.
There is a pattern I am noticing in the Magic trick inventing-selling biz.
ReplyDeleteGreed.
Guys like L*x,Fe*nberg,Mi*ler,Pa*ker,Nob**zada,L*m and a bunch of others discovered that M***hy's Magic will buy their $1 trick for $10 and resell it to dealers for $20 who then sell it to you for $40. The best part of this is that the trick does not have to be good or even practical. It can suck because there is a huge group of people (probably not reading this) who like to buy whatever is new and is demoed in a video with a few cute teen girls and some nerdy Lothario magic boy wearing a beanie on his skin head with a ring on his thumb and maybe some ink on his arm and a dog collar on his neck. Sure these drecky tricks have a short life span but the initial burst of sales can make a L*x or L*m 1,000 Dollars the first order they get from the distributor.They can not lose any money. But that's all they usually make. After the word is out that their impractical, stupid little trick sucks sales stop and they need to come up with a new crappy trick. So they get greedy and start pumping out more crap and more crap and more crap. It sometimes never ends. Like a cancer it destroys and financially ruins every 17 year old trying to just get some attention or maybe just get laid. Each crappy trick makes $1,000. Do the math. These guys are winners. The folks that buy this shit are the losers.
The world is full of con artists and liars.
While I agree, Its not a foolproof trick or even a trick I would ever use, the screams of 14 year old trolls yelling "FAKE!" are really not a gauge to judge any trick by. Its one of the three "F"s of the YouTube Community, those being fake, first, or f@g...
ReplyDeleteThe biggest problem is unparented kids on the internet... Of course those same kids buy this kind of magic...
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V2P11pU3yo0
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