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June 06, 2006

Wilcox on magicians

Wilcox on magicians: Off-topic (but it's a chance to confirm that I still don't have any info of my own on the MS lawyer's story from last week ;-) ... Joe Wilcox wrote in passing "Good magicians are effective by way of distraction. The crowd looks here instead of there and so misses the trick behind the trick." That's true, but it may be more accurate to state that top magicians consider where attention would naturally flow, rather than create distractions themselves. Tony Slydini introduced a wonderful sense of timing into the New York magic scene in the 1940s... there were few "moves" as such, but the business happened during the natural cycle of relaxation and attention. Other great magicians, like John Ramsay, did deliberately create bits of business which would distract those who thought they were clever... some of his sleights are actually pretty easy to spot (his thimble steal is blatant), but he'd create an "aha!" suspicion which would lead other magicians astray. Overall, though, I think it's not the sneaky business which was effective, but the long-term pattern of watching how things really do play out which led to the most real magic. (And by the way, if you like sleight-of-hand, I'd recommend the Ross Bertram home movies which were recently pressed to DVD... the lighting is sometimes off, and the score of Canadian schottisches is seldom heard today, and some of the "educational" stock footage would cause today's video editors to shake their heads, but Ross and Helen Bertram were early do-it-yourself creatives, and they managed to preserve some really important records of some exhilaratingly beautiful impossibilities.)

Posted by JohnDowdell at June 6, 2006 11:42 AM

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Comments

The problem with 'magic' and traditional trickery is that everyone knows it's not real. The best 'magicians' in my mind wrap their act into a compelling narrative and involve the audience in the experience.

Derren Brown is a master of this, and his books give some fascinating insights into captivating, leading and delighting an audience... excellent reading for the UI/UE creative juices.

(how's that for dragging it back on topic :)

[jd sez: Cool, you made my day, Adam. :) ]

Posted by: Adam at June 6, 2006 04:34 PM