How do they DO that?
...or WHY do they do that?
When I was a kid I got into magic because of the cross-indexing of optical illusions, paradoxes, psychology, hypnotism, magnets, gizmos, ingenuity, mnemonics, numbers, symbols, etc.
The thing of puzzling, amusing or amazing people came later.
I never really developed a ‘magician’ persona, although I went through phases of doing tricks for people, and when I became a comedy juggler I used my magical knowledge to add supplementary surprises to my street act. But I never had to decide whether to be ‘natural’ or ‘supernatural’ – to act like a bank manager with his hobby in a bar (so many magicians seemed like that back in the 50s) or completely nutty like Ali Bongo – who dressed and acted like a cartoon character. Then there was the genius of incompetence – Tommy Cooper – but the act depended on your having seen too many bad magicians, really.
Now we have laid-back stoned enigmas like David Blaine, Las Vegas glam like David Copperfield and Siegfried and Roy, sub-punk rockers like Criss Angel the MindFreak, and elegant mindfuckers like Derren Brown (quintessentially British, and my favourite of that bunch – for asserting scepticism, while demonstrating wild talents). From the USA only Penn and Teller continue to entertain AND demystify at the same time, like him.
Although this remains a cultural stereotype, many Americans do seem to take themselves seriously – and if you combine that with lowered ability for critical analysis you end up with celebrity worship, extreme gullibility and hysteria. Just watch how the crowds respond (even if they are a claque or entourage of stooges) to Criss Angel walking on water…or floating in the air…if you want to see how easily you could become a fundamentalist healer, psychic superstar, etc. Having said that, I feel sure that if I flicked through channels to the lowbrow tv stations I could see much the same style of presentation.
So anyway. Having looked at some of Criss Angel’s stuff, I came across Trickbusters and they made me laugh. They are not magicians exposing tricks – just sceptics thinking things through. Now among magicians giving secrets away is the first ‘sin’. Most magicians dislike expose’s like The Masked Magician – but really those shows only give away lame old tricks that you could find in a book in your library. And anyway they make the mistake of thinking the method is the secret.
Usually, the ‘method’ seems too simple. Many audiences (if told how they got fooled) end up feeling stupid or insulted (only occasionally do they feel impressed by the ingenuity and hard work).
So people who can’t figure things out for themselves probably don’t like smart-ass people who tell them how dumb they are. Or, like my sister, don’t want to know, as they enjoy the illusion better.
So watch a bit of Criss Angel hysteria on YouTube, then give TrickBusters a shot – even if they have lower production values.
And if you haven’t figured out how some of those bigger stunts get done, and DO want to know, then the Internet offers lots of channels of research for the ingenious. For instance, the Copperfield estate has pulled all the Trickbuster’s analysis of the flying illusion (using copyright vid) – as it is (quite rightly) Intellectual Property. I don’t deny that, and still want artists and designers to get properly rewarded. Still, the internet ‘library in the sky’ change everything. The designer of the flying illusion took out a patent (against Copperfield’s wishes) so you can find all the working details online. You have to remember that Special Effects started in theatre (Peter Pan flew when I was a child in live theatre) so there is little new about all this. Magicians back in Houdini’s days used to spy on each other, poach mechanics, get very paranoid about who got backstage, etc.
With film and television we have become more aware that we can witness the apparently impossible, so the ‘live studio audience’ or the passers-by, have become important. It doesn’t mean that tv magicians don’t lie to you!
Sometimes it is just a subtlety that impresses me as a researcher. Theatrical flying usually only involved one or two cables, and even if you could see them you ‘suspended you disbelief’ for the plot (Peter Pan wasn’t a magic show, but a play). The real sneaky difference with Copperfield simply lies in using a cobweb of thin wires – to give the same strength and security without a thick cable to disguise (by lighting or airbrushing out, etc). That gossamer thin support network leaves me gasping at human ingenuity, and I can return to watch the flying illusion to watch how beautifully Copperfield sells it as a dream of flying.
Bear in mind, for all the disputes and discussions, the artistry involved remains the key, and the engineering merely a ‘means-to-an-end’ – although to my mechanic friends the machine might seem more interesting that the ‘poof with the Las Vegas smile’ who just has to act clever…
This comes from the professional's point-of-view - Zigmont Backstage
Basically speaking magic is at four levels. The first might be called a trickster, that all he does, a trick. I fooled you he might say. Your uncle at a backyard barbecue doing a card trick.
Then there is a conjurer, a conjurer not only fools people, he fools them completely. He creates a perfect mystery. A conjurer adds no poetry no sense of wonder. He may buy magic at the local magic shop.
The next level, a magician of the first order, he adds poetry to the mystery. He works with ordinary looking objects. His effects are very beautiful in style. He knows the reason why each effect he has produced has been successful.
The final category is of a very high calibre magician. He deceives in an entertaining way. Amazes through his personality, showmanship and technique. That's when the handling of the illusions produce a thrill of genuine surprise in all who behold it. He never wastes a single movement on stage.
A master magician is he who can produce original effects and understand how to present them in an original and convincing manner. His mastery was due to an innate sense of the principles that he studied. He has made the difficult moves look easy, then the easy became beautiful and the beautiful looks like real magic.
Backstage Boys
Zigmont design and produce illusions, SFX, corporate events, etc. They offer this list of books for anyone who seriously wants to study illusion work.
Jim Steinmeyer designs theatrical illusions, writes great books (both technical and popularist) and has a fascinating website. You can find most of these addresses in my permanent links on the right.
John Gaughan designed the flying rig, remains enigmatic and reclusive - his patent can be found at the US Patent listings - Patent # 5,354,238
I'll leave you to trawl through YouTube. It contains some truly dire homemade magical videos, but also some real treasures. I don't mind kids in their bedroom sharing fumbling videos of their card magic practice - but if you really want to learn stuff, turn to the professionals, and lay out a bit of cash.
My find of the night, however? Video of Lennart Green. Amazing and hilarious! (possibly the greatest card mechanic in the world).
Dealing cards into a laser beam where they disappear. (!)
Nine minutes on Spanish television
Here's 3 minutes without interpreter!
