Search found 65 matches

by Aaron Sterling
May 16th, 2015, 8:16 pm
Forum: Close-Up Magic
Topic: Magnetic Matrix
Replies: 15
Views: 6877

Re: Magnetic Matrix

Tom Gilbert wrote:Has there been any work on this?


https://vimeo.com/85306286

He sells the method on his site.
by Aaron Sterling
May 14th, 2015, 12:13 pm
Forum: Buzz
Topic: One Trick Phoney
Replies: 171
Views: 24899

Re: One Trick Phoney

when magicians support this kind of magic, is a weird thing that I can't explain. It's a business decision, based on whether one's primary income comes from older magic amateurs, or from younger lay audiences. Genii and FISM have decided to appeal to older amateurs -- for example, people who got in...
by Aaron Sterling
April 21st, 2015, 3:10 pm
Forum: Buzz
Topic: Franz Harary's New Magic Theaters Opening This Fall
Replies: 3
Views: 1638

Re: Franz Harary's New Magic Theaters Opening This Fall

Thanks for the link. I think Harary's theme park and Hobson's Illusionarium are the most interesting projects in the world right now, from a production perspective. They are attempts to institutionalize magic as part of "the vacation experience." In case anyone is interested: I found Harar...
by Aaron Sterling
April 10th, 2015, 3:42 pm
Forum: Link Watch
Topic: Dynamo really is bad without the stooges and camera tricks
Replies: 40
Views: 23163

Re: Dynamo really is bad without the stooges and camera tric

again, you have no idea what you are talking about. I'm well aware that my position is not consistent with the Stockholm Syndrome mentality that so many US magicians operate under. "Magicians will always be marginalized anyway, so I won't invest energy in brand management, because if I did the...
by Aaron Sterling
April 10th, 2015, 12:47 pm
Forum: Link Watch
Topic: Dynamo really is bad without the stooges and camera tricks
Replies: 40
Views: 23163

Re: Dynamo really is bad without the stooges and camera tric

They are glad to be there because he is famous, not because they like seeing him palm a coin by holding it in his closed fist before horribly ditching it in his pocket. There are three story arcs: 1. The story arc of the performance. 2. The story arc of the performer's brand. 3. The story arc of th...
by Aaron Sterling
April 10th, 2015, 11:36 am
Forum: Link Watch
Topic: Dynamo really is bad without the stooges and camera tricks
Replies: 40
Views: 23163

Re: Dynamo really is bad without the stooges and camera tric

for magicians, or real people who want experience great magic, does he really have anything to offer? On the off chance this is a serious question, I'll answer it. One way to understand the issue is to compare this video to the promo video of Asi Wind's ACAAN, which is a professionally shot perform...
by Aaron Sterling
April 9th, 2015, 7:52 am
Forum: Link Watch
Topic: Dynamo really is bad without the stooges and camera tricks
Replies: 40
Views: 23163

Re: Dynamo really is bad without the stooges and camera tric

El Mystico wrote:Matt; out of interest, would you recommend this clip of Dynamo to inspire someone interested in becoming a magician?

I would. The reaction at 6:45 is great. Look how long she stays in the zone. It's more difficult to build that performing skill than it is to build SOH technique.
by Aaron Sterling
April 7th, 2015, 6:12 pm
Forum: Buzz
Topic: Blaine does ice pick for Baldwin
Replies: 7
Views: 3047

Re: Blaine does ice pick for Baldwin

NatGeo studied Kelvikta the Blade's version of this stunt a few years ago. Video here.

https://vimeo.com/33462933
by Aaron Sterling
March 27th, 2015, 5:06 pm
Forum: Buzz
Topic: "TV Magic is Dead," declares Dynamo
Replies: 13
Views: 5760

Re: "TV Magic is Dead," declares Dynamo

Didn't Mind Games perform well? I haven't seen it, but the reviews I've read have been positive.
by Aaron Sterling
March 25th, 2015, 8:55 pm
Forum: Columns
Topic: Stephen Minch's Writing Advice
Replies: 47
Views: 43539

Re: Stephen Minch's Writing Advice

The production company I'm involved with is run by a woman, and we've produced internal white papers on several tricks that might be used in shows -- historical summaries of effects that can be, e.g., shown to assistants, as part of giving all staff background in the show. We've shared some of this ...
by Aaron Sterling
March 23rd, 2015, 3:44 pm
Forum: Reference Room
Topic: OOTW history/credit
Replies: 2
Views: 3963

Re: OOTW history/credit

I don't know, but I can offer history of the "opposite" effect -- the spectator chooses the faces, yet gets the color of the backs wrong. Perhaps that interests you. See No Two Ways, by Ron Edwards, March 1958 Ibidem. More here: http://www.conjuringcredits.com/doku.php?id=cards:oil_and_water
by Aaron Sterling
March 23rd, 2015, 11:54 am
Forum: Buzz
Topic: New EATCT book by David Ben
Replies: 69
Views: 29344

Re: New EATCT book by David Ben

Roger M. wrote:He gave the details here, back in 2011:
http://magicol.magicana.com/magicol-past-issues/no-180/

Thanks for the link. The article title made me chuckle so much I just subscribed to Magicol.
by Aaron Sterling
March 20th, 2015, 11:54 am
Forum: Marketing & Magic Business
Topic: Abbott's Magic
Replies: 9
Views: 11834

Re: Abbott's Magic

I've purchased one thing from Abbott's web site. It was an out of print book that no one else seemed to have. Over $100 before shipping. I paid by PayPal, and received the book, in good shape, in 5 days. So I'm a satisfied customer. I've found that quite a few magic dealers don't return emails promp...
by Aaron Sterling
March 10th, 2015, 10:49 pm
Forum: Buzz
Topic: Ringling's Elephants and then?
Replies: 24
Views: 8518

Re: Ringling's Elephants and then?

I remember when the circus has a sideshow or a freak show. There was a very small group that wanted it stopped and it finally did. Today, they have reality shows. Go figure. I'd agree that freak shows have moved to reality TV and point-and-laugh web sites, or point-and-be-grossed-out sites (e.g., r...
by Aaron Sterling
March 7th, 2015, 12:01 pm
Forum: Buzz
Topic: Wired: Women In Magic
Replies: 45
Views: 12104

Re: Wired: Women In Magic

My point was that reviewers (and audiences) first assess a female performer based on appearance rather than skill.. which I think makes it much more difficult for a female magician to succeed even before she performs her first trick While I agree with you, I think a lot of that is due to a lack of ...
by Aaron Sterling
March 1st, 2015, 6:29 pm
Forum: Tenyo
Topic: Zig Zag with a French Fry at McD's
Replies: 21
Views: 6927

Re: Zig Zag with a French Fry at McD's

The marking bit is pretty strong done live, but in a video I think it exposes the method. It's not something that I would forward to my laymen friends. Apologies to the mods for the off topic post. Are you (I hope) the same Bill Duncan who used to teach coin magic at Marvin's Marvelous Magic? If so...
by Aaron Sterling
February 28th, 2015, 11:18 am
Forum: Buzz
Topic: Wired: Women In Magic
Replies: 45
Views: 12104

Re: Wired: Women In Magic

the only "regular" participants here that are ladies are Lisa Cousins and Julie Eng (at least, that I can think of offhand -- probably more, and someone else will name them or they will name themselves and embarrass me). Sorry, I misspoke. I actually had seen that Julie Eng posted in the ...
by Aaron Sterling
February 27th, 2015, 5:41 pm
Forum: Buzz
Topic: Wired: Women In Magic
Replies: 45
Views: 12104

Re: Wired: Women In Magic

On the topic of women in magic: In 2014, I attended several magic conventions with a woman who left home at the age of 16 to become a professional variety artist, and who now owns a theatrical production company that specializes in circus and magic. Prior to this, we both had stayed outside the magi...
by Aaron Sterling
February 19th, 2015, 2:03 pm
Forum: Close-Up Magic
Topic: Alaskan Poker by Ricky Jay
Replies: 154
Views: 39020

Re: Alaskan Poker by Ricky Jay

Given that the OP has posted elsewhere of being active in magic in the 1960s, and as such is deep into his fifties (at least), I think that directly challenging his ethics rather than approaching him as a student who is ready to be mentored is not unreasonable. If he was 14, I'd be inclined to agre...
by Aaron Sterling
February 19th, 2015, 1:23 pm
Forum: Close-Up Magic
Topic: Alaskan Poker by Ricky Jay
Replies: 154
Views: 39020

Re: Alaskan Poker by Ricky Jay

based on responses to comments it is clear that they are fully aware of how great they already are. That's an extremely common defense mechanism among young men. It has nothing to do with magic in particular. There's an educational skill required to get past that, but a lot of it boils down to resp...
by Aaron Sterling
February 19th, 2015, 12:56 pm
Forum: Close-Up Magic
Topic: Alaskan Poker by Ricky Jay
Replies: 154
Views: 39020

Re: Alaskan Poker by Ricky Jay

and further will never be artists (e.g.- see videos above). Imagine if, when you were growing up, cameras were everywhere, and if you didn't post pictures and videos of yourself online, you would be ostracized from a social life of your peers. A tremendous amount of inartistic things -- and idiotic...
by Aaron Sterling
February 18th, 2015, 1:01 pm
Forum: General
Topic: reading vs video
Replies: 74
Views: 112066

Re: reading vs video

good to know that you only care about yourself and how magic can serve you. but if big picture isn't your thing, then best not to comment from a perspective that suggests you have any idea about issues that impact the world beyond your room. (and the pdf's of carc is an un equivalent comparison to ...
by Aaron Sterling
February 18th, 2015, 12:10 am
Forum: General
Topic: reading vs video
Replies: 74
Views: 112066

Re: reading vs video

because history has taught us What to expect. there have been many projects over the years which have touted the lofty goal of empowering magicians to achieve new heights and break new ground by virtue of access to greater amounts of information carefully collected for them. so now we have 18,000 m...
by Aaron Sterling
February 17th, 2015, 10:17 pm
Forum: General
Topic: reading vs video
Replies: 74
Views: 112066

Re: reading vs video

because when magicians see what other magicians are doing, it is easier for them to come up with new ways of presenting that in no way resemble the performers they are copying. yeah, good theory there. how has that been working out for us? Again, I suppose it depends on your goal, but, given how I ...
by Aaron Sterling
February 17th, 2015, 10:07 pm
Forum: General
Topic: reading vs video
Replies: 74
Views: 112066

Re: reading vs video

. . . the searchable video performance database that a different body is building . . . Can you expand on this? I don't know what you are talking about. Hm. In the conversation where I learned about this, it wasn't presented as a secret or anything, so I figured it was ok to refer to indirectly in ...
by Aaron Sterling
February 14th, 2015, 5:43 pm
Forum: General
Topic: reading vs video
Replies: 74
Views: 112066

Re: reading vs video

I realize this is an old thread, but there are exciting upcoming developments here -- at least in my eyes -- so I figured I'd say something. First, the answer to "reading or video?" really depends on your goal. What are you trying to learn, and what effects are you focusing on? If you're i...
by Aaron Sterling
January 28th, 2015, 7:10 pm
Forum: Tenyo
Topic: Zig Zag with a French Fry at McD's
Replies: 21
Views: 6927

Re: Zig Zag with a French Fry at McD's

Richard Kaufman wrote:Yasuo Amano, who runs a fun Tenyo blog called Hey Presto!, just posted his handling of "Zig Zag Cig" done with a French Fry.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k5mKV514EFM

This is beautiful. Thank you.
by Aaron Sterling
January 24th, 2015, 12:18 pm
Forum: Platform & Stage Magic
Topic: Tube & Canister Mystery - performing in March
Replies: 1
Views: 2306

Re: Tube & Canister Mystery - performing in March

I'll give my two cents since no one else is jumping in. 1. It appears as though you have an in with Murphy's, so you might want to take a look at Jon Armstrong At the Table. He speaks at some length about prepping a volunteer before the show. IMO It's the strongest part of the lecture, which was alr...
by Aaron Sterling
January 23rd, 2015, 5:48 pm
Forum: General
Topic: Our Magic - now available.
Replies: 7
Views: 4546

Re: Our Magic - now available.

MagicOrthodoxy wrote:Are you talking about the 7 Veils with Juan Tamariz?

I'm talking about the section with the animated typography.
by Aaron Sterling
January 23rd, 2015, 12:23 pm
Forum: General
Topic: Our Magic - now available.
Replies: 7
Views: 4546

Re: Our Magic - now available.

Our Magic sets a high bar for magic documentaries, much as Devil's Playthings by Magicana just did for video of magic performance. There's a five-minute section about halfway through Our Magic that is extremely well crafted. I believe that segment should be shown to all students of the performing ar...
by Aaron Sterling
January 20th, 2015, 11:08 pm
Forum: Light From the Lamp
Topic: One Man's View of The Hollingworth Collection
Replies: 198
Views: 1222389

Re: One Man's View of The Hollingworth Collection

FWIW, my copy of Our Magic is gorgeous, and shipped promptly. But I can understand someone not wanting to send a company money if the company still owes them something.
by Aaron Sterling
January 19th, 2015, 8:40 pm
Forum: Close-Up Magic
Topic: Femme Fatale
Replies: 14
Views: 3036

Re: Femme Fatale

Am I really required to use a "standard" deck in order to receive quality feedback? I'm nobody, at least I'm nobody on the magic internet. But Brad Henderson was one of the handful of magicians interviewed for the Our Magic movie, and he couldn't tell exactly what you were doing because y...
by Aaron Sterling
January 19th, 2015, 7:37 pm
Forum: Close-Up Magic
Topic: Femme Fatale
Replies: 14
Views: 3036

Re: Femme Fatale

You're welcome, and I'm glad Brad Henderson gave you material you can use. I have to admit, I'm a bit dissuaded from commenting on a future video you might post, because you posted to an international message board a video you made "for fun" using a deck that was "convenient." If...
by Aaron Sterling
January 19th, 2015, 7:25 pm
Forum: Light from the Lamp ONLINE.
Topic: Mystique Color Changing Deck by David Loosley & Alakazm
Replies: 9
Views: 10292

Re: Mystique Color Changing Deck by David Loosley & Alakazm

internet performance rights cannot be assumed from the act of publication This is in a very interesting limbo, as I understand it. A lot of people now are marketing effects, while explicitly reserving all video rights. The question is: is that a protectable right they can reserve? I started noticin...
by Aaron Sterling
January 19th, 2015, 5:58 pm
Forum: Close-Up Magic
Topic: Femme Fatale
Replies: 14
Views: 3036

Re: Femme Fatale

and it takes minutes to have a card picked????? Ha! I saw a card picked, then put back in the deck, then 4 more cards picked, perhaps by different people each time. And yes, that would take a while. But maybe I'm off base. Perhaps the OP will clarify. Other than that, I really think we're saying si...
by Aaron Sterling
January 19th, 2015, 4:22 pm
Forum: Close-Up Magic
Topic: Femme Fatale
Replies: 14
Views: 3036

Re: Femme Fatale

Ignore the nonsense about something happening in 3 seconds. Do not tell a joke. Telling a joke (as per Tamariz - I can name drop too!) kills the build up. This trick is so short you don't have the luxury for that. And adding a flourish would kill the sense of magic - unless your goal is to demonstr...
by Aaron Sterling
January 19th, 2015, 3:39 pm
Forum: Close-Up Magic
Topic: Femme Fatale
Replies: 14
Views: 3036

Re: Femme Fatale

I've gotten the strong impression that my views on magic are not standard in this forum, so you should know that lots of people might disagree with me here. But hey, I'm hanging out on the internet today, so here's what I think. 1. You can't hand out the cards at the end. So you're performing a rout...
by Aaron Sterling
January 19th, 2015, 12:21 pm
Forum: Light from the Lamp ONLINE.
Topic: Mystique Color Changing Deck by David Loosley & Alakazm
Replies: 9
Views: 10292

Re: Mystique Color Changing Deck by David Loosley & Alakazm

it sure looks angly. Yeah. But I think you could change the angly parts to different handlings, and you still get, "What's your favorite card? The one that is most important to you? Okay, let's find that one. Magic magic magic. Here, let me sign your favorite card, and this is for you." T...
by Aaron Sterling
January 19th, 2015, 11:14 am
Forum: Light from the Lamp ONLINE.
Topic: Mystique Color Changing Deck by David Loosley & Alakazm
Replies: 9
Views: 10292

Re: Mystique Color Changing Deck by David Loosley & Alakazm

I love the color changing deck plot and David Loosley has created one that knocks down all the walls and comes up swinging. I might be misunderstanding the trailer -- it's happened before -- but why do you think this is superior to the Glenn West routine? It looks as though, with this routine, you ...
by Aaron Sterling
January 15th, 2015, 2:50 pm
Forum: Buzz
Topic: NPH exposes thin sawing
Replies: 60
Views: 15989

Re: NPH exposes thin sawing

see recent post about origin of the item/prop. source article here: http://www.salon.com/2012/07/10/secrets_of_the_muslim_bathroom/ Thanks for the link. I hadn't seen it. In case you're interested, the most respected academic source is the paper on trick vases by Noble, which is apparently more acc...

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