October 27, 2008

Magicians

Filed under: Magician Magic Shows — maghyp @ 9:00 am

Since the beginning of times, human beings have a fascination for the unknown. For instance, our primitive ancestors worshipped lightning and thunder. Some of that secret admiration still remains inside us, and that is the reason why we feel an attraction for magicians.

From little kids’ birthday parties to million dollar shows, these professionals have astonished people on the widest variety of places and situations, including movies, books, TV shows, and so on.

Nowadays, there are magic schools that prepare prospective magicians for their future career. These schools do not only instruct magicians in the arts of disappearing handkerchiefs, or taking rabbits out of hats, but also take care of more complete aspects of artistic expression, such as acting, verbal communications and public speeches, and even dance routines, as these arts are becoming more and more helpful when entertaining an audience that is harder to satisfy day by day.

Every day magicians and magic shows are getting more complex and more complete; today if a magician wants to make a difference between himself and the rest of his colleagues, he needs not only to perform flawlessly, but also be in constant search for new visually impressive tricks to attract a highly demanding audience.

Sadly, this creating process often takes several months or even years, so it is usual for famous magicians to remain out of public appearances for a lot of time, and return to stages once a year or maybe every two years with more and more impressive tricks that leave the eager audience breathless.

Back in the past days, magic schools were an option for magicians to improve their proficiency and get better in what they do; today these institutions are essential even for beginners to learn tricks and prepare themselves for this very competitive field.

Magic is not a hobby anymore, today it is a profitable career. It all depends on preparation and creativity.

About the author:

Tamara Williams provides content to Magic Tricks a site for those who love street magic and wish to learn magic tricks.

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October 23, 2008

A Free Card Magic: You Predict a Card Without Even Touching It.

Filed under: Magician Magic Shows — maghyp @ 3:00 pm

This card trick is very impromptu and can be done with a borrowed deck. There is no need to practice and no sleights needed.

Trick:

You predict a card without even touching the deck.

Method:

You hand a whole deck to your spectator and tell him to shuffle it. You then tell him to count 26 cards which is half of the deck. As he/she is counting, you remember the seventh card. Then tell him/her to set aside the 26 cards counted. You then write your prediction to a piece of paper. Next, tell him/her to pick any three cards from the other half. After that tell him to put the other half on top of the counted 26 cards. Put the three cards in a row order face up. Tell him for each card how many will he add to make it 10. For example the three cards are a six, seven, and a king. You will add four cards to six, three cards to seven and zero to king as it is considered 10 together with jack or queen. You then add the three cards: six + seven + 10 (king) = 27. You then tell the spectator to get the remaining cards face down and count until the 27th card is reached. The 27th card is the card you predicted.

About the author:

Your Online Resource for Free Card Magic.

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October 19, 2008

Sound Equipment In Magic Shows: A Must If You Want To Be Seen And Heard

Filed under: Magician Magic Shows — maghyp @ 3:00 pm

So you have practiced your routine well. You know what to do, what to say and what to wear. There is nothing else you need to do or check prior to your on stage performance. Or is there?

Yes there is. Remember that you will be performing before a live audience. An audience needs to, besides see the best part of your act and your costume, hear what you have to say to captivate their attention.

It is a requirement that every performer who go on stage must not forget the essential three things in order to have a good if not a positively unforgettable performance: an appropriate costume, a case for where to put your props in, and - drum roll please - sound.

These three things are the essential must haves, besides the usual add-ons to up any show’s theatrical value. But you are on the safe side as long as these three basic requirements are heeded and paid utmost attention to.

Even if you have a totally amazing, mind blowing performance which you practiced day in and day out to make it perfect, if the audience you are performing to cannot hear a word you are saying and so cannot understand what it is that they are supposed to, it would be very difficult - on their part - to appreciate all the efforts you put in to have a good show.

Every performer who is to go in front of a live audience must have a microphone. Duuuh! Do not forget, it should not be just a microphone, it should be a microphone plus a working, if not excellent, sound equipment.

There are magic act performers who prefer, and find it best, to use a Shure clip on their microphones as well as an amazingly powerful yet extremely simple Fendor Can Amp.

But over all, it really does not matter what type, what brand, what kind of sound equipment you use. What does matter is that your equipment must be able to provide a clear, crisp sound throughout the venue and one that will make the audience hear you as well as laugh at, applaud at, and be in awe at the appropriate moment you would want them to.

However, there are those kinds of performers who cannot wholeheartedly as well as logically appreciate the value of having their own sound equipment. Most of the time, the audience suffer from this kind of technical negligence.

Some performers think that as long they speak loudly - and carry a big magic stick - everyone in the room would be able to hear them.

Or sometimes, they assume - wrongly most of the time - that the people who organized the event or the venue that they will be working or performing in will be the ones to provide the sound equipment they need.

The best way to go is to assume nothing and bring everything. Your very own sound equipment will definitely work best for you. You benefit more from being prepared and the audience will just as enjoy your company, your act, your performance and probably talk to you later on for other gigs. And all this will be possible because of your sheer foresight.

Someone once said that persons with microphones cannot and should not be trusted. This may be a correct and incorrect statement. It all depends on who is holding the mic.

Microphones, more often than not, provide speakers with the power to hold an audience captive. For anyone holding a microphone, and whoever is holding that one and only microphone in a crowded room - that person is definitely the only one whom people will be hearing all throughout.

Absolute ownership of the mic gives anyone absolute power as well as prestige. It also gives the impression that the one holding the mic is worth hearing, seeing, and listening to. Those are benefits that any performer could consider as - definitely - priceless.

The same concept applies to any music that a performer will be using for his or her act. If there is to be music on the show that you will be staging, do not forget to use equipment that looks professional as well as provide a service that is professional, if not brilliant.

About the author:

Preston Houer has been involved with the art of illusion and sleight of hand for over 30 years. Let Preston show you how to Have Fun With Magic. Visit His Site Today! http://www.have-fun-with-magic.com

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