Re: I need a good tinkerer who can help me with a project - Better Explanation

From: Roger Johansson (no-email_at_home.se)
Date: 12/28/04 

Date: 28 Dec 2004 15:40:24 GMT

"Avi Frier" <avi@noemail.com> wrote:

>> He did a few tricks with a red piece of cloth, like palming it and
>> other classical stuff. When that trick was over he throws away the
>> cloth over his shoulder and reaches for the next trick in his pocket,
>> but the red piece of cloth does not fall to the ground, it starts to
>> fly like a butterfly, and he and the people around him look at it with
>> astonishment, as it gains speed and flies towards the forest behind
>> the beach, it flies in among the trees and finally disappears some 200
>> meters away from the crowd at the beach.
>>
>> That was just incredible. And the magician looked just as surprised as
>> everybody else. "What the *** is that red cloth doing?"

 
> It amazes me that you don't think there was technical apparatus
> involved here!

There was no apparatus which the viewers could see.
He did not start the trick by showing them a technical apparatus,
explaining how it works, letting engineers check it, etc..

There was just a few people, in bathing suits, on the beach, and a little
piece of red cloth.

I think a lot of the effect of this trick was created by the sudden
change of the dimensions of the arena.

He was doing close-up magic tricks, less than a meter from the
spectators, so the arena was a meter or less in diameter, between his
hands and the viewers.

When that piece of red cloth started flapping away like a butterfly it
went outside that arena, and suddenly the arena was hundreds of meters,
or even longer, because it looked like that cloth could fly forever, to
the horizon or longer, it was just hidden from the view when a few trees
got in the way so they could not see it anymore.

Such a sudden change of the dimensions of the arena is very surprising to
the mind of the viewers.

It is important to program the motor well in such a trick. It should work
like a fisherman who pulls a bait through the water, with erratic
movements, to look like a wounded fish which swims a little, sinks a
little, over and over again.

That made the cloth look like it had wings and like it was flying like a
butterfly.

Maybe you think about magic in a very technical sense, that there should
be an impossibility which the viewers can never find out how it was done
technically. And you think that is impressive.

I think more of the momentary feeling of astonishment, and the enjoyment
of seeing something totally unbelievable. It doesn't matter to me if the
viewers easily can understand how it was done 5 minutes later, when they
have regained their senses from the shock.

Magic, to me, is entertainment, giving people a positive jolt of their
senses, followed by a happy feeling and a laugh. It must be beautiful,
simple, astonishing, and the presentation is the most important part of
the trick.

You seem to have a more technical view of magic.

When a magician hangs a seemingly empty cage from the ceiling of a
nightclub, covers it in black cloth, and seconds later removes the cloth
and there is a white tiger in the cage.. that is totally boring to me.
Anybody can do that trick, if he can afford to buy the machinery that is
needed. 

-- 
Roger J.
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