Monday, September 08, 2008

Thought for Food...

So I have been wanting to add a bit more to my creativity notes. You, my loyal readers, get a first glimpse of this addition to my usual ramblings.
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The other day I was going over some of the magic I have created in the last few years and realized a LOT of it involved food and drink based props. I usually joke that you "go with what you know" and then pat my belly. Like most jests, there is some truth behind that. The items I use are things I actually consume. Doritos, sandwich cookies, Coka-cola, Cheetos, etc. The best part about this is that I am not the only one in the world who deals with these objects on a daily basis. We all have to eat. (some of us do it better than others but there is no way in hell I am gonna start doing magic with Tofu)

This brings me around to my point (I knew I had one here somewhere): Use items people relate to. You pull out brass cups or gaudy boxes with dragons on them, what are they going to think? Magic Prop!! That's right. You could honestly save yourself a lot of time and money by using soup cans or styrofoam cups. It might not be pretty but if the prop matches your presentation and character, it will paint a more complete picture. The best part is, you will get all of the credit for the magic you do. If they think it's accomplished with the prop you bought then you get NOTHING!!!

If you use props or items they have handled, seen, bought, etc they will subconsciously know that there is no trickery involved with the prop... even if there is. On the otherhand, you can use a concept they are familiar with in an incredible situation. I believe that if you give them a little bit of truth, they will believe a LOT of BS. (Like a jumbo coin being filled with chocolate) In the case of using foodtsuffs, you can play upon people's memories, emotions, or even mental states because people associate so much with edible items. With cookies you can get them going back to their childhood, water, you can have them remember summertime. It's a dirty trick, but man does it work.

So look through your repertoire, and see what you can repaint, remake, or just plain get rid of/sell and maybe find a way to make a better mousetrap.

Just don't forget the cheese.

Bizzaro.

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