Are you ready for EMC 2011?

It’s getting near! The last EMC was a blast. An amazing hit for 2010! Things would be a little different this time, so we are all hyped up!

So what is EMC anyway?

EMC or Essential Magic Conference is a magic convention like everything else we go to every year. The difference though is the location, it’s in the internet. I believe this is a novel concept that adapts to the innovation started by TED Talks. My frustration would always be the cost for going to a convention. First, I would need to travel halfway around the world in order to reach the nearest possible convention. Get a hotel reservation and literally spend all the money I have left for the product booths. This would save me tons of money being an event on the internet. You would get a direct feed live, get the posted videos if you came in late, and even get a set of DVDs for the whole event! For people like me, who is literally thousands of miles away, this brings us closer to the event, and closer to everyone involved in this convention.

For more info, check out the interview of Luis De Matos and Marco Tempest, the organizers and creators of EMC.

Check it on this link!

IBM Member 69851R

My name was already included on the April issue of the Linking Ring and I have also received my certificate and pin. It has been quite a wait but I am now officially a member of the International Brotherhood of Magicians.

The International Brotherhood of Magicians, founded in 1922, is the world’s largest and most prestigious organization for professional and amateur magicians, magic enthusiasts and collectors of magic apparatus.  A huge organization composed of 130,000 members on over 17 different countries around the world. Philippines has it’s share of IBM members and official rings. A “ring” is an authorized subgroup of the IBM where magicians can meet on a regular basis. We have IBM Ring 322 – the Magicians Foundation, Inc or MAGFI. We also have IBM Ring 328 – The Inner Magic Club, which is also a ring located in the Philippines.

I am also committed to promote the important aspects of being a magician, the ethics and morals  in which recently has been torn and battered up.

“The Hands of Vegas” Mickey Silver

If in case you haven’t heard of him, you must be really out of the coin magic ring . Mickey is an amazing coin magician in which many peers consider him as inspiration. Include me in that list as well. I first saw him a few years ago with his famous “Human Coin Slot” routine which uses an excellent retention vanish and repeats it again and again and again.

He recently released some practice videos back in 2004 and have now uploaded them online. I requested some of them to be posted here. Here’s his reply:

Hello Agaton,

Very happy to hear from you….. Thank you for your interest in my coin work…It is a pleasure to see you take any of my videos and place them on your blog….YOU HAVE MY FULL PERMISSION TO DO SO!!! ANY TIME AND ANYTHING YOU WANT REGARDING MY MATERIAL..’

Thank You Agaton….

MICKEY SILVER- ” HANDS OF LAS VEGAS”

Three Silver Dollars and a blade

Lawrens Godon answers!

Lawrens is such a swell guy to provide some answers for us. Here it is! When he answered this, he just got home from a French Magic Convention during the whole weekend. His DVD was a blast!

Anyway, here are the questions:

What is the difficulty level of the Dynamic Back Thumb Palm (DBTP)? Many of us are wondering if it is possible in a commercial environment.

DBTP is not that difficult ; once you get the mechanism, it’s a matter of rehearsals and time dedication…I would say that it’s the kind of move that will take some time to get down, but it’s worth the work because you have such a powerful tool at your disposal !

Remember :
- With the DBTP you can show your hand empty at ANY point of a routine !
- After a ROV for example, no question about the other hand : it CAN be seen empty !

- About the commercial use of the DBTP : I use it all the time lol !!
Whether I want to hit hard a VIP table with some stunning coin magic, or use it sparingly in any routine, DBTP always add a plus to coin magic…

- I would say that the only case where it would be more difficult to use is the cocktail venue, where the magician is standing up as well as the spectators…but this is not specific to DBTP : in this particular venue, any vertical coin magic must be adaptated.

Are the effects on your DVD somehow aimed for intermediate to expert? Are there easy routines included?

The title says : “visual coin techniques for the advanced magician”
Why ? because if you know your edge grips variations, advanced classic palm techniques, muscle pass, you’ll be able to go through the routines very fast !

- “The trapdoor” is the master piece of the DVD : learn it to really get into the DBTP. Also, this routine will teach you a way to get a strong grip on your classic palm.
- “AVA” is a quick and powerful one coin routine using the Harada Hold in a very unique and visual way…
- “Spellboundary” is a collection of spellbound move you can pick some off ^^
- “Free fly”, because it’s a typical routine to which adapt the DBTP…
- “Silk contact” is the only routine in the DVD with no DBTP ; it’s not difficult and highly visual.
- “Fly again” is a kind of “Only 3-coin 3-fly routine” : well worth the study because of its particular timing.
- “Cointumacious” is my version of the one coin routine, with the jumbo final. Here again, you can learn it all, or pick moves and ideas at will…
- “On/Off” is a very visual application of the DBTP and a wand (or pen, straw, spoon…) ; can be use each time you need to vanish a coin with a prop similar to a wand : looks like real magic !
- “Fake drop” is a technical application of the DBTP.
- “Wanded” is an interesting bonus, also using a wand and the flip move…easy routine ^^
- “Continuous production” is an example of what you can do with the DBTP, in the vein of Sylvester pich…

In the core of the routines, you’ll find other techniques like DBTP shuttle pass, harada direct production, Flash production from back thumb palm, etc…

ALL the techniques and routines I describe are audience tested on lay people as well as magicians.

They contributed to span my reputation as a coin magician in my area, and I sincerely believe they would do the same for you and your friends !

Thanks again Agaton for blogging my DVD, feel free to ask if you have any question !

Thank you so much for your support, you’re a part of the Moneypulation buzz !!!

From France,

Lawrens Godon

More on Lawrens Godon’s Moneypulation

I have received requests from magicians and hobbyist to provide more info on this product.  Good news!  This came from Lawrens himself as he was kind enough to share us the contents of his new DVD:

Moneypulation Vol.1 by Lawrens Godon – DVD
Visual Coin Techniques for the Advanced Magician

14 no-gaff, stand-up routines and techniques !

In this volume Lawrens Godon reveals a revolutionary system of coin manipulation based on a single sleight, often neglected and rarely used.
With this knowledge at hand you will have a whole set of INCREDIBLY visual utility sleights and ideas at your disposal.

No-talk teaching and slow-motion sequences make everything easy to learn.

Original, deceptive and elegant, designed to be performed for larger groups as well as under most close-up situations, these coin effects are right up the alley of those who enjoy working at chest level.

Moneypulation is not a dvd for beginners, but any magicians familiar with intermediate level coin techniques will be able to learn the material taught.

Content :

The Dynamic Back Thumb Palm – the main sleight of the whole product. We find this a new take on the classic. Lawrens obviously revolutionized the move!
The Trapdoor – Three coins appear from nowhere, one by one. Then each of them slowly disappear as you rub it in your forearm. After all is gone, the coins appear on the open hand.

A V A (Appear-Vanish-Appear) – Everything’s in the title. It appears, it vanishes and it appears again. Three difficult sleights are at play here, the Dynamic Back Thumb Palm, the Muscle pass and the Harada Hold. Ouch!

Spellboundary – Fast pace appearance of a coin, transferring hand to hand, and then transforming before coming back. A flurry of changes indeed!

Three Fly – His own version with the use of the Dynamic Back Thumb Palm. It makes the setup and ending looks magnificently clean!

Silk Contact – the only routine that does not use the DBTP. Three coins vanish at a touch of the silk and appears again in snap.

Fly Again (performance only) – Another version of 3 Fly. Although no explanations are provided, you can get a lot of tips from here.

Cointumacious – Lawren’s take on the classic One Coin Routine.

Bonus
On/Off
Fake Drop
Wanded
Continuous Production
Crystal (glass ball routine)

Wayne Dobson at the Royal Variety Show

Wayne is one of the famous magicians in British television, even at par at a time with Paul Daniels. What made him different is his amazing humor. Here’s a sample clip of his famous Five Card Trick (a variation made famous by the legendary Fred Kaps) and also simple spongeball routine he did using just ONE PHASE. However, the people obviously enjoyed it…and you will too.

Why? Because this guy knows how to entertain. Wayne is still alive now but already paralyzed waist down and finds it difficult to move even. However, we can still see him around active in the magic community and still knows how to quip up a good presentation.

John Bannon’s Mega ‘Wave Review

In case you are living under a rock in the world of card magic, you should have known by now that John Bannon, my personal idol, released a second DVD set with Big Blind Media called “Bullet Party.” It contains many new ideas in his ‘Fractal card magic*’ series. Some of them are new and included in the Bullet Party booklet…which somehow on the way to my mailbox. Some of them came from his previous booklets “Six Impossible Things” and “Mega ‘Wave” which brings us to this review.

I already have the Mega ‘Wave booklet since last year and find it really amazing. I may be biased since most of my cardwork breathes Bannon in one way or the other. The main trick in the book, which is Mega ‘wave, is an excellent approach to the small packet Brainwave concept. This is somehow similar to Stephen Tucker’s Omega effect. Definitely something you can keep in a wallet and bring it with as a “go to” packet effect. This is so good that it conflicts my current “go to” packet effect called “Duplicity.” Please bear in mind that “Duplicity” is also a John Bannon effect and part of his ‘Fractal card magic*’ Also, there is somewhat a similarity between the two…so I bring both but have to choose one effect for a particular audience. Nevertheless, this is a keeper!

There are six more effects in the booklet:

Fractal Re-call, his famous “Call of the Wild” routine has been converted into a packet trick.

Short Attention scam, a short version of his famous Royal Scam trick.

Mag-7, a wild card version packet trick.

Poker Pairadox, a version of Nick Trost’s matching trick.

Fractal Jacks, a packet version of a gambling routine.

Wicked, a jumping sandwich effect using the queens.

By the way, Fractal Re-call, Poker Pairadox and Wicked are also included in the new “Bullet Party” DVD. So you’re one step ahead here!

My verdict:

Impromptu: Definitely not, since these are packet tricks, preparation is required for almost all of the effects here.

Sleight: 3/5 – Intermediate card handlers that can do packet sleights.

Teaching: 4/5 – Bannon is excellent writer and a common card book reader can instantly dive in.

Effects: 4/5 – Definitely has impact!

Overall: 4/5! All in all, it’s all worth the small price of the book. But definitely get it for the Mega ‘Wave effect!

A video presentation would be here:

* Note: Fractal Card Magic is John Bannon’s interpretation of a packet trick which are completely examinable after the effect. Packs a lot of punch!

Eric Mead’s Coin Magic at EMC

I’ve been an admirer of Eric Mead ever since I’ve read his book, Tangled Web. A person who focuses a lot on the power of presentation and subtlety. A very smart magician who knows how to play with words and can totally suck you in to his own magical mystery tour (sounds like the Beatles!).

He’s not famous for his coin work, but his coin effect here is a work of art. Don’t you agree?

 

Edit: I already received a question. Yes, this is somehow influenced by the coin legend Troy Hooser’s exTROYdinary.

 

What have you learned today?

The saying “Everyday is a learning process” is nothing new. Up to know, I’m still learning a lot when I perform magic to friends, relatives, acquaintances, and strangers. I guess that  the time when I realized that I’m “good enough” and won’t need to correct anything with my magic would be the start of my downfall. Again, we learn something everyday. We learn from our spectators. We learn from our peers, from the best in the business down to those who just started in magic. We all learn from people and experiences.

The next obvious question would be “How would I know I’m getting better?” It’s really a hard question to answer for yourself. My best tip would be asking your best friend, your magic buddy, your siblings or your some of open minded relatives on how you are doing.  Don’t just ask a magic buddy! Most of them are generally polite and won’t even give criticism. Come on, magicians are like that! Although there are some who would provide you beneficial tips on technique and presentation, you should also consider the people who does not know about the technique…but what they see is how you present your magic to them, the spectators! This is very vital as well.

Learn how to be open minded and accept criticism. That’s the only way we can grow and be better. If you can’t accept comments and think you’re still the best in the world, maybe this is not really for you.

I have to tell you that it’s not easy at all! I also struggle with criticism and comments made by my friends, who are often brutal. Just take those words into mind and adapt.

Have a nice weekend!

My 3 coin routines

As I have been saying again and again…I am very persistent to perform coin magic. It’s the art in close-up magic that I need a lot of improvement on and I guess it’s the same with most of young magicians today. Everyone’s focused on too much card magic and cardistry…we had more than enough the will last the next few decades.

Here are some of my videos of my coin magic using three coins. The first one is relatively new while the second one was shot a few years ago. Let me know your thoughts on these performances!

This video is called “Particles”

This video was shot last 2009. It’s called “1-2-3 coins.” Not a very creative title, I know!