Magical Reflections #22 · 15/09
Don’t demonstrate the same condition twice
A question.
When you remember a movie you watched years ago…
What do you remember?
Every scene?
Every line of dialogue?
Every twist in the plot?
No.
Well, maybe you do.
But you’re a strange one. 😂
Normally, we remember certain things.
And very often, we remember especially how it ended.
Magic works exactly the same way.
The audience doesn’t remember every move you made.
They don’t remember exactly where every card was.
They don’t remember that shuffle you practised for three weeks until you finally got it perfect.
Nor do they remember that sleight you consider a masterpiece of engineering.
You do.
Because you were there.
The spectator wasn’t.
And this is important.
Very important.
Because sometimes we magicians worry far too much about the procedure.
The technique.
The naturalness.
The cover.
The timing.
The construction.
All of that matters.
Of course it matters.
But there’s something that matters even more.
What the hell does the spectator remember when they leave?
That’s the question.
You can create a technically perfect construction…
…and completely screw up the effect in the last ten seconds.
How?
By ending it badly.
Or ending it too quickly.
Or immediately doing something else.
Because you’re afraid of the silence.
Because you think you have to keep going.
Because you don’t know what to do next.
Well, maybe…
do nothing.
The effect has just happened.
The spectator has just seen something impossible.
Let them breathe.
Let them look at the card.
Let them look at you.
Let them look at the others.
Let them think:
“How the hell did he do that?”
That moment is part of the effect too.
And very often, it’s the moment they will remember most.
We remember the procedure.
The audience remembers the miracle.
We remember where we performed the sleight.
The audience remembers what happened at the end.
We remember the five minutes.
The audience might remember…
…the last five seconds.
So the next time you construct an effect, don’t just think about how to make it work.
Think about this too:
What do I want them to remember when it’s over?
Because perhaps the real ending of an effect…
…isn’t when you finish.
Perhaps it’s when the audience finishes reacting.
And between one thing and the other…
…there’s one second.
Don’t screw it up.
PD. Right above.
Dario Huet-a
La Varita Mágica