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Thanks to shows like Penn and Teller: Fool Us, more people are being exposed to magic, and good magic at that. This thread is where we can share some of our favorite tricks from some of our favorite performers. Be it a modern coin mage like Eric Jones or the late Grandmaster of magic Dai Vernon, there is plenty of magic to share. One rule, because this thread isn't just for magicians and can be seen by anyone, please refrain from revealing or discussing the magic methods used to create the effect as it ruins the magic for those not interested in the technical side of the craft. I'll start with two: My first is the greatest cups and balls routine I have ever seen: Paul Gertner's Cups and Balls with Steel Ball Bearings. Second isn't a trick but a fantastic show I remember watching as a child over and over again: Ricky Jay and His 52 Assistants. Thirteen Orphans has a new favorite as of 06:44 on Sep 18, 2018 |
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Sep 18, 2018 06:32
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I stumbled on to Fool Us because of a YT recommendation. I had no clue that it was going on for so long and I love it.
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Sep 18, 2018 14:17
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Thirteen Orphans posted:Second isn't a trick but a fantastic show I remember watching as a child over and over again: Ricky Jay and His 52 Assistants.  This was the very first place my mind went when I saw this thread, and specifically the "History Lesson" cups-and-balls routine at the end. I hadn't seen that Gertner routine before, so thanks for that!
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Sep 18, 2018 14:21
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Pastry of the Year posted:This was the very first place my mind went when I saw this thread, and specifically the "History Lesson" cups-and-balls routine at the end. Ricky Jay really is a master storyteller. If you haven’t yet, check out the documentary about him “Deceptive Practice.” It’s on Amazon Prime.
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Sep 18, 2018 14:35
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I've always really enjoyed Shin Lim's performances on Fool Us. They're fairly straightforward card tricks, but delivered with so much style and sleight of hand that I can't help but love it even though it's so self-serious.  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EAN-PwRfJcA https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=thIlxChNYqk
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Sep 18, 2018 17:52
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Perestroika posted:I've always really enjoyed Shin Lim's performances on Fool Us. They're fairly straightforward card tricks, but delivered with so much style and sleight of hand that I can't help but love it even though it's so self-serious. I watched the lecture he did on Penguin Magic a few years ago and he's pretty amazing. The kind of magician that even though you know what he's doing, it's still amazing to see that level of dexterity. To contribute.... 
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Sep 18, 2018 22:45
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Shin Lim was on this year’s America’s Got Talent and took home the prize, making him the second sorcerer to win AGT! His performances throughout the competition can be found on YouTube.
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Sep 20, 2018 03:12
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Jason Latimer is really good and I only recently found out about him. Truck to truck teleportation https://youtu.be/A26DLG0MmJs
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Sep 20, 2018 03:40
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The Professor himself, Dai Vernon, performs the three card monte among others on the Dick Cavett show! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Hfyjpvp-ads
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Sep 28, 2018 03:04
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This is my new favorite magic trick: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CvzMqIQLiXE
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Nov 10, 2018 07:21
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This Lance Button routine is one of my favourites. Classy, and amazing sleight of hand. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pBj_Ifln-oo Spikey Willow has a new favorite as of 16:18 on Dec 21, 2018 |
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Dec 21, 2018 16:12
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Kostya Kimlat's Fool Us routine is one of the most impressive pieces of card magic I've seen, given that there are no deck switches, gimmicks or cheats - everything is as you see it. If you know anything about card handling you can spot one of his moves but that's about it. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SCFXV6o7cro
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Dec 25, 2018 01:36
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What I love about Fool Us is that they clearly set out to do a show to highlight and promote talent and they do a really good job of it. Even when someone comes in and does an off-the-shelf trick they will compliment patter, delivery, practiced skills, etc. They're even very nice when telling people they weren't fooled. I don't for a second believe they're unsure when calling a lot of how those tricks are done, but that's not the point. And you can see this when they actually are fooled, Penn's demeanor changes completely because I have to imagine that actually getting taken in by a trick with his age and experience is a rare feeling that he truly loves. I'm glad the pair has mellowed out in their age and has such a positive show.
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Jul 8, 2021 02:04
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Yeah whatever else you want to say about them, they truly love their craft and offer support to other practitioners Teller talked to me after a show once
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Jul 8, 2021 02:14
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The Bloop posted:Teller talked to me after a show once That’s awesome! I saw him in an interview in the midst of the pandemic in 2020 and he talked about how connecting with people after the show was important to him and how much he missed it. Edit: A quick change artist got the golden buzzer this year on America’s Got Talent. I usually don’t like quick change (nothing against it just not my style) but this performer did a really great job. https://youtu.be/ddlImQbD-sI Thirteen Orphans has a new favorite as of 02:29 on Jul 8, 2021 |
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Jul 8, 2021 02:17
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Foxfire_ posted:This is my new favorite magic trick: Okay, so most of this I can kind of follow, lots of (extremely well-practiced) sleight of hand, and I figure the vest is some sort of special prop. But I absolutely cannot get over how he first appeared and later vanished the squares in plain sight with his hands nowhere near them. 
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Jul 8, 2021 09:29
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Yeah that is dozens of individual tricks done together and flawlessly.
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Jul 8, 2021 20:55
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This Yann Frisch slight of hand routine isn't too special in content (even I can spot most of the slights, and I'm pretty bad at this stuff), but there's something about the delivery and storytelling that stuck in my craw. It still makes me laugh. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Jy0T-55dru4 Obligatory Fool Us routine - this one is Mathieu Bich with a single trick and beautiful execution. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YjiTAkKhG28 As for Penn & Teller themselves, I could post any number of their routines, but it's fun to go way back to their time on SNL, which they apparently got right zero times in rehearsal and perfectly during the show. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mwkmgqbYXdE
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Jul 8, 2021 23:56
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https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T-XoN1Ts6Wg
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Jul 9, 2021 01:17
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https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s9xKU8eYCFk The Great Flydini! Obviously not the most advanced tricks out there, but a great amateur performing with great showmanship.
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Jul 10, 2021 04:21
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Perestroika posted:Okay, so most of this I can kind of follow, lots of (extremely well-practiced) sleight of hand, and I figure the vest is some sort of special prop. But I absolutely cannot get over how he first appeared and later vanished the squares in plain sight with his hands nowhere near them. YouTube video is missing a frame or two right there, probably to prevent assholes like be from going frame-by-frame to figure it out. Sure it still looks great in person. Motherfucker. Sure looks like a laser but it can’t be without eyepro for him and the audience, the FDA does not gently caress around. Amazing.
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Feb 1, 2022 05:15
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Remulak posted:Motherfucker. Sure looks like a laser but it can’t be without eyepro for him and the audience, the FDA does not gently caress around. Amazing. What year was this? The main unit looks like a small tube laser with external power (possibly a fibre-fed beam from an off-stage tube but the device looks too big for just that). No idea what he's using for the hand-held "Darth Maul" stuff. But if it was done in the late 80s or early 90s things were pretty cavalier, especially in a small private venue.
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Feb 21, 2022 23:45
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Gromit posted:What year was this? The main unit looks like a small tube laser with external power (possibly a fibre-fed beam from an off-stage tube but the device looks too big for just that). No idea what he's using for the hand-held "Darth Maul" stuff. But if it was done in the late 80s or early 90s things were pretty cavalier, especially in a small private venue.
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Feb 22, 2022 00:04
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I've seen a version of this where an audience member doesn't screw up one of the big jokes but it's still good as hell, I love the style here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1_oa8m5Oq00
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Feb 22, 2022 00:04
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Feb 22, 2022 09:19
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Remulak posted:Were you doing lasers in the US in the 80s-90s? I sure the gently caress wasn’t so dunno, I assumed it was like it is now (never touched a laser for work until 2013, then I took an LSO course which was interesting). In retrospect, the tube being at the wrong scale was something else that made me think ‘not a laser’. In Australia. We had a water-cooled 7W argon tube laser that was used for raves, product launches, nightclubs etc, and while we avoided sending a pure beam into anyone we certainly didn't have any protective equipment. The device in the video really looked like a laser to me, as opposed to heavily collimated light (which I've not actually seen, tbh). I've definitely seen tube lasers in that form-factor. NmareBfly posted:I've seen a version of this where an audience member doesn't screw up one of the big jokes but it's still good as hell, I love the style here: Lennart Green is amazing. He comes across as a drunk uncle but is self-taught so has a very different style to anyone else.
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Feb 23, 2022 01:09
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Ya got a smoke, bud? https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GCm4r0F0tts
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Feb 24, 2022 20:12
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One of the greatest: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RdKKdZgVSAw&t=110s
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Feb 25, 2022 01:31
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I’m assuming everyone in this thread knows but the Amazing Jonathan died yesterday. His magic wasn’t amazing (on purpose) but he always cracked me the gently caress up.
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Feb 25, 2022 03:02
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ynohtna posted:Ya got a smoke, bud? That's great - he completely controlled what was going to happen by giving instructions that weren't relevant in the slightest. That's fantastic misdirection.
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Feb 25, 2022 08:52
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https://youtu.be/yyF5tbN8iXw
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Feb 25, 2022 21:55
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The Laserman did shows at Disneyland for a while, so it must've been pretty thoroughly vetted as eye safe under any mishap. It was that routine or extremely similar and with a very synergistic TRON aesthetic.ynohtna posted:Ya got a smoke, bud? 
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Feb 26, 2022 05:12
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Alpenglow posted:The Laserman did shows at Disneyland for a while, so it must've been pretty thoroughly vetted as eye safe under any mishap. It was that routine or extremely similar and with a very synergistic TRON aesthetic. The issue is usually if you have a raw beam projecting into the crowd. You try to avoid any laser hitting people full stop, but if it does sweep them then it needs to be a rapidly-moving beam like a fan effect or else diffused off a suitable reflector (something like a diffusion gel covered mirror ball, for example).
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Feb 26, 2022 22:57
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Someone once taught me how to do the coin-behind-your-ear trick, that was fun to do to people
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Feb 27, 2022 02:33
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This is a bizarre thread for me, since I have worked for some relatively famous magicians. I have also built "new" illusions for them. One of the biggest complaints was basically threads likes this and YouTube, reddit, etc "ruining" their shows. When I was rehabbing some older gags, it was like pulling teeth. Show me the trick. No Problem. Now show me how you do it. Ughhh. . .well. . . I need to know how you did it to build it. Okay fine. Some of the newer Illusions were easier because I was a involved in the design process. Too bad NDAs are a thing or I'd be all over this thread. But I will definitely Nth that charisma and story telling are fuggin huge for large shows.
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Feb 27, 2022 04:41
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I would love to see Copperfield's flying rig in real life. The patent is interesting, but I really want to see the engineering up close because it's super smooth in operation.
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Feb 27, 2022 23:44
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Richard Turner is the most impressive thing I've seen on that show, it's not magic, it's voodoo. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EbOVRvx8xLU
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Mar 2, 2022 21:56
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SAY YOHO posted:Richard Turner is the most impressive thing I've seen on that show, it's not magic, it's voodoo. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EbOVRvx8xLU The man is a deity, a trickster God who gained his powers from an unholy amount of time practicing. Dai Vernon used to teach Turner techniques that he had just made up and assumed no one could ever actually do. Turner did them! EDIT: Also, if the documentary about him is to be believed, he's the sweetest guy in the world. Thirteen Orphans has a new favorite as of 22:26 on Mar 2, 2022 |
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Mar 2, 2022 22:22
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Oh my god.  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jmwGLLNh6nI Just tracked down that doc about him: Dealt (2017).
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Mar 3, 2022 12:16
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https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j_ekugPKqFw
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Mar 3, 2022 13:37
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