New Release Round Round-Up #6

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Time for more uneducated opinions on new releases based primarily on first impression of the ad copy.

Heartbeat by Juan Colas

There’s been a lot of chatter in my email box about this effect. And understandably so, as it’s definitely something that grabs your attention more than some tired coin or card trick. But there’s also a sense that the effect itself, while unique, is also kind of random. The title of that video is, “They FEEL Your HEARTBEAT Through a Pencil.” Well, that’s kind of like, “They FIND Your DAD’S GUITAR PICK In a BEEF Ravioli.” Or, “They SEE Their MENTALLY SELECTED FLIP-FLOP In a Glass of Room Temperature TURTLE Ejaculate.” These are all things that are impossible but also fairly arbitrary.

Hopefully, in the instructions, there is some attempt to make this moment seem meaningfully impossible as opposed to just randomly impossible.

I have a couple of different presentational ideas for this that I will test out when I receive it, and I will report back on how they go (if they go particularly well, you’ll read about it in a future issue of the Love Letters newsletter).

The problem with tricks that are unique and arbitrary is that they become profoundly googleable. There is a real danger of a trick like this getting fucked-out real quick. Which is unfortunate, but also it’s just the time we live in.

I should also mention that Ellusionist’s advertising and marketing, while still gimmicky in some ways, has become a lot less embarrassing for them in recent months. That’s unfortunate for me, because I’ve had a ton of fun goofing on their shit in the past. But if I’m going to dunk on their stupid shit, then it’s only fair to acknowledge their new approach too. So “well done” to Geraint Clarke or whomever is responsible for that turnaround.

Heroes Hat by Marcos Cruz

Okay, sure, the trick itself may suck. But the voiceover! It may sound like they used a free text-to-speech generator rather than pay someone $20 to do the narration, but I know for a fact that’s not the case. I’ve heard it on good authority that they spent $114,000 training an AI on the stilted, awkward, charsima-less delivery of your typical magician and this voiceover perfectly mimics that style.

Haze by Wonder Makers

I can’t speak about the quality of this product or the nature of the smoke it produces, but I think if you put an object in your spectator’s hands, and smoke starts coming out of it, then their reaction is likely going to be, “Oh, I guess this object produces smoke.”

It looks like you just need one card to disguise the gimmick and can therefore use any poker-sized deck. So if I had to use this in a way that the spectator wouldn’t immediately think that there’s something funny about the deck, I would use it when visiting someone’s house. Set up the gimmick to use some deck in their own house, ideally one with an unusual back design (assuming you can just tape a card to the gimmick in a non-destructive way). And then you might have a chance of getting away with this. However they still might just turn the deck over and be like, “Oh, so that’s what’s happening.” (Assuming they don’t just drop the deck outright when it starts smoking.)

By the way, if your intention is to email me and say, “If you’re worried about the audience looking at this gimmicked deck, you need better audience management.” You’re right. I don’t really do “audience management.” Instead, I manage the tricks I do so my audience is free to think and act in a normal human way.