Obsession

Once a month, at least, I'll get a long email from someone asking me what I think of their new presentation.

They'll describe the trick to me and it will have what sounds like a lot of interesting elements—the spectator's aura, numerology, some psychological experiment, and a drawing the magician did as a child. I don't mean it will have one of those elements. It'll have all of them. (Not those specific ones. That's just an example.)

And I'll say something like, "It sounds interesting. But I'm not quite following. What is the trick, exactly?"

And then they'll reiterate what they told me the first time.

And I say, "No, I mean from the spectator's perspective. What did they just see happen?"

And that's where the conversation fizzles out. Because they can't answer it.

Their motivation is good. They had a standard meaningless magic trick and they attempted to give it some more compelling presentational elements. But they ended up with a presentation that wasn't meaningful, so much as it was "complex."

Complex can be fine in a novel or a TV series. But it's not great for a magic trick, which by its nature is already going to have something the spectator can't wrap their head around.

Dai Vernon said a good magic effect should easily be described in one sentence. He was talking about what happens in the trick itself. But I think what's more important is that the premise can be explained in one sentence.

You can have a complicated trick where half a dozen things are happening, but if you have a simple premise—

"The magician stepped into a closet that he said took him 12 minutes into the future. When he stepped back out, he was able to predict everything I would do for the next 12 minutes."

then you're all set.

They may not remember every beat of the trick. But they'll remember the premise.

If you can boil the premise down to a sentence, that's your best hope of having a story that sticks with them.

Storytelling Example: Obsession

During one of my daily updates last month, I recommended seeing the movie Obsession.

Since that recommendation, the movie has gone on to become the highest-grossing original live-action films of the decade. Now, is that because I recommended it? Possibly. We'll never know. But I'm guessing at least a couple hundred million of that was the "Jerx-bump."

One thing that makes the movie so good and watchable is the simplicity of the premise: a guy makes a wish that his longtime crush will fall madly in love with him, only for her devotion to spiral into a possessive nightmare.

That's the extent of the backstory. He wishes on a novelty item (a "One Wish Willow") and it actually works.

I watch a lot of horror movies, and so many are bad because they would over-explain how she came to be obsessed with him.

"Turns out the novelty item was a cursed Egyptian relic. The girl is the reincarnation of the guy's long-lost lover from 3,000 years ago. The wish doesn't just make her love him—it awakens her past-life memories and a parasitic demon that feeds on unrequited love, so now she's obsessed, violently jealous of anyone who ever talked to him, and slowly turning into a monster unless they complete a ritual involving his childhood teddy bear."

This is what I often see magicians doing when they try to come up with a "better" premise—they cram in a bunch of different concepts because they think more equals more interesting. It doesn't.

Hook, Line and Winky

This is an idea for a trick that would be the strongest, most memorable, most talked about trick you ever perform in your life.

The problem is that almost none of you—possibly no one—will be able to do it.

First, you get Hook by Eric Ross.

Then, you get a prince albert piercing.

Replace the piercing with the hook.

Walk into the room with 5 strings sticking out of your waistline.

An intriguing way to start with an unibelievable ending that will have people contemplating what would have happened if the trick went wrong for the rest of theeir lives.

---

Okay, since I wrote the draft of this post, I actually got someone to try it out—an old friend I reached out to and asked, “Do you still have that hole in your dick?”

“Which hole?” he replied.

Fortunately it turns out he had both.

I sent him the gimmick and he reworked it to be a single hook and performed it this past weekend. I wasn’t there for it, but t sounds like it went off as spectacularly as I imagined.

Am I going to tell you to pierce your junk just to do this?

Yes. That’s what I’m tellling you.

The Creature in the Corner

I was staying at a friend's house a couple of weeks ago and I got up in the middle of the night to take a leak. Not wanting to wake her, I tried to navigate the hallway without turning on any lights. As I walked past the open door of a room on my way to the bathroom, I saw some sort of creature in the corner, sitting in the dark.

It was about four feet tall, it looked like it was maybe covered in long hair or something, and it had two glowing eyes staring right at me.

I couldn't make out any other details because the room was illuminated solely by the moonlight coming in through the window, and this creature was off in a corner, away from the main shaft of light.

I paused. I stepped back from the doorway so I couldn't see it (or, rather, so it couldn't see me).

I peered in. It was still looking at me.

I took a step towards it into the darkened room, but it stayed where it was.

I took another step. It didn't flinch.

Another step. Its eyes were frozen.

One final step. And it started feeling considerably less animate than it did on first glance.

I reached out and my hand cast a shadow across one of the glowing eyes.

I touched the cursed monster and realized it was an exercise bike with a jacket hanging off the display screen. The "eyes" were the silver plugs on the ends of the handlebars that curved forward and inward around the jacket.

I let out a deep breath. I was significantly less concerned this thing was going to kill me or steal my soul. (On the negative side, it wasn't going to grant me wishes either.)

Did I ever really think it was some kind of hairy goblin? Probably not. But it was the middle of the night, I was half asleep, in a new place. So while I wasn’t sure it was a creature. I wasn’t sure it wasn’t either. It was just this mysterious thing until every step I took stripped it of its mystery a little. The closer I got, the less dangerous it became, the less alive, the less capable of becoming anything.

A lot of magic gets diminished the same way. Not by being explained, exactly, but by being over-defined.

If, at breakfast, you put a strawberry under a coffee mug, mumble some kind of incantation, lift up the mug, and the strawberry is gone, your friend watching might wonder what they just saw. Especially if you seem to not fully comprehend it yourself. Was it a trick? Was it a glitch in the matrix? Did she really see a strawberry in the first place? What was that incantation about?

Now exchange the coffee mug for a spun copper cup. And the strawberry for a crocheted ball. Add two more cups and more crocheted balls. Exchange the placemat for a close-up mat. Don't simply vanish one thing. Make the balls vanish and appear over and over. Have them penetrate the bottom of a cup. Have them all gather under one cup.

Every additional beat of magic or bit of polish you add to a trick ends up clarifying the category of the experience for people. It tells them, "This is a magic performance. This has been engineered. This has been practiced." In some contexts, that's exactly what you want.

But I think the most affecting amateur magic occurs when they're not sure exactly what they just saw. It must have been a trick, of course… but it had all the rough edges of…something else.

Consider that before adding another phase, a second climax, or using special props that look only like something you'd get at a magic shop.

Are you sure you want to take that step forward if it ends up making things safer, smaller, and more easily understood?

Sometimes the best thing you can do is keep them in the doorway a little longer, let the eyes keep glowing, and let the creature remain a creature.

Mailbag #175

Do you have any tips for spotting AI? I thought you were reaching with Wednesday's post about AI in that magic demo but when Penguin came out and admitted it I realized I'm maybe falling for a lot of it. Anything in particular I should look out for? —NA

I don't really know what to tell you. To me it was obvious the moment I saw it—the way the facial features moved, the voice, etc.

You know, sometimes someone will say, "This diet soda tastes just like regular soda." And I taste it and it tastes chemically, fizzy, sweet piss. I just think some people's senses are attuned differently.

I pick up on AI content really easily, especially in magic or writing—but that's because I perform daily for people and I write professionally. So that's right in my wheelhouse. On the other hand, if you showed me an AI cricket match I'd probably buy it because I've never really seen a real one.

So it was just an immediate recognition. And then on rewatch, specific things stood out to me as strange.

"There's no way you're going to get this." That seems like an odd thing to say. The card is sitting face-up in front of her. He's turned away. He hasn't indicated he's going to try to "get" anything (that's not even the point of the trick). At this point in the routine he's only had her take a card and sign it.

Notice her eyes and facial expressions. They don't line up with looking at someone's back. That's a face that's making eye contact with someone.

Her reaction here is too intense for the trick.

The trick is a card turning over in the deck. At best this should be a fun surprise moment.

This expression is what's known as the "inner brow raiser." It's indicative of shock, but not "fun magic trick" shock. More of, "I forgot the baby in the hot car" shock. There's concern and fear there.

You can get this reaction with magic, but it typically has to be a very intense or personal effect.

AI often gets the magnitude of things wrong. Here it's like, "Oh you want her shocked? Sure thing." And it gives you a woman who looks like she found her husband in bed with her grandfather.

You wanted this 😮 and you got this 😱.

You see this magnitude issue in AI writing as well. People will ask AI to write an ad for their variation on Twisting the Aces, and it's like:

This isn't just a card trick. It's a weapon. This is a rupture in the fabric of what your spectators believe is possible.

One ace turns. Their pupils dilate. Their breath catches. Time itself seems to fold in on the moment.

It's not magic. It's inevitability.

And magic creators are like, "Hmmm… yeah that sounds about right. Let's go with that."

Everything is maximal, nothing is specific, and the actual mechanics or performance conditions of the trick are nowhere to be found—because the "writer" doesn't know what a real reaction looks like, just what "reaction-adjacent language" sounds like.

The truth is, online magic reactions have always been mostly worthless as far as judging a trick goes. Pull out a camera and start filming people's reactions and you're going to get performative reactions. It's actually less embarrassing to go, "Wow! That's incredible!" than to give a real reaction that's underwhelming.

So my point in calling this out was never to be like, "How dare you tarnish our beloved demo reactions with AI!" It was just to make the point that if there’s going to be any value to online demos we at least have to all understand exactly what we’re dealing with.

---

Just a quick heads up for a potential topic for your blog: As so many people are raving about Reid Ferry’s ‘Trident’, I’m wondering what you think of it. The prop-less version in particular is pretty obvious, isn’t it? I think it’s generous of Reid to post the uncut version on YouTube, but not only me even after showing this to a laymen, they immediately knew what was going on... However, if there would be a way to improve it, it would probably fit to the carefree approach.—SG

I think you should offer a service where you offer a “stamp of approval” for tricks before they come out. I’m tempted to by the new Trident trick but it’s SUCH an investment. And the endorsements just sound like the standard mutual cocksucking of all magic endorsements. I feel like you’re in a good position to confirm if a trick has merit because you’re known in the community but you aren’t ever marketing yourself or wanting people to like you, so you don’t have the “let’s scratch each others backs” thing going on. Think about it. —DA

What the fuck? I want people to like me! Do I come off that misanthropic? Well, to be fair, I don’t particularly care if other magicians like me. So I see your point.

I’ve actually offered a similar service in the past to people who are releasing effects. I don’t think anyone ever took me up on it.

As far a Trident goes, I found the propless version (shown here—five minutes in) pretty obvious. And that’s despite the fact that the demo is edited to hide the process somewhat. But what did you expect? Any truly propless “any word” revelation has to be obvious almost by definition.

I think the version with a business card is stronger (shown here) But if the method I’ve been told for this is accurate, you’re going to have a lot of unhappy people when they get this.

That said, there may be so much more to this than I understand and it may actually be great. But from what I’ve seen and heard, I’m skeptical.

---

I wanted to share one of my favorite hooks. I usually use it when I know I'll be spending my time with some of my friends that I see often (especially if I know that we will spend some time scrolling away and showing each other funny videos and whatnot). It's basically having a bunch of normal interesting posts saved on Instagram that make for an interesting magic hook... 

Also, by having the videos on the saved page on Instagram, you can showcase the video as if you had just stumbled across it while scrolling with a few taps on the video (going down with a few upward swipes after clicking on the saved video, then swiping downward as u look at the reels yourself with the audio on). I find that feeling of spontaneity adds to the fun of the experience for smaller effects compared to "look at this interesting video I saw last week" even though I still love that line if the presentation makes sense for me to use it. —KA

Yeah, this is a goood idea. That style of interaction: “Let’s hang out and look at stuff on our phone and show each other anything interesting we find” is so common and natural these days that using that as an “in” to an effect makes a lot of sense.

I’ll try to remember to mention any good posts that I come across for this purpose. Perhaps it’s time to turn this blog into a similar Instagram.

Until then, you’ll have to find your own useful posts. Which sadly means branching out from the bear-focused balloon fetish content you usually peruse on Instagram.

Penguin Responds

In regards to Wednesday’s post about my suspicions of the use of AI in the spectator’s reaction to the effect, What the Flip? Acar Altinsel, the owner of Penguin Magic writes:

Thanks for your thoughtful blog post. It was actually more helpful than you may realize.

I hate to admit, I didn't realize the trailer had AI in it. So when you posted about it, we had a meeting and immediately took down that video and ripped the AI stuff out, and put up a new cut.

I'll write a newsletter about this topic at some point, but I feel very strongly that we definitely *do not* want AI to help reactions OR effects.    There was a trailer that was submitted to us a year ago that used an AI reaction and it triggered me to say very clearly to our team that people won't trust us if they think we do this. Since then, until "What the Flip", as far as I know we haven't done this.

And *because* I've been very clear to our team about that, I kind of assumed our videos didn't have it, so it was really disappointing to find out some had made it into our new video.  Thank you for pointing it out in a respectful way.

We work with a lot of editors, which makes it difficult to police especially as AI gets better, but we added a new requirement that editors we work with give a complete list of *any* AI that was used to help work get done no matter how, to hopefully prevent this kind of thing again.

Anyway, just to be clear, I hate the idea of AI being used to enhance effects or reactions, and frankly find it creepy in general, and I'll always appreciate another set of eyes helping us catch it. You helped us quite a bit today. —AA

Now, you may be saying, "That sounds good, but he's only saying it because they got caught."

That's not the impression that I get. I take him at his word. More importantly, I take him at his actions. They re-cut the trailer, pulling out the AI content. And he okayed me posting this email that publicly states they're not going to use AI to enhance effects or reactions in future demos.

That's good enough for me.

Speaking of me and my incredible AI-dar and ability to spot digital manipulation, I don't want this site to become just me calling people out, but I have to be honest… I don't think this is Craig's real physique.

Anti-Mastery

For a long time, before starting this site and refining my approach to performing social magic, I had the same issue most amateurs face when performing for friends and family: a generally steady decline in interest and appreciation for the tricks I was showing people..

The first time they see a trick from you, they're completely enthralled—even if the trick is nothing special. Months later there is less engagement. Years on, you have the "magician's wife" situation where they're significantly less interested in what you have to show them unless it's profoundly strong. Just a gradual decline in enthusiasm over time.

My solution at that time was to continually find new people to perform for. I'd perform regularly for a new person in my life, and then as time passed and their reactions lessened I'd start performing for them much less—maybe only every few months—and find fresh faces to focus on instead.

But then I stumbled onto a different approach that has proven to have much more enduring appeal.

It's very simple. The key is just never implying mastery. Nothing should ever feel "done."

In the past, the experience for people was:

Andy does magic tricks.

• He showed me a trick.

• He showed me another trick.

• He showed me another trick.

That might happen all in one night or over the course of a year. But each thing was its own separate experience—the feeling being that I had perfected this one thing and was now presenting it for their approval. And that's terrible for ongoing interest.

Imagine it this way. Let's say someone shows you some artwork they've done. Finished pieces. They're masters of their craft. At first you're like, "Wow, this is great! You're so talented." But as time goes by, you stop being surprised by their talent. It's expected now. So you're just comparing piece to piece: is this new one measurably more impressive than the last? If yes, maybe a reaction. If not, more of the same.

Now imagine a friend who is no master, but just someone who is interested in art and always experimenting with new techniques. Their pursuit is likely to hold your interest much longer even if their work is nowhere near as good as the first person's. Even if they're a total amateur. Even if the quality is all over the place. In fact, that only makes their pursuit more interesting.

This is the heart of anti-mastery.

Say "I can read minds" to someone you see regularly and you've put an expiration date on the experience. There's only so many times that premise can land before it stops feeling impossible and starts feeling expected. Even if someone could actually read minds, you'd lose interest in watching it pretty quickly.

But if it's something you're working on—something you've been reading about, experimenting with, trying to get a handle on—that same premise stays alive indefinitely. It's no longer a claim, now it's a thread that makes sense to return to again and again. You can come back to it, push it further, try a different angle, let it succeed, let it miss, let it evolve. People stay interested because it's still in motion.

The exceptions are:

If you want to claim an ability with someone you'll never see again, go ahead.

If you want to claim something so frivolous you'd only ever do it once, go ahead. For example: "I don't know why, but ever since I was little I could tell how many grapes someone can fit in their mouth."

But never claim the big abilities: mind reading, sleight-of-hand expertise, psychological manipulation, seeing the future, etc.

This is the best approach for an amateur who wants to play the long game. You're always learning. You've never mastered anything. You're exploring different approaches and you want their feedback. You're growing, you're on a journey and you're inviting them along for it.

No, Seriously, What the Flip?

Penguin released a new trick today.

I would love to see the raw footage of this live performance, because I’m pretty positive this is AI. Specifically this woman here…

And here…

To be clear, I know this is a real person who was really there. I'm saying her reactions—what she said and the expression on her face—were generated by AI. To me it's obvious.

I know Penguin has been using AI video effects in their demo videos for a while now, but this is the first time I've seen a video using it for the spectator's reaction. We're not okay with this, right? If this becomes commonplace, demo videos will go from their current state (mostly useless) to something that's actively destructive to your ability to sense if something is a good trick or not.

Now, I've always been a big Penguin Magic fan and I may be proven wrong on this. Maybe that's her real reaction and she's just on mescaline or something. If the raw footage matches up to the ad, I will buy 50 copies of the trick and distribute them to readers of this site as an apology to Penguin for questioning their integrity.

We'll see.