SECRETS OF MAGIC
- gabrielsohmagic
- Jul 17, 2019
- 3 min read
Secrets of Close up magic
Close up magic has been around forever but that doesn't mean that people can’t still be in awe at the tricks being performed right before their eyes.
Can you remember when you were a kid and you had that uncle that always pulled a coin from behind your ear and then made it vanish into thin air again? I know that I am and ever since then I have been fascinated by magic and in particular close up magic, which inspire me into this path.
Like other forms of magic out there close up magic has been seen by almost everyone. It could be from a street magician or even a younger brother who is trying to learn and wants to practice on someone. With close up magic there are two things that are generally required to make the trick a success.
Have a look at Singapore close up magician, Gabriel Soh, Up-and-Coming Visual Magician.
Misdirection
This is a key role in close up magic it is a means for getting the audience to look in the wrong place at the right time. For any trick that you do in magic there is always and I mean always a certain degree of misdirection. Even if you think that you caught the misdirection of the magician there is a good chance that to was a misdirection.
In short, misdirection takes advantage off the limits of the audience.
The audience will be looking to catch you out and as a result they are only able to focus on one thing. You can use this to your advantage because at the end of the day even though they want to know how a trick is done they are still there to be tricked. This means that they can only focus on one thing at a time.
Not all misdirection however needs the audience to be looking in the completely wrong direction some misdirection can be done right in front of the audience. For example putting a coin in someone’s hand this makes them focus on their own hand for a short period of time and at the same time the magician is doing something completely unrelated.
Don't believe me? Have a look at this video from a TED talks video that actually shows how much an audience really sees even on a daily basis.
The art of misdirection | Apollo Robbins
Sleight of hand
Sleight of hand is a method of manipulating something to get a desired effect and is used by all magicians. It doesn't matter if it is a stage magician or street magician or close up magician sleight of hand plays a key role in any trick. Sleight of hand is designed in such a way that it looks like normal gestures.
When preforming sleight of hand for an audience it is mostly done close to the audience. The magician will normally either have the crowed about 3 or 4 feet back or if closer will use some physical contact when performing a trick.
With sleight of hand you are not limited to gimmicks bought from a magic shop like fake coins or a tricked out deck of cards (although these need to be used for certain tricks) you can use anything that is available to you like a rubber band or coins.
Sleight of hand makes use of natural gestures and this means that you definitely have to practice as much as possible. It is a good idea to do this in front of a mirror so that you can see from the audiences point of view.
In summary, sleight of hand is a mastery, an art. Why not take a look at this video of Penn and Teller on sleight of hand where they explain a few common terms and show you a trick using both sleight of hand and misdirection.
Penn & Teller- Smoking/Sleight of Hand Trick
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