ΔΔ: Methods Make Magic (and that's not a secret!)
Last week, I published a post that explained how a concentrated focus on details—gestures, words, actions—can completely change how your magic is interpreted and remembered. In this second layer to the pyramid, we’ll turn to what can sometimes be a slightly controversial topic—method (and what your audience is thinking about the inner workings of your magic). Like before, I’ll recommend reading materials on the topics of discussion, including the second book in my favorite magic trilogy, the sequel to last week’s recommendation, Five Points in Magic. For now, conjure up some of your favorite effects and their methods, and keep them in mind as you read—applying these concepts to your actual work will be the most effective way to understand them.
To start, I have to wade into a bit of controversy. I’ve heard many magicians say something along the lines “I don’t want my audience to even be thinking about the method.” Before you plead with your audience to pretend it’s real magic and ask them to try not to think about your secrets, consider that they cannot experience the impossible if they haven’t considered all the ways it could’ve been done and convinced themselves that none of them were used.
If you want them to feel the magic, they have to know you didn’t use any cheap trickery, and the only way for them to come to that conclusion is if they think about various methods, and decide that it wasn’t possible for you to use any of them. Otherwise, they may stumble upon a potential solution that—while it may be incorrect—will let all the air out of the magical balloon you’ve worked to fill; it won’t feel like magic. Only after you’ve cut off every possible method will their disbelief go away and let them experience the magical feeling we’re all trying to share. To get there, we have to guide them carefully, eliminating every potential method from the realm of possibility (and carefully concealing the actual method so it’s not even considered), until they’re left with no choice but to believe they’ve witnessed a secular miracle.
To get practical, let’s think of a specific example. Our effect will be vanishing a small handkerchief by use of a thumb tip. Even though you’ve already decided on a method, think through (and perhaps write down) every single way this feat could be accomplished. Don’t think about what’s practical or what you would do, because your audience won’t understand those considerations. List them all. Here’s a (non-exhaustive) list of examples for how we could conceivably vanish a handkerchief. I’ll start with broad methods, with a few specific examples in each.
The handkerchief is still in the hands after the ‘vanish’ but concealed
Thumb tip (actual method)
False transfer
Handkerchief is secretly palmed
Other secret compartment in or behind hands
The handkerchief was secretly removed from the hands
A pull, that transports the handkerchief to your sleeve or coat
The handkerchief was tossed out of the audience’s vision (think Slydini’s paper balls over the head)
The handkerchief was never in the hands
Perhaps you pretended to pick it up from a pile of handkerchiefs but never actually did
A holographic handkerchief is shown via an illusion of light, but no physical object is really present (remember, we’re thinking about any kind of method, disregarding practicality and realism)
This list could be made longer, but it illustrates the idea. We want to consider any kind of possibility the spectator may consider because, whether they’re right or wrong, if they think of a method you haven’t disproven, they can’t be convinced they saw something magical and miraculous. So instead of only hiding our actual method, we want to let them consider all the methods we could be using, as we slowly disprove each one, until they’re left with nowhere to turn—magic!
For our list above, we may let them examine our hands (no magnets, pulls, or secret compartments), roll up our sleeves or take off our jacket (no place to hide the handkerchief), let them hold the handkerchief (it’s really there!), use minimal / slow movements (not just tossing it away), then make a point to show our hands empty (no palms or hidden compartments). We don’t have to draw attention to those specific methods; we just have to show them that no matter where they turn to figure it out, that’s not how it’s done.
At the same time, we’re using thoughtful and well-executed technique, psychology, and presentation to hide and cloud the actual method from their consideration.
Whether you like it or not, your audience (especially if they’re over the age of 3) is not going to believe you’re doing real magic, and they are going to be looking for and thinking about any way you might have accomplished your illusion. And thank God they will! Without thinking about what’s possible, they can’t experience what isn’t! So get 10 steps ahead of them, so that each time they think of a possible method, you’ve already cut them off and shown them just how silly that method would be! Only after you’ve disproven enough of these false solutions and left them with nowhere else to turn, will they give up and surrender to the magic.
So much of my thinking about this topic comes from Juan Tamariz and his theory of False Solutions and The Magic Way. In his wonderful book, The Magic Way, he explains in great detail how we cloud the method while canceling these ‘false solutions,’ all with the goal of leaving them with no choice but to surrender to the magical impossibility. After explaining the theories, he applies them practically to a number of routines—with coins, slates, and cards—so you can see specifically how he leads his audience along the Magic Way and guides them toward the magical effect. The end result is that his audience has convinced themselves that Juan just couldn’t be using some secret method—he leaves them no choice but to believe they’ve just seen a miracle.
“Let your spectators enjoy their disbelief. Look at their faces and, with them, feel their astonishment and the joy this marvelous experience produces.”