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MISDIRE TION
ND
DIRE TION
Keys to the mplification
of
the Magic Effect
G RY
KURTZ
ONTENTS
2 Introduction 2
3 The Importance of Misdirection 3
3 Visu
al
Noise
3
4 Opennessand t he Open Posit ion 4
6 Coord ination
of
Actions and
the
Priority
o f Movements
6
6
Economy o f Mo t
io n 8
9
Active
and
Relaxed States 9
The Natural Of fBeat
Creating
the Of fBeat 2
3
Regaining
Attention
3
4
The Eyes
4
5
Verbal
Misdirect ion 5
6Naturalness 6
7
Directing
Audience
Attention 7
6
Principals
Elements 6
2
The
Prime Focus:
The
Remembered Effect 2
Final Words
En t ir e contents Copyright 96 9 by Gary Ku rt z
Al l R ights Reserv
ed
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INTRODUCTION
WHYANOTHER WRITTEN TREATISE ON THE RTOF
MISDIRECTION?
First 01all ,
because I feel mi
sdir
ection an d dire ction of a ttention
are majo r skil lsof the magicians craft , skills whi ch unfortunately
are often u nd erstood o nl y a s up erf ic ia l level i f not c om pletely
misunderstood). Misdirection has noth ing
to
do
with
distraction
It has everything to
do
with
c on tr o ll in g a nd
directing attention
.
Secondly, it has been my experience in st udyi ng other
performance arts , that on e te acher may r epeatedly tell you
somethi ng an d y ou mig ht sti ll fai l to
grasp
the concept. Another
teacher might then tel l you the sa me t hi ng s in a slightly different
way , a nd it ca n l ea d to a rev el atio n, a s ud de n u nd erstan di ng of
the principles involved.
I m hopi ng
th en , that the way in wh ich I
articulate things might lead you to a
deep
er understanding of our
art.
Lastly, part of the e mp hasi s in thi s man us cri pt is on the two -fol d
purpose of being ab le to
man
ipulate the audience s attention :
Misdirection aids
In
deception Direction
draws
attention
to
Important
elements
, All the techniques puttogether give you the
tools to control and man ip ul ate w ha t yo u w an t the a ud ie nc e to
see
For me, thi s has pro ved to be far more satisfying an d
useful
than
compet ence in manipulative technique alone. As in all t he oth er
arts, phy sical tec hn iq ue s are o nl y the first pa rt of b eing an
artist.
To cont rol your audience s attention, pe rception and memory of
what they ve seen - n
ow
those are the real techniques of magic.
THE IMPORTANCE
OF
MISDIRECTION
I hav e
secret ass istant...He r name is Miss Direction.
-J o h n Ra msey
Misdirection /direction play s a
major
role in ele vating the mag ician
from trickster to magician. Personally, I
almost
neve r
do a move
without misdirection , even though I a m technically quite
c ompe te nt. Th e rea so n for thi s i s tha t , in
the
w ords of E rdn ase :
Not only shouldn t they see anything, they shouldn t suspicion
anything.
For me t he n, m is di rection is not just a cover for the
moves, but a pre caution aga inst suspicion, to keep suspicion
from ever entering the
audi
ence s minds. O nl y w he n there is no
trace of suspicion can t he re be a s us pe ns io n of disbelief. Only
when there i s a sus p en s io n o f d isbelief, can th ere be
magic .
Ah , wh ere to b eg in?
V isual N oise
V isual noise is a fairly self-explanatory p hrase: Its tiring , and
even annoying, to watch: A performer
who
gestures Wildly, as he
shifts his
body
weight from foot
to
foot , c onstantly shuffling
and
riffling his de ck of cards as he talks a
blue
streak . It creates
confusion , and, it can be d et ri me nt al to t he proper set-up and
execution of m is di rective/directive actions: With a performer
constantly on the
move
, the audience
d oe sn t k no w what
to
watch : Sh ou ld they be wat ching
yourhand
s to mak e sure you re
not
doing something funny?
Or should they , as soc ial huma ns do
by instinct, look at you w he n you re talking ?
Its our responsibility to mak e
our
wo rk as easy as poss ible for
ou r a ud ience to wa tc h and enj oy ; to let t hem know what is
important and what is unimportant.
You can be an extremely en erg etic performer, and still be in
perfect control.
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OPENNESS
AND THE OPEN POSITION
What I refer to as the
pen
Position is one where the audience
can see, in the ir peripheral vision , all of the elements in play. and
they can see that everything is fair and above board.
Example: When perterming card magic, hold the deck loosely in
your motionless , extended hand when you talk. This way you can
talk to
the
audience without their attention being spl it between
you and what y ou r h an ds are doing. You can still be very
animated y
our
free
hand
, face
and
voice, just don t be
constanlly riffling
and
shuffling the cards.
My suggestion is that
y handleyour
props well away from
your
body , very openly, and with as l it tle movement as possible ,so
they dist ract attention away from you .
What I call Openness refers to an attitude of performing
everything as
openl y and
cleanly as poss ible : showing them
through words and actions that you re going out of your way to
be fair and that you r eno t cheat
ing
on them.
Example: Slydini's Knotted Silks.
The spectator'sthemselves tie the knots. Tony tugs on them, and
asks O .K? O.K? He goes
ou t
of his way to make sure that the
spectatorsare a hundred percent satisfied that the silks are tied.
Then t he m agi c happens
A more detai led example: An Ambitious Card routine.
The spectator replaces his card
into
the fanned deck. In closing
the fan, sidesteal the
card i nt oyour
right hand (the Eyes,
andt he
Name as misdi rection) : Now at this point, Steven...... . In
bringing the deck up to the left fingertips, in front of the
spectator 's eyes (because you want to be as fair as
pos
sible):
The palmed card is replaced on top: ... how far down from the
top of the dek
woul
d you say your card is? He gives his
response,
conv
incing
himself
.
Very openly (hands well forward towards him) perform a double
turn-over, showing an indifferent card on top of the deck: Well,
one thing s for sure.../ts no t on top, ri
ght
? .. Repeat the double
turn-over and hol d the
deck
loosely on your extended and
motionless left palm as you perterm your magic gesture over the
cards. With all attention on the card s, turn over the top card to
show the selection has risen to the top .
The effect youll gel out of this h nd ling ismuch
suonq er
than it you held the de k l igh tly in your hand with your
elbows pressed into
your
sides and the deck two inches from
your stomach.
The second move is Vernon's Tilt: Move clos e to a person on
your right , displaying the sel ec tion at your right fingertips.
Pertorm Tilt. with the express intent of showing her that the card
goes into the middle
: Watch. TI,e 5C.. ./nto the centre
of
the
deck.... Relax your lef t hand, mov ing it forward into an Open
Position , wi th her looking at it from behind: You saw the card go
in, yes?....
In lhis case you involve
one spec tato r
specifically. She
verifies for everyone the truth of what you say.
Perterm a double l ift to show the ca rd is back on top : And yet it
still comes back to the top...
One fast time... Pick up the double card and bring i tto the right
edge
of the deck, in preparation for the turn-over. Draw attention
to it: ..The 5C... Del iberately, f lip it over, take the top card and
move your left hand forward , so several people are seeing the
deck from behind. Insert
the
card into the centre of the deck
(supposedly the same actions you performed the last time) . Very
openly push the card in.
They
see every thing from all sides:
..Into
t
centre of the deck.... Yes? Yes?...
Here. everyone verify the t ruth of your slatements.
Pertorm your
magi
c gesture, then turn over the top card : And
still om s .... tothe top .
The above examples illustrate how , by adopting an atti tude of
Openn ess (doing nothing different technically) , you can greally
amplify the effect on the spec tators .
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Most mov es w hi ch req ui re mis di re ctio n ta ke o nl y a s pl it s ec on d
to perform. The rest of the time you should be in an Open
P os it io n. Th ey mis s a few d etai ls , b ut they d on t know it. All they
r em em be r is t ha t you w en t out of y ou r way t o be f air and a bo ve
b oa rd . H ow s th at for a l as ti ng i mp re ss io n?
COORDINATION OF ACTIONS, A ND TH E P RIOR IT Y OF
MOVEMENTS
The hum an eye is a tt ra ct ed by mot ion. Simple fact. But, the
hum an eye can really only f ocu s on one m ov em en t at a time.
Using the p ri nc ip le of t he Coordination 01 Actions one action
secondary) can pass unnoticed in the shadow ofanother action
primary).
The basis of this principle first verbalized by Tony Slydini) is that
b o th a c ti o ns egin an d stop at e xa ctl y the same t ime. Th e
ot her ele me nt lies in
the
c ho ic e of p rim ar y and s ec on da ry
actions.
Examples of the Priority 01 Movements:
1-A h an d m ov in g forward will t ake pr ec ed en ce over a h an d
relaxing back.
2-A hand rising will attract more attention than a hand dropping
down
to y ou r s id e.
3 -An y a ctio n w hi ch is
active
wil l command more attention than
an a ct io n w hi ch is passive.
4-Any action which you invest with
Importance
will t ak e
p re ce de nc e ov er a n a ctio n w hi ch y ou d o a utomatic al ly , without
thinking.
5-Additionally, any1hing
colourful,
flashy, well
l it, wil l draw more
attention that something
commonpl ce
and seemly unimportant.
These ar e b as ic p ri nc ip le s of t he at ri cal s ta gi ng , wh ic h can be
used for clandestine as well as overt actions.
A simple example: A bil liard ball steal.
The r ig ht hand a lr ea dy has a ball p al me d. Reach lorw rd with
yo ur rig ht h an d and produce t he p al me d ball at your fingertips
twisting your
body
s li gh tl y to the l eft); simultaneous d ro p y ou r
left h an d to
y ou r s id e>
b ot h a ct io ns s ta rt in g and s to pp in g at
exactly the s ame time. Th e i ns ta nt the ba ll a pp ea rs a t y ou r r igh t
f in ge rt ip s is the
instant
you steal the ball from the h ol de r with
y ou r l eft h an d.
T oss the ba ll i nto the a ir, mov in g the le ft h and b ack to i ts o ri gi na l
position as the ball goes up. Catch the ball, and go into a
flourishy roll of the ball between your extended index fingers.
Properly coordinated and timed,
the viewer will be
completely
unaware
that
the left
hand dropped
to
your
side. The primary
actions also make
lor a
good
effect.
A more extravagant example: Changing a woman into a tiger.
The
c ge
is c en tr e s ta ge , t he re are s te ps le ad in g up to it. The
a ss is ta nt c li mb s up the stairs,
and
enters the cage. A lar ge
c ol ou rful c lo th is p ul le d
down
over the front of the cage. Two
performers spin
the
cage forward into a brightly l it spotl ight right
at the edge
of the s tag e as a no th er a ss is ta nt q ui etly p ul ls the
stairs the supposedly-caged assistant now hidden inside) back
into the
dimly
lit
upstage
area, and offstage. There s a flash of fire
over the cage and the c lo th is pu lle d off, revealing that the
woman has changed i nto a tig er r igh t i n fron t o f the a ud ie nc e s
noses.
T he audience com pletely f o rg e ts t h er e we re e ve r s ta ir s o r
a n ot h er a s si s ta n t i n vo l ve d . T h e t r an s fo r ma t io n ,
and f in al
di splay posit i on applause cue), happens
right
up
close
to
the audience.
A m or e
complex
example
You ve j ust palm ed the f ou r Aces from the bo tt om of the deck
into your lef t h an d and w an t t o p ro du ce them from your pocket.
Your r ig ht hand m ov es f or wa rd t o h an d the deck t o a s pe ct at or
as your left h an d relaxes to y ou r side: Here give the cards a
shuffle..
If y o u d r o pp e d
your
left hand to
your
s id e, a nd t he n
moved
your right hand
forward,
you d have
two noticeable actions
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Your right hand rises in a palm out gesture, bringing all eyes up
with t Oh. wail.. .. Open the righi side of your jacket and look
inside, as you b ring you r lett hand to your hip .
Opening your
jacke
t and tookinq in c reates
intere
st.
fOI
mo re
engaging than the left hand s sma ll mov
ement
Look up at the aud ience as you reach your lett hand into your
insid e pocket, closing the
jac
ket slightly around the
hand
as you
do. You may want to... Reopen your jacket and
look down
as
your left han d pulls the cards from your pocket. Display them in
both hands, chest height and forward in front of you : ...mix these
in there too ...
A l il lie more effective than simply diving your
hand into you r pocket, wouldn t you say? The
final display uses the same staging principles
(forward
and
high) to create a strong final
display position .
Movement and strong staging
allr
act attention. The Coordination
of Actions allows you to make secondary act ions invisible.
For every action there is a balanced
and oppos
ite reaction . For
every movement you want to pass unnoticed, all you have to do
is find a stronger action to counterbalance it. The
challenge
isto
find a primary
action which
Is logical and motivated .
Economy
of Motion
Simplicity is the u lt imate goa l. Anytime you can
eliminate
something extraneous do
so. Sometimes, its not so much
eliminating moves that you do , its a question of simplifying what
the audience perceives and remembers that you did . What we
are doing may be extremely complex. Misdirection, direction and
lhe Coordinal ion of Actions can be invaluable in simplifying which
actions the audience see and remember.
The examples given under the last section already demonstrate
this . Several actions were
made
impercepti
l
e primari ly to aid
deception, but , they also simplified the effects because the
audience was unaware of
hall
the things which were
going
on.
ACTIVE AND RELAXED STATES
When you relax
, your audience
relaxes
.
Th is is were
body
l
anguage and
stage
pr
esence
playa
major
role. This ties in with St
g i
ng and The Priority of Movements I ve
already discussed . If you look at the examples I gave then you ll
notice that aside from the directions I mentioned there was also
an energy specification (eg : A hand moving forward takes
precedence over a hand relaxing back) .
Slydini s postures are a great example of this principle {though
restricted to close-up
magi
c seated at a table, and too
exaggerated for anyone other than Tony} . Tak
ea
look atpictures
of Slydini in action. You ll s ee
how
his whole body directs
attention to the point hes looking at. Look at a hockey player in
position for a face off . See how his whole be ing is focused on a
single objective. Performing
st n
up Move closer to the
audience, lean forward slightly, gesture with your hands well
f
orw
ard and project strongly forward (or in the direction you want
atte ntion
to go) .
Active physicality creates ten sion/attent ion
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