Alvo Stockman's Coffee Shop Magic

New Instant Download

On Tuesday I'll be releasing another instant download called "Mating Call" featuring my Neat Freak Force.  Keep an eye out, it's an easy but extremely deceptive trick.

Book Test Buddy (private webcast)

Later today (Monday, November 24th) I'll be holding a private webcast and giving a complete inside look at my upcoming release, "Book Test Buddy." 

When I say complete, I mean that I will show you exactly how everything works, inside and out, so you will have no question in your mind what you're getting, and why this is the best way to do a book test. 

My invitation and secret URL will be sent to my private mailing list, "Postmentalists". If you're not on it, you can subscribe on the left side of this blog.

The invite will go out at 9pm Pacific. 

Join me. I guarantee it'll be an eye-opener. 

Special Effects and their Impact

Magic started before movie special effects.

In fact, it was magicians who pioneered special effects in film!

Lately however, special effects are getting better and better.  So good in fact, that they look better than live magic tricks.

I talk to a lot of magicians who are discouraged by this.  Scared might be a better word.  And it's not just limited to explosions and flying super-heros.  TV magicians are using more and more special effects as well.  "What will we do if we can't perform what they show on TV?"

The answer, is that it doesn't matter.  You don't have to.

People have seen *everything* on television.  They've seen flying pigs, laser vision, X-men, telepathy, and the list goes on and on and on.

The more surreal television gets, the more it's distancing itself from live action.  We're moving away from being a society that believes everything they see on television.  It used to be the case that if it was on TV, it was real.  And while some folks still believe that, increasingly the realization is that TV is a make-believe land, where at the push of a button, it's easy to do CGI animation and special effects.

The other day I actually heard someone talking about the Star-wars CGI work say, "Oh, but that stuff's easy.. they just push a button."

What I'm trying to say, is that TV and reality have been growing apart for some time now.  Maybe it was in the 90s with Jurassic Park.  We're past that now.

To see something impossible in real life, is just as mind-shattering as ever.

Lack of Imagination?

I read a book recently where a magician stated that an audience that doesn't like magic lacks imagination.  

I disagree.

I believe all they lack is an understanding and appreciation for why they need to experience wonder.

They may happen to lack imagination as a result.

Marketing "Wonder"

Why is wonder so underrated?  Why is it under-appreciated or even unknown?

I mentioned in one of my previous posts that wonder isn't a marketable product.  But more accurately, it's not a mass marketable product.  And because marketing is the business of teaching people what they "need," people don't know they need wonder.

But why?

As a species, our effort has always been to learn, to solve problems and to do things better.  On an individual level, the drive for this is to question the  unexplainable.  And after that beautiful moment of wonder, to be the first to ask and discover, "How?"

The desire then, is to tell everyone you know about your discovery!  To get credit, respect and attention.

Discovery is an amazing feeling.  It makes you want to jump out of the bath-tub, and run down the street naked yelling "Eureka!!!"  

So we can see that wonder and discovery are two of the most valuable feelings in the world.  They are cherished, remembered for years and typically accompany extremely significant events in people's lives.

Back to the question of mass marketability.  To sell a product of wonder, you have to give them something they've never seen before.  Ever.  And to scale the manufacturing of wonder to a mainstream market, you need to make LOTS of it.

But wonder doesn't scale.  Too many people and it's not a discovery anymore.  Too many people and it's not a mystery anymore. And It's HARD WORK to keep coming up with new mysteries for mass consumption.  

So because it doesn't scale, mainstream marketers haven't touched it.  And because they haven't touched it, the mass media sheep haven't learned they need it.

What this means for magicians (or wonder salesmen) is that we need to control our own supply and demand curves.  

Think about how much of your business is repeat business.  Why is it that so many magicians get gigs after giving a restaurant owner a "freebie?"   I bet it's because you've given them a taste and now they want more!

Think about wonder as a "new" product.  It may be great, but people have to know they need it.

Be a marketer.  Show them what they need.

Saying No

Don't be afraid to say no when someone asks for a performance.  If the mood is wrong, if the timing isn't right, if attention isn't being paid, feel free to say no.  Of course there are polite ways to decline, but the idea is the same.  Magic is a vehicle for delivering wonder.  If someone's mind isn't in a place to experience wonder, regardless of how much they want you to entertain them, it would be a waste of a trick.  

Remember, you can always show it to them later, but you can't show it to them again later.

Living in Your Dream

When brainstorming for your magic, do you give yourself permission to dream without limitations?  And then follow up and live in that dream?  It's a subtle point but worth drawing attention to.

When I read a science-fiction novel, the elements that are usually most interesting are the ones a few layers deep in this fantasy world.  Not, "oh, there are flying cars" but the derivative results of the flying car world.  When it feels like the author has actually gone into the future, lived there and come back to tell the tale.

Magic performance is a lot like creating a dream.  However when many magicians perform, it doesn't seem like they "live" with this amazing ability.  It looks like the reality of it:  like they are trying to make you believe they have a supernatural talent.  A large part of this, is that they don't believe their own character.  The second, is that they haven't given themselves permission to live in that dream.

Props and their association

At some point we're all going to have learned most of the basic methods in magic.  After that it's about creating the right "effect" on your audience.  This all of course is totally up to you and your goals.

Part of this is choosing the props.  You want to make something vanish, but what?  What is going to vanish?   Why is *that* going to vanish?

In the same way that the *words* we choose carry certain baggage (The Stuff of Thought) , so do all the props we handle.  They tell a story, they paint a picture or they fill in the gaps in your patter.  

Simple example:  You have little explaining to do if you're going to vanish an old bottle cap -- they're normally thrown away!  But why on earth would you want to make a coin disappear??

The Singularity Announcement

To announce my upcoming DVD, "Singularity" I've published a private webcast.  Check it out at:

http://vimeo.com/2231513

The password is: 'singularity'

After watching, please check out:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qds5MQCqWnk

It's a six part series, so follow along.  It starts off a little silly but gets serious quickly.

The Singularity is NEAR.

My new project is soon to be announced.  It will be revolutionary.  It has been called the best magic trick in the world by hundreds of the world's best magicians... who didn't even know it was possible.

It will be unveiled Wednesday, November 12th 2008 in a private webcast.

In the meantime, download a revolutionary wallpaper and show your support of new ideas in magic!

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