Essential Magic Conference 2011 - Session 5 (Part 1)
Category
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CreativityTranscript
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01:07 Welcome back to the Essential Magic Conference.
01:12 My name is Marco Tempest and I'll be hosting session number five.
01:17 Sit back and make yourself comfortable for two more hours of magic.
01:22 We'll see performances from Apollo Robbins and Eva Doe, Pete Wardell and Chris Powers.
01:29 Lectures from David Kaye and Bruno Coppin.
01:32 A panel discussion on magic for kids.
01:35 And this is an interesting cast.
01:37 David Kaye, Rudy Coby, Richard Wiseman and Max Maven.
01:41 Topaz will be moderating.
01:43 And we'll be hearing from the legendary David Bergles.
01:48 Our first speaker is a multi-award winning magician, a creator and performer.
01:54 A master of close-up and stage.
01:57 And a star in Taiwan and China with television audience over one billion.
02:02 That makes him the most watched magician in the world.
02:06 Will you please welcome Liu Chen.
02:09 [Applause]
02:16 Ladies and gentlemen, my name is Liu Chen.
02:18 I'm very happy to be here to share something to all of you.
02:22 This is Max Maven.
02:24 Because my English is so poor, sometimes I don't understand what I'm talking about.
02:29 So I need Max to be here to translate what I'm trying to say.
02:36 I'm technically the safety net, although you're going to do just fine.
02:40 What I'm going to do is I just want to show you effect.
02:43 I created this effect just before I came here.
02:46 I think it's very interesting.
02:47 I didn't have a chance to do that last night, but I want to do it now.
02:52 Okay.
02:53 I have a deck of cards, but actually it's not a deck of cards.
02:56 It's a card with names.
02:59 With names of these 33 members like Peter Lamont.
03:06 Many names you can see.
03:09 Max Maven, you're here.
03:11 Myself.
03:14 The camera can see the name, right?
03:19 So all the different people who are in the room are represented here.
03:22 Here, yes.
03:23 But some names, we have two names.
03:27 I'm going to duplicate here.
03:30 Some have Ava Du.
03:33 Maybe we can find another Ava Du here.
03:36 Now, easy.
03:43 Take one.
03:45 Okay, I pick this one.
03:47 This one?
03:48 Are you sure?
03:49 Yes.
03:50 This one?
03:51 Okay, this one is the one we're going to use.
03:54 Now, I need to shuffle.
03:59 Normally people shuffle like this.
04:02 But now we are going to do something different.
04:05 With Leonard Green style shuffle.
04:07 Please put them together.
04:09 So I just smush them?
04:10 Yes.
04:11 Okay.
04:14 It's a little too neat for Leonard, but it's as good as I can do.
04:17 Perfect.
04:19 Perfect.
04:20 Max, you do a perfect job.
04:21 I'm so happy you're here.
04:23 Now, I need some piles.
04:30 Piles?
04:31 Piles, yeah.
04:32 Piles here.
04:36 Here.
04:37 Right.
04:39 A few piles.
04:43 It's not a magician's choice.
04:45 You just pick one, and this is the one we are going to use.
04:48 So I can choose any pile?
04:50 Of course.
04:51 And no double talk?
04:52 No -- the one I choose is --
04:55 The one I will use.
04:56 Okay.
04:58 I'm not usually in this position.
04:59 I'm going to go with this one.
05:03 This one?
05:04 Yeah.
05:05 Are you sure?
05:06 Yes.
05:07 Take this one.
05:08 All right.
05:09 And remember, shuffle again.
05:10 Okay.
05:11 Now, remember we have many cards, and I make two piles and choose one.
05:16 And this is the one I'm using.
05:19 Then I make four piles and choose another one, and this is the one I'm using.
05:25 Right.
05:26 So no magician's choice.
05:27 It's fair, right?
05:29 Yes.
05:30 Okay.
05:31 Now I'm going to ask you to look at the names one by one.
05:38 Okay.
05:39 Go through them.
05:40 Yeah.
05:43 Okay?
05:44 Okay.
05:45 Yeah.
05:46 Yes.
05:47 Okay.
05:48 Now I'm going to read your mind.
05:52 Get out of here.
05:53 Really?
05:56 You know, this is the first time I read my reader's mind.
06:00 It's like being in an echo chamber.
06:03 It's difficult.
06:04 It's difficult.
06:05 No, no, look at that.
06:06 Oh, I'm sorry.
06:07 I can see a butterfly.
06:11 It's flying in the air.
06:14 Bruno Capone.
06:16 Please show them.
06:17 You are right.
06:18 Right?
06:19 Where am I holding it?
06:20 Oh, there.
06:21 Okay.
06:22 Perfect.
06:23 That's Bruno.
06:24 Perfect.
06:25 Then --
06:26 Don't you pick a name.
06:27 No, no, no, no.
06:28 Then --
06:34 A guy very talented.
06:36 Cute.
06:37 Handsome.
06:39 Eric Mead.
06:41 Not sure I agree with the assessment, but I'll go with the accuracy.
06:44 There's Eric Mead.
06:45 Yes, I can see a coolest magician with four legs.
06:50 Thank you.
06:51 Well, that's got to be --
06:52 Yes, Rudy Colby.
06:54 Oh.
06:55 And --
06:58 Wow, this one is difficult.
07:05 I can see a gentleman, very creative gentleman, speaking French.
07:10 Gaten Blum.
07:11 That's Gaten Blum.
07:12 Yes.
07:13 Gaten.
07:18 I can see the cards drop on the floor during his shuffling.
07:23 Leonard Green.
07:25 Leonard Green is correct.
07:26 Yes.
07:28 A lady from the United States, Eva Du.
07:31 There she is.
07:33 Okay.
07:34 Eva Du.
07:35 Yes.
07:36 All right.
07:37 I can see a gentleman who is writing his article for his magazine, Stan Allen.
07:42 That's right.
07:43 Stan Allen.
07:44 Yes.
07:45 Okay.
07:46 The last one is always the most difficult one.
07:49 So I'm going to ask some help.
07:52 All right.
07:53 From these magicians.
07:54 Actually, from these seven magicians I already found.
07:58 Right.
08:02 Technically, they already told me who the last one is.
08:08 Technically, these seven guys told you who the last one is.
08:11 Yes.
08:13 Okay.
08:14 I wasn't listening because I didn't hear it.
08:17 Please, camera, give me a close-up on the table.
08:39 Normally, technically, there are two burglars here.
08:44 If you want to buy some props, you will go to the Martin Burglar's.
08:47 But what we are doing is mentalism, of course.
08:50 Mr. David Burglars.
08:51 Yes.
08:52 Thank you very much.
08:53 Absolutely.
08:54 [Applause]
08:59 Just for this conference.
09:01 So this is obviously something that you created very recently, like in the last few days or the last week or something?
09:08 Just before I'm here.
09:09 Okay.
09:10 And that leads me to the first question I want to ask you, which is how do you go about creating a new routine?
09:19 And in this case, obviously, part of it was you thought what would fit into this group.
09:26 Yes.
09:27 But normally, you're working for TV or a live show.
09:29 How do you go about creating the --
09:32 For example, I just -- for example, I take this one as an example.
09:37 This one is from Henry Evans of Sixth Sense Routine with names and with different climax.
09:46 I just want to do something with names.
09:50 So I try to find the first letter of all of the members.
09:53 I try to spell a card, like the ace of spades, seven of hearts, but I couldn't.
10:01 So I do maybe three hours trying to figure out what I can do.
10:06 Finally, I found burglars.
10:08 It's a coincidence, but I say -- it's done.
10:13 But you found that perfect combination.
10:15 Yeah.
10:16 Then I try to create a routine.
10:18 Like in the beginning, I try to find something like, for example, I have seven cards.
10:24 Oh, no, no, yes, I have seven cards.
10:26 You choose one.
10:27 Oh, I'm sorry.
10:28 I have 33 cards.
10:29 You choose one.
10:30 Okay.
10:31 And I try to find -- and I shuffle.
10:33 I try to find who's the one you choose.
10:35 And I found seven wrong cards.
10:38 Ah, okay.
10:40 Then I say, no, they already told me who's the one you choose.
10:45 But I don't think this is a good routine.
10:49 It's too rough to --
10:51 Because, well, among other things, it means failing seven times before you get to a good ending.
10:56 Yes, exactly.
10:57 So I'm thinking about -- any routine I know is four, seven, or eight cards.
11:08 This one.
11:10 So that's when you remember the trick of Henry Evans that you could work with and change and then work toward making this.
11:19 I have another one, but not that good.
11:21 I can have these seven cards under the card case.
11:24 After you shuffle, I put the card case under --
11:27 Right.
11:28 So loading them on, you could have forced the seven that way.
11:30 Yeah, but not that good.
11:31 This is perfect for this principle, I think.
11:35 So normally I have the goal.
11:37 I have an effect I want to do.
11:39 But I think every magician do something like this.
11:42 The same process.
11:43 But I'm a little different.
11:45 I'm thinking further.
11:47 I'm thinking if I can do this, what I can get.
11:51 So I image when I perform this.
11:58 So I feel the audience reaction.
12:00 I can image the --
12:02 So in your own imagination, you feel how this will play with the audience, what their timing will be like, what their reaction time will be like?
12:11 Reaction and the success and everything.
12:14 So it's all here before you have the props or even one rehearsal.
12:19 No, and also the backless effect I did last night.
12:24 I was thinking about the result, the effect.
12:28 After I did the effect, people were saying, "Wow, it's impossible."
12:32 And the praise will come to me if I do this in China.
12:35 Praise comes to me, "How did you do that?"
12:37 I can say something like this.
12:38 I can get a success.
12:39 A good reaction, maybe people standing ovation.
12:42 I can image that.
12:44 Push me to -- I really want it.
12:47 So you imagine that it was going to be so strong that it would be a big success.
12:51 And then you had to create the way to get to that effect.
12:55 Yes.
12:56 So it was a big success.
12:58 And after I do this, I notice -- I do this principle in many different situations.
13:05 Like when I was a beginner, when I decided to be a professional magician,
13:15 I image when I was succeed in public.
13:19 I have many fans that report or follow me.
13:22 And you can see my performance on TV every day.
13:27 And in Taiwan or in China, you say magician, you say Liu Chen.
13:32 And I image like this.
13:34 So it pushed me to reach this goal.
13:37 So the power of positive thinking.
13:40 But we have an expression in English, we say, "Be careful what you wish for."
13:44 And in your case, what you wish for was to become super famous.
13:48 And you are.
13:49 I mean, in Asia, it's difficult for you to walk down the street in Taiwan or China
13:54 because all of your fans come and they want to talk with you
13:57 and they want your autograph or some picture.
14:00 So I've seen it.
14:03 And so I think it's difficult for you to relax a lot
14:07 because you're so successful in some ways it's difficult.
14:11 It's difficult.
14:13 Actually, the past two years, many times, I want to kill myself.
14:19 I'm serious.
14:21 Because everything happens too fast.
14:24 And reporters and the press in China or in Taiwan or anywhere,
14:28 they try to fade out what you did and expose the secret on the Internet.
14:35 And when I do any show anywhere, the reporter will come and try to find my trouble.
14:42 Well, this was something you mentioned yesterday in the creativity panel discussion,
14:46 that today when you do magic on TV, it shows up on YouTube or on other similar sites
14:53 and people can watch it over and over and over again.
14:55 And so it has to withstand a higher level of scrutiny perhaps than used to be the case.
15:04 Yes, exactly.
15:06 So when you are designing or creating a routine that you're going to use on television,
15:11 obviously it has to be one of the things that you think is important.
15:15 Of course.
15:16 So I have to be very careful when I choose the material
15:19 because I know people will repeat the effect over and over.
15:25 And actually, they did a 3D animation explanation video about my hand-through-glass routine
15:32 and put it on YouTube and a million people have watched it.
15:37 Were they correct?
15:39 Of course not.
15:40 Good.
15:41 But people believe they are true.
15:44 They don't know that it's all how the trick is done.
15:47 But don't you do a version of it in your live show?
15:50 No.
15:51 Don't you make a glass penetration in your live show, I thought?
15:53 Actually, I don't want to do it anymore.
15:55 No, but you did.
15:56 You had a live version.
15:58 So when you were doing the live version, it kind of disproved what was on the Internet.
16:04 Maybe, yes.
16:06 Let's take the time back a little bit.
16:10 How old were you when you started in magic?
16:13 Eight years old.
16:15 And what was your first exposure to magic?
16:17 Did you see it on TV or some trick shop or something?
16:21 Department store.
16:24 I think many people are the same.
16:27 And this was in Taiwan?
16:28 In Taiwan.
16:30 And I know in time you developed a stage act.
16:36 It was a silent manipulation act.
16:39 You were in several contests.
16:41 And you came to some contests also in the U.S. and I think Europe also.
16:47 And so we saw Jordan Gomez earlier with his contest experience.
16:55 It reminded me when I was young.
16:59 Everything is relative.
17:01 To me, this is still barely past the fetal stage.
17:05 But in fact, when you were Jordan's age, you were doing a manipulation act with a theme and of silent and to music.
17:13 But that's not what puts you where you are now.
17:17 So how did that transition happen?
17:21 To go from doing nine minutes to doing a huge amount of magic with frequent television appearances.
17:28 Sometimes every day.
17:30 Actually, it's a very long story.
17:32 But when I performed at many conventions, competitions, awards, when I went back to Taiwan,
17:42 I noticed no one cared about what I did, I'm doing.
17:46 Because they don't know what this means.
17:49 What the IBM convention, they don't understand.
17:51 Right.
17:52 So I feel very bad.
17:53 Because in Asia, if you say you are a magician, they say, "Poor you."
18:00 They say, "You have a bad life.
18:02 No money."
18:05 So I couldn't accept it.
18:09 I said, "No, it's not my life."
18:11 So I want to be famous and rich.
18:15 So I read every book I can get, the business book, the marketing, the promotion, show business.
18:23 This is a successful story.
18:25 And I learned that from books.
18:28 And also I have some friends help me.
18:32 I mean, magician friends or non-magician friends help me.
18:37 So to help me.
18:41 Give me confidence.
18:43 And you still work with a team.
18:45 Yes.
18:46 To help create ideas.
18:48 Because television eats ideas.
18:50 As several people in this room know all too well, when you do a routine on a television series,
18:57 in the old days you could do the same routine for a career.
19:00 Now you do it one time on TV, and if millions of people have seen it, you've got to move on to something new.
19:07 So you have some people who help you with this.
19:09 I have a team, but they are for management, something else, not magic.
19:14 But you have some creative friends too.
19:16 Magic only--actually I only have one friend with me.
19:19 The Argentinian magician, Mirko Karachi, maybe you know him.
19:22 Mirko, I think most people here know Mirko.
19:25 He gives me confidence.
19:27 And he's the only friend I trust.
19:30 I have a new idea, I ask him, if he says bad, I don't do it.
19:34 Because I don't change my mind.
19:37 Always I don't change my mind.
19:39 He's the only one who can change my mind.
19:41 He's so talented and intelligent, very smart.
19:46 So you have one person, but it's a really trustworthy person who you can share ideas with, bounce ideas off of.
19:52 And also I have some inspiration from many magicians, like David Copperfield, of course.
19:58 When I was young, I saw David Copperfield.
20:00 I learned a lot from him.
20:01 What did you learn? In one sentence, what did you learn from David?
20:04 I learned how to create the atmosphere on stage.
20:11 And I saw how personality is important.
20:14 And also, Lance Burton.
20:17 When I did the manipulation act, I saw Lance Burton.
20:20 What was his specific influence? Just his style?
20:23 Or he made his technique look beautiful?
20:26 He made the classic act look different.
20:30 He wears a tuxedo, but it looks totally different.
20:33 And recently, Cyril Takayama.
20:36 Cyril, absolutely.
20:37 And what do you feel you learned from Cyril?
20:39 The way he talked to the camera, the way he communicated with the people who were watching TV,
20:44 was totally different from the magicians before.
20:47 I learned a lot.
20:49 Well, if I could name three inspirational people, I think those would be three that would be on my list.
20:54 And I would add to that another name, which would be Liu Chen,
20:58 who is bringing really great and exciting and innovative magic to millions and millions of people,
21:05 and has shared it with both the 33 people here and all of the ones who are watching on the net.
21:11 So, we thank you.
21:12 Thank you very much.
21:13 [Applause]
21:17 Liu Chen.
21:18 Thank you, Max. Thank you, Liu.
21:21 Wow. So, we received a little bit of a complaint from Gunnar from Iceland.
21:29 His map pin didn't show up on my post on Facebook.
21:33 Actually, we have 61 countries online right now.
21:37 Here are all the countries I wanted to share with you.
21:40 We have this little system internally.
21:43 And the system is actually really nicely organized.
21:46 So, if we click on Mr. Gunnar, we can see he visited us 12 times, did 14 actions, and spent only 50 minutes.
21:56 So, welcome to all the 61 countries.
22:02 Now, in recent years, mentalism has seen something of a revival
22:07 and became one of the most popular genres in magic.
22:11 But our next two guests have taken a classic of mind reading and injected it with new life.
22:18 Now, I cannot begin to understand the amount of dedication required to do what they do.
22:24 You will see what I mean when you meet Apollo Robbins and Ava Dove.
22:29 [Applause]
22:37 So, we're going to show you a couple of things that we use in our actual show.
22:40 It's actually just a small bit, but we're not going to try to fool you.
22:43 Instead, we'd like to share something with you.
22:46 And we hope that you enjoy it and possibly get some ideas from it.
22:49 Now, last year, I took the advantage of the break to put my business card in several people's pockets,
22:54 and they found them later on.
22:56 This time, I tried to avoid getting it in anybody's pockets because we want you to have a fresh experience.
23:00 So, by show of hands, in this room right now, how many of you have your wallets on you right now?
23:06 Could you keep your hands up so I can see?
23:08 Then by show of hands, out of the people that have your wallets,
23:11 who has credit cards or something like that inside your wallet right now?
23:15 If not, just drop your hand.
23:17 But if you still have a credit card, just drop your hand there.
23:19 All right?
23:20 JJ, have you seen Ava and I do anything like this?
23:24 No?
23:25 How comfortable are you with trusting us with your personal banking information?
23:34 That's very kind of you.
23:35 I can see the chalk mark on your back from here.
23:37 That's perfect.
23:38 Actually, can we just give a round of applause for JJ?
23:41 JJ, would you mind coming up here?
23:42 Yes.
23:46 The questions I ask him were not things I'd normally ask in a show,
23:49 and the reason why I'm asking him here is because specifically we're filming this for the Internet.
23:53 So, the things we're not doing are not dangerous for JJ, but they could seem that way,
23:57 so I want to make sure he's comfortable first.
23:59 Come on over this way.
24:00 Now, JJ, a lot of times in this industry of minimalism now,
24:03 people associate electronics with what we're doing,
24:05 so we want to make sure that Ava can't see what you and I are doing over here.
24:09 For that, Rudy, you're a little bit taller.
24:11 Would you mind if we use you for that just to have you cover Ava's eyes?
24:14 Kind of like an impromptu blindfold.
24:16 Also, I noticed you didn't have windows in your fingers,
24:18 so she won't be able to see through those as well.
24:20 So, if you just cover, it won't look quite as electronic.
24:23 Rudy, before you do that, can you just check my ears
24:26 and make sure I don't have any, like, ProMystic or LabCo transmitters, other EMC sponsors?
24:34 Nothing.
24:35 Okay, great.
24:36 Now, can you just put your hands right over my eyes?
24:39 Both of them? Great.
24:42 Nice and tight. Good.
24:44 But make sure I can still reach the microphone.
24:47 Okay, great.
24:48 JJ, do you have your wallet with you?
24:50 Bring out your wallet.
24:51 Take out a credit card of some kind.
24:55 Something personal, please.
24:57 Could we use this one?
24:58 Just look at the expiration date. Would you--
25:00 JJ, can you look, just get--just the year for me for now.
25:05 Can you see the year?
25:07 I can, yes.
25:08 Don't say anything about it.
25:09 But does it expire in about two years in 2013, yes?
25:18 It does, yes.
25:20 Does it expire in a little bit more than two years, JJ,
25:24 because it expires exactly in two years and three months--yeah, October of 2013.
25:33 October of 2013, correct.
25:36 Try telling the credit card number. Is that okay?
25:38 I don't want to say the whole thing over there.
25:40 Do you know the last four numbers?
25:41 No.
25:42 Is that okay?
25:43 Just tell them the last four numbers.
25:44 Just the last four numbers? Is that okay with you, JJ?
25:47 Yes.
25:48 Okay.
25:49 The last four numbers begins with--does it begin with a seven?
25:55 It does.
25:56 Okay.
25:57 And there's more than one zero in the last four numbers.
26:02 Is that right, JJ?
26:04 No.
26:05 No, there's only one zero, yes?
26:07 Yes.
26:08 Okay.
26:09 And look at--keep looking at the last four for me.
26:14 Can you--now, the type of credit card, you have a number of credit cards,
26:20 but you pick the--is this a MasterCard that you picked, JJ?
26:24 It is.
26:25 Okay.
26:26 And is there also--let me see.
26:29 There was a zero, begins with a seven, and was there a six as well, JJ?
26:34 Yes.
26:35 Okay.
26:36 So just for your safety, we will say just the three out of the four.
26:41 That way it's not all over the Internet.
26:43 Okay.
26:44 Maybe you can tell them the three numbers on the back.
26:46 Is this okay?
26:47 Because these are the ones that people usually shop with.
26:49 So is it okay if I say it out loud?
26:52 Yes, of course.
26:54 Okay.
26:56 If anything from Prada shows up, it's not from me, but it's from Vanessa.
27:02 It begins with a one, ends with a four, and the number in the middle is a five.
27:10 Is that right, JJ?
27:11 Correct.
27:12 That's correct.
27:13 Thank you very much, JJ.
27:14 We appreciate you for touching it.
27:15 [Applause]
27:23 So what you just saw was an interesting evolution of our relationship.
27:28 We've been together for seven years.
27:29 We just got married two weeks ago, actually.
27:33 Thank you.
27:34 [Applause]
27:37 And single-handedly what you saw almost destroyed that.
27:41 It's an interesting game, the idea of learning something like this.
27:45 I tried to seduce her with the idea of us having our own language
27:48 and this kind of romanticizing habit, but it became something more than that.
27:52 It became sort of a research process because we started and we went out there
27:57 and looked for different systems and different methods,
28:00 and we found that a lot of them were pretty dated,
28:03 and it didn't really apply to the way that we see mentalism now,
28:08 and it didn't really fit us specifically.
28:12 So we ended up creating sort of our own system.
28:16 Yeah, working on what's been before, but for us we didn't want language
28:19 that said that we were psychic or imagine this, picture this, revision this.
28:23 Pray tell.
28:24 Yes, pray tell.
28:25 Because for us it wasn't about cons, it's about identity theft,
28:29 so we tried to scope our whole show inside of that.
28:31 So that's basically what we've designed for our show.
28:34 We appreciate JJ trusting us with his information,
28:37 and he's also trusted you too, so don't you misuse it.
28:40 And if you would, please give another round of applause
28:42 because she's really the star for this.
28:43 Thank you so much.
28:44 [Applause]
28:52 Wow.
28:53 Okay, I brought my computer to hide behind again.
28:57 So much high tech, I'd like to run a little poll.
29:00 I have a question prepared, and if everything goes well,
29:04 this should show up right now on your screens.
29:07 The poll is, do you perform a classic of magic?
29:11 And we have a few choices, and you can click on this result,
29:15 and we can show the results right away to the camera as they come in.
29:21 How technological can we be talking about classics?
29:25 All right, so definitely I would say the ambitious card wins this round.
29:33 All right, now, there are two fast tracks to earning a living
29:37 as a professional magician.
29:39 You can do close-up gigs, or you can do children's shows.
29:43 Now, a lot has been written on the theory of professional close-up,
29:47 but the same intelligent discourse is rarely brought to the topic
29:52 of entertaining children with magic.
29:55 Now, our next guest wants to change that.
29:58 Will you please welcome David Kay.
30:01 [applause]
30:05 Hi.
30:06 My lecture today is called "How Children Experience Magic,"
30:11 and I'm going to teach you three of the most important tools
30:14 of the children's magician and explain the psychological reasons
30:17 they are so effective.
30:19 But first, a crash course in how children think about magic.
30:24 Besides their size, what sets children apart from adults
30:27 is their brains.
30:29 A child's brain is not as developed as an adult's brain.
30:32 And to make matters more complicated, as children age,
30:35 their brains develop and change.
30:38 Thus, different-aged children react to magic in different ways.
30:42 That means we have to perform magic differently when we perform
30:45 for children than when we perform magic for adults.
30:50 To adults, what is magic is very clear.
30:53 Magic breaks the laws of nature--transformation, levitation,
30:57 reflection, et cetera.
30:59 However, for children, the line between what is magic
31:02 and what is normal is blurry.
31:05 When a bird flies, it's normal.
31:07 When David Carperfield flies, it's magic.
31:10 And when Criss Angel flies, it's a camera trick.
31:15 For example, hanging on my wall is a thin black panel.
31:18 I push a button on the panel, it lights up,
31:21 and I see hundreds of different movies,
31:23 like I was looking through a window.
31:25 Is that magic or is that a normal part of life?
31:28 In my pocket, I have a small piece of plastic.
31:30 Sometimes I hear my mother's voice in it.
31:32 Sometimes I hear my father's voice in it.
31:34 Is that magic or is that normal?
31:36 I also have a metal pan.
31:38 When I cover the pan and remove the cover, there's a bird inside.
31:42 Is that normal or is that magic?
31:44 If babies come from storks, why can't birds come from pans?
31:49 A child's reality includes unicorns, monsters under the bed,
31:53 and Santa Claus who brings gifts to every child in the world in one night.
31:59 So...
32:01 Yeah?
32:07 Go back.
32:08 Sorry. Sorry.
32:10 Keep going.
32:12 I'm talking to my magic friend, my imaginary friend in my head.
32:16 All right, so...
32:18 He's talking to me in my ear.
32:20 So what is magic and what is not is not an absolute.
32:24 And further complicating the matter...
32:27 Yeah?
32:28 You're a magician.
32:30 Hello?
32:31 Of course you can do these things.
32:33 That's what magicians do.
32:35 So that's the problem.
32:36 The magical effect does not have the same impact on children.
32:40 So what do you do?
32:42 To help answer that, I'm going to use a trick to explain.
32:45 This is a trick called the crystal silk tube.
32:48 It was invented by Pavel, written up in Tarbell,
32:52 and manufactured by Tenyo.
32:55 Good.
32:56 So let's see.
32:57 I'm just going to put this handkerchief in here.
33:01 Take the yellow.
33:03 Put that in here.
33:05 Good.
33:06 Keep that away from the mic in case you hear that.
33:09 I've done that.
33:10 Okay, good.
33:11 In it goes.
33:12 So the three handkerchiefs go in the tube.
33:15 I'm going to blow through the tube,
33:17 and the handkerchiefs will come out all tied together.
33:21 Look at that.
33:22 Thank you very much, people.
33:24 Thank you.
33:25 It's a miracle.
33:26 Okay, so how can a magician make that more entertaining for children?
33:32 By performing magic for children using my philosophy,
33:35 which is increase your interactions per minute.
33:40 What do I mean by that?
33:42 Comedians judge their skill by counting their laughs per minute.
33:46 More laughs per minute, they're funnier.
33:49 But I believe children's magicians can judge their skill
33:51 by counting the interactions per minute.
33:54 Interactions would be anything, either physical or verbal,
33:57 so wiggling your fingers when you say the magic words,
34:01 or yelling it's behind you, or pointing, or yelling out.
34:06 So the more interactions per minute in your routines,
34:10 the more the children will enjoy the magic show.
34:13 One of the many reasons that this is true
34:16 is because the children will be watching your show
34:18 in an active mode rather than a passive mode.
34:23 This makes it a better experience for them.
34:25 And as it turns out, it's also true, I believe, for adult magic.
34:29 Okay, so to increase the interactions per minute,
34:32 we have to think differently about the effect.
34:35 Every effect has a beginning and an end.
34:38 In this silk trick, the beginning is I have three handkerchiefs,
34:41 I'm going to put them in a tube,
34:43 and they're going to come out tied together.
34:45 And the end is, ta-da, they're tied together.
34:49 But by separating the beginning from the end,
34:52 you can add in a long middle.
34:55 It's the middle that the children enjoy the most.
34:58 I like to describe this by saying,
35:00 it's not the destination, it's the ride.
35:04 There it is.
35:06 To be a magician for children, you must do magic.
35:09 But for children, the most important thing is the journey,
35:12 the ride that precedes the magic moment.
35:16 Okay, so what are the principles used
35:19 to entertain children during this journey?
35:21 Today I will talk about three of the most important ones.
35:25 Number one, empower the children.
35:28 I'm sorry, empower the children, right.
35:30 You can empower them with skill,
35:32 or you can empower them with knowledge.
35:34 So I can empower a child with skill.
35:36 If I bring him up, he helps me do my magic.
35:39 I give him a magic wand, he waves the wand,
35:41 and he makes the magic happen.
35:43 I can also empower the whole room with skill
35:46 by just telling them, if you say the magic words,
35:48 the magic will happen.
35:50 Everybody says the magic words, and the magic happens.
35:52 So they make the magic happen.
35:54 So why is empowering
35:56 such an entertaining experience for children?
35:59 The child is used to this lopsided equation in his life.
36:03 In a child's life, the adult has all the ability,
36:06 and the child is powerless.
36:09 A child needs help reaching for the cookies,
36:11 tying his shoes, crossing the street.
36:14 So when we entertain the children with skill,
36:17 this experience is very rewarding to them.
36:21 Imagine the thrill of a child
36:23 who thinks he made magic happen.
36:25 This must be very exciting.
36:27 Now, you've probably seen this in your own life,
36:29 depending on your age, if you have children,
36:31 or if you have nieces and nephews and so on.
36:34 If a child discovers something new that he can do,
36:38 he is very proud of this.
36:40 Usually a physical activity,
36:43 like jumping in the pool or whistling for the first time.
36:47 So when a child discovers this, he yells to his father,
36:49 "Daddy, look at me, look at me, Daddy, look at me, Daddy!"
36:52 And you've probably heard this.
36:54 So because it happens infrequently in their lives,
36:57 it is a special occasion when a child has a newfound power.
37:01 In New York, where I live,
37:03 when I ride the elevator up to a birthday party,
37:05 sometimes the kids will be in the elevator with me,
37:08 and you've probably seen this.
37:10 The kids are so eager to show their parents
37:12 that they can reach the button in the elevator.
37:16 Now, you know, I can reach the button in the elevator.
37:20 Nobody likes a show-off.
37:22 For the child, this is a very exciting experience.
37:27 Okay.
37:30 I'm going to pause.
37:32 [laughter]
37:35 If just pushing a button gives them a thrill,
37:38 imagine how exciting it must be
37:40 for the child who makes magic happen, right?
37:43 Okay, I can also empower children with knowledge
37:46 by asking them questions that they know the answers to.
37:50 For example, who knows their ABCs?
37:52 What sound does a dog make?
37:54 So on and so forth.
37:56 So when asking a child questions that they know the answers to
37:59 is a very rewarding experience for them.
38:01 It gives them positive self-esteem.
38:04 So, number two, magician in trouble.
38:07 When the magician fails in some way,
38:09 this is the magician in trouble.
38:11 There can be several ways that this happens.
38:13 For example, something goes wrong.
38:15 So the magician is performing a trick,
38:17 and he fails at achieving his goal,
38:20 and the children think this is hilarious.
38:23 Also, clumsiness.
38:25 If I drop something on the floor,
38:27 when I perform outdoors and the wind blows my props over,
38:31 the kids think this is the funniest thing that ever happened.
38:34 And another example, physical injury.
38:37 We know that this is funny by watching cartoons
38:40 when the train rolls over the coyote
38:43 and the poor coyote gets blown up with the dynamite.
38:46 This happens a lot also in "The Three Stooges."
38:49 So why do children find this so entertaining
38:53 when a magician fails?
38:55 Because adults are all powerful.
38:57 Adults can do anything.
38:58 They can drive a car.
38:59 They can buy things in a store.
39:01 So if an adult messes up, it is surprising and funny.
39:05 But a magician is more powerful than a normal adult.
39:09 So when a magician messes up,
39:11 it's even more surprising and funnier.
39:14 Children don't often laugh at adults failing
39:16 in their normal day-to-day lives
39:18 because children know it's impolite to laugh at someone.
39:21 But I would imagine if their sibling
39:23 spills a giant bowl of soup on the floor,
39:25 that could be pretty funny.
39:27 In every country, there's a TV show
39:29 where people send in home videos.
39:32 In the United States,
39:33 it's called "America's Funniest Home Videos."
39:36 And it's been on the air for 20 years.
39:40 20 years, and all they show
39:42 is grown men getting hit in the groin by a baseball.
39:45 That is hilarious.
39:47 [laughter]
39:49 Okay, and number three, repetition.
39:52 Number three, repetition.
39:56 Number three, repetition.
39:59 Thank you.
40:01 When I do something that makes the kids laugh,
40:03 all I have to do is do it again,
40:05 and I get another laugh.
40:07 When I get hit in the head, the kids laugh.
40:09 When I get hit in the head again, the kids laugh harder.
40:12 I don't just repeat it once.
40:14 I can repeat it two or three times,
40:15 and it gets funnier and funnier.
40:17 For adults, if you do the same joke more than once,
40:20 it gets less funny each time.
40:22 But for kids, it gets funnier.
40:24 So why do children find repetition so entertaining?
40:27 Because so many of the child's experiences
40:29 are foreign and new.
40:31 Every day, children discover new foods,
40:35 new objects, new people, new words.
40:38 [pause]
40:42 Oh, my God, it's Ava Doe.
40:44 [laughter]
40:46 New words, new experiences.
40:48 And so experiencing the same thing more than once
40:52 is comforting.
40:54 Familiarity is comforting.
40:56 So much of the world is unknown to them,
40:58 so there is security in knowing what will happen next.
41:01 This is a very powerful feeling for them.
41:03 You've seen this at home as well.
41:06 When you pick up a child and swing him by the arms
41:09 or throw him in the air,
41:10 what does he say when it's over?
41:13 "Do it again. Do it again."
41:15 And you do, and what happens then?
41:16 "Again, again."
41:18 That's why children watch the same DVD
41:20 over and over again,
41:21 and why they ask for the same book to be read to them at night
41:24 over and over again.
41:25 Children crave familiarity.
41:28 They are comforted by knowing what will happen next.
41:32 So, remember the trick I did at the start?
41:34 Well, now I'm going to show you a video
41:36 of me performing the same trick,
41:38 only this time I have separated the beginning from the end,
41:41 and I've added a long, funny middle.
41:45 And watch what it's like for children
41:46 to watch a magic routine
41:48 when the goal is to increase the interactions per minute
41:51 using these psychological principles.
41:55 Who here knows the names of the traffic lights?
41:59 What are the names of the traffic lights?
42:01 Who knows the names? What's the names?
42:05 Red, yellow, and green. That's very good.
42:07 And I'm holding in my hand
42:09 three handkerchiefs, red, yellow, and green.
42:12 Okay, and let's see how smart you guys are.
42:13 You tell me, tell me, what does green mean?
42:15 What does green mean? Tell me.
42:17 What does green mean?
42:19 What does green mean?
42:22 Very good.
42:25 What does yellow mean?
42:29 What does yellow mean?
42:34 What does yellow mean?
42:42 What does yellow mean?
42:54 I'm slowing down!
43:01 Oh, yellow means slow down, I'm so sorry.
43:03 What does red mean?
43:18 Ah, red means stop.
43:19 Okay, so here's what we're going to do.
43:20 I'm going to take the three handkerchiefs,
43:23 I'm going to put them in the tube,
43:25 then I'm going to blow them out,
43:28 and they're going to come out all tied together.
43:32 Okay, so green, green goes in.
43:35 No, they have to go all together.
43:36 Green, good.
43:38 And yellow, good.
43:42 And red, good.
43:47 So here's what's going to happen.
43:49 The handkerchiefs go in the--
43:51 I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm sorry.
43:55 Okay, there you go.
43:56 Now, here's what's going to happen.
44:01 Sorry, sorry.
44:03 Okay, stop.
44:10 All right, all right, all right.
44:11 Okay, let's try that.
44:13 Let's try that.
44:14 Okay, here they come, all tied together.
44:23 It didn't work.
44:24 What did we forget?
44:25 We forgot something.
44:28 We forgot to say googly googly.
44:30 We forgot to say the magic words.
44:31 That's right.
44:32 Let's try it again.
44:34 Green goes in.
44:36 Good.
44:37 Yellow goes in.
44:41 And red goes in.
44:43 Okay, now don't forget.
44:45 This time, don't forget to say the magic words.
44:49 Here we go.
44:50 Googly googly.
45:02 Oh, very funny.
45:05 All right, very funny.
45:08 Let's do it again.
45:10 What does green mean?
45:11 What does green mean?
45:13 What does yellow mean?
45:17 Good.
45:18 And what does red mean?
45:22 What does red mean?
45:25 Okay, good.
45:27 Let's see.
45:29 Okay, don't forget the magic words.
45:31 Here we go.
45:32 Googly googly.
45:37 Oh, they're all tied together.
45:41 Yay.
45:43 [ Applause ]
45:45 Thanks.
45:46 Thank you, guys.
45:48 Thank you, guys.
45:50 I just want to point out a few of the interactions that are in this routine that we discussed today.
45:55 So let's go back to the video.
45:57 I empowered them with knowledge when I asked them what the colors mean, green, red, and yellow.
46:01 What does yellow mean?
46:03 I empowered them with knowledge when the handkerchiefs fell out of the tube onto the floor.
46:09 It's also magician in trouble because it's clumsy.
46:13 And it fell down on the floor three different times, and that's repetition.
46:18 When I blew them out and they weren't tied together, that's magician in trouble, something goes wrong.
46:24 I empowered them with knowledge because they -- that's right, because I asked them for the magic word I had forgotten.
46:31 Then I tossed the silks at them.
46:33 That's another magician in trouble.
46:35 They knew the silks were out of the tube, but I did not, so they were empowered with knowledge.
46:42 Hmm, okay.
46:44 What is that?
46:45 Okay, yes, empowered with skill.
46:47 Everyone said the magic words.
46:49 I empowered them with skill, and then everyone succeeded.
46:52 The magic worked.
46:54 So I just want to say, if you count the number --
46:58 [ Applause ]
46:59 Thank you, sir.
47:00 Thank you very much.
47:01 Thank you, guys.
47:02 If you count the number of interactions in the video, you will see that in this routine there are seven -- about seven interactions per minute on average.
47:12 So let me just -- can we see the slide?
47:16 I don't want to see the slide.
47:18 That means -- thank you.
47:20 So it's about seven interactions per minute.
47:23 That means that the children are reacting in one way or another more often than once every ten seconds for four minutes.
47:33 Pretty good.
47:34 So I just want to tell you one other thing.
47:37 Very often at the end of my show, parents come up to me, and they say, "I have never seen my child laugh so hard."
47:47 Now, isn't that a wonderful gift to give to a parent?
47:51 So in conclusion, I just want to say that if you speak to the children in their language, you can achieve remarkable results.
48:01 Thanks for watching.
48:02 Thank you, guys.
48:03 [ Applause ]
48:10 I feel like somebody just opened a wormhole to an alternate universe.
48:15 Amazing.
48:16 Very cool.
48:17 Now, our next guest is a very versatile performer.
48:21 Last year, he won the Magic Circle Stage Magician of the Year competition.
48:26 The year before, he was Close-Up Magician of the Year.
48:29 Tomorrow, he will present a talk on professional street magic.
48:33 And today, well, see for yourself.
48:36 Here is Peter Wardell.
48:38 [ Applause ]
48:50 Good evening.
48:53 Thanks for that.
48:56 Now, I wasn't sure whether to tell you a story or show you a trick.
49:00 So I'm going to tell you a story and show you a trick.
49:05 Now, like Peter's story earlier this afternoon in the previous session, my story isn't true, not even remotely.
49:14 Unlike Peter's story, however, mine isn't funny either.
49:19 So essentially, I'm going to tell you a very boring lie.
49:25 Now is the time to make a cup of tea or go to the toilet.
49:31 Now, I could tell you that my story was about love, that it was about passion and pride.
49:38 But actually, it's a story about salt.
49:47 Now, the story concerns a king.
49:50 A king who had three daughters.
49:52 Now, he loved all of his daughters, but his youngest daughter was the prettiest.
49:56 And she was the kindest.
49:58 And she was the smartest.
50:00 So he had a special place for her.
50:02 And if you're a parent, you'll understand the need to have a favorite.
50:08 Now, one day, the king was feeling particularly insecure, and we've all been there.
50:14 Imagine what that's like when you're a king.
50:19 And he called his daughters to him, and he said, "Daughters, how much do you love me?"
50:24 And the first daughter, who'd seen her father like this before, the eldest daughter, said,
50:28 "Father, I love you more than gold and silver and all the precious metals in the kingdom."
50:35 And the father was happy.
50:36 He handed her a bag of gold and silver, kissed her on the forehead, and he was a happy man.
50:43 The second daughter, witnessing this and being quite smart, said,
50:47 "Father, I love you more than diamonds and rubies."
50:51 And the father was pleased.
50:53 He handed her a bag of diamonds and rubies, kissed her on the forehead, and sent her on her way.
50:57 He was a happy man.
50:59 And the youngest daughter, his favorite daughter, said, "Father"--
51:03 and I don't think she thought this through, to be frank--
51:05 said, "Father, I love you more than salt."
51:14 The father was furious.
51:21 He took his daughter's hand, and into her hand he poured some salt.
51:32 And then he banished her from the kingdom.
51:39 But a strange thing happened.
51:40 The moment his daughter crossed the borders of the kingdom, all of the salt in the kingdom vanished.
51:50 [applause]
51:55 Now, the king knew immediately he'd made a mistake, that he was a man and couldn't admit it.
52:00 But eventually it became impossible for him to ignore the fact.
52:03 You see, soon the king fell ill.
52:06 The royal physicians were called, and they decreed that the king was suffering from a lack of salt in his diet.
52:13 The king knew differently, however.
52:15 He knew that he was dying of a broken heart.
52:20 Actually, the physicians were right.
52:23 You see, if you have a lack of sodium in your diet, it creates an imbalance in the electrolytes in the body's cells,
52:28 and this causes a breakdown and causes you--
52:31 It's not a true story.
52:35 As the king was drawing his last breaths, or what he thought were his last breaths,
52:40 he heard his daughter's voice, his youngest daughter's voice.
52:44 You see, she had heard that he was ill, and she'd come back to his bedside.
52:50 She called to the kitchens and asked for them to bring a slice of bread.
52:56 And onto that bread she poured some of the salt.
53:04 Then she asked for more food to be brought, and she poured on more salt.
53:11 And they say from that day in the kingdom that salt flowed freely in the land.
53:24 Two months later, the king died of a heart problem caused by high blood pressure,
53:32 brought about by excessive salt in his diet.
53:37 There we go.
53:39 What can I say?
53:41 Thank you very much for that.
53:49 Thank you.
53:51 Thank you.
53:52 I'll go now.
53:55 All right, so we see our chats, and we are fully aware of the incredible lag
54:02 we have on the two megabit stream.
54:04 So we're going to try to do a little bit of Internet magic and clear our streaming buffer.
54:10 So we're going to disappear in just a moment and then going to be back.
54:13 And that magic moment is going to be happening right now.