How can I read minds like Derren Brown?

This is a question we get asked a lot at the Merchant of Magic. Derren Brown is a world class entertainer at the top of his game so we can learn a great deal from watching his performance and taking that experience and using it as a springboard to generate ideas for our own style and presentations. Lets look at some tips, and tools that we know of that can help you on your quest for knowledge!

Firstly it would be wise to make it clear that Derren Brown uses a whole range of techniques, he is skilled in all types of magic and mind reading and has lots of toys at his disposal. However with a bit of thought and clever routining and good scripting you can create the illusion that you are nearly as skilled as he is!

The real secret of making people feel as if you have read their mind, in the way that Derren Brown makes people believe, is found within his performance. It really has nothing to do with the trick itself. You can perform a simple playing card force or even an elaborate chair routine with three climaxes, but if you do not present it in a way that is warm, well received and engaging, it will not get the desired results.

Here are some key points to help you master how to read minds like Derren Brown:

Speak clearly and at a pace that is calm and deliberate, DO NOT mumble and speak quickly.

Stand tall and proud, this gives off confidence and assurance

Rehearse your lines, so you do not get tongue tied

Research the phenomena you claim to be demonstrating, it always helps if you do actually know about what you claim to be a master of.

Remember that mind reading and mentalism doesn’t usually focus on props. It’s a conversation, an interaction between the performer and the audience. A full, balanced act could simply involve the performer, a note pad and a pencil. Because of this, it’s essential to make the presentation as interesting and varied as possible.

Many of the secrets of mind reading are very simple from a technical standpoint. This allows you to focus on the entertainment created by the routine, and that you are holding the attention of the audience. Performing a simple and easy routines like, for example, Any Word by Ben Williams means that you can, with NO SKILL whatsoever, predict ANY word a spectator can think of. Because Any Word comes with suggested patter, it’s designed to make you concentrate on delivering the patter in a convincing manner. Good mind reading magic tricks are structured to be as simple to perform as possible, yet their mechanics ensures the spectators really feel that you have influenced them into thinking of that word.

Another important point to remember is that mind reading needs to be frames within a greater context. A show that involves simply having people think of a word, then revealing it, over and over again would soon lose peoples interest. Even though the feat is impossible and incredible, it needs more that just a demonstration of mind reading abilities to keep people entertained. If you watch one of Derren Browns shows, you can learn a great deal about how to 'mix up' essentially the same effect (revealing a thought) in different ways. His show is carefully constructed to provide changes of pace, sections of comedy and serious demonstrations of apparent psychic and paranormal activity. The whole show is a presentation around a theme, rather than a collection of separate disjointed 'tricks'.

If you put thought into the construction of your act, and focus on entertainment rather than mechanics, you will find that mind reading and mentalism are one of the most rewarding branches of magic to explore and perform.

6 Things Magicians Should Never do When They Meet a Close Up Magician

by Merchant of Magic 4 Comments

By Dominic Reyes

We’ve all been there; we go to a party, dinner, or just out for a drink, and find there’s a close up magician performing at the venue. When this happens, we can’t help but want to check the performer out.

Here’s 6 things NOT TO DO:

1) Hey, I’m also a close up magician, let me show you.

If a magician is performing, let them be the star of the show. It’s their gig, and their livelihood. You may have a strong urge to let everyone know that you are a magician as well, but that’s bad form. Resist the temptation to start showing people magic tricks, even if some of the guests that know you, ask to see a trick. Instead, do what you can to build interest in the ‘official’ magician. Explain to your friends that the magician will visit their table, or if it’s walk-around that it’s OK for them to go over and join the group watching the magic.

2) Yes, yes, of course I know how that’s done.

As a close up magician, you should understand better than anyone that magic isn’t really a puzzle. There aren’t prizes for knowing how the magic trick is done. In fact, that knowledge is the opposite of a prize because it robs you of the magical event. Even if another magician is doing very basic tricks, act as if you find it wonderful, and that the magician is very skilled. Nobody likes a ‘know it all’. Trying to let everyone know that ‘you are just as clever’ as the magician, comes across as jealousy.

3) They should have booked me.

Some of your friends or family may become protective of you. After all, they know how much you love magic. It’s quite common to hear them say something like:

‘wow; you are so much better than that magician, you should be doing this…’

Take note of these comments, but don’t feel cheated that another magician got the gig. They put in the work, got the lead, took the booking and all the other steps required to be there. It’s their gig, and they deserve it.

4) You could try this instead.

Close up magicians love to learn new magic, and just like you, the performer probably enjoys learning tips from other magicians. However, at their gig, is not the time to try to teach them a new variation of the trick you just saw them perform. If you find a moment once they have stopped working, it’s fine to introduce yourself and suggest a ‘session’ later. Resist the temptation to give them advice in public, they are busy working and won’t thank you for it.

5) This venue hires magicians!

If you see a magician performing, It’s not a signal that the venue is up for grabs, and you can start pitching your services to the management. The working circuit of magicians has distinct areas, where most magicians know each other. Trying to undermine another magicians regular work for a venue, can get you a very bad name in that area. Many magicians have long term relationships with venues, and may be told that you tried to take over the residency. Close up magicians often pass on work to other magicians and speak with agents, so it’s vital that you are seen as trustworthy. Gaining a new venue at the expense of another magician is a very short term win. In the long run, it will do more harm than good.

6) I’ll act cool, cold and indifferent like a pro.

Close up magicians are usually the worst audience for magic. If you have ever been to a magic show or lecture in a magic club, you will have experienced this first hand. Magicians don’t like to appear to be fooled. While the public freaks out, magicians in the audience simply nod wisely. It’s as if admitting that they don’t know how the trick was done is some kind of failing. If you find yourself watching another magician, let go, drop your ego and just have fun. Put yourself into spectator mode and react like everyone else. Magic isn’t a competition, and being entertained is not a sign of weakness.

Relax!

React and drop the attitude. By allowing yourself to be entertained, you help the close up magician, you make it more fun for everyone else, and you come across far better than someone who may have a superiority complex.

Turn yourself into spectator mode and react like everyone else. Magic isn’t a competition, and being entertained is not a sign of weakness.

The Difference Between Copying and Stealing a Magicians Magic Tricks

by Merchant of Magic Leave a Comment

Is it OK to steal routines?

Edward writes: ‘What’s the difference between copying a magicians method and stealing magic tricks? I think I have a good idea how the magic trick ‘Inexplicable’ is done. Do I have to purchase it, or can I just make one, for my own use?‘

The difference between copying and stealing a magicians magic tricks.

If a magician develops an original magic trick, he or she may decide to sell their idea, and in most cases (unless expressly stated prior to purchase) this means that, if you purchase it, you have the creators permission to perform it and it is not considered stealing.
Even if you buy magic tricks, it could be argued that you are copying that magician by performing his or her idea. The fact that you have paid for the right to do so, however, means that in this instance, you are not stealing.

If a magic trick has been commercially released, you should always purchase a copy, rather than try to make your own. The inventor thought up the idea, put in the hard work and perfected the magic trick. Just the fact that you hadn’t’ thought of doing the trick until you saw the marketed product, should tell you that it’s not ‘your idea’ to steal.

But what about if you see a magic trick performed, but it is not available to buy?

You should attempt to contact the creator and ask for permission to perform their trick. You are still technically copying, but because you have gone to the trouble of getting permission, you are not stealing.

If you do not buy the magic trick, or directly get permission to perform someone else’s trick, then it would be stealing if you decide to copy the idea and perform it yourself. You will not find many who disagree with that statement.

Can you put a phone inside a bottle?

There is very little social pressure to play by the rules. Regular audiences don’t know if the magic tricks you perform are original, or if you are copying another magician.

The temptation to steal other magicians work is huge because the rewards are instant and there is very little or no consequence in doing so. In fact, as magicians we are often ENCOURAGED to copy the tricks of other magicians by our audiences. This is usually because they have seen a famous magician perform an amazing trick, and they want you to recreate it so that they can witness it live. Think about it – how many times have you been asked recently to put a phone into a bottle, put a card through a window or even levitate?!

Sometimes a spectator may talk to you about other magicians when you perform, and what tricks they have seen and how amazing it was:

“I was at my friend’s wedding, and the magician there turned all the cards into a solid block of glass! IN MY HAND!!”

It is this kind of outburst from spectators that can fuel the temptation to copy from other magicians because it creates the impression that a magic trick on its own can build you a great reputation. You begin to focus on what other magicians are performing, rather than considering how to work on the tricks you already have to ensure you can get a fantastic reaction from them.

Stealing magic tricks Is No Biggy.

Rightly or wrongly, there is a train of thought in magic that stealing is OK. Not because the magic community is full of people with low moral standards, but because it is difficult to see the consequences of stealing ideas or tricks from other magicians.

If you steal someone else’s idea and put it in your act, where is the harm? After all, the majority of magicians are only known to a small number of people. If you copy their material, who is going to know? The magician whose ideas you stole could easily live the rest of their life without ever knowing! Magic is also a lot smaller in scale than many other industries, so it could be (and has been) argued that the financial impact for a creator is insignificant if people copy their ideas.

Magicians stealing from magicians are not by any means a new phenomenon. There are a great many high-profile cases from years gone by you can read about in Jim Steinmeyer’s books ‘The Glorious Deception’, and ‘Hiding The Elephant’. Perhaps the most controversial was the theft of Robert Harbin’s ‘Zig-Zag’ Illusion by an American imitator. (You can find an excellent account of this story in a talk by Mike Caveney on the EMC 2010 DVD’s).

The wider impact of stealing magic tricks.

Every time a magician chooses to steal tricks from another performer, the impact is felt most within the magic community as a whole. Fear of being copied forces a lot of creators to publish their ideas too early in order to get credit (or some financial reward for their creativity) before someone else steals the idea. This can (and some might say- has) lead to under-developed or sub-standard magic tricks being released for sale.

It is also important to note that every time a magician opts to copy over creating something new or unique, there is one less original idea in magic that can inspire someone else in the future. Magic begins to suffer from a lack of depth, and magicians gravitate towards performing the same tricks as one-another instead of exploring something new.

A question of morals.

Ultimately, it is up to each of us to decide whether reverse engineering a magic trick is stealing, and whether or not this is a bad thing. There are no ‘magic police’ that are going to hunt down a magician for using someone’s idea. It all depends on our own moral view. We may wish to consider, however, what it is we actually gain from stealing an idea. It’s a method that is stolen. A series of moves in a particular sequence, or the design of a gimmick, or a principle. Nobody is stealing magic. It’s not possible to steal the great reaction we hope for, or the adoration of our spectators. Those things come from being a great performer- a quality nobody can take from somebody else.

Whether you feel copying another magician is good, bad or indifferent- It’s end result is pointless!

If you learn a magic trick from another magician, or even watch a performance and know the method already, seek out permission before you start performing the magic trick yourself. If it’s commercially released, purchase a copy. View it as a donation towards the creative process that lead you to discover the trick. Support the magic community, and inventors that take the time to develop magic tricks. We all benefit from their hard work.

What do you think? Share your thoughts in the comments section below: