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Hidden Hand Problems, Questions, and Answers

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Hidden Hand Questions - problems - reviews

Problems, Questions and Answers about Hidden Hand by Sean Fields

As Merchant of Magic lead the launch of Hidden Hand in the UK, we recieved a LOT of questions from magicians about the device. To help, we have collected some of the most common questions and answers. If you don't know what Hidden Hand is yet, It's worth watching this video to see it in action:

What are the angles like for Hidden Hand?

The angles are pretty good with Hidden Hand. It's suitable for complete beginners to use. The angles are fine for commercial, professional real world use. Sean Fields performes the ring to anywhere in a room surrounded by magicians, and not one will see a thing. However, the angles are dependant on how you are using the device, what effect you are performing, and your own comfort/familiarity with the gimmick. Sean does go over a few ideas that can dramatically improve your experience right out of the box however.

Are there clothing requirements for Hidden Hand?

Clothing requirements are up to you, but some do work better than others. It's a simple matter to explore which clothing you prefer to use when you perfrom magic and adapt as required.

Is Hidden hand practical?

Totally. It's very easy to set up and perform. We think it's a worker that can be done at a moments notice.

Is there sound issues with Hidden Hand?

No. The device will not give you any sound issues, and is suitable for almost all sound conditions.

Is it easy to recover the vanished object with Hidden Hand?

The recovery is natural and easy to perform. It's completely covered and is almost automatic.

Can you vanish an object and then load it into a different gimmick to produce later?

Yes, that's exactly one of the uses for Hidden Hand.

Can you use the device whilst wearing a jacket?

Yep. Performing hidden hand in a suit is no problem at all.

Is Hidden Hand durable?

No particular care or finesse is required; the gimmick is highly durable. It could go through a washer and dryer by accident and probably still work fine.The gimmick is incredibly simple and durable, so breakage shouldn't be an issue. If it does break, The video goes over repairing and resizing the gimmick.

How is Hidden Hand set up?

The 'gimmick' is installed into your clothing, but it takes 2 seconds to set it up in your outfit, or move it to another.

Can it be performed left handed?

Yes. Sean Fields is left handed. It works exactly the same left or right.

 

A Message from Sean Fields about Hidden Hand

With The Hidden Hand now available in the UK, I wanted to sort of derail the hype train, and try to temper expectations, and be as clear and honest as I can be regarding what The Hidden Hand can and cannot do.

This is a gimmick, but only in the strictest sense of the word. It is so simple; this isn't so much about the gimmick, rather what the gimmick allows you to do.

The gimmick is 'mechanical', but again, only in the basest sense of the word. There are only 4 pieces to The Hidden Hand, it is mechanical in much the same way a wheel or lever is mechanical. I don't want anyone to expect some sort of Black Widow, whiz bang doo dad. This is extremely simple.

The item does have to be on the smaller side. Pretty much anything that is palmable could be manipulated with The Hidden Hand.

The object isn't really gone. It is still 'in play' and easily attainable, it is just cleverly hidden, much like palming.

There are angle considerations, but they are quite forgiving, and easily covered if need be.

It can be set up on your person and worn easily all day. You will certainly forget you are wearing it at least once. It can be moved from one outfit to the next in seconds.

You can do it in virtually any outfit, but it was designed for how I work, which is with the sleeves rolled back.

You can use it in conjunction with other effects, such as 3 Fly, etc, but that will require routining on your part for certain motivations that may be required to obtain The Hidden Hand.

Which brings me to creativity. The Hidden Hand is a tool, and it is up to the user to maximize and make the most of the tool. As soon as Eric Jones put one on, he started creating some incredible magic within minutes, and that's really what I want to see you guys do. Get ideas from the DVD, but start improvising, and developing your own uses and routines for The Hidden Hand, I can't wait to see what you guys come up with.

Lastly, although the device is dead simple to use, it will still take practice to master, and understanding of how and when to use it, to make the most of what it can do.


You can find out more about Hidden Hand here

The Best Time Travel Magic Trick

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Time Travel Magic Trick

Greg asks: 'I'm doing a new magic show based on time travel, and wondered if you could suggest a time travel magic trick which may be suitable?'

 

HI Greg, You have a huge range of choices here. Remember that the magic trick itself doesn't have to be directly linked to time travel. It's the presentation you wrap around the magic trick that will make it fit in the theme for the show.

Here's some of our suggestions for a good time travel magic trick:

 

Newtons Nightmare 

Newtons Nightmare

This little tube could be an excellent time travel magic trick. It allows you to show your ability to slow down time. A small weight falls down a tube, but you can make it fall in slow motion. Find out more about Newtons Nightmare here

Healed and Sealed Time Travel Magic Tricks

Healed and Sealed

How about having a crushed can on a table throughout the show. At some point in the action, you make it go back in time by going back into shape and restoring to a point before it was opened. Find out more about healed and sealed here

 

The Merchant of Magic Facebook Group

We asked the Merchant of Magic Facebook group to give some more suggestions about time travel magic tricks. Here's some of their ideas:

Jay Sankey has an effect I think it is called "Back in Time" – Mark P Cook

Alex Elmsley "Between the palms". A prediction made at the start is shown to be a signed card which happened later. – Bob Yelland

I wouldnt worry about the tricks just get your patter and performance down and then work tricks you know around that. – Chris Curley

If you can put close up magic in the show, try "The trick that never was" by Paul Cummins. – Philip Bynorth

How about something like a torn and restored? Going back in time restores the paper? Similarly a vanish/production/change box (time machine) can turn apples into seeds, birds into eggs etc.  If you look for the time travel magic trick to match the theme you may struggle, try adapting a trick to fit the theme. – Good luck! – Jonathan Nicholson

More close up but I seem to remember a time travel card trick on Matthew Dowden's Party Animal. There's Timeless, which I believe can play well to a bigger audience. I think there was some watch and clock related effects on one of the iCandy dvds. – David Macpherson

Garden of the Strange has some cool stuff in it that could be geared towards time travel. – Ross William

 

 

Bicycle Cards – Are They Really the Best for Magicians?

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Bicycle Cards - Best For Magicians?

By Dominic Reyes

Karen asks: My son has started learning magic and is asking me to buy him quite expensive playing cards. I've been told that he just needs Bicycle Cards. Which playing cards do you recommend?

You can spend a great deal of money on expensive designer playing cards. Many of the limited edition decks become collectable investments, but that shouldn't be your son's first goal when training as a magician. You want a solid, well performing deck of playing cards that he can use to work on his card technique.

Skills are more important that tools.

I would recommend getting him a standard deck of bicycle cards. The most common are the Poker 808 Bicycle Cards. These are the 'standard' playing cards used my magicians all over the world.

Bicycle cards are perfect for most magic tricks. They perform really well, are cheap to buy, and because of the Bicycle Cards UV-500 AirFlow finish they will be easy to handle. Cheap playing cards that are sold in many high street shops tend to not be Bicycle cards. They are often smaller in size because they are designed for playing Bridge rather than Poker. Although they are very cheap, they tend to ruined fast, stick together in clumps, and bend easily.

If you son starts his magic practice with 'Bikes' he will be building up his 'feel' for the cards right from the start. As he adds gimmicked decks or special cards to his card work, he will be able to include these without trouble as he is already using the standard deck most professional magicians use.

A deck of Bicycle cards can last a long time with careful use. I recommend that your son reads this post on how to make your deck of cards last longer.