Seed of Imagination

Jan 5, 2010
658
2
Alabama
It is a cool idea, just a lot of props :p But, if you take away the dirt and water, your whole presentation is gone. I was expecting a rising card, but the 'leaf' was interesting.

If you were to try and apply this to walk-around magic what would you do? If you could do this same effect in the spectators hand, that would be a very cool effect. At the end of this you're left pretty dirty, what if your spectator wants you to dig up the tree?

Also, I would really scale back your vocabulary. It takes away from your effect if your audience doesn't immediately understand the words you choose to use. Just because you know these bigger words doesn't mean you should use them, that's just my opinion though. Unfortunately, the current culture associates arrogance with literacy and a strong vocabulary, so we need to adapt to that.
 
Dec 7, 2008
106
0
UK, Birmingham
i really like it. i like the concept a lot. i think people should use good props like this more. the biggest problem is that you end dirty. i showed this to a friend who said straight away is the there a card in the soil still?
people are going to want to dig that card up.

what i found weird as a spectator was why you used a real pot. i expected to see something visual like a rising card (yeah i think that your way is better) but the problem is that then we are asked to use our imaginations (yeah it a little ting but it distracted me from the effect which no one wants). t felt like a waste of great props.
the reason card magic got so popular is that it is very open and nothing can be hidden. david blane went on the street and put the props right up in your face.
props are a very dangerous thing to use.
1. because they make thing so much more easier (and the thing is that people know this (if i was to ask a normal person which is harder, if i asked you to think of a card and i know what it was or if i got you to choose a card and i knew what it was? what do you think they will say is harder?))
2. people know that gaff object exist. people know 'trick cards' exist even if they dont know what they are and what they do. the more things you use the more 'trap doors' to hide things in and devices to get the job done. (thats why mentalists try to not to use cards if they can)

but i do like it and i like what you do. creating effects is hard. there are too many angles to think about =]
good job dude
 

Michael Kras

{dg} poet laureate / theory11
Sep 12, 2007
1,268
3
Canada
www.magicanada.myfastforum.org
Thank you all for your thoughts! In regards to the post about walkaround, I would NEVER use this in walkaround. I grab a deck, some elastic bands and I'm set to go. This effect is more or less a performance piece suitable for parlour work... As stated in the YouTube description, it's a concept I designed for my competition act. I'm still workshopping methods and solutions.

And come on, the way I'm talking is NOT over the top. That's my voice.
 
Sep 26, 2007
591
5
Tokyo, Japan
I don't know if you should have shown this to anyone yet... it is extremely unpolished and there are too many places that would leave the spectator unsatisfied. The end of the trick for one, doesn't really seem like it is supposed to be the end. Your patter doesn't build up a "finale" feeling in anyway. The moment the spectator sees the initial on the card you plucked from the air, they will want to see the card in the dirt, but since you cover it up and end the trick, they will be extremely skeptical and go home thinking that there is still some random card in the dirt.

Also, I thought the cards were supposed to be "seeds", as you made clear about 26 times (someone pointed out above), but in the end, the card is a leaf? And, the connection between having the initials on the original seed meaning that the initial will be on the leaf as well, is not as clear as a connection as you probably think it is. And, you present the trick as almost a teleportation, not a transportation, or duplication, yet the idea of leafs growing on trees is that whatever sprouts is a product of the original seed. That being said, a more logical ending would be to have many 9 of hearts with the initials on them being produced (sprouted) from the original 9 of hearts w/ initials, and not just the one card leaving the dirt and becoming one random leaf you pluck from the air. You are completing contradicting the story that you laid down for your spectators. (not to mention going against botany/ science)

If you do decide to stick with this entire idea and not change anything (but I pray that you start from scratch... all over... from the beginning), then you should probably use the word "soil" and not "dirt".

Lastly, you are using a helluva lot of props for nothing really visual to happen... at all. You lose one card, and then pluck it from the air. It is a fancy card to shoe or card to mouth plot... but overkilled with too many props. Again, leaving your spectators wanting more and a bit disappointed that nothing really spectacular happened.

Now, I know you will think these comments are harsh... but if you read them from the point of view of someone that is watching from outside the "box", and forget for a minute that you are creator... everything I said should make sense. It is better to be critiqued harshly now, then it is after you release something that is trash... *cough cough @ a certain DVD that was scrutinized to all he*$ a few weeks back on this forum.
 

Michael Kras

{dg} poet laureate / theory11
Sep 12, 2007
1,268
3
Canada
www.magicanada.myfastforum.org
Thank you for your thoughts... the video itself was posted for last week's Saturday Night Contest but that's beside the point.

I appreciate your criticisms as this is still a major work in progress and I'm workshopping it constantly... adding in more magic moments, etc. All of your points are extremely helpful! Maybe after a few months or a year or so I'll repost a video with a new final product and see what everyone thinks.

Thanks again!
 
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