2. Area of Interest :Magic
unrealistic and
Magic is the art of performing
supernatural tasks using tricks and illusions. The basic
idea of an illusion is to present something that seems
real according to previous perception and create a
distraction while tricking the observer into believing
the unnatural behavior and occurrence of the event.
3. Three Acts of a Magic Trick
“Every great magic trick consists of three parts or acts. The first part is
called "The Pledge". The magician shows you something ordinary: a
deck of cards, a bird or a man. He shows you this object. Perhaps he
asks you to inspect it to see if it is indeed real, unaltered, normal. But
of course... it probably isn't. The second act is called "The Turn". The
magician takes the ordinary something and makes it do something
extraordinary. Now you're looking for the secret... but you won't find
it, because of course you're not really looking. You don't really want to
know. You want to be fooled. But you wouldn't clap yet. Because
making something disappear isn't enough; you have to bring it back.
That's why every magic trick has a third act, the hardest part, the part
we call "The Prestige".”
-Christopher Priest
4. Magic In Cultural Media
A ScenarioMany popular mind reading tricks are based on simple mathematic
calculations, some even on basic addition and subtraction. Here‟s an example(-3) + (x) + 5 - (-3) + (-x) – 7 = -2
A simple mathematical equation like so gives the result -2 for every „x‟. The
magician asks his audience to think of any number „x‟, and then asks to
perform some addition subtraction to that, which is a part of the equation. In
the end he claims to predict the answer (-2) by reading the mind, which would
be the same for any x. What makes it believable is the distraction that is created
to make the audience forget that it‟s just simple math.
There are many written texts with such tricks, and reader is the audience
here, who follows the instruction and performs the illusion on self.
5. Magic In Cultural Media
A ScenarioSame secret can be used to perform the trick in a
video format, by giving the user visual and
audio instructions to perform the steps. One such
trick is performed by David Copperfield for his
television audience, where he instructs the
viewer to go in circle clockwise and
anticlockwise, and predicts the final position.
The reason this successfully tricks the audience is
because he is a master in distraction. The illusion
is presented in such a way that it is believable.
6. Magic In Cultural Media
A ScenarioSimilarly, such a trick can be performed in live
audience by one to one interaction or using a group.
The magician decorates the simple logic with
distraction and abra kadabra and dramatic music, to
make it seem like he is really able to read the viewer‟s
mind.
7. Magic In New Media
A ScenarioUsing Interactive Technologies, a similar underlying concept
can be decorated and presented in a more profound fashion
to make the trick more believable. The video is static way of
giving instructions and the viewer cannot control what the
magician is doing, however, if the viewer gets the chance to
alter the next moves of the magician, and if he is given the
possibility of a choice as to what magician does, the trick
becomes more believable.
8. Magic In New Media – The Three Acts
has to be convinced
For a trick to be successful, the audience
and be a part of all the three acts. Usually in live
performances, some viewers are called to inspect „The
Pledge‟, and they are sometimes a part of „The Prestige‟, but
they are kept away from „The Turn‟ using the distraction.
The ability to interact with the audience during „The
Turn‟, will make any magic more realistic, reaching to a
wider audience, and making them the part of it, and
enabling them to perform „The Turn‟ themselves will make
the whole experience more enjoyable.
