To gimmick or not to gimmick?

The_Logical_Magician · 04-23-2012, 04:01 AM

Hey guys, it's fun to be a part of the community again

(I think I haven't been active for like 6 months or so), so anyways, let's get the topic rolling.

What's your opinion on gimmicks?

That's a bit brutal so let me add some nuance:
I personally rarely use gimmicks, I love being able to perform an effect whenever someone shows up with a deck of cards and it generally proves to be more hard-hitting when it's completely examinable at the end.

BUT ...

I find that some of the most "magic feeling" effects use gimmicks. If any of you have seen performances by Helder Guimaraes, you'll know that his effects are particularly appealing since he combines a very subtle and strong effect with very intriguing and imaginative patter. He does however use gimmicks in some (if not most: about 60%) of his effects.

Now, in order to somewhat guide this thread, let me at least add this precision: I'm not talking about one-trick gimmicks like random magnets and special cards which allow you to perform a single effect (those are just horrible, they cost alot, and they are very limited in what you can acomplish with them).
What I mean are double-backers, double-facers, blank-face/back cards.

So I'll ask again: what do you think about using gimmicks in your effects?

Ps: if you want to see what kind of gimmicked card effects I'm talking about, check out Helder's red mirror dvd excerpts such as:
-http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IeUqhx7kBv4
-http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=39XD4...eature=related

04-23-2012, 04:01 AM	#1
The_Logical_Magician Join Date: Apr 2012 Location: Canada Posts: 18	To gimmick or not to gimmick? Hey guys, it's fun to be a part of the community again (I think I haven't been active for like 6 months or so), so anyways, let's get the topic rolling. What's your opinion on gimmicks? That's a bit brutal so let me add some nuance: I personally rarely use gimmicks, I love being able to perform an effect whenever someone shows up with a deck of cards and it generally proves to be more hard-hitting when it's completely examinable at the end. BUT ... I find that some of the most "magic feeling" effects use gimmicks. If any of you have seen performances by Helder Guimaraes, you'll know that his effects are particularly appealing since he combines a very subtle and strong effect with very intriguing and imaginative patter. He does however use gimmicks in some (if not most: about 60%) of his effects. Now, in order to somewhat guide this thread, let me at least add this precision: I'm not talking about one-trick gimmicks like random magnets and special cards which allow you to perform a single effect (those are just horrible, they cost alot, and they are very limited in what you can acomplish with them). What I mean are double-backers, double-facers, blank-face/back cards. So I'll ask again: what do you think about using gimmicks in your effects? Ps: if you want to see what kind of gimmicked card effects I'm talking about, check out Helder's red mirror dvd excerpts such as: -http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IeUqhx7kBv4 -http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=39XD4...eature=related