ok before i say anything else i want to declare i am not soliciting the method for mindbender. this is more of a question i want to pose to mistermagus (aka anthony who created mindbender): what was the thought process that made you think of the effect? did you spend like a lot of time thinking of all the possible ways to bend a card, or did inspiration just hit you suddenly? i am trying to create some of my own effects and always end up using some old method which is neither convincing or mind-boggling enough. and also your answer might give me some insights as to how people create their own effects.

Maybe he got sick of bending spoons and other metal stuff. So he decided to bend something else, in this case, a playing card without touching it. Looks magical, yes, but IMO, it only looks good in the US, not here.

To create your own magic, method is not the issue. It always starts with a plot (aka "what you want to achieve?"), then a presentation line (aka "How would you present this trick if you really could do REAL magic?") and then finally work a method around it. It does not matter whether the method is old or new. That does not matter. Sometimes old methods with new applications can fool the greatest minds also.

Press on! SMC should be able to produce a manuscript/video/book of i's members' own tricks next time!!! Haha.

PS. The serves only as a guideline. It is my own guidelines for making my own magic effects/routines. But the basics are still the same.

did you come up with any new effects? i'm trying to look for ideas, but most of the stuff i come up with sound like they've already been done before. not good.

Hi Balduvia,

Thanks for asking. Well I will try to answer your question while I avoid making a long post :)

A quick history on the birth of Mindbender.
Mindbender was actually conceived around 2004 while I was trying to come up with some gambling routines for a competition. I discovered that method and just brushed it aside since I was concentrating on gambling moves. After a period of time (around a year after), I was then trying to come up with a mentalism routine for a Magic DVD that was to be produced here in the Philippines. It was supposed to be a compilation of orginal effects by Filipino Magicians. So I decided to dig around my notebook and try and look for things I could use. And then I stumbled upon the "Mindbender method" and tried to think of some patter to present it as an effect. I was always amazed at PK effects like metal bending ever since I saw Uri Geller when I was a kid and so I created the patter and the routine to go along with Mindbender. It was called a "Card Trick for Uri" before. The patter was like demonstrating how the performer always liked feats of mind power by bending metal. The performer goes on saying that he has not yet perfected the art and has not yet fully mastered the skill but he was getting headway by doing it on the simple bendable thinks say for instance cards. I presented it to the Magus Opus Entertainment Enterprises here in Manila and they were all stunned. I was totally amazed at how it was received by my fellow magicians. The DVD never pushed through due to some scheduling issues so I decided to show it to Ellusionist. And the rest is history. I'm sorry if this is just a history lesson as to the sensitive nature and the risk of exposure if I delve into details.

To answer your question on the thought process. Well, for my process, I usually think of a premise. And try to formulate as many possible solutions to that premise. I also understand that magic is a very creative art. Which means, things just don't come in when you need them. I mean the more you try and come up with effects and tricks the more it will elude you. As you can see from the things I said before, Mindbender took a long time to get formed into what it is today. I know it is just a simple effect, but sometimes, inspiration hits and you just have to take note of it and hope you could use it someday if nothing else is available that time. (did i just make sense? :) )

Incidentally, I have a lot of effects which "just came". I usually discover a move, a sleight or a principle and then work a patter into it. Just recently I accidentally discovered a new way to boomerang a card and as of this posting I am still formulating my patter, my handling and the overall cleanup of the effect.

Also I make it a point to have my cards handy and if I have some idle time, watching TV, doing some computer programming I usually have cards in my hand and I play with them. These are the times when sometimes my fingers mysteriously come into a funky formation and suddenly a new sleight, a new utility move or a new effect is born.

One very important point also: WRITE DOWN EVERYTHING! Whether it be an electronic journal which I use or a small notebook which you can carry around all the time. You will never know when inspiration will hit and you will never know when absent-mindedness will hit as well :)

Using an old method is really ok and is really the way to go if it helps your effect. I mean magic is one of the oldest professions. And according to my good friend Rannie Raymundo one of the most established close-up artists here in my country, I'm sure every other move, sleight or vanish has already been invented, created and thought of. Millions of people thinking of the same topic, working with the same five fingers and fiddling with the same 52 pieces of pasteboards will eventually come up with the same thing. So don't get bothered by using old methods, it is there and you should use it if it helps your creation. Heck, when I decided to release Mindbender, I knew I was in for a hell of a ride. I expected that a lot of people will come in and say that it is an old method or that has been done before yadda yadda. Well, for me, my handling was original, even if the method has been there I believe for a fact that my effect is 100% original. But if it makes some of the magicians happy and some use it in their act, then I would have achieved in helping a lot of people and have pushed my magic a little bit further.

I hope my jabbering helped you get some insight. I have to cut it short for now, since as I am previewing this post I have noticed it getting a little lenghty. A disclaimer though, since we are all unique individuals, there might be some other process people go through in creating wonderful effects. This is just me :)

Thanks for asking!

Anthony

Hi Llamalamer,

Haha, I didn't get sick of bending metal stuff. I'm not sure as to why you think it only looks good in the US since the birthplace of that effect is here in Asia. Although for me Asians are not as "reactive" to magic as opposed to Americans. Well at least that is what I have observed in my country. I'm not sure if it holds true in Singapore as well. People here are more shy and a little bit more kept when it comes to reacting like wild men and women. Just curious :)

I totally agree with you 100% that old methods applied in a new and innovative way can really fool the greatest of the greatest.

Stay magical!
Anthony

Totally agree with mistermagus, afterall there are only 7 notes in the
musical scale but listen to all those beautiful music, it's amazing that
they just come from 7 notes. Creativity is the key and the human mind
is limitless. Will be waiting to view yr new projects. Cheers.

ya thanks for your insights anthony, helps a lot. plus it's also encouraging to see that asians are able to come up with new stuff too (i think a lot of people, myself included, believe that caucasians are more creative etc. etc. which is true to some extent because some of the best effects are really conceived by them - i have no idea how the hell wayne houchin came up with sinful but the method is crazy).

and also probably asians aren't the most encouraging audience in the world - they are more likely to give no reactions, or will just try to find out how you did it etc. although i still think that no reactions doesn't mean a bad thing, just means that people don't like to openly display their emotions in public.

Hi Mistermagus.

Sorry if my post "offended" you.

You said that Asians might be a little more conservative in reacting to something they cannot explain. Yes, I definetely agree with you.

As for Mindbender, the "card bend" occured to me a few times before (not on the back of my hand though), by accident too, but I never realised it could be marketed as an good effect after throwing in the presentation. Wow.

Applauds to Anthony!!

Haha.