Big List of Magical Plots

[Huruey]

The Big List of Magical Plots (and stuff)

I have been thinking about different plots for effects recently, and there seem to be so many, but I don't seem to be very good at keeping them all in my head all at once, so I have decided to make a list (with your help) of all the various plots around which many effects have been based.

Hopefully this will be useful to anyone looking for something new to perform. I'll try to keep it up to date and easy to get around. Please feel free to help by contributing whatever you can think of.


Card Plots
==========
(Ace) Assembly -
13 Card Revelation - Produce an entire suit.
Ambitious Card - Card rises to the top of the deck.
Any Card at Any Number -
Card Monte - Based on gambling game where a special card among a few isn't where you'd expect.
Card Under/In Box - Self explanatory.
Card Warp - A card magically changes such that it can be seen to be two cards at once (or more frequently face and back of the same card).
Card at Any Number -
Cards Across -
Card through glass -
Card to pocket/impossible place - Self explanatory.
Chicago Opener - Selected card's back changes color.
Collectors -
Color Change - A card magically changes into another.
Color Changing Deck - The back color of the entire deck changes.
Dunbury Delusion -
Everywhere - Where the selected card seems to be every card.
Gambling Demonstration - The magician demonstrates the ability to cheat at games such as poker.
Hofzinser's Ace Problem
Inversion - A card turns itself over in the deck.
Oil and Water - Cards of different colors are mixed but magically separate.
Open Travelers
Reset
Sandwich - Whereby the magic often happens sandwiched between two cards (e.g. a selection is produced between two aces).
Spectator Cut to the Aces - Self explanatory.
Thought of Cards Across -
Torn and Restored -
Transposition -
Travelers -
Triumph - Mixed up cards (both ways up) are magically sorted to reveal a selection inversed.
Twisting - Cards turn over in a small packet


Coin/Money Plots
==========
3 Fly -
Assembly -
Bill Switch -
Coin Bend -
Coin Matrix -
Coin in bottle -
Coins Across -
Coin through glass -
Copper/Silver -
Hundy 500 -
One Coin Routine -
Production - Self explanatory.
Serial Numbers -
Torn And Restored Bill -
Vanish - Self explanatory.


Misc. Plots
==========
Levitation -
Metal Bending -
Mental Prediction -


==========


I'd like to thank these people for their contributions:
cbols23, ace18

Huruey

 

[RichmanMatthew]

Direct quote from Wikipedia;

"Categories of effects
David Blaine is a modern magician who incorporates street theater in his performances.
David Blaine is a modern magician who incorporates street theater in his performances.

There is much discussion among magicians as to how a given effect is to be categorized, and disagreement as to what categories actually exist -- for instance, some magicians consider "penetrations" to be a separate category, while others consider penetrations a form of restoration or teleportation. It is generally agreed that there are very few different types of effect. There has been disagreement between some magicians (such as Dariel Fitzkee, Harlan Tarbell, S.H. Sharpe) as to how many different types of illusion there are. Some of these are listed below.

* Production The magician produces something from nothing—a rabbit from an empty hat, a fan of cards from thin air, a shower of coins from an empty bucket, or the magician themselves, appearing in a puff of smoke on an empty stage -- all of these effects are productions.

* Vanishing The magician makes something disappear—a coin, a cage of doves, milk from a newspaper, an assistant from a cabinet, or even the Statue of Liberty. A vanish, being the reverse of a production, may use a similar technique, in reverse.

* Transformation The magician transforms something from one state into another—a silk handkerchief changes colour, a lady turns into a tiger, an indifferent card changes to the spectator's chosen card. A transformation can be seen as a combination of a vanish and a production.

* Restoration The magician destroys an object, then restores it back to its original state—a rope is cut, a newspaper is torn, a woman is sawn in half, a borrowed watch is smashed to pieces—then they are all restored to their original state.

* Teleportation The magician causes something to move from one place to another—a borrowed ring is found inside a ball of wool, a canary inside a light bulb, an assistant from a cabinet to the back of the theatre. When two objects exchange places, it is called a transposition: a simultaneous, double teleportation.

* Levitation The magician defies gravity, either by making something float in the air, or with the aid of another object (suspension)—a silver ball floats around a cloth, an assistant floats in mid-air, another is suspended from a broom, a scarf dances in a sealed bottle, the magician hovers a few inches off the floor. There are many popular ways to create this illusion of the magician himself being levitated, such as the Balducci levitation, the King Rising, Criss Angel's stool levitations, and the Andruzzi levitations.

* Penetration The magician makes a solid object pass through another—a set of steel rings link and unlink, a candle penetrates an arm, swords pass through an assistant in a basket, a saltshaker penetrates the table-top, a man walks through a mirror. Sometimes referred to as 'solid-through-solid'.

* Prediction The magician predicts the choice of a spectator, or the outcome of an event under seemingly impossible circumstances—a newspaper headline is predicted, the total amount of loose change in the spectator's pocket, a picture drawn on a slate. Prediction forms the basis for most 'pick-a-card' tricks, where a random card is chosen, then revealed to be known by the performer.

Many magical routines use combinations of effects. For example, in the famous 'cups and balls' a magician may use vanishes, productions, penetrations, teleportations and transformations all as part of the one presentation."

 

[Farrell]

^ They are principals of magic, not plots. An example of a plot would be any hofzinser's plots.

 

[Magic Man4293]

metal bending

 

[cbols23]

Um, Card to pocket.

Card to Mouth.

Transpositions.

TnR.

Ace asemblies, (sp?)

Predictions.

Card through glass.

Those are just off the top of my head.

Coins,

Coin across

Change Coin.

Transpositions.

 

[ace18]

Ummmm Cards:

Your Signed Card (Bro. John Hamman's excellent plot)
Collectors
Dunbury (I think thats the name, not 100%)
Cards Across
Thought of Cards Across
Hofzinser's Ace Problem
Reset
Inversion
Card at Any Number
Any Card at Any Number
Everywhere (Where the selected card seems to be every card.)
Gambling Demonstration
Card Under/In Box
Twisting (Where cards turn over)
13 Card Revelation (Produce an entire suit)
Card Warp
Open Travelers
Travelers
Torn and Restored
Spectator Cut to the Aces
Chicago Opener

Coins/Money:
One Coin Routine
3Fly
Matrix
Assembly
Bill Switch
Hundy 500
Torn And Restored Bill
Serial Numbers
Coin Bend
Copper/Silver


Just some off the top of the dome.

 

[Huruey]

Thanks for the contributions, guys. I've just been formatting and trying to work out the best way of organizing these. You may have noticed I added the words "and stuff" to the title, because some things which I think fit in the list aren't technically "plots".

I'm thinking of adding a "Global Plots" section for things like Torn and Restored which can actually be applied to cards, bills, (coins?), newspapers etc..

As you can see I've once again left in the middle of doing things, but I'll keep coming back when I have the chance to fix things up.

Hope there's more people out there who find this useful/interesting. Please keep 'em coming.

Cheers,
Huruey

 

[ace18]

I have confirmed that the "Dunbury" is actually called the "Dunbury Delusion"

 

[ace18]

Open Prediction
Gambler vs. Magician
Color Changing Deck
Universal Card
Elevator
Rising Card
All Backs
Sympathetic Cards

 

[verifythisnow]

Many of these appear to be sub plots of others.... and some are just tricks not actual plots, ie Hundy500 is part of the easy money plot.

Also, the plot I am currently obsessed with:

Open Prediction.

 

[ace18]

ie Hundy500 is part of the easy money plot.

Ah, thats was the name.....