HOME IMPROVEMENT

If you require custom equipment you can go also about making it yourself. In centuries past, most magicians had to build their own props and equipment. Some tricks don’t require anything more than some plywood and a few tools. Also, if your props are home made you can be sure that no one else will have a trick exactly like yours.

The first piece you may want to create is your magician’s table. You can custom build it with hidden compartments to assist you with tricks where objects need to disappear.

Another important, although sometimes overlooked, piece of magician’s equipment is the outfit. What the magician wears can be a critical part of the performance and set the tone for the audience. Many magicians also like to have customized outfits with hidden pockets or panels to assist with tricks. Unless you have a talent for sewing you may want to consult with a local tailor to get your outfit created.

Perhaps the most common prop in magic is the deck of cards. This may seem simple but there are many different types. There are different colors, sizes, marked cards, double faced and double backed cards just to name a few. Most magic stores will have a type of deck to accommodate any tricks you might be working on but some magicians have their cards customized as well. If you do go with customized cards remember that you want them to look as much like an “ordinary” deck of cards as possible. You want the audience to believe that the magic is coming from you, not the props.

“Gentlemen and Ladies,” said the lawyer, Miles C. Hoffman, and the young one, Annabelle Henry the first one standing up and sternly saying and near tears, “Can’t you all see, Mr. Shannon O’Day was a part of our lives, we all need to make him a big gravestone, not just leaving it up to Otis, because Otis is rich and handsome and kind, and was a close friend to Shannon.

“I’ve already thought of that too,” said Poggi Ingway, a dear friend who had worked at a foundry with him, and even Maribel Adams, who had married Shannon for a season, and lost him to Annabelle, and now was married to Earnest French, making her new name Maribel French, who had traveled all the way from San Francisco to Minnesota to attend Shannon’s funeral, “I feel,” she said, “he belongs to all of us, let’s build a mausoleum, and make it look like a cornfield, because he liked to drink in those damn fields all the time.” (And she chuckled.)

“He’s a war veteran,” says judge Finley, now in his eighties “no need for this meeting to see who’s going to bury the drunk, let’s just have a funeral and a wake and say our goodbyes, the Army provides a wooden coffin, and a hundred dollars I hear.”

For purposes of any video that you wish to produce to market your products or services, you should consider using a green screen for a variety of reasons. In a video we produced for Dimension One Spas, it made more sense to have waterfalls and spas in the background of the CEO than his office. So we interviewed him in his office with a green screen backdrop; with a few quick clicks, the editor keyed out the green and substituted water.

We interviewed a scientist using green screen because the client wanted a background of animated cells. And for a coaxial cable company, we used a green screen for their mascot who “flew” in and out of a coaxial cable. For a wine distributor, we placed wine cellars, vineyards and grapes behind the talent.

The beauty of a green screen is that you can pretty much set it up anywhere, as long as there are at least six feet between the interviewee and the backdrop. In the case of a dancer or a troupe of dancers moving and leaping, you would need to use a studio and have an entire wall and floor painted green. But for a simple interview with the subject placed in a chair, you will not need to rent a studio; you can get away with smaller quarters.

New York is a fantastic city – as a visitor, there are many great things to see and experience. One popular activity is go to see a Broadway show. Broadway shows are popular with both tourists and locals alike. After living in New York City for awhile, you discover some tips and tricks that improve your Broadway experience, and save you money at the same time.

Shows are either classified as “Broadway” or “Off-Broadway”. Broadway theaters hold a minimum of 500 people, while Off-Broadway shows hold a smaller number. Many shows that are now on Broadway start off as Off-Broadway shows, and grow into a Broadway theater as they become more popular. Shows on Broadway are usually better known (produced by big names like Disney), but that doesn’t mean they’re all good, or that they are better than all Off-Broadway shows. People have different tastes, and you’re just as likely to have a great time with an Off-Broadway performance as with a Broadway performance. Since the theaters are smaller and the shows aren’t as heavily advertised, Off-Broadway shows are often cheaper than ones on Broadway.

If you are trying to decide what show to see, it can be quite helpful to check out reviews for Broadway shows from other people who have seen the shows you’re interested in.