Justen Sayne

Illusionist, Mentalist, Escape Artist

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Binary Code by Rick Lax Review

With the hype of this release followed by Ricky fooling Master Magicians Penn and Teller on Fool Us, I feel like it is appropriate to write a review of the download I acquired about a year ago. And let me say, the effect and method of this download is pretty great. 

I must admit I haven’t really performed this effect all that much. The reasons are because a) there is a set up for the effect that I usually do not have set up when performing and b) I enjoy performing other effects that make it hard to routine this with unless I perform some kind of switch. He does offer a way to do this effect without a setup, which I liked, but I never really practiced that. 

Another thing to note is that this effect really isn’t a “magic trick” per se but a demonstration of skill. Being a card cheat and escape artist, I do not see this as much of an issue when done in the right setting, but I personally would not mix this effect with magic tricks because I feel it would just weaken the impact this trick has on the spectators.

The download is very well done. We start with a little trailer preview, followed by an introduction from Ricky, followed by a full uncut performance of the entire routine, followed by a tutorial of the first phase, a practice session for the first phase, a tutorial of the second part, some loose ideas that he throws around, and finally a wrap up by Ricky. Throughout the download, Ricky offers many, many helpful tips and goes in depth on how to sell the illusion that you have memorized the entire deck. If there is one thing that Ricky does well besides creating cool effects (though there’s many things he does well), it would be teaching. This download covers pretty much everything you need to know on performing this effect. 

Get this effect on Penguin Magic now: http://www.penguinmagic.com/p/3905 

Support Ricky and like his Facebook page for more updates on his work: https://www.facebook.com/DeceptionExpert?fref=ts 

[justensayne-blog]

Costuming - Theatre for the Magician

As some of you know, my emphasis in the BFA program is scenic design and props, not costumes. However theatre students need to take a few costuming courses throughout their studies, and right now I’m in costume construction and let me tell you, I can’t sew for crap... It’s actually very discouraging because as a magician, I need to learn this skill for quick changes, manipulation acts (where are you going to put your loads?), stage props, and various other costumes and topit like items. 

Being in costumes made me realize something. As magicians, we need to learn various skills for our art. We need to learn graphic design for marketting (or hire someone), we need to learn marketting to get gigs (or hire someone), we need to learn advertisement to promote our gigs (or hire someone), we need to learn lighting for our stage shows (or hire someone), we need to learn sewing and woodworking and construction techniques and drafting and ect to make our props (or hire someone/buy them), we need to learn video editing if we want a youtube channel (or hire someone), and so on. If we hire people to do all these, then dang we must be rich to afford this. Oh wait, we’re the type that spends $180 on an e-cigarette attached to some cloth.... 

So yeah, if there is a true jack of all trades, it’s magicians. We spend our lives learning and continuously learning to practice our craft because let’s face it, we can’t tell you what we want to do. If we did we’d have to kill you. 

[justensayne-blog]

New Section

As some of you all know, I study theatre at the University of Arizona. Why? Because there is so much similar in theatre and in magic. So I am planning to start posting about the two and what I learn in theatre that can be applied to magic, my thoughts about them, and any other random stuff with the hashtag and title - Theatre for the Magician. 

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Waxed by Lonnie Chevrie

Just saw the trailer for the new effect by Lonnie Chevrie. To me, it looks exactly like Gypsy Thread by Dan Sperry (on Theory11) or Dragon Thread by Mike Wong (on Penguin Magic). Penguin Magic says it’s a modification of the trick Dragon Thread, but I don’t see much of a difference from the trailer honestly, though there’s no full performance (probably to save the method). For $5 today, it may not be that bad to pick up a copy of it from Penguin Magic. I am not planning to so yeah... no review, sorry guys. 

[justensayne-blog]

At The Table Lecture - Justin Miller REVIEW

One word.... WOW. I’ve been a fan of Justin Miller’s magic for ever since I saw his effect Aftershock back in 2013 on Ellusionist. He has put out many, many amazing routines and effects like Divorce, First Hand, Freedom Pack, Summons, F-Fly, Personal Bubble, and ect. ect. ect. (there’s a lot of gems he put out throughout the years). As well, JM’s effects are like Sankey’s in a way: simple and straight forward with very, very visual moments. No complicated gimmicks, no frustrating arts and crafts, and lots of impromptu miracles with little props.

This lecture was incredible. You not only get the tricks, but you get his thought process in creating the tricks, the why he does things a certain way, the why he has certain phases, and the complete teaching of how to make the effect powerful (for example: when to pause to let the image sink in for the spectator). Gregory Wilson was an amazing host as well, asking the right questions as well as throwing more ideas and handlings to each effect giving the viewer more freedom and ideas. The lecture is also like 3 and half hours long, and for only $8 for a download on Penguin Magic, it’s a great deal!

Mental Feign: Very very visual effect where the spectator chooses an imaginary coin and the magician smacks the coin into the wrapper of a cigarette pack (or a pack of cards) and the imaginary coin passes through into the wrapping and becomes an actual materialized coin. I loved this effect because it’s simple, direct, and very very visual (did I say it was visual as well?). As Gregory Wilson said, this is a perfect effect because the spectator can easily describe what happened for years to come because it was so simple and direct. 

Psuedo Card: A gag like card trick that is similar to the pencil sticking to the hand trick. The spectator thinks the magician is holding the wrong card with his thumb and making it look like it’s sticking to his hand, but the magician can show that he is not using his thumb and for a kicker ending, he turns over the card and it has changed to the spectator’s selected card. I personally did not like this effect that much, but I did take from the tutorial the power of pauses (which Gregory Wilson emphasized a lot). The effect just was not powerful enough in my taste, and it also uses a gimmick you have to buy which I did not have, but I can see some people using this effect and hitting hard with it. 

Silent Thought: I’ve seen this trick before on one of JM’s projects Interludes and Subtleties, and from the moment I saw it, it became one of my workers. The effect is a visual mentalism piece where the spectator’s card is divined, then it appears in between two jokers in the magician’s hand (the magician is seen only holding the two jokers while the deck is out of play or in the spectator’s hand). Again this is a simple effect with a simple method that can easily be learned within the matter of minutes. 

Ring Slide: A ring travels by itself along a sharpie held tightly by the spectator (or a fork, knife, pencil, ect.) eerily until it pops off into the spectator’s hand. It’s a fun little routine that can hit hard. It uses a gimmick that most magicians should already have. The effect is  virtually impromptu too, which is a nice bonus, and is used by other professionals regularly apart from Justin Miller (such as Dan White). This piece is definitely worth the price of the lecture. 

Card Flip: The name I made up honestly. Justin Miller didn’t say the name of the revelation/effect during the lecture. The effect is a card flipping over in the spectator’s hand (JM does a card change with this move). This is a nice idea but honestly I would not perform this. The effect, to me, isn’t that powerful; it looks like the wind from the hands moving flips over the card. 

Conviction: A card is selected and the corner of the wrong card is torn. The corner is held by the spectator, and the wrong card visually changes to the selected card (corner is still ripped off). The corner held by the spectator changes to the corner of the selected card and it matches. This is a beautiful effect (I feel like I say that too much) and JM teaches step by step everything he does prior to the trick and during the trick. The effect is inspired by BeLieve by Joel Paschal (JM gives credit to everyone that helped him with the trick and the moves he uses). 

Smile: A card is selected, wrong card is revealed (I feel JM does this a lot...), and the card is handed to the spectator. A picture is taken with the card and spectator. The card is taken back and changes to the right card, “if the card changes here, then it should change in the picture”. And wow... beautiful. So simple, so easy to do, so powerful, and it comes with a souvenir that won’t cost anything to the magician. A real worker. 

F-Fly: A beautiful coins across routine that uses the off beat as well as visual performance moments. This is what real magic should look like. The ending is a kicker too because it ends with a coin jumping to the coins in the spectator’s hand. As well, the magician can show the hands empty at the end too (with 3 coins in the spectator’s hand). This ends my search for a 3 fly routine. This is the one I will do from now on, no other 3 fly routines. 

The Test: A symbol on the bracelet changes to a revelation of a selected card. Very simple and straight forward trick. I can see this being a powerful revelation effect that hits hard. 

C-Drop: To me, this was Angle Z by Daniel Madison but a little more impromptu and in the spectator’s hand. Okay, it was Angle Z pretty much. I don’t know which one I like better, but I can see myself doing both effects. 

Bloodlink: This effect was originally published in JM’s The Bold Project Vol 1, so I’ve known this effect for a while now. And to this day, I do not know my feelings about this trick. It’s been an effect I perform for a while, stop, perform it again, stop performing it, and so forth, and it’s not because this effect is not good, it just gets a different reaction because it is a different trick. I would recommend finding a performance of this effect on youtube or something to see for yourself what this trick is, because it’s definitely different. JM loves this trick though and it is a trick from his personal repertoire. He offers lots of ideas and advice for this effect from real experience on the streets. 

Throughout the lecture, JM keeps people entertained with some great stories. He also talks about invisible thread (when to use, how to use it, and great tips too). He also teaches the pass and man, JM does the pass sooo well!! They also talk about audience management a lot too, which was amazing advice from two real workers (JM has been working restaurant since his teen years, and Gregory Wilson, well it’s Gregory Wilson).

He also has performance clips of each trick performed on the streets so you can see the tricks in action, which was a great addition since lectures usually don’t have that; it’s usually performances in the studio. The tricks taught in the lecture are hand selected by JM himself and most of them, if not all, are real workers. Even Gregory Wilson said “a lot of these are real workers” halfway through the lecture. And it was, most of these tricks are workers. I highly recommend this lecture to everyone!

[justensayne-blog]

Review of The Breezy Project by Jibrizy

I’ve met Jibrizy over Skype a few times and the man is very creative. I remember him showing me a gimmick he just came up with that week that transformed a chapstick into a dollar bill and the gimmick was well designed, giving it high potential to make the handling very, very clean. Since then, Jibrizy has been working on a few projects such as a weekly creativity competition with Casshan Wallace on their youtube channels, a Youtube magic series with Laurence, and he has put up a website recently at jibrizy.com. 

So about the Breezy Project. There are two volumes, both available on Penguin Magic. With a total of six pretty nice effects, the projects are actually both free on download so it is definitely worth a watch. I will go over each trick now:

Gone and Back: A nice routine with a twisting effect and a transposition. I like this routine not because it is mind blowing but because it was pretty well designed. This effect does use a simple gimmicked card that can easily be obtained as well as another “gimmick” (I’m going to call it a gimmick here just to protect the secret. It’s not really a gimmick and can easily be obtained though 99.9% of magicians already has this). The effect pretty much starts and ends clean since the cards used in the effect can be examined before and after. 

Chap Wrap: An organic effect where the magician shoots a rubberband and the rubberband wraps around a chapstick held by the spectator. I thoroughly enjoyed this effect because it was simple and refreshing. With all of the card effects that come out annually, effects as organic, as clever, and as different as this are rare. The method is simple, even the rubberband stuff is simple too (sometimes rubberband effects are a nightmare to follow and learn). Jibrizy’s teaching is also wonderful and clear. 

Pen Possible: A visual rubberband through pen routine where the pen is held by the spectator. The routine starts with a vanish of the cap and a reappearance, which is smooth and well designed. The teaching of that part is decent; there’s a move that Jibrizy doesn’t teach thoroughly but there is a lot of free material on it that he directs the viewer towards. The rubberband through pen is the second phase and it is not that hard in concept, but does require a little bit of timing and a little bit of audience management. However, it does not take that long to learn and perfect.

Phone Be Gone: A phone vanishes from the phone case and then reappears through a make shift portal made from a rubberband. The cool thing about this is that it can work with a variety of phones, but a slight difficulty is that it does not work well with bigger phones (which is becoming more popular now with the Samsung Galaxy and newer versions of the iPhones). This effect can also be done with a spectator’s phone, but there is a requirement that Jibrizy said about 70% of the borrowed phones match. The moves for the effect are not new, however they are a bit harder to perform on a phone so it may take some time to learn. The teaching was decent, though the moves were not thoroughly taught (there’s full releases by top named magicians that spend half an hour teaching these moves on Theory11, Ellusionist, Dan and Dave, and Penguin Magic). 

Quick Clip: A paper clip and a finger ring are tossed together and linked in a matter of seconds. I enjoyed this because it is what magic should be, for the spectators. I’ve performed this piece a few times now and its been getting very good reactions. Also, this piece is great because it is simple to follow, simple in concept, and very visual.

Billy: A signed bill transpo where a signed bill appears wrapped around a card after being placed into the card box. Then the bill disappears from the card and jumps to the magician’s pocket. The download did not actually have a full performance of this routine, but Jibrizy explains the routine very very thoroughly. I have not actually performed this yet to spectators because there is a part that I am not comfortable with just yet (it has to do with the signature when the bill appears wrapped around the card). I have used the principle before with a product from Justin Miller, but the way it is used here seems a bit too risky for my personal taste. I am sure Jibrizy has performed this effect many times, so I have no doubt this effect works well during performance. 

Overall this set was very nice. It was a fresh breathe of air and a nice change from the many, many variations of old classics I have been working with recently. Both effects are free on Penguin Magic now (before they were I believe $3 or $5 each), so pick them up and give them a watch! Also check out his website for a new release containing 3 effects with a gum pack called Chew Down. 

Breezy Project Vol 1: http://www.penguinmagic.com/p/4537

Breezy Project Vol 2: http://www.penguinmagic.com/p/4545 

[justensayne-blog]

La Carga by Dalton Wayne Review

Dalton Wayne has came out with a few interesting effects throughout the years. I chose the word “interesting” because I don’t want to classify them simply as either “good effects” or “bad effects”. Dalton’s releases are always very powerful when done at the right moments, and this release is no exception. As he pointed out in the download, this effect does have some restrictions on when it is appropriate to perform. For example, you most likely will not perform this to a random person on the streets since taking out a charger is a bit of a hassle, and a charger just does not fit in that scenario. However, this is a very powerful party trick since, especially in this generation, everyone has their phones and chargers out during parties. 

So the effect is simple: you take a charger and shove it into the phone. Then you take the charger out and the phone is unharmed. 

The effect itself is not too difficult to learn. The concept and idea is very basic so all you have to do is practice it a few times for the timing and choreography and then you’re set. What I love about this is that Dalton has already done the hard work for you; all you need is an iPhone and the charger and you are set. No extra props/gimmicks, no extra money that needs to be spent. It’s just one dollar and one dollar only. 

The downside of it is that it only works for iPhone 4S or the versions before it (so like iPhone 3 and lower). Theoretically it can work for the newer models too, but Dalton does not supply the things that are necessary for that yet. You can make it yourself though since he runs through the premise of the effect very thoroughly, but it may take a little bit to make. My cousin has an iPhone 4S, so it worked for his phone. Dalton also supplied things for both the white and the black models, so it is a little bit versatile. 

Another thing to point out is that visually it can be a little bit different for each person. I personally did not like how it looked when the iPhone charger was in the iPhone since it looked a little be cartoonish in a way, but for some people, how it looked made the difference. So that can cause a little problem, but I don’t think it will be too much of a problem. As magicians, we are use to everyone having slightly different reactions that everyone else. 

The filming and editing of the teaching video was pretty well done. The camera may not have been the best (not a crystal HD camera but a normal camera in an indoor setting). Though the lighting and resolution could have been improved, they were good enough that it did not hinder the clarity of the teaching. Also, Dalton is a film editor and designer too, so the editing was pretty well done. 

Overall this effect is strong when presented right (arguably that can be said about every trick). I loved the thinking that went behind this effect since it was simple yet it was different a bit (though these kinds of effects/uses for the method have been getting a little bit popular). And for only a dollar on penguin magic, I cannot see a reason why you wouldn’t get this effect. 

Here’s the link to the effect: http://www.penguinmagic.com/p/3030 

[justensayne-blog]

Review of The Advocate by Daniel Madison

The Advocate is a gimmick that allows you to get any card into your hand (generally into a Gambler’s Cop or a Top Palm). All you need is a full deck of cards and a card box to create the gimmick (along with scissors or a blade if you want to make the gimmick clean, but you can just use your hands and tear it). Daniel Madison runs through how to create the gimmick pretty well, and the gimmick is very simple to create. It fits into your pocket so it is very versatile and can be used on the streets.

Daniel Madison’s teaching is very good actually. He explains step by step, in full detail, how to get the right card into your hands, and he usually goes through it once slowly and one more time again quickly to make sure you understand. Ellusionist filmed this at an airport parking garage, which Daniel Madison admits, but that did not hinder understanding at all. The move itself is simple in concept, but may be a little harder at first to execute. Like all tricks, it will take some time to perfect, but the move’s difficulty is at most beginner/intermediate.

After Madison teaches you how to use the gimmick, he gives several ideas of what to do with the gimmick. He walks through several effects on the DVD such as a Brainwave effect, a Card to Impossible Location (Card to Passport is what he did, but he gives ideas such as card to under someone’s seat, card to wallet, and even card into trashcan), and another card to impossible location (card to pocket). 

As a side note, I love how Madison also explains an out just in case the spectator questions a movement that may not make sense (it does though, but this is a backup).

Overall I love the DVD. The effect is very versatile, as I said before, and the limitations are really just what you can think of. Imagine the possibilities because all the spectator has to do is name a card and you have that randomly named card in your hands hidden. There’s many different things you can do next, and Madison gave several ideas but there’s many, many more. And the gimmick is cheap to make, as I said before, which is a huge bonus because sometimes that is not the case. This gimmick is literally just a deck of playing cards, nothing more. For $25 + Ellusionist shipping which is generally $5 + a deck of Bicycles, it only cost me $32 for the entire thing. I highly recommend getting The Advocate today if you are a street magician or a card guy!

If you are interested, here’s the link for The Advocate from Ellusionist: http://www.ellusionist.com/the-advocate-by-daniel-madison.html 

[justensayne-blog]

Review of iUtility by Sam Rubman

Magic sometimes has a bad reputation for being old school, not really keeping up with the times. That is true to an extent: needle swallowing dates back to the Fahkirs of India, sleight of hand came from Ancient Egyptians stealing from the Pharaohs. This release by Sam “The Gambit” Rubman attempts to take magic to the modern age. Released in 2009 (though The Magic Attic’s website says the product was added to their catalog in 1970 haha), this release was one of the firsts for iPhone magic, with later releases by Shin Lim in 2014, Cesar Alonso in 2012, Mark Elsdon in 2013, ect., though there were releases by Nicholas Byrd, Gerald Kirchner, and James Coats around the same time Sam Rubman released his DVD. 

Though the release was early (meaning the app effects created by Rich Ferguson may not have been “in style” yet), I still don’t believe there was that much new material from it. A lot of the moves used by Rubman were from previously created effects for cards; the only difference was that Rubman used an iPhone instead of a deck of cards. Also he does not really give much credit to the inventors of the moves or where the moves were found in... slightly disappointed in that. 

The DVD was a bit hard to watch. Rubman’s performance was very dull and not entertaining at all, and his explanations were average (average meaning he just runs through the moves once or twice and moves on). Each performance and explanation lasts about 2-3 minutes (the DVD is only around 45 minutes long) so the explanation part was only minimal. However, the explanations were just enough that the viewer should know how to perform the trick (though all the tricks were very, very basic). 

Either way, here’s a list of the tricks:

iAppearance #1: With a wave of a fan of cards, Rubman transforms half a pack of cards into an iPhone. Or you can make the iPhone appear onto the pack. Method is not new...

iVanish #1: Done on a table, you clasp the iPhone in between your hand and it vanishes. Very, very old method that every magician already knows. Again, nothing new. 

iAppearance #2: With a wave of the hand, the iPhone appears. The move is yet another old move created a while ago... and Sam Rubman’s performance of this was not the best since it flashed...

iVanish #2: You put the iPhone in the other hand and it vanishes. A variation of a coin move that did not really work with his iPhone at all...

iPhone Thru Table: Literally the same thing as above.

iBlister: Let me just say again that Rubman’s performance is not the greatest. Effect is simple, a blister appears on your finger when you touch the iPhone. I think this is the cleverest effect from this DVD, though it’s not saying much. It is a variation of an old effect but I enjoyed it. I haven’t tried this on the streets yet (honestly I haven’t actually used any effects from this DVD and there’s good reason why as proven by this review), but my assumption is that a decent amount of college kids can easily work it backwards and figure out the method. 

iVoodoo: A variation of the effect above. Concept and method are pretty much the same, just different performance.

iPregnant: A gag pretty much. I’ve seen variations of this trick many, many times before. Not sure which trick came first; it could have been this DVD. However, the usage of this method was not that great since there’s so many possibilities. Casshan Wallace’s variation of this on his At The Table Lecture is my personal favorite, but I’m sure Rich Ferguson, Calen Morelli, and many other artists have their own variation of this effect. 

iPression: A kind of clever effect where the spectator writes down a number and you divine it. The idea stems from a common mentalism effect, though the gimmick is new. The handling needs improvement from Rubman’s because I fear the spectator will easily notice the gimmick (Rubman used his girlfriend as the spectator on the DVD and it seems obvious she knows the methods). 

iRing: A fun little gag where you pretend to answer your ringing iPhone but it is just a piece of paper. I liked the effect. 

iShiner: A useful utility using your iPhone for glimpses. Okay I admit it, this is actually something useful, so one effect out of too many not so useful effects. 

iSwitch: A utility move for switching things such as bills or cards with the iPhone. Also something useful that I might use. Can be used for appearances or disappearances too.

iThru: A trick where the spectator’s chosen card passes through the iPhone when the magician dribbles the deck. The move is a decent one, not sure if it is original but I am not familiar with it (that I remember).

iPeek: Another utility move to “glimpse” something. I say glimpse with quotes because it’s kind of a glimpse in a way but kind of not.... hard to explain. He uses it to divine a serial number. Idk if I’ll use this though.

Overall there’s some redeeming qualities to the DVD... some. But a lot of the DVD was not that great, just old moves done with an iPhone instead of cards or coins. The presentations of these moves aren’t anything special either; in fact, I would argue Rubman’s presentations were a bit dull. I may sound harsh, but honestly this DVD is something I regret purchasing.... Was it worth $15, no probably not. However, if you are interested, you can get it at Penguin Magic here: http://www.penguinmagic.com/p/S11490 

[justensayne-blog]

Reviews of Magic Releases

Every time I look at new effects I am interested in, I always research reviews and full performances of it. Let’s be honest; trailers and advertisements of the releases aren’t necessarily the best source of knowing how good and clean the effect is. They sometimes leave things out, and for good reason since they try to hide parts so magicians cannot simply work out how the trick is done. So if there’s a lot of reviews out, why put out more? Well you cannot have enough detailed reviews of a trick. So here it goes, I will start with a review of a good product and a bad product. Stay tuned. 

[justensayne-blog]

Instagram Magic

So I started an everyday challenge on Instagram where I post a video of a trick every day and so far I kept with it until like two days ago. Part of that was because of laziness (to be honest) mixed with my somewhat busy schedule, but the other part is due to the fact that I don’t really like Instagram’s video restrictions. The 15 second limit is not enough for most tricks, even some of the visual, eye-candy magic that I enjoy doing. 

For me, the best magic doesn’t just entertain; in fact, most entertainers (such as those in acting or ballet or music) do not seek to merely entertain, but we seek to inspire, to bring hope, to let others realize or see things they would not normally see. Whatever the bigger objective it is (for me it is inspiration and hope), 15 seconds I feel is not enough to achieve that. Just seeing the “magical moment” of the trick is not enough to inspire because the story or reason is not behind the magic. Why is this guy stepping on the card and then make it jump up through the deck? Why is this guy floating a napkin rose? 

The Floating Rose trick by Kevin James is actually one of my favorite tricks, and when the full routine is done completely (which takes a few minutes), it creates a moment filled with wonder, astonishment, and brings adults back to their childhood where they see the world is filled with endless possibilities. Please go ahead and Google a performance of the Floating Rose (either performed by Kevin James himself or from David Copperfield) then compare it to mine on my Instagram (@InsayneMagic) where only the last 15 seconds of it appears. The difference (if you ignore the fact that Kevin James had a child with him and you can see her reactions which are priceless!) is astounding because the full performance has the build-up, which creates the atmosphere of wonder (which reminds me of the world in Polar Express for some reason) and makes the ending so much more beautiful. 

The other thing I do not like is the inability to perform any mentalism via Instagram because the 15 second limit. Mentalism, I feel, is one of the most powerful forms of magic emotionally for the audience because there is little to no fancy props, just a person reading someone’s mind, or predicting the future, or something along those lines. However, talking takes a little more than just 15 seconds in almost every mentalism routine (just saying “think of a memory you feel strong attachment to” and pausing for the audience member to actually think of a memory takes at least 10 seconds) so the revelation has little to no time to happen. And even if someone revealed a thought in 15 seconds, without the suspense and build-up, similar to the Floating Rose the effect seems weak because there’s no intense atmosphere, there’s no suspense, there’s nothing to draw the audience in and play with their emotion, so the effect seems weak. Instead of “HOLY FUCK HE JUST READ THAT GIRL’S MIND!!”, it’s “oh this guy just read her mind... that’s cool...”. 

So yeah, I think I’ll stick with the Instagram Magic because that is a quick and easy form to share some magic, but I feel that maybe raw footage on YouTube might work better. 

[justensayne-blog]

They say an image is worth a thousand words, and I think that is quite true. Here is a picture taken almost five years ago during a trip to California. Pictured are my two cousins, Courtney and Travis. I want you to take a moment and look at the picture and see what information you can gather from it before reading on. 

So let’s start with the obvious, we were in some sort of airplane hangar based on the size of the room, the look of it, and the fact that there’s a giant airplane right behind them. Actually it was not just a hangar but actually a museum, which can be inferred from the headsets and weird cellphone-looking things they are wearing (it’s a common self-tour thing at museums and galleries). By the looks of it, the museum seems kind of busy so it might have been on the weekend around mid-day; I honestly forgot when but you can check a calendar to see if I’m right (the date is printed on the picture). 

Now about my cousins. Well, let’s start with Travis. Based on his haughty pose, you can assume he is kind of cocky, has a lot of confidence, and that is quite true. Based on his facial expression, you can assume that he’s a fun-loving boy, always goofs around, kind of a troublemaker, and all that would be true as well. Courtney on the other hand has a different pose in this picture, almost contrasting. It is more of a serious-ish pose, as if she’s trying to look more model-ish on camera. Her facial expression is almost blank with vacant eyes. Her choice of clothing is pink on pink which compliments her brown-red ish hair (no clue why her hair has that natural color, no one else in the family has that). So from that, we can assume that she is a little bit more serious, cares about her appearance, and kind of quiet. Unfortunately, only cares about appearance is true. Courtney is actually very outgoing, kind of a troublemaker (probably even more than her brother), loves to be the center of attention, and she goofs around probably even more than her brother. 

So based on that, we almost have a story going on. The characters are set and the setting is set too. It’s midday and Courtney and Travis are at an airplane museum probably causing trouble and chaos. From there on, it would be up to your imagination to paint the rest of the picture, such as what kind of mayhem, how is it fixed, what is the outcome, and so forth. But yeah, a picture could be a thousand words, granted this was only a little less than 400 words.

[justensayne-blog]

“Showoff”

Just a thought:

So today at work, I was messing around while pushing a bin (it has wheels). I ran with it down the street and hopped on it, riding it towards where I had to take it. A co-worker muttered “showoff” as I flew by her. Now don’t get me wrong, I’m not annoyed by it; I was just taken by surprise. I’ve done stuff like that before during work, especially the riding the bins because well, it’s fun to do. I’m a child, so if there’s a way to make work not “work” then I go for it. But what defines something as “showoff” versus like having fun or messing around, because the term “showoff” has a negative connotation to it. I was not telling her “hey look at what I can do”; I was merely having fun since it was a rather tiring day at work, but to her, I guess she saw it as me one-upping her (even though she wasn’t pushing a bin). 

This has happened when I perform magic too. Not frequently, but every once in a while there is a person that simply goes “showoff” and seems to get annoyed. My response is usually a “I know, right” followed by some fancy flourish with my cards and a grin or some casual response. However, as an illusionist, I am not there to fool people or challenge their intelligence. Heck, I’m at a university for crying out loud, surrounded by future engineers, scientists, researchers, and other people that will have a real job; they have to be intelligent to be where they are right now. I am there however to show them magic, open their minds, inspire them, astonish them. 

[justensayne-blog]

Mousetrap by Sam Wheeler

Mousetrap sprang into my mind about a month ago. A packet is seamlessly let down slowly into a 'trap' of two packets. It is loads of fun to play around with and I hope you enjoy Mousetrap!

Cardistry has been more of a new thing in magic that mostly started with the Buck Twins, Dan and Dave Buck, and emerged with guys like Dynamo, Zach Mueller, Michael James, ect. Some don’t really consider cardistry as magic because it lacks that “magical moment” (the fooling part), but that does not make cardistry less magical. Cardistry is similar to ballet; it’s a beautiful dance of cards. Cardistry may not have that how-the-heck-did-you-do-this moment that defies the laws of physics, but it definitely has mystifying and majestic moments that show true beauty, skill, and inspiration. And in ways, that beauty could even surpass the “magical moments” in magic as entertainment; I could watch flourishes all day because of the beauty and because they can be just mesmorizing. 

Anyways, click this post to download a free tutorial on a pretty sweet flourish by Sam Wheeler from Theory11′s The Wire.

[justensayne-blog]

I make the mistake all the time of staying indoors and practicing magic tricks rather than going outside and experiencing real magic. As an illusionist, I merely imitate true magic; I don’t really create real magic. But what I do do (poor word choice there) is inspire wonder and astonishment which allows people to experience and see real magic, whether it is through connection, through inspiration, through dreams, or any other medium. Today, I would like to inspire everyone to go outside and enjoy nature, one of the magical gifts this world has provided to us. 

This picture was taken a few years ago during a trip I took to China with family. Why I love this picture so much is because it gives me inspiration. I use to love sitting outside in the park and just ponder about life and dream about all the possibilities that could happen in the future. Those moments are truly magical because we let our imaginations run wild; ideas are formed, plans are made, problems are fixed, we become inspired and happy. I get reminded by this picture that magic is all around us, but we get distracted by our busy lives to truly appreciate (or even notice) it. 

So in the next week, I want to challenge everyone to take a walk outside and see if you can notice some form (it doesn’t have to be nature) of magic happening.

[justensayne-blog]

Film Magic vs Live Illusions

So earlier today I helped my roommate take stop motion pictures so it looks like he is flying on a magic carpet for a video he is working on. I know this debate has been going on long before Criss Angel but nevertheless I want to add my opinion. I see technology as a form of real magic. As illusionists, we have been imitating a vanishing illusion since the beginning of time (well, maybe not that long ago but it’s been a while) and now scientists at the University of Rochester have developed a cloaking device. Airplanes are magical; I mean, they give us the ability to fly, almost defying gravity in a way. And now virtual reality is coming (the 360 videos from GoPro). 

But yeah, my roommate used camera tricks to make the illusion of flying, which does use technology but not in the sense I was talking about above. But here’s some food for thought. As an illusionist, my magical ability is to inspire wonder and astonishment. I know you know that illusionists do not do real magic, just illusions. Yet you still love watching movies like Now You See Me or you watch Colins Key, Matt Franco, or Piff the Magic Dragon on America’s Got Talent. That’s because they have the ability to inspire wonder, hope, astonishment, and all sorts of emotions. Same thing with ballet, paintings, Disney movies, and other forms of art. And what my roommate did was create that similar thing. It may not have been “magic” per se, but it was definitely art that inspires wonder. 

[justensayne-blog]

Who is Justen Sayne?

I’ve always found it hard to describe myself because I was never really one thing. As a kid, I did band (before that I did orchestra, and before orchestra I played piano and drums), I played (and later coached) soccer, I was an honors student, I did graphic design - I did almost everything, but I was never known for anything. Remember the cliques in high school? Yeah, I belonged to 5 of them because I didn’t really belong to any of them. 

My indecisiveness transferred into magic. I guess if I had to pick one thing, I am more of a street magician than anything else but that does not describe me completely. I am a card cheat, that’s how I got into magic. I am a mentalist because I find psychology, human behavior, and facial cues interesting. I am an escape artist, a con man, a stage performer, a shock illusionist, a comedian - I even read tarot cards. 

So I answered the “who is Justen Sayne” without really answering it. I guess the one thing I could say is to be prepared for something different each time I blog/post. This blog is dedicated to all of my random thoughts, my crazy adventures, my different projects relating to magic, and everything else in between.