Re-release of my bizarre effect "The Salem Blood Test"

[SteelFyre]

Check it out on You Tube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mnLunagWidE&feature=youtu.be&a
or on my site http://steelfyre.com

Did well with it at the World Magic Seminar.
Scott SteelFyre

[magus]

Cool

[Kay]

Mmmmm I like it, and the subliminal flashes too! ;}

[lin]

That was fun, but I only saw the liminal flashes.

[ChaCha Puddlewinks]

Boots and I had a conversation tonight, I swear, not about THIS clip but about someone else, but it comes down to this: If you look like and come across as a comic book store clerk, a spooky costume and a top hat is just going to make you seem pathetic, not a master of the black arts. Really, just take stories from your own life--and all of us have enough freaky encounters in our day-to-day lives--and embelish it a bit and THAT is the way to go instead of trying to present yourself as something you're not. I know this seems harsh, but dude, anyone not already hip to the scene (meaning most everyone outside the few people who post here) will snicker and laugh at this and I'm damn sure it's not what you want. There's a fake bizarre magic world where as long as you reference certain totems a few people will clap, clap, clap but in terms of doing it for actual spectators you'll be regarded as the quintessential nerd. Shed the costume, put on your usual Twilight T-shirt and do the same trick talking about what is actually important in your life. If what you're doing here is just that, dress like you, not what you think is expected. Not trying to be mean. Just trying to point out what it looks like to anyone else but the subset within a subset that constitutes bizarre magicians.

[Skeleton]

Boots and I had a conversation tonight, I swear, not about THIS clip but about someone else, but it comes down to this: If you look like and come across as a comic book store clerk, a spooky costume and a top hat is just going to make you seem pathetic, not a master of the black arts. Really, just take stories from your own life--and all of us have enough freaky encounters in our day-to-day lives--and embelish it a bit and THAT is the way to go instead of trying to present yourself as something you're not. I know this seems harsh, but dude, anyone not already hip to the scene (meaning most everyone outside the few people who post here) will snicker and laugh at this and I'm damn sure it's not what you want. There's a fake bizarre magic world where as long as you reference certain totems a few people will clap, clap, clap but in terms of doing it for actual spectators you'll be regarded as the quintessential nerd. Shed the costume, put on your usual Twilight T-shirt and do the same trick talking about what is actually important in your life. If what you're doing here is just that, dress like you, not what you think is expected. Not trying to be mean. Just trying to point out what it looks like to anyone else but the subset within a subset that constitutes bizarre magicians.

You are so right, thanks for bringing this up!

[Balaram]

I'm going to disagree with my friends above, and say there IS a tradition, and a place, for costuming in Bizarre Magic. And Scott, whether I like your hat or not, anyone who has the guts to post a performance video earns my respect. I think the effect is cool, and wish you all success with it.

[Naljorpa]

I'm going with Balaram on this one. I see nothing wrong with the costume, etc. presentation under the right circumstances. In fact, I rather like the theatrical dressing up. Even if it is unrealistic, it can be interesting and entertaining, and this is what it is all about, anyway.

Nal

[bootsbrisket]

I think elaborate costuming can be done effectively, but your acting skills need to be exceptional and everything surrounding the presentation needs to be dead-on in sync with your appearance, or else the whole thing may come across a bit corny. It's certainly a risk. Also, context is important - I think you can get away with more if you are up on a stage for a formal stage show. People expect things to look different on a stage - it's a space where fantasy is supposed to happen. Still, the acting needs to be very professional. My opinion.

[Naljorpa]

I don't disagree about the acting and other factors, but even bizarre can be tongue-in-cheek, I think. Years ago in New Orleans there was a late-night horror movie show with "Morgus the Magnificent." It quickly became a hilarious parody of "scary," and developed a sort of cult status. Morgus became deliberately corny. One could argue, too, that acting ability is needed in any bizarre production. Certainly, scary-bizarre is not always easy to put over.

[SteelFyre]

Thank you all for your comments. I have a section on the Instructional DVD on styles of performance, for those of you who wish to bring more theatrics in to the ART of magic. And those who are not yet ready to get their hands Bloody! Anyway since I also create for the Haunted attraction industry, that performance was done on my séance set for that season, OOooooooo Very Scary. Final thought: I think the costume says that you are about to watch a performance, and don't run out and start some kind of Chris An... errr aaa "SteelFyre" Cult or something, just sit back and enjoy some real-time special effects.

SF

[ChaCha Puddlewinks]

Again, not trying to personally attack you or your performance--Balaram is right when he says it takes brass ones to post any kind of performance--just putting my personal opinion about such things out there. In the video clip you are performing in front of some painted cobwebs. This suggests carnival spookhouse fun, at least to me, and not "Ooooooh Very Scary!" There's nothing wrong with carnival spookhouse fun, if that's what you're going for--I enjoy it myself--but I just think in today's audiences weaned on the Saw films find haunted house trappings as fun because they're corny and not anything approaching genuine suspense or terror. Yes, teenage girls scream and run when the skeleton pops out of the refrigerator, but they always collapse into laughter right afterwards. I certainly don't think bizarre magic HAS to be scary (I'm far more nut than necromancer) I just think as bizarrists we tend to fool ourselves by living in a rather isolated, insular world where we give each other props for referencing certain images and don't consider what it really looks like to the jaded public. Yes, the effect here is cool but I can't imagine anyone who has taken a junior high chemistry class not thinking, "Oh, chemicals." Not trying to be harsh, not trying to kill your sales, but really. I think being raised on magic catalogs and dealer ads has resulted in our imagining a class of spectator not found in the real world where the simplest effect causes their eyes to bug out and a giant exclamation point appear above their head. While I think suspension of disbelief is possible, I think it happens more often when watching a movie or play than when watching a magician--because the whole point to audiences is "Let's just see if I can fool you" and they're on guard. Of course, some performers are able to dismantle this notion from the outset and some aren't. I just think we need to think more about how our performances really come across instead of how we wish they did. I do wish you success in this, and absolutely believe some brilliant performer could come along and use it to prove me wrong on all counts. Just not today.

[Naljorpa]

This will illustrate how I approach such things: The Eskimo (now a frowned-upon term by some) are probably the most inventive people on earth, living in an environment that provides comparatively few things to use for their survival. They have, however, taken what is available and used it to make their lives possible. A few examples will illustrate what I mean.

To hunt bears, they will bend a piece of baleen (whale cartilage) and freeze it in a piece of meat, which they leave out for a bear to find. A bear will eat the meat, and his body heat will thaw the meat. The baleen will then spring open, piercing the bear's stomach. The Eskimo, following the animal, will sooner or later find a dead bear.

Another clever technique to kill wolves is this: The hunter will freeze the handle of a metal knife in a piece of ice and place it blade-upward in a place where wolves are likely to find it. The wolves, being naturally curious, will be attracted by the light reflecting off the knife and begin sniffing around it. Eventually, one will lick the blade and cut his tongue. The wolf tastes blood and licks it again and again, until he begins bleeding from the mouth. The other wolves, seeing this, will attack and kill the injured wolf. The Eskimo comes along a little later and finds a dead wolf to take home.

Then, there is a technique to catch seals. Seals will make a conical hole in the ice to come out of the water. An Eskimo hunter will find one of these holes and build a mound of snow nearby. He will then sprinkle a can of green peas around the hole and hide behind the snow mound. Then, when the seal comes up to take a pea, the hunter runs out and kicks him in the ice hole.
______________________________________________________

(The first two examples are real, the third is a crock).

[magus]

Don't make me tell you how to catch elephants with a pair of binoculers, tweezers, and a match box...

[Naljorpa]

Oh, please do (or I will twist your arm)!

Nal