The science of magic
Another common trick that leaves audiences astonished and searching for an explanation involves the magician, with a wave of his cape, making the lower half of his body disappear. How does he pull that one off?
Actually it's not all that difficult to figure out. Just look closely and you'll see, behind the magician, a dark-colored background covered in complex geometrical designs, in front of which stand two chest-height mirrors facing outward at a 270-degree angle. When the magician steps between these two mirrors, they hide the lower half of his body, but the reflection on them is still of the same complex-patterned background, and the patterns join perfectly, giving the audience the impression of the magician becoming little more than a floating head.
Other tricks, like the always well received "quick change," use bright flashes of light to leave a temporary "silhouette" of the magician in the vision of the audience-part of how human vision works is the temporary preservation of images, so that for between 0.1 and 0.5 seconds after an object moves, an image of it lingers; this is the main principle behind animation. By using an extremely quick motion to pull off his first outfit to reveal the one being worn underneath, this "time lapse" effect leaves those watching with the impression that the magician "transformed" before their very eyes.
There are all kinds of little scientific tricks like these lying hidden in magic just awaiting discovery by keen eyes. The most obvious example is the traditional black cape and top hat worn by stage magicians, always accompanied by bright white gloves. This is all because black more readily absorbs light, making it easier for the magician to conceal balloons, scarves, doves, or any other prop on his body, while the constant movement of the bright white gloves draws the attention of the audience and keeps them distracted. Between the two of them, they can make it difficult for the audience to see through virtually any trick.
Science, skill, and stagecraft
A lot of once-mysterious magic, once science has explained it, loses its mystique, so will an exhibition like this end up lowering public interest in magic, and maybe even affect magicians' livelihoods?
"A good magic show is a combination of scientific principles, thoroughly honed technique, and the personal charisma of the magician. Each one of these elements is essential," explains well-known Taiwanese magician and exhibition performer "Magic Jack."
He goes on to explain that a magic show is usually composed of three stages. The first of these is when the magician builds up the atmosphere with colorful, fun tricks with rabbits, doves, balloons, scarves and the like, getting the audience to suspend their disbelief while stunning them with his apparent abilities. The second stage is when the magician moves on to more "static" tricks like escapes and quick changes, or tricks with more audience participation like card tricks. This gives the audience a chance to catch their breath, relax, and drop their guards.
Finally comes the main event, the big, suspenseful tricks that often involve major pieces of apparatus, such as the aforementioned sawing a woman in half. By keeping the audience on tenterhooks, the magician creates the high point of the show, ending the performance with a bang and to rapturous applause.
Magic Jack explains that this is just the basic concept, and that magicians can adapt their shows in any number of ways to fit their own personal style.
"The top priority in a show is entertainment, and so magicians have to constantly practice their body language and techniques, creating a stage presence that can build suspense and can draw in and amaze the audience. They even have to practice bringing that together with narration, music, costumes, and their assistant, all of which takes time and effort to get just right. That's something that all the knowledge of formulas and principles can never teach you," he says confidently.
Jiang Zhongcun, head of the exhibition group at the NTSEC, also notes that science is all about the search for truth, while magic is more a demonstration of cultural creativity. The two may seem diametrically opposed in concept, but they are actually very complementary. Through this exhibition, the public get a glimpse behind the veil and investigate the connections between science and magic, while magicians can use it to inspire creative ideas and design new and unimaginable tricks.
Magic is as adaptable as the people who perform it. Even though people soon figured out the tricks behind David Copperfield's disappearance of the Statue of Liberty, this did little to dampen the sense of marvel the trick created. For those who love magic, whether as simple entertainment or as a puzzle to solve, there is a lot to get from a performance. And even though the magicians putting on the dazzling displays aren't superheroes or wizards dispatched from a galaxy far, far away, they are missionaries of the miraculous that can turn frowns upside down, and even inspire a desire to learn.
During on-stage performances, magicians often use a variety of eye-catching techniques to create surprise by disturbing the audience's line of sight and distracting from the props on the magician's person.
Disappearance tricks have long relied on the use of dual mirrors which the magician stands behind before the start of the performance. Using his cape to obscure his lower body, as the performance begins he sweeps his cape open to reveal his "invisibility"-an effect created by the patterns reflected in the mirrors joining up perfectly with their reflections.