Object to Impossible Location: Examined
Solid advice for magicians...
Where do the vanished things go?
No, I'm not having an existential breakdown. I'm quoting something my niece said to me when she was a kid. I'll be honest; I forgot she had ever asked that. A few months back, I found it scribbled in an old notebook. I haven't been able to stop thinking about that phrase since.
While I had forgotten I was asked that question, in a weird way, I hadn't stopped working to answer that question. In magic, there are a finite number of tricks and plots to work on. Unfortunately, I'm only truly interested in a handful. So, while I may not have extensive thoughts on oil and water, I have spent the last eight years working on how to vanish objects and make them reappear anywhere I want them to.
So, let's explore where the vanished things can go. Let's explore Object to Impossible Location.
Considering the Methods.
We have a motto here at One Ahead—"the best method is the one that works." As a writer and consultant, I live and die by this motto. Pick a method and move on. But I have a confession: I am a magic nerd. I read books, buy the latest tricks, and have loads of notebooks filled with ideas. While most of those ideas are about presentations, I still do the nerdy thing and spend weeks examining every aspect of a method.
Nate Staniforth is my favorite magician and a person from whom I am constantly learning. In his book Clouds and Kingdoms, he asks if we are willing to make a trick 300 times harder to make it ten percent better. It seems like an insane proposition, and for most tricks, it is.
But not for this trick. This trick has four beats, each of which can hide methods and improve the impossibility. This trick has the potential to be something your audience never forgets. So, how can we better understand this trick?
Let's look at each beat step-by-step.
Make the Object Unique
In any effect where an object disappears and reappears, the audience must be left with the idea that it is the same object. Methodologically, it doesn't have to be, but the trick is ruined if they suspect the object is a duplicate (even if it's not). So, we must find a way to create the impression that the object can't be duplicated.
Firstly, you can use personal objects like rings or keys. They are personal enough that whoever you borrow them from will be able to vouch for their authenticity when the object is later found. The issue with these will become apparent in a later section, but I think they are still good objects to use!
