Misdirection & Magic
In theatrical magic, misdirection is a method of deceit that draws audience attention to one item to distract them from something else. The ability to control attention from the audience is the goal of every theater, and the foremost need of any magic act. Whether the magic is of an “pocket trick” variety or the stage is a major productionmisdirection is the main key to the success. The term is used to describe either the result (the the focus of the observer on the unimportant object) or the sleight-of-hand and patter (the magician’s voice) which creates it.
It is difficult to say who was the first person to coin the term, but an early mention of misdirection is found in the writing of a renowned magician and writer, Nevil Maskelyne. it consists of misleading the spectator’s senses, to hide from being aware of certain information in which confidentiality is essential. Around the same time, magician, writer, artist and performer Harlan Tarbell noted, Nearly the whole art of illusion relies on the art of misdirection.
Many magicians who have researched and developed techniques of misdirection are Max Malini, Derren Brown, Tamariz, Tony Slydini, Tommy Wonder as well as Dai Vernon.
Henry Hay describes the chief act of conjuring as manipulating interest.
Magicians divert attention of the audience in two basic ways. The first is to make the audience turn their attention away for a short moment, so that they don’t detect some sleight or move. The other method alters the perception of the audience, lulling the audience into believing that an extraneous factor can be a factor in the accomplishment of the feat when it really has no bearing on the outcome in any way. Fitzkee notes that The most effective magic is in the talent of his performance in changing the spectators mind. In addition, sometimes, props like magic wands aids in misdirection.
Misdirection is at the heart of almost all successful illusions. Without it, even the a mechanical gimmick or the most skilled sleight-of-hand is unlikely to manufacture the illusion of real magic.
Misdirection makes use of the limitations of the human mind to present a false image and memory. The brain of an average audience member can only concentrate on only one thing at a given time. The magician utilizes this to manipulate the viewers’ thoughts or perceptions of sensory input, leading them to false conclusion.
Magicians have debated over the usage of the term, “misdirection,” causing a great deal of discussion regarding what it is and how it operates. The great magician Jon Finch made a distinction between misdirection and direction. One being a negative term, while the other is a positive. In the end, he sees both as one thing. If a performer, by any means, has led the mind of the audience to the conclusion that he has done something that he’s not accomplished, he has incorrectly guided them into that beliefwhich is why he has misdirected them.
Tommy Wonder has pointed out that it’s more effective, from the magician’s point of view, to concentrate on the goal of directing the attention of the audience. He writes that misdirection suggests wrong direction. It implies that attention is diverted from something. By constantly using this term, it eventually becomes so it is ingrained into our brains that we may begin to see misdirection as taking the attention away from instead of towards something.
Slydini explained that if a magician believes that, the public will believe in it, and the magic they can’t perceive. It is true that people believe what the magician does and follow the magician. references
