Mailbag #118
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Can you provide any additional information on the billet switch you mentioned in [a trick in the last book]? I’ve been getting into billet technique lately and like the look of the switch that was demonstrated in the appendix. —FB
Sadly, there’s not too much to add to the description I wrote in the appendix:
I act as if I’m going to open the billet in my left hand, but I just sort of touch my hands together and start unfolding the fingerpalmed billet in my right hand while curling my left fingers in. This move probably has a name in the world of billet technique, but to me, it’s just: “The Most Obvious Thing You Would Do To Switch In A Billet.”
Keep this in mind as you get into billet work… Normal humans aren’t on the lookout for a billet switch. As magicians, when we see someone write something on a little piece of paper, we already have it in mind there’s a good chance it will get switched. But that’s not at the front of regular people’s minds. What they are on the lookout for is anything that feels strange.
Magicians often use an awkward handling, that they think looks more fair, rather than a casual handling that is perhaps less objectively “clean.”
I wrote a post here once on Casualness vs. Clarity. With billet technique, I believe you should almost always favor casualness over clarity.
The reason you like the look of the billet switch in that GIF is because there’s no weird pause or unnatural action. Not because of some great technique on my part. The only additional bit of information I would give is that the billet that’s fingerpalmed should be ready to be unfolded, whatever that means to you. For me, it means holding it like this.
Then I just push that little dangly part forward with my thumb to start the unfolding.
If I was just getting into billet work, I would film myself handling a billet “normally” with no subterfuge. How do I hold it? How do I fold it? How do I unfold it? How do I take it from one hand to the other?
Then I would look for techniques (or create them) that are most similar to the way I already move. I would avoid awkward techniques, even if they’re technically “cleaner.”
Regarding the Jerxian Quick Start Guide:
Great. Really good notes. Thank you.
I was surprised by the step of saying “just kidding” but I’d imagine it’s a great setup to “except for this which is 100% real”.—JF
Yes, it’s a set-up for that moment, but really the purpose is just to be extra clear. At that moment, I’m prioritizing clarity over good magic or an affecting experience.
This assumes I’m performing for someone who doesn’t know me well.
I perform the trick. Then I give the fantastical explanation. What I don’t want them to think is that:
I’m a lunatic, and I really believe the story I’m telling.
or
I’m a weirdo, and I want them to believe the story I’m telling.
That’s the reason for pulling the rug out from under the premise so quickly.
I like to give them a beat where they’re not sure what to think, but then clarify it for them quickly.
Do you think it’s too magician-y to carry around a Sharpie marker?—AJ
At this point in history, I don’t think it’s any weirder to carry a Sharpie than it is to carry any other writing implement with you.
If you look at the EDC subreddit and search Sharpie, there are a lot of non-magicians who carry a Sharpie every day.
That being said, the members of an EDC subreddit might not be the best measurement for what is “normal.”
My concern wouldn’t be that it seems “magician-y” so much as that it seems overly prepared. Which I generally want to avoid. So I don’t ever just have a Sharpie floating around in my pocket (despite what you assumed was the outline of a Sharpie Mini in my pants).
If I need a Sharpie for something, I’ll carry one around in my bag. This feels more natural to me and less like I’m Mr. Markerboy, the guy who left the house this morning planning to show someone this specific trick with a marker.