June winner, July contest announced

[Joe Hadsall]

Five competitors submitted some excellent work for the June Gauntlet. Brandon Sheffield submitted a strong, early entry, and Fromagic and Gaboury made the competition interesting. But judging from your responses, this competition came down to RealityOne and Zachsformacs95.

Zac had a great structure of sleights, great reactions from spectators and a kicker, surprise ending. RealityOne had a simpler routine, a more developed presentation and a very polished handling. In the end, the presentation is what pushed Agent R1 over the top. Zac made it a tough call with his creativity and surprise ending, but the polish on Reality's made his shine. That means RealityOne is our June winner.

And speaking of presentation, that brings us to the July Gauntlet:

JULY GAUNTLET: "PROVE GOUDINOV WRONG."

Goudinov is the author of this thread about patter. The thread has been controversial and educational for forum users -- one of the most educational that I can remember in recent history, in fact. While talking about the thread on the phone with him, he mentioned that it is really hard to come up with good patter for card tricks, for a lot of reasons. And sure, we can use those reasons to keep doing mediocre presentations. Or, we can take it upon ourselves to push our creativity and presentation skills to the max. The entrants in this contest will choose the latter.

What we're looking for are great presentations of card tricks. You can perform any card trick you want, from the most advanced Oil and Water or Triumph to a simple Here Then There. The winner could, conceivably, perform that old 21-cards-in-three-columns card trick that our uncles used to blow our minds when we were kids. Because the main judging criteria will be the presentation of it.

Goudinov has agreed to judge this competition. And here's the catch: If none of the presentations are up to snuff, then Goud reserves the right to say that this month's Gauntlet has no winner. You might think, "Great. I'll never win." But keep in mind that he spelled out EXACTLY what impresses him in the thread above.

This is your last chance to WIN a deck of Gold Arcanes this summer, and maybe this year. Keep in mind that less than 50 of these decks have been given out so far. The Gold Arcane deck is a symbol of membership in a very small group of people. Here's the fine print:

• Only one video per user. (added July 2)
• Contest is open to all forum members in good standing.
• Time limit on your video: 4 minutes.
• Your video must include two spectators. (This has to be a live performance, in other words. Sorry, webcam wizards -- if you're not willing to perform live, the Gauntlet -- and the Gold Arcane -- is not for you.)
• Your routine must feature a card trick. In other words, cards must be the dominant thing used. Incorporation of other props must be minimal.
• Gaff cards and trick decks are allowed.
• The main judging criteria will be the presentation. An entry that features sportscasting (saying what you're doing while you're doing it) will likely not win.
• Other judging criteria include performance, skill and audience reaction.
• Our judge reserves the right to declare no winner in the contest.
• Your video must be submitted IN ACCORDANCE WITH OUR MEDIA SUBMISSION GUIDELINES. Any videos that don't meet this criteria will not be posted and, by a strange coincidence, probably won't win.
• Post your video as a new thread in The Gauntlet Videos forum with the word "July" somewhere in the title. Your video will not immediately appear; a moderator will approve it later.
• Submission deadline: 9 p.m. Sunday, July 25 (U.S. Central)

Any questions, ask them here. If your question doesn't get answered, it is because the answer is already in this thread. It's been a while since we've run a contest based solely on performance and patter, so don't miss your chance.

Good luck!

Note from Goudinov:
Here's a post where I talk about card patter. I even provide an example. You may NOT use this example in the contest, but you should certainly try to learn from it.
http://forums.ellusionist.com/showth...l=1#post814534

[Cpruitt]

I'm hoping/assuming you meant deadline is July 21?

[Gaboury]

Congrats R1! :)

[Word Count haha]

[Joe Hadsall]

I'm hoping/assuming you meant deadline is July 21?

Deadline time corrected. Sorry about that.

[megamikemagic]

How is the winner determined? Is it just the one judge who declares the winner or are people voting?

I'm pretty sure its just the one judge thing but just asking for varification.

[arvindj227]

How is the winner determined? Is it just the one judge who declares the winner or are people voting?

I'm pretty sure its just the one judge thing but just asking for varification.

Members have a say in who will win. But it is not a vote per se. We let the members guide the judges to determine a winner.

Congratulations R1! In order to collect your prize, please submit a video of yourself being supersoaked by atleast 2 people.

Cheers,

AJ

[Goudinov]

megamikemagic, you have to pay attention, man :) Here, I'll quote the particulars for you

Goudinov has agreed to judge this competition. And here's the catch: If none of the presentations are up to snuff, then Goud reserves the right to say that this month's Gauntlet has no winner. You might think, "Great. I'll never win." But keep in mind that he spelled out EXACTLY what impresses him in the thread above.

[Shawn Mullins]

How is the winner determined? Is it just the one judge who declares the winner or are people voting?

I'm pretty sure its just the one judge thing but just asking for varification.

Even though for the next Gauntlet Goud has the gavel people may be able to sway him in a way. Stick up for the video you like. So really we are all the judges. Think of America's got Talent... Goud is the three judges but the audience can sway them around and the Sharron Osbourne part of Goud will say "awwww they liked it!"

The over all purpose of the Gauntlet isn't the Arcanes or prizes (although it's a SWEET perk!) it's the learning experiance and fun that comes with it.

Think about it... you are making a video with an object in mind and an obstacle to cross. You do so by no canned material but pure creativity from what you know. As magicians of this era we are spoon fed A LOT. This is our way of saying we are sick of it and want to make a difference plus have some fun along the way.

[RealityOne]

Five competitors submitted some excellent work for the June Gauntlet. Brandon Sheffield submitted a strong, early entry, and Fromagic and Gaboury made the competition interesting. But judging from your responses, this competition came down to RealityOne and Zachsformacs95.

Zac had a great structure of sleights, great reactions from spectators and a kicker, surprise ending. RealityOne had a simpler routine, a more developed presentation and a very polished handling. In the end, the presentation is what pushed Agent R1 over the top. Zac made it a tough call with his creativity and surprise ending, but the polish on Reality's made his shine. That means RealityOne is our June winner.

Wow, I'm honored. That was a tough competition... all the videos had great performances with great reactions. By the way, what happened to my font color?

Congratulations R1! In order to collect your prize, please submit a video of yourself being supersoaked by at least 2 people.

Cheers,

AJ

I'm pretty sure that wasn't in the rules (although I'm in Phoenix today where it is 110 degrees, so being soaked doesn't seem like a bad option). Hmmm, still having problems with my font color.

And speaking of presentation, that brings us to the July Gauntlet:

JULY GAUNTLET: "PROVE GOUDINOV WRONG."

Goudinov is the author of this thread about patter. The thread has been controversial and educational for forum users -- one of the most educational that I can remember in recent history, in fact. While talking about the thread on the phone with him, he mentioned that it is really hard to come up with good patter for card tricks, for a lot of reasons. And sure, we can use those reasons to keep doing mediocre presentations. Or, we can take it upon ourselves to push our creativity and presentation skills to the max. The entrants in this contest will choose the latter.

What we're looking for are great presentations of card tricks. You can perform any card trick you want, from the most advanced Oil and Water or Triumph to a simple Here Then There. The winner could, conceivably, perform that old 21-cards-in-three-columns card trick that our uncles used to blow our minds when we were kids. Because the main judging criteria will be the presentation of it.

I'm pretty sure that my presentation from this month's Gauntlet wouldn't cut it for next month. Nonetheless, I think everyone is up to it.

Even though for the next Gauntlet Goud has the gavel people may be able to sway him in a way. Stick up for the video you like. So really we are all the judges. Think of America's got Talent... Goud is the three judges but the audience can sway them around and the Sharron Osbourne part of Goud will say "awwww they liked it!"

Goud has a Sharron Osbourne part? Still trying to wrap my mind around that one.

[Xntrix]

Goud has a Sharron Osbourne part? Still trying to wrap my mind around that one.

It's the hair.

Congrats R1, well deserved, despite destroying the deck.

JS.

[Hokan]

this stinks, i have a great patter idea for an ACR. unfortunatley i have no idea on how to do an ACR and have no money to buy the dvd. I guess ill just write it down. to the rest of you have fun!

Hokan

[Brakkiss]

Sweeeeeet. I'm totally in.

[R Belloq]

Just thought up a nice patter, well... I guess Goud will be the "judge" of that. :)

[Mehar]

Can only one person win?

[ChristopherThisse]

That's usually how these things go.