Mint-O Frame by Frame

Many years ago, Karl Fulves wrote about the need for every trick to be considered "frame by frame" in such a way that at whatever point we watch, something interesting is happening. It's a great thought, but surprisingly difficult to master in practice. If you have ever seen my Magician in Balloon act, you'll know that I love creating strange visuals — at every single frame of that routine something bizarre or intriguing is happening. It's a difficult goal, but a worthy one.

I remembered Karl's writing when thinking about how to present and stage our recent release, Mint-o. First, let's watch George give a full performance so that we can understand the effect:

As you'll see in the video, this trick automatically has the "frame by frame" thinking built into it. Let's clarify each moment:

1. You hold up a mint.
2. You place it between your lips, then suck it into your mouth.
3. You hold up a phone charger (or piece of string, or whatever).
4. You make a biting motion towards it.
5. You pull the charger out of your mouth and show the mint linked to it.

When performing an effect like this, it's probably best to let the effect speak for itself. I suggest not talking over the effect because you might step on the moment of magic. Instead, consider each of those five frames and find a way to make them all stand out individually. How can you make each moment more interesting? How can you make them clearer? More fun? More you?

With those considerations, you'll be sure to have a hit effect on your hands — and that's why we love Mint-o.