Magic at the Toronto International Film Festival

Every year, the Toronto International Film Festival brings its own special brand of chaos to downtown. A large section of King Street outside of Roy Thomson Hall and the TIFF Bell LightBox is closed off for a massive street festival. There are lineups, red carpets, special promotions and sound stages everywhere you look. And on top of that, a little bit of magic courtesy of me and my partner in mystery, Chris Mayhew. 

King Street - Downtown Toronto

For the past several years, I've been privileged to work for TIFF, providing magic outdoors for countless people. It's always an exciting weekend and this year, the weather could not have been better.

There were literally thousands out on the street excited to see premieres or to catch a glimpse of red carpet celebrities. 

I also bumped into the host of Face 2 Face, David Peck, who was out for screenings an interviews. (And offering snarky real-time commentary on magic tricks!)

David Peck (on the left)

Chris Mayhew outside Roy Thomson Hall

Thanks to Hugo Boss for the nifty accessories!

Photos from Magic & Martini in Toronto

Thank to you to everyone who attended Magic & Martini last night at SpiritHouse in Downtown Toronto. It was certainly a busy weekend with the Toronto International Film Festival taking up large portions of King Street, but we still managed to squeeze in plenty of magic.

We're back to our regular performance schedule after taking it easy for the summer. We have some seats available for our upcoming shows in September. Readers can use the code olive for a special discounted price on tickets purchased online.  

Here are some photos of the event courtesy of Tyler Sol Williams.

When Film Met Magic

When the TIFF Bell LIghtbox Opened in Toronto in 2010, I was invited to perform as part of that celebration. As part of their opening season, they wanted to explore the earliest origins of film and that led them to magicians. 

In fact, it was a particular magician, George Melies, who is widely regarded as the father of film editing (and therefore camera tricks.) Before Melies, films were recorded in one continuous take. A feature that we all take for granted now, the ability to take multiple pieces of footage and  cut them together to form a coherent narrative, was something he discovered by accident.

Crash Course, an interesting YouTube channel that produces educational contact, did a wonderful piece summarizing this history. 

Of course, magicians typically work in the opposite way, going to extreme lengths to produce feats which look like camera tricks. But ultimately, they all come from the same place.