A Gentlemen's Jewelry - Tudor Watch Event

Some weeks ago when Tudor Ambassador Jay Chou came down to Singapore for his concert, I was invited to entertain Tudor’s top VIPs before they left for the concert.

For this event, they were invited to Morton’s Bar in Mandarin Oriental Singapore and was served delicious cocktails and canapés. To bring more delight to their experience, I was asked to engage them with my iPad Magic.

The guests were all expert in fine watches, so I had to work hard to impress them. I designed a piece of magic on the iPad with the Tudor Black Bay Chrono S&G and it had gotten wonderful reactions!

It was an amazing night of food, drinks and magic; I am certain that the guests had an even more amazing experience at the VIP seats of the concert!

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Alexander Y. is Asia’s Top iPad Magician, who has been invited performing in several countries such as Hong Kong, Saudi Arabia, India. He is known for his storytelling and magic, allowing him to not just capture the eyes of the audience, but also their hearts. Highly demanded by luxury brands, Alexander brings a fresh air of charm and magic to the event

See it for yourself? Contact him at alexander@ipadmagician.org

Innovation at Apple Store - Thinking about Magic

In the earlier blog post, I shared about the talk I gave at Apple Store Singapore. In this talk, I went over several aspects of innovation and how you can think about creating something innovative.

Today, I would like to share with you more on the end results of my thoughts and creations. I think the term “end result” is a huge misnomer because what you are seeing is a constant work in progress; technologies change, my thoughts shaped by my experience change, and how I feel about my work also changes. These forces me to rethink about these acts.

This is one of my favorites and it is called, “If Money Grew on Trees”:

To close this topic of innovation and creativity, I would like to share with you the act with the lightbulb that I was talking about in the last post.

I would like to share with you how I reimagined the bulb, and this is what I have came out with

Enjoy!

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Alexander Y. is Asia’s Top iPad Magician, who has been invited to talk at various events and seminars. His creativity allows him to explore various topics in a divergent way and he is is often sought after by clients who wants their brand stories to be told in a fun, engaging and memorable way. He enjoys coding and solving problems with innovation.

Want him to speak at your event? Contact him at alexander@ipadmagician.org

iPad Magic inside the Apple Store Orchard

Being able to perform my magic at the Apple store has been one of my dreams, and I am thrilled to share that this dream has come true.

I was given the opportunity to share my iPad Magic and coding at the Today At Apple session. The talk spanned for an hour and a half in which I spoke passionately about how I got into magic and how I made it my career. I also spoke about how I create and designed my iPad Magic with coding. The audiences got a treat when they were handed out iPads to try the hands on coding exercise where they would learn how to programme magic on their own.

For those who missed out on this talk, I have taken some time to upload snippets of it in my new Youtube channel. Check it out here:

Let me know what you think! Subscribe to the channel for more content!

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Alexander Y. is Asia’s Top iPad Magician, who has been invited performing in several countries such as Hong Kong, Saudi Arabia, India. He is often sought after by clients who wants their brand stories to be told in a fun, engaging and memorable way. He enjoys coding and solving problems with innovation.

Want him to speak at your event? Contact him at alexander@ipadmagician.org

Esplanade Presents: Elephant In The Room (Flipside 2019)

We just finished the first weekend of Flipside Festival in Esplanade and it was wonder!

Our Scratch Night performance called Elephant in the Room was well received by the lay audiences.

Here are screen grabs from that night:

This show can be described as cerebral and gestalt. Because if you look at the individual pieces, it might not make a lot of sense. Only when the show is over, and on hindsight, the full picture forms.

We are playing again this Friday (31st May) at 9,45pm at the Annexe Studio. See you there!

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Alexander Y. is Asia’s Top iPad Magician, who has been invited performing in several countries such as Hong Kong, Saudi Arabia, India. He is known for his storytelling and magic, allowing him to not just capture the eyes of the audience, but also their hearts. In his (little to negligible) free time, he enjoys films by Christopher Nolan, Spike Jones and Makoto Shinkai. The best feeling one can give is to give his/her audience the satisfaction of realization and everything is illuminated.

Want more information about Esplanade' Presents’ performances? Contact him at alexander@ipadmagician.org

Directorial Debut: A Theatre Production With Science and Magic

In the last 3 months, I was involved in a small theatre production with NTU's School of Physical and Mathematical Sciences. 

I was engaged as a consultant and director for the play. The concept was "to make the freshmen feel inspired by science" and it should involve a wizard learning magic fueled by science.

Though conceptually simply, the process was not that simple. 

My role involved understanding what the various majors had to offer. For example, the physics department had an intriguing experiment where a barrel would roll up slope against gravity and the math department had a mind reading card trick based on math principles. I had to spend substantial periods of time conceptualizing a plot and resolution involving these experiments. 

Once I had the general concept in mind, I had to devise a larger plot that would string the whole show together. The plot was refined to : "Disdained Wizard from Hogwarts meets Wizards of SPMS" or simply "Sorcery versus Science".

After crafting the script, my team and I did performance workshops and vocal training for the professors. 

At the end of the grueling 3 months, we finally made it and created a one of a kind production for the freshmen!

While the official video is not out yet, check out the rehearsal footage below!

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Alexander Y. is Asia’s Top iPad Magician, who has experience performing in several countries such as Hong Kong, Saudi Arabia, India! He is often sought after by clients who value the finer things in life.

Want to create and tell your corporate story in a fun way? Alexander will currate and direct the show for you! 

For any enquiries, do contact him at alexander@ipadmagician.org

Designing a Customized Illusion Show: Singtel Mambo Jambo Retro Night

In November 2015, I had a brief discussion with Singtel on developing a show as part of their customer appreciation event that would be held in mid-to-late 2016.

The concept was finalized to be about nostalgia and reminiscing the past, witnessing how technology has evolved and how Singtel is at the forefront of this evolution.

Singtel also wanted to showcase their latest Mobile Threat Prevention service that blocks and removes malware in mobile devices. My skills in programming and iPad Magic allowed me to be able to showcase this with a visual simulation of the service.

With this in mind, my magic has to have the element of nostalgia without being old fashion. I designed 2 illusions to showcase various objects from the past. The first illusion was a prediction type effect where a spectator would think of a toy from the 80s and it would match my prediction. And the second illusion was to make a retro toy levitate in mid air.

Check out the video below:

The show progressed to a more modern feel where I borrow a spectator's phone and have it appear inside a Singtel case that has been on stage throughout.

The next segment was the Mobile Threat Prevention feature where I performed my brand of iPad Magic to showcase the effects of malware and the capabilities of the service.

While this was technically the last illusion feature of my show, I wanted to end with an illusion that would punctuate the show as well as show our appreciation to the clients.

For this routine, I made a wine bottle appear and then invited the VIPs to toast the audiences.

The whole process of designing, coding, rehearsing and manufacturing took about 4 months of hard work. But at the end of the night, when the audiences cheer with applause, you know it is worth it! 

Signing Off,

Alexander Yuen (iPad Magician) 

Singapore Magician at HP's DaaS Launch Activation

When it comes to customized magic, my motto is simple:

Don't Tell Them, Show Them.

Instead of adopting a one-way dialogue, I engage my audiences through magic. Using magical effects, I exemplify product features and showcase them to the audiences. Take a look at the diagram below, it might look very technical at first, but with sufficient thought, it can be simplified by magic.

For this HP DaaS activation, the objective of the performance was to:

1. Excite the staff about this new service that HP is offering
2. Educate them on the key features of the service
3. Quiz them on the services with prizes

The way I got around designing the magic was to first understand the brief and develop a script that is cogent. After that, I would think further about how I can show these concepts to the audiences. For example, the DaaS service allows quick and efficient disposal of HP's technological products at the end of the cycle, to showcase this, I make a deck of cards disappear in the hands of an audience member while reiterating the disposal component of DaaS. The training I have as a psychologist have helped me in such divergent thinking. This is something that needs to be improved in most Singapore magicians. 

Being a skilled professional who dresses well certainly made it easier for me to perform in this corporate environment. Since impressions are formed within the first few seconds of interaction, I made sure that I was well dressed and introduced myself with a pleasant demeanor. Of course, being able to perform amazing magic is a must.

With the help of an amazing team from PMG, we were able to quiz the staff and gave them prizes that were thematic to the activation.

In sum, it is not just enough to be able to perform strong magic in such environment. One must be able to understand reports and briefs, communicate effectively and engage audiences visually and intellectually.

The DaaS-ling team from HP!

Signing Off,

Alexander Y (Corporate Singapore Magician)

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Got a product or service to launch and be activated? Want someone to "Show your products instead of telling" them?

Let me help you with it!

Drop me an email at info@metaillusions.com

Hear from you!

Customized Digital Illusions: DHL Asia Pacific Innovation Center Launch

DHL launches S$10m innovation centre in Singapore

A couple of weeks ago, DHL launched their first innovation center in Asia, right in Singapore. In order to display their cutting edge innovation, they engaged me to design a series of illusions to showcase some of their capabilities and to tell a story about innovation. 

Posted by Alexander Yuen: A Finer Side of Magic on Wednesday, December 9, 2015

There were a few objectives I wanted to achieve for this illusion sequence:

1. The magic has to be presented in a modern and relevant platform; appropriate for the Innovation Center.
2. The illusions have to be well strung to tell a coherent story.

I spent close to 10 hours wrecking my brains in conceptualizing and designing appropriate illusions for this event. 

After that, a substantial amount of time was spent on practicing and coding.

Painting Sequence: Paint is "splashed" onto the screen.

An effect about Thomas Edison's Lightbulb Invention.

Innovation Idea on reducing carbon prints by making logistics more eco-friendly.

Taking out physical transportation in logistics.

It was an amazing experience for me (and the audiences) to be at the forefront of innovation.

Read more about their innovation center here:

DHL launches S$10m innovation centre in Singapore

Signing off,
Alexander Yuen

Tempur Mattress #Weightless Campaign

Some weeks ago, I had great pleasure conceptualizing a routine for the launch of Tempur's flagship store at Nassim Road. It was amazing working with professionals from Tempur and Word of Mouth Communication. 

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The idea was to create a sequence to showcase what weightlessness would visually look like. I received the brief for the campaign and two things came to my mind almost immediately. I wanted to create the illusion of weightlessness with a person, and I wanted it to mirror Tempur's logo. 

With that in mind, I created a sequence with other weightless illusions to give a general feel of weightlessness. Also, the music I chose are relaxing and soothing. Nothing too rock or metal to break the illusion of lightness.

The result? Pretty awesome! Check out what others had to say about it:

Mattress-testing with #zerog bed base at @tempursg flagship store #tempursg #sleepingbeauty @superadrianme #lightnessofbeing #weightlessness @alexander_yuen demonstrates the #lightness of sleeping on #tempur

A video posted by @lionnel_lim on Nov 5, 2015 at 6:36am PST

What a delightful way of illustrating the weightlessness of the Zero-G beds. Congratulations on the grand opening of your flagship sleep sanctuary, Tempur! @tempursg #tempursg #weightless #zerog #beds #interiordesign #tempurbed #interiordesigning

A video posted by #RenoTalk (@renotalk) on Nov 5, 2015 at 2:51am PST

What is the 'weightless' feeling when you sleep on a Tempur bed? It's like magic and floating on air... 🔮🔮 #tempursg #tempur #tempursleepsanctuary #storeopening #nassimroad #weightless #sleepwell #soshiok #igsg #igers #instapic #instagram #instadaily #instaphoto #picoftheday #photooftheday #pr #pragency #womsg #wom_sg #womcomm #wom_sgpr #wordofmouthpr @tempursg

A video posted by WOMpr (@wom_sgpr) on Nov 5, 2015 at 7:29am PST

The full sequence is here, for your viewing pleasure!

Oh and one last thing before I end this post, I met ex-National Swimmer Joscelin Yeo! Happy!

Hope you enjoyed the magic! Have a concept you want to showcase, write to me! My team and I will find the best way to showcase your concept in a visual and compelling manner!
 

Signing off
Alexander Yuen

Amazing Reactions to Magic in Philippines!

A couple of weeks ago, I travelled to Philippines to film a segment of the Bend The Rules video by HP. After 3 hours of travel by air, 2 hours on the bus and then 20 minutes on a ferry (gosh, I travelled by sea, air and land in one trip!), my crew and I got to Boracay.

Boracay boasts one of most beautiful beaches in the world, there were so many things to do there. Sea sports, water activities and night life, fun touristy things to do. But I was there on a mission, to share my magic with the locals. 

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There were a lot of opportunities to perform and share my magic with the locals. Given that they have not seen sleight of hand magic ever in their life, they thoroughly enjoyed the magic. You can literally see the sparkle in their eyes when something magical happened. It was a beautiful moment for me as well as a performer.

While corporate parties and functions form the bulk of my engagement, I too enjoy performing to audiences that did not expect to be pleasantly surprised by magic. That is the true joy of magic for me, to be able to spread that moment of glee from me to my audiences, whether in a corporate function or along the streets of a night market. 

After a week of filming, I got really good footage and reactions of my magic, tell me what you think!
 

Pardon the floppy hair and the tee shirt and berms, we were in a beach after all. ;)

Enjoy the magic!

Signing off,
Alexander Yuen

Singapore Wedding Entertainment (Wedding Magician at Flower Dome)

Songs, dances, skits and magic can be great for weddings. But what is the secret element that makes them great? In order to understand what makes for good wedding entertainment, consider this unique characteristic of weddings that is not typically present in other events. Look at the series of pictures from the same wedding (in the Flower Dome), do you know what it is?

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Weddings tend to have a wide range of audiences with huge differences in age.

This is because for weddings, the guests consist of grandparents, parents, friends and also/even their/their children. You can/will literally have/see/encounter guests ranging from 3 months of age to 100. 

As such, the form of entertainment provided should cater to the different groups of guests. For instance, young children love magic that is visually stimulating, bright and interactive. Teenagers prefer magic that has an element of challenge. Young adults tend towards magic that is sophisticated and of a psychological nature while the older generation likes magic that is visually impactful and cognitively simpler.

Sure, you can have music or even live music to entertain the guests while they wait, but does it cater to individual groups of guests as adequately as magic? There is nothing more exciting and fun than to have magic happening inside your own hands'. And this is what I do for wedding receptions, I perform magic that is interactive, engaging and I make sure the guests have a good time while they wait.

Think of your perfect wedding as a journey for you and your guests where every moment of it adds up to an experiential treat. It is your special day, why not make sure your guests leave with fond memories of a great time? ?

Wish to find out? Contact me through the button below! My wedding services includes a non-obligatory 20 minute consultation meeting where I will demonstrate to you my style of magic and do a rundown of how my magic can be incorporated into the wedding.

In the meantime, I wish you love and the happiest ever after.

Signing off,

Alexander Yuen.

Corporate Illusion Show Inside Attica

Last week, I presented my corporate illusion show called "3 Sides of Magic" as a finale inside Attica. This was for a company called Facility Link who held their appreciation dinner at the club. 

As with most dinners, there was a cocktail reception where guests mingled among themselves and with their respective sales agent from the company. This allows them to catch up and re-establish relationships between the company and the client. 

Of course, in such events, there will be instances where guests are not attended to by the company's sales person as he or she may be attending to someone else. So how does a corporation make a guest feel personally attended to?

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Entertainment! Specifically intimate entertainment. Music is usually good, but it does not offer thepersonal touch that Interactive Roving Magic offers. 

Well, not all forms of entertainment are created equal. Depending on the branding of a company, the choice of the performer for their event is a reflection of the company's image as well as their commitment to customer satisfaction. As a close up performer, I dress myself in a fashion that is sleek and befitting of the companies I represent. A shabby outfit would not reflect well on the company, whihch is why my suits are bespoke. Bad dressing is accentuated unprofessionalism especially when the performer interacts closely with the audiences. Keen eyed guests will notice these finer details. This is why I always make sure I look (and smell) best when I perform my magic. If a company wants to showcase a professional, sleek and sophisticated image, they will spare no expenses for a top tier magician. 

As the above was what the client specifically wanted, I was naturally the best choice for the event. I interacted with the guests, engaging them in fluent and eloquent presentations coupled with strong magic. At the end of the cocktail reception, the guests could not wait for my show on stage!

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3 Sides of Magic

This corporate illusion show couples storytelling, artistic endeavors and magic all into one exciting show. The magic features illusions, mind reading and artfully crafted magic.

It was certainly a great night for Facility Link and their valued clients. 

Want to find out how I can add value to your corporate event? Contact me here!

Signing off,

Alexander Yuen

Debut Performance at Esplanade: Virtual X Reality

The Esplanade is a renowned arts performance venue in Singapore that showcases art performances and galleries.

Magic hardly gets recognize as an art in Singapore. But this year, I was booked at the Esplanade. I was there to debut my latest show Virtual X Reality. This is a show that crosses the boundaries between what is real and what is unreal. For most magic shows, magic tend to be linear in that there is no real transference of emotions from the artist to the audiences. It is mainly visual surprises laden along the show.

The organizers wanted a show that is light hearted but yet had an artistic element to it. I worked hard to craft out a story for my show, with the subtext of questioning whats real and whats unreal. With the help of director, Jeremiah Choy and circus artist, Jay Che, I refined the story and the magic.

I was pleased with the end result, a show that creates wonder through magic and illusion through technology.

A snippet of #VirtualXReality last night at #Esplanade for #Flipside. 2 more shows to go on the 2nd June, 7.15pm and 8.15pm. Come say hi! #magic #magictricks #magician #magictrick

A video posted by A Finer Side Of Magic (@alexander_yuen) on May 29, 2015 at 9:24pm PDT

I am also very grateful that Esplanade took the leap of faith for my show and gave magic a shot at being recognized as an art form.

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Many other exciting projects for me ahead! Stay tuned!

Signing off,

Alexander Yuen

Adult Birthday Parties

The title may sound misleading, but the word “adult” isn’t a connotation to something “blue”. Last Sunday, I performed close-up roving magic for a birthday surprise. It was planned and coordinated by my good friend, Leslie, who is an excellent and interactive host. Check him out here.

Leslie Tan Hosting and working his "magic"

The common misconception about engaging magicians to perform for birthday parties is that it is only appropriate for children. That is evidently not the case. I was engaged for this high-end, sophisticated birthday party to entertain and interact with the guests before the birthday “boy” made his grand entrance. I provided the entertainment during dinner as well.

Alexander engaging the crowd with some hands on magic

It was really nice as I knew some of the people there and it is always a joy to perform for friends. What surprised me was that one lady actually remembered me from another show I did years ago, in which I presented a brand of magic that is different from my current style. It was really heartwarming to know that my magic impacted her.

Entertaining the adults and children

With that said, the bulk of my engagement was meant for adults. However, there were children with their families at the party too and I got to perform for them as well! Being able to engage children requires a certain level of skill and a good amount of experience, as most primary school teachers would know all too well. Seeing the smiles and amazement on the children’s faces as I performed for them really made my experience even more memorable.

Alexander Yuen performing magic for children

Unlike most entertainers who “talk down” to children in silly voices, I believe that children like to be treated as mature individuals. While my performance style may be slightly more animated when I perform for children, it is in no way childish or silly. All in all, it was an excellent event with excellent people, I did a special magic trick for the birthday “boy” too. The reaction I got from him, was real magic. Signing off, Alexander Yuen