Randy wrote:The Masked Magician doesn't really hurt anybody but himself, but then I can bet you that he doesn't get hired for many gigs either. I remember when Val was in it and he said was doing it so people could focus more on the presentation and that we SHOULD expose how we do everything because it supposedly brings them into more. (which is a load of c*** (not the best) and well the guys presentations for everything sucked a stiff one.)
I think you missed what I said above... Val works a touring road show as the Masked Marvel all through the South American countries and is doing quite good for himself financially... an easy 7 digit income plus what he's seeing from FOX. Not bad for a supposed "has been"
As has been pointed out "exposure" has it's pros & cons. I'd be rather bent to see Val tip how Shadow Vision works but at the same time, we've come so far from even the major advance seen through the Thin Model Sawing design that exposure of those older techniques, especially in the more masked (as in "vague" and even "misleading") ways much of it was tipped in the original series... it really doesn't hurt a great deal and did in fact do exactly what Val wanted to see done... get magic designers off their butts and into a much deeper thought process. The innovations we've seen come onto the grand stage since the original Masked Mage shows are just breathtaking!
As Tristan has pointed out PRESENTATION is the real key! It is the ultimate secret behind what makes Magic... I'm not talking about the tricks we do but MAGICK! How we invoke the imagination and evoke reaction at the psychological, emotional and even intellectual levels simply by way of our words, our character and the setting in which we frame the effect.
I've shared numerous times how Tom Ogden and I did some really fast thinking one weekend, as the L.A. Times did a seriously in-depth feature of Johnson's Products, the leader in gimmicked coins for years and the primary source for the Cigarette thru Quarter gimmick 95% of us all relied on... which was exposed in all it's ugliness in a 4 x 4 color photo.
The gist of my tale is that after I did a solid 10 minute bit with a borrowed coin that I shoved a borrowed cigarette through, leaving it with a hole and ending with it visibly sealing itself back up, I turned over that very article and asked,
"How the hell could anyone do what you just saw, using something that clumsy looking?"
Not only did people thank me for the routine, many agreed that the Times in no way tipped the real workings to that "trick"
Truth is, I used three different kinds of
Cig thru coins along with some special other odds & ends in order to make it all happen. The advantage being that Tom knew how to write it all and pull things out of my presentation while I had the resources and know with all on alternate methods. The end product was nothing less than delivery of an even greater mystery in the minds of laity and mage alike... the aforementioned bit happening at the Magic Castle during a Sunday brunch.
But then there is another wonderful example of a very similar thing; how Penn & Teller tip everything about the traditional Cups & Balls and still manage to blow your mind with their translucent collection.
Another point to weigh is how we can likewise use what's been "exposed" to our advantage. Rick Maue touches on this idea in his Book of Haunted Magick and I know of others that have exploited a similar approach to things; using the exact same methods that had been tipped but placing the "heat" as it were, where it wouldn't normally be found.
The bottom line is, it can (for those with the bullocks to do so) make us superior technicians as well as entertainers. The question is, are we going to whine about some jerk making life a bit more challenging for us because we don't want to evolve, or are we going to step up to the plate and shine even brighter, regardless?