talkmagic.co.uk

Mr_Grue wrote:Actually, if you post them here or not, getting some of your busking videoed would be a great way to see how you come across as a performer.

And would help us give more constructive advice.

We shall see...

I find Eshly's posts fascinating, in their naiveté and enthusiasm. I also enjoy how frustrated people get when Esh bulldozes over their advice and decides that he knows best. I guess, if people find him so difficult, not responding to the posts is a good option.

But I hope people don't try to freeze him out. There has been gold in some of the things written on this topic. So, thank you Eshly for your posts, frustrating though they may be at times, and a bigger thank you to those who answer them.

I agree with Gypsyfish, even if its not helping Eshly the responses in the posts are of great value to anyone starting out, or who has been having similar difficulties, and it is what this forum should be about.

With that said:

Eshly you need to start videotaping your performances. Not to post here but so you can review them. But you need to video tape from behind yourself looking into your audience. That way you can see the audience reaction and know what you are doing at any given reaction. That way you will know what works for you and what doesn't.

I offer this advice because some of the questions you ask surprise me coming from a seasoned performer. And if you performed that one effect 20 times to different audiences in one day and are still "asking" some of the questions you are asking, then you are not paying attention to the audience.

I understand that you have issues that may make reading your audience difficult so you may want to have somebody look at the tapes with you and perhaps they can better judge the reactions.

Your quote about boring mentalists is dead on, but it goes for any performance art. I know people that can stand on a stage in a pact theatre with nothing but a sponge ball, a piece of rope, and an ID and keep an audience entertained for 20 minutes (and the effects were over in 3 minutes). You ever time the actual magic being performed on an hour TV special. Your lucky if there is 15 minutes of actual 'magic'.

I remember watching Paul Diamond slaughter an audience of about 200 magicians at a magic convention with his rendition of the banana trick where the banana vanishes from one hand and reapears in the other. Very basic stuff. He went on for 15 minutes and had everyone in the room in stitches. As a dealer at that convention I can tell you we sold every single one we had after his show, and so did the others. And the effect has been around forever. I'm betting only 1 or 2 sold that day actually made it to performance.

I'm sure many of the others such as Dale,Craig or any of the other performers here can relate similiar stories.

Sorry for such a long post. Thanks for reading those of you that still are.

But IF only Eshly had started a New Topic then any future students of Magic would have found the advice easily.

I doubt if they would look under 'Blackboard Without Looking' to find advice on presentation, nerves, scripting, performing personality etc etc.

Allen Tipton

That may be so Allen, but you're advice is still very much appreciated

Lawrence wrote:

Mr_Grue wrote:Actually, if you post them here or not, getting some of your busking videoed would be a great way to see how you come across as a performer.

And would help us give more constructive advice.

We shall see...

How difficult would it be to set up a facility to post videos of us here....? or Should we look at creating a TM Youtube channel, maybe where we could restrict the membership....?

I don't have a camera

Eshly wrote:I don't have a camera

You do - a webcam at least! I've seen footage of you!

That's a start at least!

Eshly wrote:I don't have a camera

Borrow one? Come along to the Leeds or Manchester meet and you can borrow mine.

Or buy one, everyone needs a camera; you saved up for the MPS in a week.....

Yeah, I've seen the videos too Tom! So man up.

i find it fascinating that despite all your long, eloquent pontifications on your youtube channel, not one is you discussing the performance side of mentalism...

in fact, not one sniff of the word mentalism (nor magic considering your other youtube channel)...most peculiar...

Lawrence wrote:Come along to the Leeds or Manchester meet and you can borrow mine.

Or come along to the Manchester meet (there's one this weekend) and show us what you can do. You don't have to perform to lay people (heck, you don't have to perform at all. I rarely do nowadays). We'll be able to see what you can do and give you advice

You'd be welcomed. And don't worry about Lawrence, if he does pick on you we'll just give him a juggling ball to play with

Iain, I've explained to you the logic of this:

My magic channel is TheMagicofIllusion, it is under the name (check the home page on Youtube) of 'Thomas Fraser' and has my email adress. I never mention mentalism in my youtube blogs, simply because it did not occure to me.

My webcam has now been rendered useless sadly, as I had the software lost during a virus clean up. I'm more than happy to write the words "MENTALISM" on my Youtube page though if you don't believe thats me.

kolm wrote:

Lawrence wrote:Come along to the Leeds or Manchester meet and you can borrow mine.

Or come along to the Manchester meet (there's one this weekend) and show us what you can do. You don't have to perform to lay people (heck, you don't have to perform at all. I rarely do nowadays). We'll be able to see what you can do and give you advice

You'd be welcomed. And don't worry about Lawrence, if he does pick on you we'll just give him a juggling ball to play with

Really!

Cool! I'll need to see about this. Where is it, how much? Who will be there? PM me!

a person can own several channels, with consistent clips of the same person in those clips, and claim to be that person...

it doesnt mean that they are though...