I agree, DVD's would be far better than YouTube.
First of all DVD's would then only be used by other magician's, since we would buy it. Whereas YouTube can be seen by everyone.
I did see a trick explaned on YouTube a while ago, this by a young
boy. Now, it's not that he knows it that ennoys me, but the sharing.
We try to keep things under wrap, but there things tend to be shown online,
for all to see.
As far as for beginners : first of all, start with something simple.
It's not WHAT you do, but HOW you do it. Everybody can buy a trick, but not everybody can do Magic !!
When putting a show together, I always choose certain things to do. My program was my skeleton. All the rest was filled with the audience. Sometime I didn't had enough time to end my full program. All depends on how the audience reacts.
Also, don't just do things as you buy it. Make it your own. I've often changed things, because they didn't fit what I wanted.
I have one act which is combined with ventriloquism. The trick is the simplicity itself. But this combination makes the act as a whole.
So if you want to do magic : simplicity can make things great. Make sure you feel at ease with the magic you want to do.
I remember once I was performing in Bruges. I had made my own stand with pressed wood. It was nicely covered by selfadhesive black velvet. With white tape, I made a AV (linked in one) as those where my initials :
Alan Ventrilo.
So the stand was setup on stage and I went backstage. A while later I heard a noise. And as I came back, I noticed this guy, who was another "performer" had tried to move the stand, but since he didn't know how, it fell apart. At first I really didn't mind, since it was not on purpose. However his reaction really surprised me : He asked me if I had made that thing myself. I was very proud of it, and ofcourse I said yes.
That's when he answered this isn't professional blablablabla...
So this guy considered himself a professional, but the only thing he could do was to critizise me. Opposed to that, I was more intrigued. Intrigued in what he had to offer. So I needed to see what he did.
I can tell you, he's only a box of tricks. Everything bought in a shop. Nothing personal. Whereas for me, my Funny Bunny was made specially for me by some friends. My act only lasted for 15min, but all was made by myself, except for my Balloon Trick.
What I want to tell you : you don't need to buy hundred of tricks to become a magician. It's HOW you do it. A trick only lasts for a couple of minutes. But magic lasts longer !
phew, I wrote more than I wanted, hope I make sense
Anyways I can simplify what I want to say : remain original !