talkmagic.co.uk

BradH wrote:

nowadays thanks to internet, you can get it any time, any place, anywhere...

That swings both ways. Speaking personally, I've found that looking around online at the awesome and impressive tricks I'll one day be able to perform has maintained my interest in practicing, when a dull and faded book of the same old card tricks probably wouldn't have.

You're looking in all the wrong books.

Very possibly. It's early days for me, and I have much to learn.

hmm.. isn't that a bit like saying there are too many singers or too many dancers ?

It amazes me how many young people think they can win shows like Britain's got Talent just because their mother/boyfriend/uncle think they have 'a good voice'. They get on the stage and it is obvious they are tone deaf with no stage presence, personality or charisma. The funny thing is they are genuinely surprised that they are not selected.

Ditto Magic. some people think that knowing a few tricks makes them a top performer.
Only those with the dedication to learning (both the techniques and performance skills) will actually achieve anything.

Without that dedication they will fail to get the instant success that they crave and most will just give up.

I went to the pub last night with a friend who runs a graphic design / video / advertising / artsy type affair and he was asking about the possibility of putting together a magic video. We came to the conclusion there are not enough local magicians for what we wanted (that, essentially, being more than 2 local magicians).

No.

MisterRawlings wrote:No.

Excellent post. I think your well chosen and carefully crafted words have completely summarised and encapsulated my entire feelings on this whole subject.

Discombobulator wrote:

MisterRawlings wrote:No.

Excellent post. I think your well chosen and carefully crafted words have completely summarised and encapsulated my entire feelings on this whole subject.

a sinmple thankyou would have sufficed...........

The basic problem is:
There is TOO much magic available. And on line too easily available.
At times there is so much coming out--it almost becomes obscene.

IF magicians had to THINK more about what they buy--they might respect the things they buy-more.
Then they might concentrate on the Important Things in Magic:
Presentation-Showmanship- Performance Personality-thorough, careful routining , originality and the peripheries; some of which are:
Appropriate dress and material for appropriate venues. Speech (pitch, pace, pause, emphasis, variety of tone, clarity)
as well as good misdirection. The complete list would be much longer.

Then READ and not just watch DVDS which promote copying of routines, style etc. of the person on the DVD.
Of course DVDS have their uses but they are NOT the be all and end all.
LEARN to THINK for oneself.

What you need to do if you want to make a 'living' from Magic is --Build yourself what we used to call 'The Bread & Butter Run'-- a series of customers--venues -- which will book you again and again. The ODD Charity show can often help--exposure to the Public wise..Word of Mouth is often responsible for many bookings BUT you must be capable of delivering a polished, entertaining performance of Magic.

Allen Tipton

Thanks for the response, Allen.

nowadays thanks to internet, you can get it any time, any place, anywhere...

Hi Dale...
Just out of interest, (and I know I have mentioned it over on the "other place" occasionally...), this also goes for a billion other subjects, so does that mean that everything is cheapened and devalued?
There are "secrets" in good cooking, good golf, in fact, every interest group thinks it is special and has "secrets".
New technology has a place, and we have to adapt to it. The "book generation" and the "DVD/YouTube generation" are living together at the moment, and it is an uneasy existence. I have some amazing books, but I never "got" colour-changing knife routines (or found them interesting) until (as an example) I bought the Joe Mogar DVD and saw it in that format.
Very often, the "...internet is killing magic" brigade are pi55ed off because, as Allen Tipton says so eloquently in his post, they are forgetting that personality and performance techniques are what builds the "tricks" into entertainment that people are willing to pay for, repeatedly if possible.
I have seen good magicians, and bad ones, (and also seen many bad ones that think they are good, but that is a separate thread...).
Stop worrying about the availability, it is there to stay. What can YOU do to keep ahead of the game, and improve YOUR game?
What did YOU actually DO in terms of YOUR performance technique to reduce the impact of this (perceived?) issue TODAY?
We can all sit around debating this issue, or we can all just do something about it by addressing our own approach. Too many magicians seem to find personal change too far outside their comfort zone, and just prefer to winge about the internet instead.
If magicians only put as much effort into answering that question the cr4p ones would dissappear off the scene anyway.
Just my 2p worth.
Bruce

Lawrence wrote:I went to the pub last night with a friend who runs a graphic design / video / advertising / artsy type affair and he was asking about the possibility of putting together a magic video.

Which reminds me that the graphic design / video / advertising / artsy crowd tend to make the same complaints as were aired in this thread. "Why are you charging me that much to design a website? My cousin's taking a media degree and he said he'd do it for £50."

Same applies to photographers. Even before the advent of digital cameras people were asking the profesionals why they charged so much for photographing, say, a Wedding when cousin Alfie could do the same job with his Instamatic and a two week wait for the prints to be processed by Boots....

Mandrake wrote:Same applies to photographers. Even before the advent of digital cameras people were asking the profesionals why they charged so much for photographing, say, a Wedding when cousin Alfie could do the same job with his Instamatic and a two week wait for the prints to be processed by Boots....

It's gotten even worse now. I'm quite an enthusiastic amateur photographer and am fortunate to know a number of talented professionals. With the advent of budget, entry-level DSLRs, every Uncle Harry is now a wedding photographer doing his friends and family for free with his kit lens and alarming lack of photography skills. Quite why anyone would entrust anyone but a seasoned professional to record the most important day of their lives is beyond me, but it does happen!

You can even get caught out with the so-called 'pros'. I hired a guy who was a member of all the appropriate groups, he had a website, pricing structure and everything. On the day he was a total c*ck, the photos were dreadful and we even had to threaten legal action to get the prints, after months of delay. Needless to say, these turned up in an envelope that also contained the (un-constructed) album. They were also misaddressed and it was only thanks to the helpful postie that we received them at all.