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Yellowcustard Inner circle New Zealand 1334 Posts 
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This is just a sugestion from me in getting started I see there a few new users in this topic so I thougth ill redo it.In a topic about about starting out before Christmas. I mentioned how I help someone start in magic. And from this I drew up this list.
1- Invisible deck /TT plus silk/ spotty dot paddles- 15pounds (This introduces the 3 trick routine idea) 2- Mark Wilsons book/ 2 pack Cards/ Sponge balls/ rope. 22pounds (A little of every thing a great foundation) 3- Cups and balls/ multiplying balls. 30pounds (Classics) 4- Darlys Fooler Dooler DVD. 75pounds (A little of every thing along with introduction of magican and there work) This all in all cost 142pounds . I fill that this set has a variety of tricks and also introduce impromptu stuff as well. (All cost are in English pounds. But all the stuff is avibale world wide and afforable) Hope this is some help to someone.
Enjoy your magic,
and let others enjoy it as well! |
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DomKabala Inner circle I've grown old after diggin' holes for 2827 Posts
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Become a bookphile and read the classics, practice, and read some more. Find your niche (close-up, stage, parlor, street, etc.) and remember no one will ever be as good at being YOU as you are... so be natural... be yourself.
Cardamagically, Dom  
We don't stop playing when we grow old...we grow old when we stop playing.
God is enough, let go, let God. Gal 2:20 "Anything of value is not easily attained and those things which are easily attained are not of lasting value."   
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satellite23 Elite user 424 Posts
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Remember, with a new generation of humans comes a new generation of magic. Being a youngster myself, I know that better than any one else. Here are a few things I say all the time, and you other members can tell me if you've heard me post these:
1) Magic styles change with each new age. Top hats and wands are a thing of the past. Trust me, Dai Vernon is one of the greatest magicians/entertainers of all time, but if you walked onto the stage twirling a wand/hat, the audience would automatically think you're crazy. Maybe you wanna seem that way, suit yourself. But think about it, add some more technology to your act, and do your best. 2) I know I may get ridiculed for this, but scour YouTube. Watche very little bit of magic you can find, including REVEALING VIDEOS! Make a few magican YouTube friends and you'll be set. 3)Get out there and perform. Get over your anxiety and do it. Doing is a lot better than trying or dreaming. Maybe walk around with a few friends one day and perform close-up/street magic for everyone you meet. You will get gret experience that way. In terms of technology, I really remember this one site from Joshua Jay's Methods in Magic, I just don't remember what it is. Go to your local library and find that book. |
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Yellowcustard Inner circle New Zealand 1334 Posts
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Satellite23 that is a interesting post. I do agree with it and see were your coming from. But there a few comments I like to make. Magic style dose change with age. And yes the tux cane twirler is a old image of magicians. But as we say if you do right it will work and a modern day audience wont think you’re crazy. Lance Burton has a very classic look and routine people love him. Simon Drake did old in a new way not a crazy way. Yes it a uneasy way and a bit weird I grant.
You tube is great to look at the old masters. See some real workers and share stuff with other magicians. As for REVEALING VIDEOS! I think it wrong to go out buy a trick someone markets then expose it. Also these tend to be badly filmed, badly excruciated and no performance of any effort. I hate the youtube exposure crazy I think it could affect magic begin released. Just to get the point across. Imagine you spend a year or two putting a effect together or a routine you have used for years. You do all the research to check it is yours and unique. You then get the production and retail set up. Along with all the marketing done. Then someone in their bedroom reveals it and loads of people use the effect but you don’t get a bean for your hard work. And belive me even a good selling effect dosent always get the creator a stack of money. Sorry this is not a rant. And your comments are good but I just wanted to highlight a few bits. And make sure my point is clear. Your third point on just getting out there and do stuff. I can’t agree more. Hope this helps and yes it is just my view on your view. Lets see what others think.
Enjoy your magic,
and let others enjoy it as well! |
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teedpop New user Check out my 91 Posts
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I agree that revealing magic is demeaning to the art, but it's POPULAR! :o Masked Magician anyone? This is why I encourage people to buy them anyway. But Performance videos are GREAT! I love watching good magic!
Youtube is very contoversial.
-Teed
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Mike Maturen Inner circle Michigan's Beautiful Sunrise Side 2726 Posts
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Amen to that! I had taken some time off from performing. Last year I did a large stage show, and am doing another next week. I am really enjoying it, and have decided to also now learn close-up...something I never took the time to do over the last 35+ years.
Just got Harry Lorayne's Close-Up Card Magic today, and I sell the Original Tarbell Lessons in Magic (single volume), and will be buying it from myself soon. Should be a great adventure! Quote: On 2011-03-12 02:53, gamechy41 wrote:
Mike Maturen
World of Wonder Entertainment The Magic and Mayhem of Mike Maturen 989-335-1661 mikematuren@gmail.com AUTHOR OF "A NEW DAWN--Weekly Wisdom From Everyday Life" member: International Magician's Society |
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55Hudson Special user Minneapolis 984 Posts
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Quote:
On 2011-03-14 17:48, satellite23 wrote: Styles may change, but the principles remain the same. Cups & Ball = Two in the Hand, one in the pocket = Coins Across.... These effects can be done with coins, balls, paper napkins, rocks, or any other co mon objects. Understand the classics and you can apply the skills and principles in any situation. Sponge balls have been around for a long time and they still kill. Pick up a classic reference book, a couple DVDs, join the local magic club, and go to work learning the basics. You won't regret it. Hudson |
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Ed_Millis Inner circle Yuma, AZ 2292 Posts
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Actually, much of the performing styles have NOT changed much. There have always been close-up, parlor, street/busking, and even bizarre performers. (Remember the old stories about ripping the head off a goose and restoring it?)
What has changed, though, is the ready access to "the secrets". And so anyone who watches a YouTube video now thinks he's a magician because he knows a couple of moves!! Yes, that was me too. And what I wish I had been told early on was that the secret does not make a magician - it makes a trickster. Read all the posts from high school and college kids that complain about the classmates that only want to bust them. You immediately pick up that while this "magician" knows how to do a trick, he has no clue how to perform! He has no idea how to create a story that draws in the audience. He has no idea how to present a mystery without challenging his audience or making them feel stupid. And he doesn't have the amturity to take a rough audience and flow with it and come out on top. Because all he knows is secrets - he doesn't know how to perform. You can probably do technical things that I can't do. I know one guy that is very good, but does a routine with the personality of a block of wood. And others who perform with attitudes like: -- "Guess that one! I dare you!!" -- "Hah! Gotcha good, didn't I!!" -- "Hey y'all - watch what I can do." When you perform, you give something to the audience. When you do tricks, it's all about you sucking life out of the audience. Ed |
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Mark Jarvis Regular user 172 Posts
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Hi.....
Wow! Some great advice above. Keep it simple.....Join a local IBM or SAM Ring. As said earlier, you will learn a lot by watching and being around other magicians. Get 2 or 3 books (J B Bobo Modern Coin Magic, Mark Wilson's Complete Course in Magic, Volume 1 of Card College) and study them and learn from them. Pick out some moves, practice them and take them to your friends at the local IBM or SAM you join. Let them give you tips and advice on technique. Invaluable! Check out some magic conventions near you over the next year and sit in all the lectures and see magic props and gimmicks first hand. If there is a local magic shop nearby, visit it. Ask them if they can help you build a network of friends in magic. I am sure they belong to the local clubs. Purchase some inch and a half sponge balls and a thumb tip. Have the owner of the shop show you a few tricks with these items. This will help you build a good foundation from which you will build upon for years of enjoyment. But most of all.....Have Fun!
Mark Jarvis
The Magic Of Magic Solon, Ohio The Magic Is In Your Hands http://www.themagicofmagic.com |
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Mike Maturen Inner circle Michigan's Beautiful Sunrise Side 2726 Posts
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I am also a bit of a traditionalist in my approach to magic. In my show next week, I will be wearing black pants and a billowy red "pirate" style shirt for my first set, black pants and a different shirt for my second, and a tux for the 3rd.
I still think there is a place for the Blackstone-style of magic. We don't see near enough of it in my opinion.
Mike Maturen
World of Wonder Entertainment The Magic and Mayhem of Mike Maturen 989-335-1661 mikematuren@gmail.com AUTHOR OF "A NEW DAWN--Weekly Wisdom From Everyday Life" member: International Magician's Society |
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satellite23 Elite user 424 Posts
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Wow, I never thought my single post could be so popular!In terms of revealing on YouTube, here's some more just to fuel the fire:
I know that revealing on YT has helped me a lot, especially guys like the Card Trick Teahcer and so forth. For me, as a magician, if I look up a GIMMICK trick, I'm too lazy to make it myself so I'll probably either buy it or forget about it. With SLEIGHT tricks, I will practice a bit and see if I like it or not. Generally, as you guys have said, the revealers are little kids that film from their bedroom. How often do you think lay people specifically watch little kids, in thier, bedrroms, with a terrible webcam, just to see how a trick is done? Very little percentage. If they do, however, they'll probably have forgotten it in a short while anyways! I know people who try to tell me how to do simple math tricks, and they cannot remember how to do them! |
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Yellowcustard Inner circle New Zealand 1334 Posts
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There are problems with Magicans exposing in front of other magicans as well just lay persons. Yes we do show each other out little bits and special bobs when were in private. The ownwer of a shiny thing migth reval it at a convention if he or she fells fit. But showing other pepole bits of with out premison or there backing is wrong.
(I have made a predication of a comment ill back for the above post)
Enjoy your magic,
and let others enjoy it as well! |
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Cyberqat Inner circle You can tell I work on the net from my 2209 Posts
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The latest, greatest effect will be forgotten tomorrow when the NEW latest greatest comes along.
If you want to be noticed then don't do a levi 'cause everyone does one. Do a great cups and balls cause NOONE is doing it right now. People crave *new* experiences and that's what you should strive to provide. Anything sufficiently old is new. Look to the classics. There are reasons they never die. **something I just learned recently** Don't buy into the idea that there is much of anything you *can't* do. If you are having trouble learning something, don't give up. Practice more and/or find another teacher. Not all people learn the same. I gave up on the double lift years ago as I just couldn't learn it from my otherwise favorite book. I recently picked up a DVD just on the Double Lift and I learned it in about 3 hours of work. Imitate and expand. As others say, what works for David Blaine probably wont work for you, but if you LIKE his approach start there and then find what you cna do with it that DOES work for you. Develop your own style, but recognize that style comes with time and experimentation. It took Chris Angel something like a decade of hard work and constantly trying and failing to hone his shtick. Which gets me to the next point... A decade is a magic number in the arts. If you are talented, dedicated, hustle and work *hard*, in 10 years (if you are lucky) people will start to notice you. Study as MANY magicians performances as you can. There is something you can learn from EVERY performance, even if its just what NOT to do. Expect to fail. You cannot learn if you don't fail. Recognize that more then half the job of any self-employed person is looking for your next gig. And its the *hard* part of the job. being self-employed means always being on a job hunt/unemployed. Make sure that's really what you want to do with your life. Stay the hell off of you tube. or at least, don't do anything on youtube that you havent done for real people first.
It is always darkest just before you are eaten by a grue.
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Bandon New user 55 Posts
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Quote:
On 2011-03-19 19:35, Cyberqat wrote: I think this is really important, it's often given as a rule never to imitate others. However, you have to start somewhere, and the more you perform the more presentation and style shift away from what you're imitating and into what comes naturally for you, it will grow organically over time, and the most important thing for developing a character is to get out there really, in my humble opinion anyway |
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Cyberqat Inner circle You can tell I work on the net from my 2209 Posts
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Quote:
On 2011-03-16 15:12, satellite23 wrote: This is really another topic but I think there are two reasons many here dislike the youtube revealer phenomenon: (1) As you said, many are incompetent kids who can't even bother to learn to do the illusion well. Its a cheap way to try to get some attention and it cheapens the art. (2) Even when its a good performance and worth while teaching... its just too easy to find. How much value to you *really* is an illusion you can find in a minute or two of you tube searching when ANYONE you show it to is likely to run to the web and do the same thing? The reason why there is a sub-culture of magicians and magic shops is partly to keep those only interested in knowing the solutions from finding them.
It is always darkest just before you are eaten by a grue.
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MasterGracey New user Malibu, CA / Winter Haven, FL 7 Posts
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Quote:
On 2011-03-19 19:35, Cyberqat wrote: I made my first visit to the Castle a few weeks ago, and of all the performances that stood out in my mind, I am still thinking about the triumph and the cups and balls I saw that night. It may be my personality, but I really appreciate seeing good, honest performances of the classics. There is something special about getting caught up in a suspension of disbelief watching an effect that has been fooling people for centuries. |
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sleightlysilas New user 29 Posts
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I work with youngsters on a regular basis, having a bunch of students and coaching fresh performers, tossing them into gigs and events I organize.
What I notice nowadays, perhaps with the dawn of flourishing and XCM, is that a lot of the focus is bein put into sleight of hand perfection. For the most part, sleight of hand is the back stage work, not really meant to be the defining piece of any play. If you watched a movie with the most insane Spielberg special effects on the face of the planet, but your story has no substance and the acting is no good, you got yourself a Hollywood flop. By all means, polish up your moves, but the most important kind of sleight, is sleight of mouth. Talk to people. Be around people. Learn to be comfortable in a crowd. Try to be the life of the party, because when the day comes, you might just be hired to be. Learn how to make fast friends. When you're performing, logically speaking, people will like what you're doing more if they like whoevers doing it. If they hate you, and you fly, at the end of the day, they'll just be hating the flying dude. Just my two cents
Sleightly Silas
Magician|Hypnotist|Visionaire www.SleightlySilas.com "...a little bit of magic, with a lot of something else..." |
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satellite23 Elite user 424 Posts
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Quote:
On 2011-03-19 19:35, Cyberqat wrote: Yes, do learn a cups and alls routine and screw the levitations; they're so tough to perform correctly anyways. Right now, my cups and balls routine is my pride and joy. Learn a good one, practice it a ton, it'll pay off. |
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rsylvester Loyal user Trying to learn to BP a duck in 269 Posts
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Just a note on the YT reveals. Aren't the instructions and the items sold for magic protected by copyrights and patents? And aren't these the same as performing someone else's song or posting a video from a TV show that's not in the public domain? If so, I would think the people who own the rights or the sellers complain to You Tube and get a lot of these removed. Of course, stuff like the cups and balls are public domain -- being 5,000 years old. But I'll bet with a concerted effort by the IBM, SAM or some other advocate, making this argument to YouTube, you could get a lot of this stuff nixed. YouTube and Google (the owner) are really pretty good about this stuff with musicians -- why not magicians? Just a thought.
It also might be worth manufacturers adding a note saying something like "this material is protected and may not be electronically performed without written permission," or something like that. Note: I am not a lawyer, but I cover the courthouse, and as my wife -- who is an attorney likes to say -- I have played on on TV.
BTW, @sleightlysilas, great movie analogy. Really nailed it. |
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satellite23 Elite user 424 Posts
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Hmmm....interesting. I never thought about copyrights.
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Posted: Mar 14, 2011 07:35 pm 