There are so many great lectures and events that are happening at the convention, that it's impossible to see it all - will someone be taping each of the lectures/discussions, so members can later purchase those events and watch what they missed?

I was at the SAM convention last year in Boston. I can tell you that not everything was being taped at the time of the lecture or session but the performers had tapes or notes or both for sale right there or at their booths. I bought a lot of the tapes and got a lot of great information. I wish I was able to get to this year's convention. Oh well, maybe next year.

It is a great idea. The problem always exists about just how to do it and who can get the stuff needed to make it happen. It requires a team of people to video tape, burn copies and a way to distribute them and make them available for sale. I think it is a wonderful idea if the right people and right particpants can be gathered to actually make it happen.

Kyle

Greetings everyone:

Thank you for your interest and feedback on the S.A.M. Special Sessions. It has been my pleasure to serve as Special Sessions Coordinator since they started two years ago and the feedback has always been very positive.

If you have any suggestions, ideas or wish to volunteer for a session in the future please feel free to contact me at merlina17@aol.com.

I will talk with Convention Chair Michael Douglass about the posibility of filming some of the sessions in the future, with permission of the presenters, of course.

Respectfully
Maria Ibanez
National President Elect
Society of American Magicians

The sessions were wonderful. Maria, Thanks for all you do setting them up. I may be sending you an e-mail as I have some ideas for you and I would like tohelp out with some of the sessions if I can. It would be my pleasure.

Kyle

Sorry I missed the Boston convention last year. The last Boston SAM convention I went to was about 10 years ago and I had a fantastic time. I still remember a rip-roaring, funny MC bit done by one of the "old timers" and I wish I could remember his name. He was British, had a very staid, reserved persona but he came out with a vent dummy and as the MC began to speak, the dummy proceeded to start to lose one limb after another, dropping to the floor while the MC attempted to carry on in a serious vein......anyone out there remember that bit and who the MC was?....was it Arthur something (wore glasses I believe, swept back dark hair) ...it "brought down the house" with laughter for such a unique, short bit!

This was the late John Salisse and it was a duck vent figure. Great routine that is sadly silenced now.

Richard

Well the Dallas convention this year was great, and all the lectures good. It would have been nice to have some of them on tape, especially the women in magic forum, not only good info, a lot of history was given there. Celeste Evans, Gay Blackstone, Debbie Leifer, and Trixe Bond. Was a good program. And that sort of program could probably be taped and sold. Problem with other lectures is that the lecturer is giving a program that they generally travel around and give throughout the country. As such, with a tape of it available from a convention it cuts heavy into their ability to play it later. Plus many do parts of their signature acts, and probably don't want that out there on tape for others to steal. I would have loved to have a tape of Merlina's session, but to be honest there were several performers there, and getting permission from all, plus making sure their rights and interest were protected, as well as their being reasonably financially compensated would have been a legal nightmare.
If it is just a "talk" as happens at most professional association meetings, then generally it is considered a "publication" and can be taped and sold by the convention that is paying for it. But in magic we have a lot of creative rights, performance rights, and distribution rights to protect.
It can be hard enough getting good talent for good lectures at conventions, it would get a whole lot harder if we started started requiring them to give up their rights to their own lecture material to the convention. I don't see those types of lectures being taped and distributed. It would also compete with the presenters own sales of their lecture notes, videos, and books.
But we really need to preserve those that have historical value in some way. There was a ton of valuable info that may never be heard again given at that women in magic session, and if Merlina hadn't been in another program scheduled at the same time, and had been in on that presentation it would have been an even bigger event. Women in magic is something we don't have a lot of info out on, and it is rare you can get a group of women who have the experience in magic that group had together at one time. We need more programs like that.
Maria, I know Louisville is already crammed full of events being a combined convention, but any chance of slipping in another women in magic forum? Maybe getting it taped this time? I'm a magic history fanatic, and there is such a wealth of info slipping away out there.