In my humble opinion, magic is the art of creating an illusion in the mind of the person that looks at it, the way we did it is not very important...

Like Mr. Robbins said, to depend what are the goal to achieve...

Humbly...

Kuffs

If someone wants to see "Camera Tricks" then they will go to see Star Wars.. ;->

When seeing a magician perform, one of my favorite things is knowing that the magician is skilled enough to "pull it off".... Camera Tricks are meant for movies..

My 2cents.
Gambit242

For the time being I am an amateur and know almost nothing about performing magic on TV, so my opinion may not mean much, but I would still like to comment.

I know I wouldn't use blatant camera tricks to produce an effect that obviously couldn't be done live, but I don't think I'd have a problem with using the advantages of camera editing, to a certain extent. I realize that the way a layperson perceives Blaine's performances is greatly affected by the opportunities camera editing can provide. But I don't think it would be fair to go all out of proportion and say he was "cheating" by taking advantage of the nature of his performance.

I've done some reading about the early days of magic on TV with Mark Wilson and others. Those pioneers of magic on television felt it was necessary for the people watching at home to realize that they would see the exact same thing if they were there watching the performance live. They worked hard to sell this important fact to audiences.

Many magic TV shows (WGM, etc.) don't even use the advantages of camera editing (at least, I think they don't). However, I must agree that these shows differ from the Blaine specials. World's Greatest Magic and shows of that type were taped in front of live audiences. The Blaine specials were developed specifically for TV. The general public enjoys watching both types of specials.

Though I don't agree with using special effects to create an effect that would otherwise be unable to be achieved in any way, I do feel that people can use the benefits that camera editing may provide, as long as they do not become dependent on that.

Emily B.

It's been touched upon (Steven and Hack) but has the question of WHO we are performing for been really asked?

I mentioned in another post somewhere about the Blaine thing. The Balducci is something which (when done correctly with the correct psychological build up) when performed live will recreate what Blaine achieved through other means.

I don't see anything wrong in this per-se. As for camera cut aways with sleights etc, what should we do, have the director BURN hands when a sleight is to be performed?

Malini talked about the moment, Vernon said that if you can't improve on the sleight then improve the moment. If you are performing on TV, what is wrong in giving the director and irresistable shot and when he takes it, performing a sleight then?

That is only recreating what you would do in a real life situation.

I'm waffling, it's late!