Yesterday I wrote about the biggest problem with most magician’s promo video is the audio. Last night I was playing with the idea of adding subtitles to a promo video to help with bad audio. Here’s what I made: I think that using captions works when used sparingly. I don’t think I’d want to watch … Continue reading “Make it Easy…”
Yesterday I wrote about the biggest problem with most magician’s promo video is the audio. Last night I was playing with the idea of adding subtitles to a promo video to help with bad audio. Here’s what I made:
I think that using captions works when used sparingly. I don’t think I’d want to watch a whole video with bad audio that was captioned. That’d be a bit much, as a booker, I’d be worried that the performer would be unable to understand in a live show.
Keep at upping your audio game as much as you up your sleight of hand game and you’ll do great!
Whenever I work with an act I always try to watch their promo video. I also do this whenever someone posts their “new” promo video on social media. I do my best to watch them all the way through, but I would say I bail on about 60% of them halfway through. Why don’t I … Continue reading “Good Audio…”
Whenever I work with an act I always try to watch their promo video. I also do this whenever someone posts their “new” promo video on social media. I do my best to watch them all the way through, but I would say I bail on about 60% of them halfway through.
Why don’t I watch them all the way through?
It’s simple, they are really bad. For me the make or break thing for a promo video is good audio, with video quality coming is second. With all the HD cameras now and how cheap they are, there’s no reason you video should have the resolution of a 1980’s sitcom.
Let’s get back to the audio, which is the big one. If the audio isn’t clear, you are better off not having any audio. There are tons of promo videos I’ve seen from comedy magicians, and you can’t understand what they are saying…what’s the point?
I was guilty of having bad audio, until I figured out how to do it. I now record my audio with a voice recorder.
There are two ways to do it, directly off the soundboard, or off of a mic that plugs into the voice recorder. Personally I prefer the mic as it gets my voice clearly (most of the time) and it also picks up the person on stage and audience reactions. I can then mix this with the audio that the camera takes and have audio that’s easy to understand on my promo.
One of the pieces of advice I always give to magicians is to get a microphone and use it. Most magicians don’t realize how quiet their talking voice is. Sure you can yell at the audience and many people do, but that’s only good for up to a couple dozen people if you aren’t in … Continue reading “Monitor the Situation…”
One of the pieces of advice I always give to magicians is to get a microphone and use it. Most magicians don’t realize how quiet their talking voice is. Sure you can yell at the audience and many people do, but that’s only good for up to a couple dozen people if you aren’t in a formal theater situation.
When I drive to gigs I always have a battery powered speaker in my car. It’s saved a ton of gigs. I use a Roland Street Cube EX:
This little speaker has enough power for a school assembly, and it’s nice a small!
Here’s the advantage to having a speaker like this: It’s versatile! What I mean by that is that I can use it as a speaker. However if I need to I can use it as a mixer, and more importantly I can use it as a stage monitor! Many smaller events will rent a sound system, but it’s just two speakers on a stand, which will work in a ballroom, but lacking the monitor, that’s where this speaker comes in!
If you don’t know what a monitor is, basically is a speaker on stage that allows you to hear your self. It keeps you from yelling and it will save you voice! When the sound guy asks always tell them you want some of your voice in the monitor!
The other night I did a corporate gig and before the stage show I did some roving during the cocktail hour. Personally I prefer to do this than not do it at a corporate event, as it basically lets me be my own “opening act”. People start to warm up to me before the show. … Continue reading “Solid Background Helps…”
The other night I did a corporate gig and before the stage show I did some roving during the cocktail hour. Personally I prefer to do this than not do it at a corporate event, as it basically lets me be my own “opening act”. People start to warm up to me before the show.
When doing roving magic, I’m always looking for miracles to make happen. Things that aren’t part of my normal close up set. Typically these use things that are in the performing environment. The round tables in this room had a table cloth with a square cloth napkin in the middle. I’m assuming a center piece was on the napkin at some point. That led to a miracle!
I was performing for a group. I asked a guy to name any card. He said 10 of Diamonds. I handed him the deck, he shuffled them tossed them in the air so they landed on the table, and his named card ended up under the middle of the napkin!
How did I do it? I remember watching Eugene Burger’s video on Matt Schulien’s Fabulous Card Discoveries.
On that VHS tape he did Matt’s Card Under Tablecloth and that’s basically what I did. I did have to adjust it a little bit for the situation. That’s where having a solid background in different tricks and sleight of hand moves comes in very handy! This trick was the talk of my roving set and was totally worth the risk of trying something I’d never done before.
Several years ago I went and saw Kreskin perform a the Pantages Theater in Tacoma, WA. He’s an amazing performer and I highly recommend checking out his show if you get a chance. At the end of the show he got a standing ovation from the audience! He deserved the standing ovation, and he worked … Continue reading “Last Night I Pulled a Kreskin…”
Several years ago I went and saw Kreskin perform a the Pantages Theater in Tacoma, WA. He’s an amazing performer and I highly recommend checking out his show if you get a chance. At the end of the show he got a standing ovation from the audience!
He deserved the standing ovation, and he worked for it. By worked for it, at the end of the show, he stood, arms outstretched and waited. People clapped, eventually some stood. Kreskin didn’t move. Eventually everyone was standing clapping!
That’s something very important I learned from watching Kreskin. You have to wait for them to stand up. They aren’t going to instantly leap to their feet like other performers bragging will make it sound like. Go see virtually any show that gets a standing ovation, it’s a slow burn. Some stand, then others, it’s a wave that takes a few moments. My advice is that if you feel a standing ovation coming, wait for it!
Earlier today someone in a Facebook group asked “What’s a good opener for kids that I can buy…” There are a few things wrong with this question. I also think this type of question shows what’s wrong with magic, no one wants to think or work, yes they all want to be thought of as … Continue reading “Opener?”
Earlier today someone in a Facebook group asked “What’s a good opener for kids that I can buy...” There are a few things wrong with this question. I also think this type of question shows what’s wrong with magic, no one wants to think or work, yes they all want to be thought of as “artists”.
My first problem with the post is that they are asking for advice about their show without offering us any information about their show. The opener sets the one for your show, if you do a more serious show, your opener will be a lot different from the opener of a comedy act. Just because someone says something is a good opener, doesn’t mean it’s a good one for YOU.
The next issue is that they should be learning their craft. Why aren’t they making a list of what they want to accomplish with their opener? Then do some research and find a trick that fits it, instead of asking a bunch of strangers to feed it to you.
My final problem is they are asking what to buy. I could be wrong, but that’s implying they want something that’s fully formed, and easy to do. They don’t want to work. They don’t want to write the script, or learn some sleight of hand.
My advice is to do the work when you’re a beginner, it makes doing the work later much easier!
One of the things that frustrates me is when people say that they aren’t creative, or that all the good ideas have been had (for a specific trick). Those are both excuses for being lazy. Creativity takes work, it’s not something that magically pops into your head. Here’s a good example of something new within … Continue reading “Nothing New Under The Sun…”
One of the things that frustrates me is when people say that they aren’t creative, or that all the good ideas have been had (for a specific trick). Those are both excuses for being lazy. Creativity takes work, it’s not something that magically pops into your head.
Here’s a good example of something new within something old. Bob Sheets has a great move he uses in the Three Shell Game. That’s a trick that’s virtually unchanged since it was created. However, Bob created the “Sheets Aquitment” which I think is revolutionary.
Many years ago I came up with a move for the shell game that uses a finger ring:
While not as earthshaking as Bob’s move, it is still something new for the shell game. My advice is to keep plugging away with whatever trick you love and you’ll eventually leave your mark on it!
Right now in Seattle we’re having really bad winter weather. It’s a city that rarely gets snow. Last week I had all of my shows cancel, which isn’t a big deal, and this week I’ve got a corporate gig coming up where I have to cross 2 mountain passed to get to. The question is, … Continue reading “No Gig is Worth it…”
Right now in Seattle we’re having really bad winter weather. It’s a city that rarely gets snow. Last week I had all of my shows cancel, which isn’t a big deal, and this week I’ve got a corporate gig coming up where I have to cross 2 mountain passed to get to.
The question is, how much effort should you put into getting to the gig? I get leaving early, I get being uncomfortable, however when the State Patrol says you shouldn’t be driving and the Governor has declared a “State of Emergency”, does the show have to go on? All of the arena concerts in the area had cancelled, so the show doesn’t have to go on.
Best case scenario, I drive 4+ hours (in normal weather) do the gig, get paid and make it home uneventfully. Worst case scenario aside from a horrible car accident is that I get there after tons of delays, only to have the gig cancel on me, but I didn’t get the message because I was in the mountains and had no cell service and the cancellation is justified because of the weather, and then I get to hopefully make it home in a timely manner.
I have a friend that got severely injured driving to a gig in bad conditions, and she had to give up performing because of it. She will tell anyone that “no gig is worth it”. The young me was a “show must go on” type of person, but as I get older I’m realizing the “no gig is worth it” is a better saying.
One of the things that I think is important to do with magic is to be social. Hang out with other magicians, see what they are doing and learn from it. When I was starting out, there was no internet, so that’s how new tricks got around, someone learned it in another city and they … Continue reading “Be Social…”
One of the things that I think is important to do with magic is to be social. Hang out with other magicians, see what they are doing and learn from it. When I was starting out, there was no internet, so that’s how new tricks got around, someone learned it in another city and they showed you at a magic club or jam session.
Here are some of the highlights of the last meeting of the Seattle Magic Club:
Simply knowing what other magicians in your market are doing is HUGE. Personally, it let’s me know what tricks not to do in my show. It also let’s me know who someone is talking about if they saw a magician can can’t remember their name.
Last night at the Seattle Magic Club, I got talking about “improvised” card magic. What that means is magic where you don’t have a formal plan and kinda figure it out while you are going. I got into doing this style of trick through some books by Justin Higham. It’s an interesting style, and it … Continue reading “Improvised Card Magic”
Last night at the Seattle Magic Club, I got talking about “improvised” card magic. What that means is magic where you don’t have a formal plan and kinda figure it out while you are going. I got into doing this style of trick through some books by Justin Higham.
It’s an interesting style, and it works out your brain while you perform. In a nutshell, what you are doing it looking for things you can do while you are doing other tricks. Let’s say you are doing Triumph and when you spread the cards at the end, you notice 3 kings together in the deck, that’s something you may be able to use later in an improvised trick.
The key to this is that you don’t always do something. For example, let’s say I have the three kings at the bottom of the deck, but the 4th never comes up, then I don’t do the trick.
While talking to some of the magicians about this style of performing, one commented that it’s probably hard to think that quick. It is, but the more you do it, the easier it is. Also when you remember that no trick is an acceptable outcome, then you can’t lose!
I recommend you check out Justin Higham’s books on this and try it out!
