GoPro

May 5, 2013
29
0
hey! everyone. i was looking on the Go-pro website, and saw some amazing products. there's a section where it recommends what to buy depending on which activity you are into. ( http://gopro.com/activity-shop ). Unfortunately there's not a section about magic... LOL!
can you guys help me get a amazing kit that will help me get the best possible videos for magic an cardistry. if someone knows the kit zach mueller uses that would be helpfull.
 
Dec 18, 2007
1,610
14
64
Northampton, MA - USA
Oi Vey!. . .

NO KITS EXIST YOU MUST STUDY. . . that means using those clunky old things known as BOOKS, acquiring the physical props and PRACTICING. If you are out to learn quick tricks you won't make it through the ranks because you'll be seen as being the same thing that's already available @ a dime a dozen. If you actually want to "go pro" you need to cultivate material and learn to develop you own spin on the classics as well as your own stuff.

The original "kits" that did this for people were the Tarbell Course in Magic followed by the Mark Wilson Course and about a dozen supporting text that range from books penned in the 1930s to present. Secondly, it depends on the kind of magic you plan on doing, there is no "one size fits all" not even when it comes to card magic. . . which, if you haven't yet started on Royal Road to Card Magic and The Stars of Magic books, you're already way behind on getting there. Card Magic is tough, especially good card magic and more so ENTERTAINING card magic. Many of the best card workers are the worse showmen you'll encounter and vice versa, the better entertainers aren't the best technicians.

Video is fine when it comes to learning so much on technique, but it's also a crutch that can be limiting to your ability to move forward. Ween yourself from such dependence and simply choose to apply yourself and actually learn magic the old way. Besides, it's a hell of a lot less expensive when you lean on books vs. video.
 
May 21, 2014
127
6
Staunton, VA
Condescension is the greatest enemy of one's desire to learn.

Anyway, I haven't really used a magic kit since I was young, but they definitely have their place with getting people started and interested. Any professional or famous amateur you see is probably not going to be using a kit. They'll either be doing effects they created or effects that are time-honored and more likely found in books and/or on video. Zach Mueller seems pretty flourish-happy from the few minutes of video I watched, so if you want to handle cards like that then you'll want to get things by the Buck Brothers and D'evo. Aside from that, DO get Royal Road to Card Magic and Mark Wilson's Complete Course in Magic if you haven't already. Both are great starting resources that will build a good foundation to learn and create on. As for DVDs, a lot of my working card sleights came out of Ninja. Finding good foundational DVDs is kind of hard, though. Most of them just teach one trick with some variations. Videos are wonderful for visual learning, but books will give you more information for your dollar usually.
 
Sep 2, 2007
1,186
16
42
London
I might be wrong, but I thought the OP was asking about a "kit" for video production, rather than the magic itself? Am I right Hanleysmagic?
 

tomelderfield

Elite Member
Nov 24, 2012
53
1
Buckinghamshire
I thought gopros were for extreme sports. Do you magic stunts? If not why do you want a gopro, why not get a normal video camera?
PS: I have no knowledge of cameras!
 

Andrei

Elite Member
Sep 2, 2007
439
24
35
Las Vegas
www.youtube.com
What a coincidence! Actually just signed a release form for GoPro yesterday! They featured us on their facebook in 2012, was a fun shoot we did with Homer Liwag "Cardistry Meets GoPro". Homer was using a DIY rigged up GoPro 2 at the time, and it worked phenomenally well. I know the 3 is great, by far the best (at least for now). Although at the end of the day, GoPros are most likely not "ideal" to film magic/cardistry with unless you want that stylistic fisheye look. Best bet would be DSLRs like Canon's t2/3/4/5i or Panasonic GH2/3.
 
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hudsonhufham

Elite Member
Feb 8, 2013
51
0
I am currently making a magic video with a GoPro hero 3+ black edition. Search for a Joby mount (not sold directly on the gopro site) it is great and will mount to almost anything. It can also function as a short tripod.
 
LMAO ..... ... amazing how many people answered a question that wasn't asked.


I ride mountain bikes and own a go pro hero 3. I wouldn't recommend a gro pro for recording magic. It's got a wide lens and doesn't work well if you need to focus in on one specific object like ..... cards.
 

WitchDocIsIn

Elite Member
Sep 13, 2008
5,877
2,945
Yeah - Clearly a misunderstanding here in the first few posts.

I wouldn't use a GoPro for magic either. As Spoook said, the lens just isn't what you want. You can get decent quality cameras for not that much and they'll let you do more with focus than a GoPro.
 
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