hey everybody i just wanted to share with the community another performance video i made i was pretty nervous but i had a great time thanks to Dimitri arleri's song from his bad-ass cardistry video silent transition it really gets me in the flow id love to here your guys feedback enjoy http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YmhHsLOB6jQ&feature=player_detailpage
4 min live cardistry performance
- Thread starter inferno23
- Start date
0:11 - Let me begin by saying that I am like... deliriously ****ing happy that this is a recording of a live performance of card manipulation. I am so sick of explaining to people that a webcam does not count as an audience. That said, the nerves are pretty obvious. Too many "um's" and other crutch words, no power behind your voice, and your rooted stance makes you look scared out of your mind. Not saying to sway or anything, but loosen up.
0:19 - That was a very nervous laugh. Rule of thumb: do not laugh until the audience does. If you laugh too quickly, you look insecure.
0:38 - Okay, now you're starting to sway. You want to relax, but not look like a tree caught in a stiff breeze.
0:59 - Was that the music or was there some feedback from the sound system?
1:20 - Pacing of the moves is a little inconsistent with the music.
1:23 - You should not have had to have done that. You want the stage totally clear before the first note even starts.
2:00 - The moves are good, but your body is twisting and swaying and you need to speak with your face and body language a little more. At this distance, there is never going to be a close-up of your hands. Even just raising your eyebrows as you held the card to your face would have helped. It's not just the cards they want to see, it's you.
2:52 - When you put your hand behind your back, I would angled your body to a 45 degree angle facing your right. Presents a more dynamic image.
3:06 - A card fell, but you kept going as if it didn't happen. That was good.
3:18 - Your holding the cards a little too close. There's no variety to the presentation. It all feels very stationary and mechanical.
3:53 - Again the pacing is inconsistent. We get these neat little moments of dexterity, but they don't follow any rhythm or cadence.
4:12 - The card was angled so that the edge was facing the audience. Not a very good visual.
4:18 - Felt a little anti-climactic.
Gold star for having the balls to get up there in front of a live audience. The next step is to work on your blocking, flow and stage presence.
0:19 - That was a very nervous laugh. Rule of thumb: do not laugh until the audience does. If you laugh too quickly, you look insecure.
0:38 - Okay, now you're starting to sway. You want to relax, but not look like a tree caught in a stiff breeze.
0:59 - Was that the music or was there some feedback from the sound system?
1:20 - Pacing of the moves is a little inconsistent with the music.
1:23 - You should not have had to have done that. You want the stage totally clear before the first note even starts.
2:00 - The moves are good, but your body is twisting and swaying and you need to speak with your face and body language a little more. At this distance, there is never going to be a close-up of your hands. Even just raising your eyebrows as you held the card to your face would have helped. It's not just the cards they want to see, it's you.
2:52 - When you put your hand behind your back, I would angled your body to a 45 degree angle facing your right. Presents a more dynamic image.
3:06 - A card fell, but you kept going as if it didn't happen. That was good.
3:18 - Your holding the cards a little too close. There's no variety to the presentation. It all feels very stationary and mechanical.
3:53 - Again the pacing is inconsistent. We get these neat little moments of dexterity, but they don't follow any rhythm or cadence.
4:12 - The card was angled so that the edge was facing the audience. Not a very good visual.
4:18 - Felt a little anti-climactic.
Gold star for having the balls to get up there in front of a live audience. The next step is to work on your blocking, flow and stage presence.
I can try to look at it later, but I'm about neck deep in preparing a show for tomorrow with a performer who doesn't understand the concept of 'just because it looks cool, doesn't mean we want it in this show'
Great job for performing live, as Steerpike mentioned, takes a lot of courage to do that, especially with the moves you were doing!
Overall, I think you did great, the skill is there but you need build more confidence and presence. Speak louder and stand straight. Perhaps start the show with inviting someone on stage with you and walk them through the basics of cardistry, teach them a charlier cut? This accomplishes several things, one of which is an understanding that what you do is difficult - despite the apparent ease of a smooth performance. Maybe consider every seat having a deck of cards (could be something super cheap, doesn't have to be a fancy deck) so that they could follow along as well. It adds a lot to the show when you can incorporate audience participation - especially if it's funny, so try to find ways to play on this. I think this is great to do at the beginning to establish yourself with the audience and to break the ice. Lastly, try to look more relaxed when you're performing, you currently look too tense and focused (I understand some of those moves require it, but perhaps switch those up to something a little less intense). If you're going to speak during your moves (I certainly do), then do so confidently so that everyone can hear you. If you drop cards, keep going, but I always make a joke like "That's the first time that's ever happened again" - something lighthearted. That said, great job!
Overall, I think you did great, the skill is there but you need build more confidence and presence. Speak louder and stand straight. Perhaps start the show with inviting someone on stage with you and walk them through the basics of cardistry, teach them a charlier cut? This accomplishes several things, one of which is an understanding that what you do is difficult - despite the apparent ease of a smooth performance. Maybe consider every seat having a deck of cards (could be something super cheap, doesn't have to be a fancy deck) so that they could follow along as well. It adds a lot to the show when you can incorporate audience participation - especially if it's funny, so try to find ways to play on this. I think this is great to do at the beginning to establish yourself with the audience and to break the ice. Lastly, try to look more relaxed when you're performing, you currently look too tense and focused (I understand some of those moves require it, but perhaps switch those up to something a little less intense). If you're going to speak during your moves (I certainly do), then do so confidently so that everyone can hear you. If you drop cards, keep going, but I always make a joke like "That's the first time that's ever happened again" - something lighthearted. That said, great job!
Ok, I'm not going to break this down by time stamps as Steer already got that.
First, like the others, I want to say congratulations for getting up there and doing it. Good job just for that.
Now, I know that takes some balls to do this, but sweatpants? You're performing, look like a performer. That outfit makes you look like a kid that just wandered off the street. Plus, it doesn't enhance your performance at all and that's a problem. I know a three-piece suit is probably beyond your budget (I say that because you look pretty young), but something that helps people see your hands and the cards would be a better choice. There were a few points where I lost what you were doing because there wasn't enough contrast between your cards and your shirt. If you're not fashion-savvy, have someone you know who's good at dressing tell you what to wear. That's what I do.
Andrei already touched on the confidence thing. You look scared. I understand. You're in front of an audience with nothing but yourself and a skill. That's intimidating. Stand up straight, speak from the diaphragm, look at people and at least pretend to make eye contact. Here's another thing I do when I'm feeling the jitters - Say there's two lines of seats. I look in between the seats as if I'm directly looking at a person. Everyone in the first row will think you're looking at someone in the second row, everyone in the second row will think you're looking at someone in the first row. I even make comments to and respond to comments from that imaginary row sometimes.
Be aware of, and interact with, your audience. You got some moments where people reacted but you didn't acknowledge it so you couldn't play on it. Take a mental note (and then write it down after the performance) of points where people react, and work with those in the future. If you do something and half the crowd goes, "oh!" then that's a good bit of flourishing. Next time, maybe you try to put a slight pause in there so you can look up at people and build a little tension before the payoff of the move. You spent most of the performance looking pretty much at your hands. This is a very insular performance. You want to open up to draw people in.
Choreography. You just kind of started, did stuff, then faded out. You don't have to have every single second choreographed (though I advise that). Take a 4-minute song (Since this was a four minute set) and put it on repeat. Listen to it several times so you can identify distinct parts of the song. Maybe there's a part with a good snare drum, or a guitar riff, or a cymbal crash, whatever. Identify some of those, and use those as landmarks. Maybe in between them you free style, but at those points you'll be doing specific moves. This also helps you have a distinct finish so you can take the bow and hopefully accept your applause. This also helps you pace your performance so you don't dump everything you can think of into the first minute then spend the next three minutes going, "oh crap what I do? I can do ... this!" over and over again.
I don't know if this happens to you or anyone else, but when I do skill-based performances I have the issue of forgetting everything I know as soon as I get in front of an audience. So if I'm doing a free-style poi-spinning set, I'll be ready to go with twenty tricks .. then step in front of the audience and suddenly I can only remember the basic 5 or so. By having a set structure to a song you're familiar with, you'll begin to do those bits subconsciously so you don't have to worry about forgetting things.
And one last thing. Concentration face. This is the expression we make when we're doing something that's basically at the limits of our skill level. Try to avoid that for most of your performance because it makes it look like you aren't confident in what you're doing. When practicing, try to replace your concentration face with a smile, so that when you're pushing yourself you'll start to smile by default.
First, like the others, I want to say congratulations for getting up there and doing it. Good job just for that.
Now, I know that takes some balls to do this, but sweatpants? You're performing, look like a performer. That outfit makes you look like a kid that just wandered off the street. Plus, it doesn't enhance your performance at all and that's a problem. I know a three-piece suit is probably beyond your budget (I say that because you look pretty young), but something that helps people see your hands and the cards would be a better choice. There were a few points where I lost what you were doing because there wasn't enough contrast between your cards and your shirt. If you're not fashion-savvy, have someone you know who's good at dressing tell you what to wear. That's what I do.
Andrei already touched on the confidence thing. You look scared. I understand. You're in front of an audience with nothing but yourself and a skill. That's intimidating. Stand up straight, speak from the diaphragm, look at people and at least pretend to make eye contact. Here's another thing I do when I'm feeling the jitters - Say there's two lines of seats. I look in between the seats as if I'm directly looking at a person. Everyone in the first row will think you're looking at someone in the second row, everyone in the second row will think you're looking at someone in the first row. I even make comments to and respond to comments from that imaginary row sometimes.
Be aware of, and interact with, your audience. You got some moments where people reacted but you didn't acknowledge it so you couldn't play on it. Take a mental note (and then write it down after the performance) of points where people react, and work with those in the future. If you do something and half the crowd goes, "oh!" then that's a good bit of flourishing. Next time, maybe you try to put a slight pause in there so you can look up at people and build a little tension before the payoff of the move. You spent most of the performance looking pretty much at your hands. This is a very insular performance. You want to open up to draw people in.
Choreography. You just kind of started, did stuff, then faded out. You don't have to have every single second choreographed (though I advise that). Take a 4-minute song (Since this was a four minute set) and put it on repeat. Listen to it several times so you can identify distinct parts of the song. Maybe there's a part with a good snare drum, or a guitar riff, or a cymbal crash, whatever. Identify some of those, and use those as landmarks. Maybe in between them you free style, but at those points you'll be doing specific moves. This also helps you have a distinct finish so you can take the bow and hopefully accept your applause. This also helps you pace your performance so you don't dump everything you can think of into the first minute then spend the next three minutes going, "oh crap what I do? I can do ... this!" over and over again.
I don't know if this happens to you or anyone else, but when I do skill-based performances I have the issue of forgetting everything I know as soon as I get in front of an audience. So if I'm doing a free-style poi-spinning set, I'll be ready to go with twenty tricks .. then step in front of the audience and suddenly I can only remember the basic 5 or so. By having a set structure to a song you're familiar with, you'll begin to do those bits subconsciously so you don't have to worry about forgetting things.
And one last thing. Concentration face. This is the expression we make when we're doing something that's basically at the limits of our skill level. Try to avoid that for most of your performance because it makes it look like you aren't confident in what you're doing. When practicing, try to replace your concentration face with a smile, so that when you're pushing yourself you'll start to smile by default.
ok this also really helps a heck of a lot i really appreciate the advice man im definitely going to be working on my stage presence and my confidence so again man thank you for all the advice it really helps thanks
A quick piece of advice to build on this. The hardest thing for most people to start with when dressing themselves is figuring out how to use color. I only just started learning about this myself.
The first thing you have to do is determine your skin tone. Hop in the shower, wash your face with an actual facial cleanser instead of bar soap, and wait 15 minutes after you dry off. Stand in front of a mirror with a lot of natural light. You don't want incandescent or fluorescent bulbs in the room as that will interfere.
While standing in front of the mirror, hold a sheet of plain white paper up to your face. If your skin has a yellow or golden undertone, then you have a swarm skin tone (commonly referred to as spring or autumn skin depending on the particular tone). If it's more pinkish, then you have a cool skin tone (referred to as winter or summer, again depending on the particular tone). Alternatively, take the shower, dry off, wait 15 minutes, go outside, and look at your wrists in direct sunlight. If the veins looks a little greenish, that's a warm skin tone. Bluish veins are a cool skin tone.
Once you've figured out your particular tone, you have a decent guideline to start with. You know, broadly, what colors are generally going to look better on you than others. With a Google search you can find ways to find out specifically what you are, be it spring, winter, whatever. With that narrowed down, it's a lot easier to make your decisions.
For the sake of example, I'm a winter. Even though I tan very easily, my skin has a slight pinkish undertone. The best colors on a winter are jewel tones, so I've been working on improving my wardrobe by adding reds, purples, navy... I'm actually planning to invest sometime soon in a new suit with a pink shirt. I still wear a lot of black, but that's the color band T-shirts come in, so...
Anyway, that might help a bit. If you need a primer on men's style, Carson Kressley from Queer Eye for the Straight Guy put out a book called Off the Cuff which discusses most of the basics.