Sorry. I didn't know about this aspect back then. Had I known I was being unethical I wouldn't have pursued the process. I really didn't know although I should have.
I don’t do Magic professionally. Just for friends and relatives.
But one question: when is learning a great effect stealing. I'd like to know because YouTube shows so many tutorials, though I've never put anything up on YouTube. I'll not even look at that link again.
I appreciate the honesty in your response. Downloading any copyrighted material being books, videos or music without paying for it is illegal. Watching someone's tutorial on YouTube is not illegal. Downloading books where the copyright has expired, such as Bobo's Modern Coin Magic, Expert at the Card Table, Royal Road to Card Magic, etc. is not illegal.
As for the ethical part there are some things that are clear and others that are not. Downloading someone's material without paying for it is unethical. Uploading someone else's videos to Youtube or a torrent site so others can download it without paying for it is even worse. Publicly teaching someone else's material without their permission (i.e. putting up a YouTube tutorial) is unethical. I think that exposing or teaching effects on YouTube is unethical -- if you and I can find them then our spectators can find them and that ruins the magic. A good guide to ethics is to ask what would happen if everyone did something.
That being said, there are many magic tricks and methods that are so standard - a double lift, double undercut, pass, pinky break, etc. - that teaching and learning effects using those methods are perfectly acceptable. Typically, when you teach someone else's method or effect, you will see magicians ask other magicians for permission. If you do a variation of someone's method or effect, typically you are only required to credit the person as either inspiration or as someone who previously did something similar.
But I do respect the art. I don’t understand that leap.
To me, part of respecting the art means respecting those people who share their effects and methods in books and DVDs. If everyone torrented those books and DVDs, there would be no incentive for those people to share their effects and methods.
If you perform someone else's effects, it seems to me that the right thing to do is buy the book or DVD or attend the lecture where they teach the effect.
I also think respecting the art means not posting exposure videos (which you are not doing). Learning from YouTube works for basic beginners, but ultimately much of what is taught is taught badly and performed badly. There are a lot of great sources to learn from other than YouTube.
It is NOT against the law to download a video revealing the method of a magic trick anyway. Someone can correct me if I'm wrong, but I don't think most magicians and the tricks they release are protected by any patents or copyrights. Don't let RealityOne scare you as if you're breaking some kind of law or are doing something unethical (granted he never said you were unethical).
Typically, torrent sights allow you to download the original videos or books. The videos and books are protected by federal copyright law and it is illegal to upload or download copyrighted articles.
Downloading a 12 year olds video exposing the magic trick is not illegal, but if you like the effect, it is probably worth the money to learn it from the guy who developed it and has been performing it for 10 years than the kid who just opened the box and has been performing it for 10 minutes.
