Which is a better way to learn magic?

[kingdamian1]

Ok. So, I want to ask all of you, what do you think... Are books a better way to learn magic or videos? Now, for me personally, they serve different purposes. Books are a GREAT reference and you can keep them by your side ALL THE TIME, they are more convenient! Videos on the other hand, seem to be easier to learn from.
For example, I am a BIG FAN of coin magic. I have "Modern Coin Magic" By J.B Bobo... A GREAT BOOK, I must say... But then, I watched "Expert Coin Magic Made easy" by David Roth... I have to say, that video really got me going. So, are videos underrated in the magic community? Aren't they easier to learn from? And, don't get me wrong... I LOVE BOOKS... literally LOVE books. But, sometimes, it seems like videos don't get enough appreciation... So what do yall think?

 

[trapeze]

Again? Really?

Doesn't this get old for you?

 

[kingdamian1]

Again? Really?

Doesn't this get old for you?

The ONLY thing that is getting REALLY old on this site, is the amount of bullying I encounter from people like you!

 

[CaseyRudd]

Just a reminder to keep things civil here. If you have any issues with members you can reach out to them directly in a private message to settle things. Thanks!

 

[kennethcmerrill]

I think for the most part learning from books is better, even though it may not be easier.

The advantages of books are several. The author is able to be very precise about the description of a technique or method, making sure every detail is covered in the best, most correct way. On the other hand, I do video production for a living, and I can tell you nobody is 100% accurate or precise on camera, even if you do several takes. You can pack a lot more information into a few pages than you can a 30 min dvd. It is also easier to study from a book, as it doesn't require all the accoutrements of technology (power, cables, discs, monitors, etc.). You can also read at your own pace as you work through something, and it's easy to go back again and again (as opposed to trying to rewind or scrub through a video demonstration).

But there are also advantages to video. You get to actually see what a technique looks like, and honestly that's invaluable. Descriptions and photographs usually suffice, but seeing something even just once can be immensely helpful. Also, particularly when it comes to performances/routines, I find video demonstrations to be much more compelling. It's very hard to communicate a real performance through writing. BUT it's really best not to copy someone else's performance anyway; so even that is not always helpful and can actually handicap a novice.

In my opinion, books are best, but using videos in conjunction is never a bad idea. I would actually say in-person mentorship is probably the real best thing, but that's very difficult for most people, I think.

 

[Maaz Hasan]

Again? Really?

Doesn't this get old for you?

This one is actually kind of different. It isn't really about exposure, but rather the way people prefer to learn. DVDs and Downloads or Books. If it is about exposure, I'll be pretty mad, but right now, it's ok.
_______________________________________________________________________________________________

Personally, I think both have a place. DVDs/Downloads are good when you have one specific topic that you're looking at, as the creator will devote all the time to it. A Book contains much more information, and can go over many different versions of something. It also links everything together.

DVDs let you see things visually, though this isn't necessarily always a plus or a minus, because if you see something done, you try and mimic it, where as when you have something explained, you interpret it your own way, and those small variations on some things really help some people out.

I think that both should be used, not just one over the other.

Personally, I am still trying to expand my knowledge and trying to soak in as many different aspects as I can, so the larger amount of information of books helps me more.

 

[Lord Magic]

Ok. So, I want to ask all of you, what do you think... Are books a better way to learn magic or videos? Now, for me personally, they serve different purposes. Books are a GREAT reference and you can keep them by your side ALL THE TIME, they are more convenient! Videos on the other hand, seem to be easier to learn from.
For example, I am a BIG FAN of coin magic. I have "Modern Coin Magic" By J.B Bobo... A GREAT BOOK, I must say... But then, I watched "Expert Coin Magic Made easy" by David Roth... I have to say, that video really got me going. So, are videos underrated in the magic community? Aren't they easier to learn from? And, don't get me wrong... I LOVE BOOKS... literally LOVE books. But, sometimes, it seems like videos don't get enough appreciation... So what do yall think?

Both are equally important. There are some things learning from books improve while some things improve after seeing videos.
All in all, the thing is that when we have access to BOTH, it is very foolish to ignore any one of them. Come on! When we can use both, why leave any one?

 

[RealityOne]

I think the answer is dependent on the stage of magic you are in. Videos are probably better when you are just learning magic, assuming you are learning from someone who knows what they are doing. They give you a sense of what things look like. However, it is too easy to mimic what you see on videos, including the performer's style. What works for a 26 year old with a beard and tattoos, might not work for a 16 year old just starting out. Also, videos tend to put the focus on the trick and method rather than the performance. I've seen some videos where there is a lot of emphasis on the performance and those are the better videos.

Book are a little more difficult to learn from, but you get a lot more bang for you money. If a single trick download is $10 or $25, you can get a book with 50 effects for $10 to $50. The cost per effect is 20 cents to $1 vs. $10 to $25. I've often said that you could do an entire show from Mark Wilson's Complete Course in Magic which costs around $15. The second phase is learning from the books -- whether it be the old classics like Royal Road to Card Magic or new classics like Card College.

If you stick with magic, then you move to more specialized sources. You tend to want to either expand your knowledge or develop presentation pieces. At this phase, you buy books that are interesting. They may be classic books like Greater Magic or Tarbell. They may be new books like So Sato or Handsome Jack. They may be works by Vernon, Marlo, Slydini or the other giants of magic. They may be inexpensive classic books like T. Nelson Down's Art of Magic or Maskylne and Devant's Our Magic or more expensive, hard to find books. You also will attend lectures (or view them on-line). You will seek out all the videos you can find on a specific routine like Zombie Ball, Linking Rings, Billiard Ball, Sponge Balls Bill in Lemon and buy the books that explain those routines. You also will delve into the theory of magic which is only explored in-depth in books.

Doesn't this get old for you?

I think this reaction is because all of the topics that @kingdamian1 is raising have been discussed repeatedly on the forums.

 

[Al e Cat Dabra]

Some thoughtful replies here. One angle that I believe needs to be considered is that one size does not fit all. I won't post any of it here, but there have been studies showing that different people learn better through different media. In other words, our brains are hardwired differently, so some people learn better from reading the printed word, while others are "audio" learners or audio-visual learners and have trouble learning from reading the printed word. But when they hear the material and/or see it in a video format, they absorb and learn it more effectively, and the opposite is true for those more predisposed to learning from books.

 

[WitchDocIsIn]

Yes, in fairness, this is a different question than he has been asking previously.

I agree with what's been said already. @kennethcmerrill and @RealityOne really summed up my thinking and I don't have a ton to add. I think both have their place.

Personally, I'm at a point where I almost can't stand watching videos. Like Kenneth was mentioning, I prefer being able to explore the material at my own pace, and not being held back by how slowly people teach on video. At this point, I know enough sleights that I usually don't need to see them explain 90% of the routine and it's just torturous to me to wade through it.

But sometimes I do like to see the things done in real life, if I just can't quite wrap my head around it. I had to do that when I was learning the one-handed shift from EATCT.

But yeah, if you reach a point where you want to study theory and philosophy, you have to read books. The information just isn't in video format yet (And probably never will be).

 

[kingdamian1]

I think the answer is dependent on the stage of magic you are in. Videos are probably better when you are just learning magic, assuming you are learning from someone who knows what they are doing. They give you a sense of what things look like. However, it is too easy to mimic what you see on videos, including the performer's style. What works for a 26 year old with a beard and tattoos, might not work for a 16 year old just starting out. Also, videos tend to put the focus on the trick and method rather than the performance. I've seen some videos where there is a lot of emphasis on the performance and those are the better videos.

Book are a little more difficult to learn from, but you get a lot more bang for you money. If a single trick download is $10 or $25, you can get a book with 50 effects for $10 to $50. The cost per effect is 20 cents to $1 vs. $10 to $25. I've often said that you could do an entire show from Mark Wilson's Complete Course in Magic which costs around $15. The second phase is learning from the books -- whether it be the old classics like Royal Road to Card Magic or new classics like Card College.

If you stick with magic, then you move to more specialized sources. You tend to want to either expand your knowledge or develop presentation pieces. At this phase, you buy books that are interesting. They may be classic books like Greater Magic or Tarbell. They may be new books like So Sato or Handsome Jack. They may be works by Vernon, Marlo, Slydini or the other giants of magic. They may be inexpensive classic books like T. Nelson Down's Art of Magic or Maskylne and Devant's Our Magic or more expensive, hard to find books. You also will attend lectures (or view them on-line). You will seek out all the videos you can find on a specific routine like Zombie Ball, Linking Rings, Billiard Ball, Sponge Balls Bill in Lemon and buy the books that explain those routines. You also will delve into the theory of magic which is only explored in-depth in books.



I think this reaction is because all of the topics that @kingdamian1 is raising have been discussed repeatedly on the forums.

Again, I can't say how much I LOVE books... I mean, SERIOUSLY! But sometimes I find that videos don't get enough appreciation. I know, from a personal experience how good videos can be.
Take my example. I have the book "Modern Coin Magic" by Bobo, which is basically an encyclopedia on coin magic, right? But then, I watched David Roth's "Expert Coin Magic Made Easy" Vol 1 (Do you know this particular video?). And it really got me going. Now, books are more convenient, you can read them at your own pace, you can open them anytime, anywhere. But videos seem like a GREAT way to learn magic.

 

[JarrettC2]

Videos get plenty of love though... I used the Paul Wilson DVDs when working through RRTCM and -sigh- Magic Maker’s MCM DVDs (hate the company but it is solid material). I’ve purchased several videos on T11... Hell, when I was younger I learned scotch and soda + others from VHS.

YouTube videos also have aided me for if I want to reverse engineer an effect or flat out learn a single one from a decent magician channel.

Different people learn in different ways. If you need visual accompaniment then you need visual accompaniment. Books tend to be where you branch out from at first.

 

[Antonio Diavolo]

Personal preference. Some can learn through reading best, others need the visual aid of a video.

 

[Nick Does magic]

I honestly prefer books to videos for some reason. I think its just because of the tons of detail in them. But that's just my opinion, everybody has their own learning style.

 

[ncaron]

I think the best way to learn is probably to combine all of these tools. You can get things from book you do not get from good videos and vice versa.

That being said, which books are good is pretty well documented. Which video sources are good? Not so much... you can find a lot of low quality, crappy videos that will give you bad habits.