The Art Of Magic

FelixBodden · Sep 18, 2014

Hello there,

In 2013 I started uploading magic videos to my Instagram account, it is without doubt an amazing tool to share ideas with others magicians and to amaze your friends; the main problem of using Instagram as a stage to perform are the limitations, for example, 15 seconds videos. So, to continue sharing my magic with you all I'm working in a new project, it's called "The Art Of Magic" and I wanted to share this little teaser with you.

Hope you like it.

[video=youtube;650pwUu1G_Q]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=650pwUu1G_Q[/video]

Cheers from DR!

Craig Browning · Sep 18, 2014

Here's the other "Problem". . .

When you do magic for the Internet in this manner you are not performing for a real audience and in very rare instances, do you ever get paid for your time and effort e.g. we're talking masturbation. . . doing it to show off and get our ego's stroked and in a very narrow "niche" scenario. In other words, get off the bloody computer and go out and actually DO MAGIC, you won't regret it.

FelixBodden · Sep 19, 2014

Craig Browning said:
Here's the other "Problem". . .

When you do magic for the Internet in this manner you are not performing for a real audience and in very rare instances, do you ever get paid for your time and effort e.g. we're talking masturbation. . . doing it to show off and get our ego's stroked and in a very narrow "niche" scenario. In other words, get off the bloody computer and go out and actually DO MAGIC, you won't regret it.

I can't agree with you, here's why: I'm performing for a real audience when I go out and at the same time I'm sharing their experiences with others. I don't do it to show off but yes! I want people to see my work, get my name out there and if Youtube it's going to help me with that I got no problem borrowing a few hours a day for this. Everyone this days have a smartphone, tablet or a laptop so why not take advantage of that? it's a great way to promote yourself (your show). Believe it or not, I've been invited to a lot of TV, radio shows and private parties to perform only because of my Instagram account, so you can see it as a long-term investment. Maybe you won't get paid at first but if you really believe your work is good, the money will come.

RedbeardThePink · Sep 19, 2014

Having a Youtube channel is a great way to promote yourself and your magic. In fact, it might be necessary these days. When I hand a business card to a prospective client, it's quite common for their very next question to be "Do you have a Youtube?" It can be a very useful tool to people who want to book you, especially if you've got clips from performances in front of an audience. Your trailer doesn't look like ego stroking, it looks like a legit trailer for a legit magic channel on Youtube. Well done.

Craig Browning · Sep 19, 2014

Most of the professional ("Corporate") clients I talk to want my web-site not a Youtube channel. A proper web-site will have links to video footage but that's a big problem for most in that their videos are usually shot with an iPhone not proper equipment and too, most everyone these days does the same exact set of routines, which is what the clients usually want to avoid; they are looking for novelty as well as how we interact with patrons, and of course, the quality of our work. . . ironically they ignore (or don't grasp) the fact that they've just seen us work and essentially "audition" for them.

Yes, I understand that many young performers are doing live routines for the camera vs. playing to the camera and I understand why they want to exploit the various tools we have with the Internet and using them as marketing tools. Sure, we'd be fools not to but at the same time, how many are dreaming of Dynamo's "success" (he's a terrible performer in my opinion and his "shows" are questionable at best. But I say that about Andrew Mayne's short lived TV career as well -- there's just too much questionable antics when it comes to the medium). If you are going to call yourself a Magician then DO SHOWS. . . 4 wall a theater or show room if you can't get paid gigs and keep it up until the right promoters & agents "discover" you. . . it takes time but in the meantime you are doing actual shows vs. quick routines for a camera. . . you're learning showmanship and the business we call show.

RedbeardThePink · Sep 19, 2014

I seriously need to brush up on my html so I can code myself a website at some point. Right now I'm running on a combination of facebook, youtube, and twitter for an online presence, but in the long run, Craig is right. An actual website with its own paid url is pretty necessary for a professional performer.

While you're between now and then, though, it certainly doesn't hurt to flesh out your youtube channel with well-made videos that showcase the best and most unique magic you have to offer. That way, you've got plenty of content ready when you get that website up and running down the road, and you do have an online showcase to point people to when you're trying to get booked. It's certainly better than nothing as long as it's well executed.

IsaacHaber · Sep 19, 2014

RedbeardThePink: Make a squarespace website. They are very affordable, look great, take no coding knowledge, very customizable, and have mobile browser compatibility.

RedbeardThePink · Sep 20, 2014

That's nifty. Honestly, though, I was pretty good at web design when I was in college. It probably wouldn't take much to get up to speed again. Most of my coding was actually done in the CSS files anyway. My html is always really basic because I just put everything in <div> tags and use the CSS to tweak it instead of trying to use actual formatting code in html. Much cleaner that way.