February 08 :: Books Vs. Video

[waynehouchin]

Greetings!

This month we will be taking a suggestion from one of our members - JimBowmanJr. The topic will be Books vs. Video: What are your opinions on the current state of how magic is being taught in a 'distance learning' environment and the serious lack of actual 1-on-1 training and performance?

Books vs. Video. Which is better? This is a question that has been debated for over a decade now - there are passionate arguments that are presented on both sides. Some argue that books are essential because they help to protect & preserve the secrets that they hold. Others argue that video is superior because it allows the student to study subtleties that are not easily expressed in written form. It has often been said that video leads to "cloning" of a particular performers style & presentation, but it has also been said that video promotes & highlights good performers & thereby helps to create good performers.

So... what is MY opinion? This may surprise a lot of you - but I prefer to learn... from books. Everyone is different. Some people are audible learners, others are visual etc. Reading a description to a magic effect forces me to visualize & mentally comprehend the secret. It forces me to work it out for myself as opposed to mimicking how someone else does it. The end result is that the particular effect or sleight becomes INGRAINED into my consciousness.

With that said, video accomplishes something that books cannot. Video allows the student to physically see elements such as: timing, mis-direction, nuance, and improvisation performed by the teacher - these elements are damn near impossible to teach & properly demonstrate on the page. Magic on video can also be incredibly entertaining. We as magicians LOVE to watch magic - for most of us, that's how we got into the art. The instructional videos on the market allow us the thrill of watching a master perform.

For these reasons (and plenty more) it is my opinion that both books & video are essential to learning our art - and the serious student WILL NOT limit themselves to one or the other.

What are your thoughts? Do you agree or disagree? Which method of learning do you prefer & why? How do you think YouTube plays into this? Also, what are your thoughts on the lack of physical magic mentors? It use to be fairly commonplace for an upcoming student of magic to "apprentice" under a professional. Are videos taking the place of the physical mentors? Is this a good thing for the art?

This is a very interesting topic & as I said, everyone is different. I look forward to reading your thoughts.

 

[The Dark Angel]

I learn from both. Video, as you stated, provides very important subtleties that you can not pick up from a book, such as timing, misdirection, etc. I also have a hard time visualizing things correctly at times, and with a video, you see exactly what you are supposed to learn.

However there is something "magical" about learning from books, perhaps it is just me, but I feel a closer connection with the author of a book than I do when watching a DVD. Reading the words that have been printed on the page before me is like reading the author's private thoughts, and for me there is nothing more intimate than that.

In the end, both are valuable teaching tools. I do not believe that one is greater than the other, it is merely personal preference.

 

[clllllust]

This topic I'm sure is going to be great, I can't wait to see some of the points everyone gives.

As for me, I'm part of today's "YouTube Era" or whatever you want to describe it as. I'm a teenager who knows all the technological lingo and where to download things, and what's faster and holds more memory. Where anything you can imagine is instant, and there right in your face in mere moments. I'm not going to lie and say that 90% of my learning material has been in video. This either from DVD's, Downloads, Youtube, or other ways....if there is any more.

This is for one reason, I did not know of the large variety of material there was in print form. When I started magic I thought the old books taught you only The Pass, Riffle Shuffle, and Over-hand False Shuffle etc. from front to back. I thought DVD's had the newest, best, and most appealing effects on the market to date. So, I went through countless of dollars purchasing DVD's. Yup, they give you everything you need to know but, all this information is easily copied, and distributed to the masses. Unfortunately, it seems the "Youtube Generation" in some cases is more generic copies of the material they watch.

Now this seems sort of off-topic since I haven't mentioned books, due to the fact I do not own many in-print magic resources. I've been caught up in buying all these DVD's I let some of the greatest learning tools fly right past me. I own Royal Road to Card Magic and have read it front to back, and glanced through it a couple more times after that. And I learn everything I need to know clearly, I'm able to digest the words and make them a reality with my hands. But, I'm also performing it my own way since, I don't have a teacher visually instructing my every move. But, that is another debate.

Now, I can learn from both print and visual teachings. Others may not. Both have it's advantages, and disadvantages. DVD's give you what everything is suppose to look like so you become a carbon-copy, in a lot of the cases. Books, they can't show you what to do so you have to be able to decipher what the words say into reality. But, the thing I have to say is don't just stick to DVD's. Take the time to read the books since the information contained in them is just too valuable to pass-up. But, as the others have mentioned, and will continue too, don't limit yourself to one or the other.

If this was confusing and all over-the-place with incoherent babble about stuff not related to the topic I'm sorry. I tried to type this before I went to bed, been a rather long day.

-RA69

 

[Nate Malini]

The magician hand book was my first book and so on.... then came stars of magic V.H.S tapes.
I snapped my first tape trying to learn Frank Garcia's Aces trick, you know the stop, rewind, stop ,rewind ,pause ,rewind ,fast forward "POP" oh and no money back on that." Never again will i buy another tape!" I yelled in Tannens Magic shop (more like mumbled to my self ) . then came the DVDs,the answer to my prayers ,so i purchased for 60 bucks at the time "THE FLICKING FINGERS the MOVIE" over 5 hours of terrific,mind-blowing magic it said that right on the case (I still read the case now and then). I cracked the disk trying to get it out of the case. no one told me i have to push a button in the middle to pop the disk up and out. anyway I have lots of books now i love my book collection I even convinced myself that it's way more dramatic to hand a library of books down to my two son rather then a VHS or a DVD set.

sorry for the bad grammar.I can read but I cant write.

 

[lachomagician]

I will just give you my opinion as simply as I can: videos are excellent teaching tools, as has been mentioned. But there is something about books that has always attracted me. I enjoy the versatility of books in that they allow you to infuse the magic with your personality. Not that videos do not do that, but it is so often that I see people who learn from videos who use the exact same patter use on the video for example. where as in books, you can use your own ideas and think "how can this look fluid?"

I do not know how to express this sensation clearly, I just have a preference for books, but honestly if you can learn and have the confidence to perform, then that matters much more than where you obtained your material from.

 

[FliXeRoCk107]

Well, i only have one book on magic, but i found that really hard to understand. I myself prefer DVDs, because you can atually see what you have to and what not to do. But books are still good for school, say you finnish a lesson early and want to continue on with something you were practising in the morning. You can't exactly play the DVD in class, so just read the book. And also, DVDs hurt your eyes after a while, and books help you learn not jsut magic but also reading. Im interested to see what everybody else thinks.

Felix

 

[Sam Hardy]

I think that books and PDFs are great, but it's video for me. Watching someone perform a move helps you get it down so much easier. I own 2 books, and many PDFs, but I just find them difficult to learn from. I'm not saying I won't learn from books - it's just easier to learn from videos.

Hope that made sense.
Great topic this month Wayne (and JimbowmanJr).

 

[Sean_Raf]

Definitely an interesting topic no doubt.

Personally I love learning from books. There's just something wholesome about holding a book on card magic in my hands. It feels more bare bones and like how the masters would have learned - Remember a lot of our greats wouldn't have had DVD's to learn from. I may only have a few, but there are quite a few hidden gems in each book and that's the beauty, for me at least, in books - with a DVD you get what you get and you know what you're getting; nothing more, nothing less. A book on the otherhand has many ideas that are more often than not skipped over and whilst the same is possible with a DVD, chances are you knew it was there all along and just decided not to look at it. Confusing I know but I'm sure someone will have the same twisted mind as me.

However, as many have said, the DVD's have the advantages of a visual learning tool. You can see EXACTLY where finger placement should and shouldn't be, you can learn where the timing and misdirection can go through watching performances. It's these little tid bits that books cannot physically offer you to the full extent, I mean sure, they can tell you that you need to put your finger placement in a certain position along with a diagram but diagrams are often hard to understand and can lead to misunderstanding of sleights and the like.

Both have their advantages and disadvantages, and I guess it's just down to personal preference. But those who say "I'm a visual learner", I say "Sure you are..." Why? Because books can be just as visual as a DVD, it takes a little more work and effort but if you're not willing to put that in then so be it. It's all personal preference and no one can tell you that it's wrong either way.

Of course, that's just my stance on things.

- Sean

 

[Jakeh]

I'm a very visual learner, so it's DVDs for me. I have two magic books, 13 Steps and Royal Road, and even though I did learn from them, I found it slightly harder.

 

[EugeneSoh]

i perfer videos.
ex: DnD's Ginastare Double
-No one knew how to do it until someone posted a video -A visual.
i agree with wayne on books and videos -both great thoughts.
i dont mind learning from both, but if had to choose a side... Videos.
-I chose videos for the same reasons as wayne posted

 

[btaylor]

Personally,

I love books. I started out learning from DVD's like most of today's magicicans. Then I had a friend fool me so bad with the easiest effect ever. After hearing the phrase "If you want something kept a secret, put it in a book" . That changed my life. The more you think, books have advanced the art so much more than anything. I find that even trying to put classic books on DVD does not work. Wesley James put out his peice of crap Expert at The Card Table DVD. That was a disgrace to Erdnase. Somethings can only be put in books. Books also tend to be eternal resources. DVD's come and go and stick for a month or two, then are forgotten about. Books are great because they teach you something new everytime. Even little things. And books give you more for less. Think of all the material in Ed Marlo's Rev. Card Technique. On DVD, I'm sure it would be about $200. That's insane. Books are portable, and you can read them anywhere.

Peace
btaylor

 

[Flyspazz]

I was fortunate enough to have a very accomplished mentor that took me under his wings. I believe magic suffers from the lack of physical mentors today. My mentor was old school. He ensured I had mastered a lesson before we could move on to something new. Which, I believe was a good way to keep me motivated and show him I was dedicated. I remember him saying “OK, go mow my yard and while I plan for your lesson.” I hated it then but looking back I think it was his way of saying it’s not going to be a free ride and your going to have to work for it.

When he passed I started with books. How many times have you read a book and then went to see the movie and it just wasn’t the same as you had it in your imagination. I feel imagination is overlooked sometimes in the magic realm. When you learn from a book your use your imagination and put your own spin on a technique a little easier because you’re not pre-exposed to a patter or routine. It’s your imagination working it out alone. I also think overall books seem to be a better value. However, I can’t get away from DVD’s as personally I learn from them much better due to the visual aspect.

Flyspazz

 

[sky_lark]

This is a subject that many people have discussed for the last several years.

And I believe there is NO answer to it. Simple as that.

Books and video are each taught their own way. Let's say a card trick was revealed in a book. It was then revealed the exact same way through a video. Which is better, people will wonder. But if they are both taught the same way, what does it matter?

Why were DIY videos created if they could be taught by books? I believe the answer is as simple as pie. People just wanted an easier path. People wanted to see the DIY, not just read it. But to be honest, I think, that if everybody on Earth had the same level of literacy, then it wouldn't really matter which path they took.

Personally, obviously going away from my point, but all the same, I prefer books. No matter how easy it is to watch a video, books have been around for hundreds of years. Videos have been around for perhaps the last century.

So books could be brought in, redifined, scrapped, changed, and so on so forth.

Videos haven't had much time to be re-done. Perhaps in a few thousand years I'll change my mind.

 

[Dastra]

I like both very much!

But it's by far easier to watch a video and go over it than reading a book. You have to concentrate on every single word since it could be the one that makes you understand the trick. ( Hope you can follow me...)
Videos you just have to start and let the magic come to you.

What I like about book is that even if they are older you can get so much new and great tricks that nobody knows about. They contain stuff that is not recorded on video.
An example: The Bucks' Ginastaire double has been printed but there are just few people who really do it. But Tivo 2.0 which was released on DVD you see all the time.

Dastra

 

[palaceguard]

When I started magic I started by reading. Some effects were easy to pick up but others were difficult to follow so I started using DVDs. Now that I have some experience, I use both books and DVDs but I tend to have preference for DVDs.

 

[HeTaL]

In my opinion, if you were to learn beginner slights, or slights in general, videos are better; but if you were to learn an effect, it would be better to learn from books.

 

[cbols23]

Books. They are cheeper than dvds have more information and aare just as good but better.


For example: Paper Engine, TOOC, Drawing room deceptions, Art of astonishment 1, 2, and 3, card college,Expert at the card table, Jennings 69, and many more.




Also


most dvds: 1 trick maybe 5, price $40


Books: more than 1 trick, theories, and more. price $20- $40

 

[MitchellStafiej]

I look at some of the books I have compared to some of the DVD's that are sitting on my shelves and I realize that there is so much more valuable information within the books. Instead of having one trick DVD's I have a vast library of 1000+ effects, performance tips, etc. Whereas in DVD's I have under 100. I think one of the factors is that there just IS so much material in books and some magicians don't feel like reading through the entire book to find an effect that they'll use. For me, I find it's worth it because a magician will stumble upon hundreds of gems that can't be found on any DVD.

I like the idea now of books being converted to DVD's, such as RRTCM and Art of Astonishment. I think that keeping all of the material is vital if these conversions are taking place because as I stated, there is so much valuable information in books that you just can't find on any DVD.

Mitchell

 

[DannyT]

Learning from DVD's is good because it helps me understand what's being taught better because when I learn magic tricks, I need to visually see what's going on to get a better understanding of it.

Now I like reading books too, but sometimes I don't always get what their saying. When I read a magic trick book, I make sure it has some pictures in it to show me what's going on, otherwise I'm toast.

I think that you, Wayne, should put out a magic book with a few tricks in it. The thing I like about books is, that kids who are only interested in magic to reveal the secrets won't take the time out to read a book to figure out a method to post a tutorial of it on youtube or some other video site.

So I think books are better because less exposure happens from them than DVD's that kids just have to watch then go on youtube and post a tutorial within minutes.
So the ultimate tool for learning to me is a book with pictures in it. (does that sound preschool-ish?)

-Dan

 

[J.R.]

I think that as a beginner you should try to learn as much as you can from DVDs and downloads and then move on to books. The reason is that the video is a much faster way to see and learn magic. But video currenetly covers only a very tiny portion of the universe of magic, the rest can only be found in books. So in order to expand your knowledge of magic you have to study books. It's just not possible to put every effect and variation out there on video. In fact some old and not very popular effects from books can really make some nice blockbuster magic DVDs Even some effects from Royal Road to Card Magic are begging to be put on video for the youtube generation to master. It's not a bad thing. The damage is caused by people who do not honor the magician's code.