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Didn't bother going to see it, but I've heard very little to recommend it. Naturally, there are a few magicians saying how brilliant it is, but who gives a damn what they think? If the only audience we can satisfy is ourselves, that's a pretty sad commentary on the state of the industry...

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...

This is true. Woody is a veteran actor with a great sense of timing and character. As goofy as some of his roles have been, he still knows when to understate it and when to go gonzo. People already know who Woody is, so he didn't need to waste a lot of preamble setting us up. This is a...

I stand corrected: you don't know me that well. I've said this before but I'm going to repeat it. I'm swiftly coming to the conclusion that if there's going to be another good movie specifically about magicians in my lifetime, I'm just going to have to make it myself. Now I just need to...

Okay, you should know me well enough at this point to know that I'm automatically skeptical when I hear that. You know how I feel about most attempts to film card work. Whatever. I'm not optimistic. I'll catch this one on Netflix.

With some exceptions, Hollywood tends to release movies domestically first before they get overseas. So you'll probably be waiting another week or so before it shows up in the UK. That said, it's a heist movie according to all the reviews. The magician thing is just a gimmick they hung on it...

I wouldn't worry about it in the long run. People will go to great lengths for convenience, even if it ultimately would have been easier and faster to do the actual research. Can't win for losing. It's why I don't even recommend that many books these days beyond the beginner material that I...

That's gratifying to hear. I hate to say it, but my personal experience has generally been that when I start talking about the minutiae of movies, music, etc, people roll their eyes and say, "Why do you take this stuff so seriously?" Of course I've also heard from magicians that they don't...

0:11 - Interesting use of color and desaturation, but I'm not crazy about the framing. 0:19 - Slow, deliberate movements match the tempo of the music, which is a nice change from what I usually see. 0:33 - Could probably cut out some of the gestures. Too much handwashing or similar moves draws...

First one, I swear I've seen it before. Second one, went by too fast for me to really process what was going on and presentation was nonexistent. As for the videos themselves, nothing to write home about. Read this.

As long as music has been brought up, I thought I'd touch on a couple points. Think of some really good music videos. Naturally, my favorites are almost all Peter Gabriel, though I also really like the videos for I Stay Away by Alice in Chains, Float On by Modest Mouse, and most of Tool's...

0:04 - Oh yeah, this is an auspicious start. 0:06 - Get a real microphone. 0:13 - Seriously, get a real microphone. Bad framing makes a video hard to watch as it is. Bad sound? There's a special place in hell for that. 0:25 - The handling thus far does not convince me you are experienced...

That rather crosses the T doesn't it? Sitting around deliberately trying to force a specific outcome causes your inner critic to go completely nuts on any attempt at creativity. Really, the best thing to do is to just jam. If I want to write a screenplay, I free write until something hits me...

Sentimental value is something that's hard to explain to an outsider looking in. Though I've never experienced that kind of attachment to a rare deck (always saw cards as a means to an end, myself), I do treat my Criterion Collection copy of Seven Samurai with the reverence normally reserved...

Any recommendation would be pointless then if you don't know what you're trying to do. A better option would be to turn your own studies toward the psychology of persuasion. Cialdini's "Influence" is one of my favorites.

I don't give a damn about the Wire. Haven't bought a single thing off of it, likely never will. I'm not the target market. I'm a penny pinching minimalist mentalist. I'm not interested in buying anymore tricks. Now I buy systems. On top of that, within 6 months I will have completely...

Before I answer that, I need to know what exactly you're trying to accomplish. There's a lot of misinformation out there on the power of suggestion and a lot of people out there are somehow convinced that learning psychology is going to turn them into a pulp comic's idea of a hypnotist.

This prompts two questions. 1. If you knew some of us would disapprove of that recommendation, why did you go ahead and make it anyway? 2. Do you even know why some of us would object to that recommendation? That said, learning new material for the sake of one 2-minute talent show spot...

Well never friggin' mind then. I'm sorry I even clicked on the link.

Before I get into anything else, I need to ask. How long have you been performing these "original" effects for live audiences?