A suggestion that might lead to better, more creative videos and probably more entries overall:
Many people are, I imagine, limited by timezones but predominantly by the 4-24 hour time constraints between the announcement and judging of the contests.
Why not give a small proportion of the contests, maybe every 6-8 weeks or so, advance notices of the contest rules and rewards? So that when the contest is judged and prizes are handed out, at the same time Theory11 would announce the next contest rules to be judged 6-8 weeks later, and so on.
This would vastly increase the time for people to think about and plan a video showcasing more creative moves, more ingenious methods and more thoughtful performances; in short, higher quality in the execution and presentation of the effect, but crucially (and hopefully) higher quality of the theory and creative process underpinning the method.
This proposed contest format should probably not be implemented all of the time because the quick, impromtu and random nature of the current format is fun and is often inspired by developments in and out of the magic community.
However, I believe having this alternative format every so often would bring an increase in level of the magic communiy's collective ingenuity, especially in us younger performers who have so much new magic flying at us from the web, much of it being average at best, leading to our creativity stagnating (this is true for me).
To give an example, having seen the current SNC not too long ago, by the time I come up with an idea, my performance might not be presentable, I may not have explored the method and its subtelties deeply enough, or I might only come up with something ingenious in two day's time. If the contest were judged in a few weeks, those concerns might not then apply.
Multiply this with the number of people who miss a SNC or don't participate due to real life time constraints, and Theory11 could be missing out a much more significant portion of collective magical creativity, and otherwise might even find a future release in one of the contest entry videos.
I really believe this could have a positive and tangible impact on the contests, and with enough push and thanks to Theory11's unique postition in the magic industry, it could become something bigger.
So here's to hoping that Theory11 considers this idea!
What do you think?
Many people are, I imagine, limited by timezones but predominantly by the 4-24 hour time constraints between the announcement and judging of the contests.
Why not give a small proportion of the contests, maybe every 6-8 weeks or so, advance notices of the contest rules and rewards? So that when the contest is judged and prizes are handed out, at the same time Theory11 would announce the next contest rules to be judged 6-8 weeks later, and so on.
This would vastly increase the time for people to think about and plan a video showcasing more creative moves, more ingenious methods and more thoughtful performances; in short, higher quality in the execution and presentation of the effect, but crucially (and hopefully) higher quality of the theory and creative process underpinning the method.
This proposed contest format should probably not be implemented all of the time because the quick, impromtu and random nature of the current format is fun and is often inspired by developments in and out of the magic community.
However, I believe having this alternative format every so often would bring an increase in level of the magic communiy's collective ingenuity, especially in us younger performers who have so much new magic flying at us from the web, much of it being average at best, leading to our creativity stagnating (this is true for me).
To give an example, having seen the current SNC not too long ago, by the time I come up with an idea, my performance might not be presentable, I may not have explored the method and its subtelties deeply enough, or I might only come up with something ingenious in two day's time. If the contest were judged in a few weeks, those concerns might not then apply.
Multiply this with the number of people who miss a SNC or don't participate due to real life time constraints, and Theory11 could be missing out a much more significant portion of collective magical creativity, and otherwise might even find a future release in one of the contest entry videos.
I really believe this could have a positive and tangible impact on the contests, and with enough push and thanks to Theory11's unique postition in the magic industry, it could become something bigger.
So here's to hoping that Theory11 considers this idea!
What do you think?
