David Blaine’s course

[Khaleel Olaiky]

I don’t know if you guys heard but David Blaine is releasing a course teaching the secrets of some of his work.

Here’s a trailer:

But what do you think guys? Is it worth picking up as a magician? Or is it gonna be directed towards laymen?
I’m not sure what is the targeted audience here.

I’m a huge fan of David and I think he’s one the best magicians of all time, but I don’t think I’m gonna spend money to learn his version of a double lift lol.

 

[JoshL8]

Looking at the syllabus it feels like it is directed at laymen. Here is the link . Whether it’s worth it for more the experienced magician is subjective.
It says you are placed in peer groups for your class, Blaine only provides instruction via recording. I would think the level of feedback from questions and performances within the class would depend on your group placement. It could be worth it, but if I were to drop 200$ on instruction I would have it tailored more to my needs and hopefully have worthwhile feedback not dependent on lucky group placement.

 

[garyogden1957]

Oh no doing a 'selling himself out' when he doesn't need to. Most magicians know how his stuff is done especially if you can get your magic filmed and then do a few cuts...

 

[garyogden1957]

Looking at the syllabus it feels like it is directed at laymen. Here is the link . Whether it’s worth it for more the experienced magician is subjective.
It says you are placed in peer groups for your class, Blaine only provides instruction via recording. I would think the level of feedback from questions and performances within the class would depend on your group placement. It could be worth it, but if I were to drop 200$ on instruction I would have it tailored more to my needs and hopefully have worthwhile feedback not dependent on lucky group placement.

$200 LOL stick that! In my opinion Brad does the best double lift ever. As for Craig Petty's double lift it is cringe worthy.

 

[Antonio Diavolo]

$200 LOL stick that! In my opinion Brad does the best double lift ever. As for Craig Petty's double lift it is cringe worthy.

Brad?

 

[garyogden1957]

Brad?

I guess you haven't heard of Ellusionist?

 

[Antonio Diavolo]

I guess you haven't heard of Ellusionist?

I assumed that was who you were talking about but wanted to make sure. Doesn't he do a Derek Dingle double?

 

[Eliyahu]

Wow. Brad has the best double lift in all of magic. That is quite possibly the most spicy hot take I've ever seen on the Theory11 forums.

Would be fun to do a poll. Be curious how many people agree with you.

Off the top of my head, the best looking double I remember is Andi Gladwin's. I can't do it consistently for the life of me though. I'm perfectly happy with the strike double I learned in magic magazine maybe 10-15 years ago.

 

[Eliyahu]

Oh no doing a 'selling himself out' when he doesn't need to. Most magicians know how his stuff is done especially if you can get your magic filmed and then do a few cuts...

Much of his new stuff is really good. Would love to see him teach it, but it doesn't sound like he will be. Course material seemed very basic.

 

[Eliyahu]

David Blaine was on Marques Brownlee talking about the course and letting Marques demonstrate some of the tricks. It's all stuff a beginner could do but that doesn't make them bad. One of them is a great Paul Vigil idea I paid $30 or so for 15 years ago. If you are considering buying the course, you should watch that video.

 

[EndersGame]

Blaine has done great things for TV Magic, but for $200 there's a lot of better options for learning card magic than his course.

I'm sure it's great and all, but people who are serious about learning card magic would still do better to pick up something like Roberto Giobbi's Card College 1 & 2 videos and his just-released Card College 3 & 4 videos.

Of course, if you love David Blaine, it's a great way to spend time with him. But you're paying for David Blaine first of all. If you're after value in learning card magic, I'd go elsewhere, to people who have proven their value as teachers. Blaine is a proven performer, but not a proven teacher.