I shouldn't let it bother me as much as it does, but it sickens me to see the state that we are in. We are quick to ask what the answers to a problem are without experimenting first. "What would happen if..." "Would it work if..." "how would they react if..." "Can this really be pulled off if..." Or rather, complaints about gimmicks being hard to "carry around." Or maintain. Or if it's impractical due to having to carry around dupes, gaffs, or shimmed items.
Look, I'm far from the greatest things since sliced bread. So I'm probably not who you look to for advice... Sorry I don't have a pretty face or a name worth mentioning, or even a paycheck for doing magic. But believe me, I've been around a minute... I've tried some risky things. I've done some stupid stuff. And I've had incredible successes in those little moments of risk. But what is most important to mention is, I've failed.
You want to get past these walls of progression? Lose your fear of failure. Learning how to succeed is equal to learning how to fall. You want to learn your angles? Timing? Take the effect out, and for goodness sake, mess up. You want to know if a gimmick works? Use it. Mess up. Get caught. Learn what you have to do to make it work. I guarantee a lot of your greatest effects are sitting at the bottom of the drawer, not because they suck, but because you're scared of using them.
The easiest thing in the world to do is to create excuses and arguments to support your case. "I can't perform this effect because it's IMPRACTICAL." "It's ANGLE SENSITIVE." This is just your mind playing tricks on you. The truth is that you haven't given the effect enough time. Impractical is a very debatable term. What I call impractical is an effect utilizing an object I don't use in everyday life... BUT, I've even taken to using certain items in real life just to pull off the effect.
Don't be afraid to be embarrassed. I know a lot of you are older and of age and have gone through this, but to those who haven't... trust me... you'll survive. I promise you. People don't remember bad performances, they remember the good ones. You can go back to all my spectators I've ever performed for, ask them the effects I've messed up, they'll probably not be able to tell you. Ask them about the stuff pulled off correctly... it'll be a whole different story! When you learn to fail, you'll be able to control yourself through your mistakes. I can't tell you how many times I've changed plots midway through effects just to make it make sense after all the mess ups and still turn out half way impressive. think about it!
Sorry, in one of my "passionate" moods where I just need to let a rant on certain things out.
Look, I'm far from the greatest things since sliced bread. So I'm probably not who you look to for advice... Sorry I don't have a pretty face or a name worth mentioning, or even a paycheck for doing magic. But believe me, I've been around a minute... I've tried some risky things. I've done some stupid stuff. And I've had incredible successes in those little moments of risk. But what is most important to mention is, I've failed.
You want to get past these walls of progression? Lose your fear of failure. Learning how to succeed is equal to learning how to fall. You want to learn your angles? Timing? Take the effect out, and for goodness sake, mess up. You want to know if a gimmick works? Use it. Mess up. Get caught. Learn what you have to do to make it work. I guarantee a lot of your greatest effects are sitting at the bottom of the drawer, not because they suck, but because you're scared of using them.
The easiest thing in the world to do is to create excuses and arguments to support your case. "I can't perform this effect because it's IMPRACTICAL." "It's ANGLE SENSITIVE." This is just your mind playing tricks on you. The truth is that you haven't given the effect enough time. Impractical is a very debatable term. What I call impractical is an effect utilizing an object I don't use in everyday life... BUT, I've even taken to using certain items in real life just to pull off the effect.
Don't be afraid to be embarrassed. I know a lot of you are older and of age and have gone through this, but to those who haven't... trust me... you'll survive. I promise you. People don't remember bad performances, they remember the good ones. You can go back to all my spectators I've ever performed for, ask them the effects I've messed up, they'll probably not be able to tell you. Ask them about the stuff pulled off correctly... it'll be a whole different story! When you learn to fail, you'll be able to control yourself through your mistakes. I can't tell you how many times I've changed plots midway through effects just to make it make sense after all the mess ups and still turn out half way impressive. think about it!
Sorry, in one of my "passionate" moods where I just need to let a rant on certain things out.