theory11 — Magic Tricks & the World's Finest Playing Cards

I just made a Mock Demo Video and need some feedback

Zenn_Darkfire

Zenn_Darkfire

Jul 23, 2010
580
1
Sunny Orlando
www.youtube.com
Hey guys! So I just made my first demo video and need some feedback. I made this myself using footage I had saved up over the past year or so. This video is specifically for my walkaround/strolling magic shows (I am making a separate video just for my kids shows once I have enough footage). I've kept the video unlisted so that way I can get feedback without this being out there. Any and all help is appreciated!

Thanks =]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IOGx6n6MHek&hd=1
 
Wow...tons of great footage and reactions. It is pretty good. I wouldn't say it is ready to roll out yet but it is darn close. I would throw in a few transitions / effects and the only thing that seemed weird was the beginning where it just starts right with you and the kid in the blue. Thanks for sharing this.
 
reverhart said:
Wow...tons of great footage and reactions. It is pretty good. I wouldn't say it is ready to roll out yet but it is darn close. I would throw in a few transitions / effects and the only thing that seemed weird was the beginning where it just starts right with you and the kid in the blue. Thanks for sharing this.
Click to expand...

Thanks for the feedback! Yeah I had a gig yesterday where I got some KILLER footage. I also have another gig on Saturday so I'm going to try and include footage from that as well.

I'll mess around with transitions and see if I find any that work with the video.

You felt the beginning was weird? I kind of liked it because it started off strong showing the types of reactions you will get if you were to hire me.

Thanks for taking a look!
 
Bridger.Deion I can't help but get the impression you like posting nonsense for the sake of doing so. I'm not quite certain yet if this is a cultural/ language difference, or if you're intentionally trying to be obtuse.

Zenn: Rever said it best man, you've got a LOT of good solid reaction footage in this video. 4 minutes though is WAY to long for promo. A booker, agent, manager, talent scout, head hunter, or promotional person will NEVER watch it all. You're lucky if they watch anything more than the first thirty seconds before moving onto the next submission they have. I'd cut it down by three quarters. Minute, maybe two. nothing more. I also agree with Rever that the opening sequence is out of place. It's confusing to try and figure out what's going on. That belongs in the middle or the end. Otherwise man, props.
 
Josh,

I think for a demo just showing your magic it's just fine. However, if you want to use your demo to get gigs, I think it needs a bit of work. The first shot is some college kids hanging out in a kitchen. The assumption anyone watching is going to make is that you are just hanging out in your buddy's kitchen performing magic for some friends. In one of the clips you are in shorts--cut that one. If you want to get professional work with your demo it needs to look like you are a professional performing in a paid setting (whether you are or not), not a hobbyist doing magic for your friends at a college keg party.

I'd suggest getting dressed up (as you were in most of the shots in your demo--kudos) and going out with your friends to a bar or restaurant and getting some footage there. You will look the part of the professional and you will be performing in an environment your potential clients will liken to their own venue. You want your potential clients to see your footage and imagine you doing those same things in their establishment with their customers/attendees--so looking the part and performing in a similar environment for similar people you want to be hired to perform for is important when you're trying to sell yourself. You want to brand yourself as a paid professional, not a college hobbyist (not that you are, but you want to avoid that perception).

I know you have some good footage from around your college campus and some friends' houses, but I'd really suggest keeping that footage to a minimum in your demo. Also, for a demo, I'd suggest keeping it to 2-3 minutes. Take the absolute best of the best and keep it tight--you don't have to show everything. I'm sure you have a lot more footage you're proud of, and you can still use it in promoting yourself--just make separate performance videos and if anyone is interested in seeing more they can click on those. Maybe one or two effects in each video. The demo, though, needs to be tight and to the point--you don't want people to avoid clicking on it because it's "too long" or have them get bored watching--you want to leave them wanting more, not feeling they saw more than they needed to.

Glad to see you're pursuing this as much as you are and working hard. You seem like you're really making some serious progress. Keep up the good work, man. :)
 
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Draven - Thanks for the feedback... Yeah I wasn't sure of the length. I've seen great demos that were nearly 8 min long (Gregory Wilson) and others that are around 3:30 (Benji Bruce) so I wasn't set on the length haha. Yeah I've gotten a few comments on the opening clip. In my mind it made sense to have it so that the second my demo starts people see the reactions

Matt - thank you for such a long response! Yeah like I said this was just a mock demo so I'm happy to change stuff around. I didn't even consider it would look like I was just doing magic at a party... that was actually footage from a gig I did on Sunday and as you can see I got some great responses.

I have another gig on Saturday at my old high school for a carnival/fair type of thing for the Deaf so I'll be getting footage from there as well. I'm TRYING to get a restaurant gig so I can get some footage like the type you mentioned.

Based on what you saw... are there any specific clips you think I NEED to keep?

Thanks!
 
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