Is Brad Christian a good performer/magician?

[jimbowmanjr]

To the original question:

Yes I believe he is a good performer and magician. He is an excellent teacher whom I believe understands how to convey his take on how an effect should be performed. There are technical parts to effects that should be performed in a way the ensures the presentation is as magical as possible but there are many different ways to perform.

I think Brad has contributed more than his fair share towards furthering magic in the world at this point. People who disagree or disparage him for his efforts are either short-sighted or flat out ignorant of his accomplishments and contributions towards helping others grow in magic.

That aside I am really not sure how this is relevant to furthering anyones magic in all honesty given the tone of some of the comments in the thread. At best this is one of two things: A. Thread to praise Brad or B. Thread to trash Brad.

--Jim

 

[Loz]

Inside Magic is a wonderful DVD to see raw street performances by Brad Christian himself.

Mitchell

You have got to be ****ting me mate. Did you ever see the trick "Burned" on inside magic? How handy that the girl he was performing to just so happened to want to see "the trick with the ashes on the arm" and Brad "sort of knew the prinicples behind it, but had never done it before." Oh, and I nearly forgot, there just happened to be a brick sitting in between them.

Raw street performances, what a pile of crap. You're clearly way too caught up in the marketing hype and need to open your eyes a little.

In all fairness though Crash Course 2 did have some pretty nice performances in, so I have to give him props for that lol.

And also this is probably one of the most pointless threads ever.

 

[Big George]

Inside Magic and the Crash Course series both show Brad performing for audiences out in the street. I'm not going to be ripping videos from the DVDs though for a number of reasons, most of them having to do with ethics, and the others having to do with how much my computer sucks.

And I can't see as putting up the videos would help in the least. Most of Brad's critics (and I use the term loosely) don't give a damn about advancing magic. They just want to be right and they want their scapegoat because they're too intellectually and emotionally weak to take responsibility and show a little class.

So just looked at these vids and the only one that had alot of audience on was the ambitous card one. I cant say whether these are just stooges or genuine laymen/women, but he does seem to be able to do his sleights and stuff well.
in short, i think he seems pretty good to me.

 

[SHANE BLACK]

I think his idea was to keep the quantity out and the quality in. What I'm saying is I think that his teaching strategy is to have the room for camera angles to be able to put you in the action and at the same time keep you focused on the mechanics and technique instead of the audience reaction. I doubt its set up but I'm sure its his friend in the video at the same time. I see no problem with this strategy if his teaching to newcomers is working efficiently. He has a good concept and it works. If its a bad concept then I challenge people to come up with their own ideas on teaching strategies and we'll look at those.

Peace.

Shane

 

[nemosum]

You have got to be ****ting me mate. Did you ever see the trick "Burned" on inside magic? How handy that the girl he was performing to just so happened to want to see "the trick with the ashes on the arm" and Brad "sort of knew the prinicples behind it, but had never done it before." Oh, and I nearly forgot, there just happened to be a brick sitting in between them.

Raw street performances, what a pile of crap. You're clearly way too caught up in the marketing hype and need to open your eyes a little.

In all fairness though Crash Course 2 did have some pretty nice performances in, so I have to give him props for that lol.

And also this is probably one of the most pointless threads ever.

Hey smart one, the effect "Burned" isn't on Inside Magic.

 

[NlightN]

I don't know who Brad Christian is but if his DVDs are meant for beginners and he explains the sleights and why the trick works it's all good. If he does a trick the way you don't like then DO IT DIFFERENTLY LOLS

 

[Zeus375]

Oh my gosh, I just realized how unbelievable some of you are! When T11 released the Wynn decks a whole bunch of people disliked them and said that T11 overhyped them. Yet it's you same people who are trying to bash E(or Brad) for overhyping their products.

Ah man, there's just so many E/Brad bashers on here it's sad. I'm going to end this here because I could go on forever about how dumb and immature some of you guys sound.

Zeus

 

[IIAnnexII]

Woah woah woah, stop the bashing train guys.

First to answer the question, in my opinion brad is very good at sleight of hand and his performance is style is good, not great, but there are many magicians that people here adore who are not any better than him.


Okay now, don't buy ANYTHING from E???

yes, their basic dvd's suck in the eyes of more experienced magicians, and their lack of crediting is disgraceful. But look at effects like Silver Dream, Stigmata, Fraud, ect. ect. We are all here because of E, if it wasn't for them there would be no theory11...

I'm not a huge E fan, but I certainly don't hate them and wish people would use good judgement before they decide to smack talk a company.

Sharp

I agree 100%.

 

[Steerpike]

You have got to be ****ting me mate. Did you ever see the trick "Burned" on inside magic? How handy that the girl he was performing to just so happened to want to see "the trick with the ashes on the arm" and Brad "sort of knew the prinicples behind it, but had never done it before." Oh, and I nearly forgot, there just happened to be a brick sitting in between them.

Raw street performances, what a pile of crap. You're clearly way too caught up in the marketing hype and need to open your eyes a little.

I make it a point not to trust anybody who uses the phrase "open your eyes" with any sincerity.

And Burned was on How to Do Street Magic, incidentally. Brad shot that mostly with friends of his simply because locations and timing and releases were more convenient. Considering most of the people who bought the DVD would perform mostly for friends and family, there's not a lot of conflict of interest.

 

[Electron John]

I think Brad is a very good teacher and is very comfortable talking to the camera (no small feat). I have never seen him perform live but from what I have seen he seems like a very good magician. Maybe not one of the best in the world but not may of us are.

 

[Jupiter]

He's fine. I have Crash Course 2 to thank for having a solid ambitious card routine up my sleeve. The performances on that DVD are very solid - technique wise, and the reactions he gets are wonderful. He gives some very good advice on the sleights and how to handle andf manage audiences and their reactions.

Plus I respect anyone who starts up a business from the ground such as he has, it takes ALOT of work, and I truly believe that he is passionate about helping people along in the magic world - so what's not to repsect ?

I'm sure alot of people are just saying that they hate him because every night they cover themselves in lubricant and roll around Theory11s ass all night long. People are such sheep these days.

 

[VagueTheory]

Shall I pass that along to Danny Garcia and Justin Miller?



The moderators are not going to apologize for the way we do our job. Which is to say that at least we do our job, as opposed to other places I've been to.

Hey, I'm not saying ALL of their products are expensive.

For example, look at The Trilogy. At E it sold for about $85.

At Penguin, it sold for $65.

A Keupper half dollar shell sells for $35 at E.

At Penguin, they sell for $30.

I'm not saying that the magicians' effects aren't worth the amount they're worth. I'm just saying that it can be around the same price as the other companies.

Please don't get me wrong, Danny and Justin are GREAT magicians.

 

[Deleted member 2755]

I have read a lot of replies, but not all of them. I will say that:

1. Penguin Magic has many good things on there and their prices are great. You can argue with me all you want. I don't care what you say.

2. Ellusionist is just as expensive (or cheap, depending how you look at things if you think the trick is amazing) as Theory 11. Look at this for example.

Factory Sealed- 30 dollars
loops- 20 dollars per dvd, 50 dollars for all 3 (each dvd is amazing and worth the price)
Indecent- 25 dollars
Stigmata- 30 dollars

Now lets have a look at Theory 11 prices
Distortion-25 dollars
Trilogy- 25 dollars per dvd (75 for all 3)
Panic- 25 dollars
TnR- 25 dollars

Am I the only one that sees a similar price pattern here? If Ellusionist is overpriced then I guess so is Theory11. Personally, I feel the prices are just. Not too expensive, not too cheap.

Man you magic fanboys piss me off. Ellusionist and Theory 11 are both great sites for one trick DVDs. Theory 11 is of course also a nice place to stop if you want a nice looking flourish for a simple 5 dollar download.

Sorry to contribue to the off topic mess. I think that I and most people completely forgot about the original question. However, I feel it is a rather pointless question that will just lead to fanboy fights. (which it did)

If people wanna just buy things from 1 site and hate another for no apparent reason, let them. Let the idiots miss out on the great things you can buy while I enjoy them.

Can't wait for Control Wayne. I'm not 100% bought yet, but I think I may be forced to pick it up.

Now excuse me as I get back to practicing KAOS

-Doug

 

[Tally]

I like him, from what i know. He has his own style of tricks. i dont know about his crediting but if you dont like him, please dislike him politely =]

-Anthony

 

[Steerpike]

I'm not saying that the magicians' effects aren't worth the amount they're worth. I'm just saying that it can be around the same price as the other companies.

I may be a bargain *****, but there are place where I won't shop for reasons that are my own, and Penguin is one of them. I go out of my way for customer service, even if it means paying an extra five dollars.

Please don't get me wrong, Danny and Justin are GREAT magicians.

Then don't make ridiculous blanket statements.

I have read a lot of replies, but not all of them. I will say that:

Try not to make a habit out of that.

Am I the only one that sees a similar price pattern here?

Everyone with an IQ over 50 understands this. Or rather, they should.

 

[MattTarrant]

Why do we have so much arguing?

We both have our differences, but why not celebrate these differences?

If we were all the same, it would be such a boring world.

We all share a love of Magic, so lets stop all this garbage.

 

[Loz]

Hey smart one, the effect "Burned" isn't on Inside Magic.

Oops

My sincere apologies.

 

[Jack The Magician]

Guys,

I'm going to go ahead and close this thread due to requests from several members, as the thread has already reached it's apex:

Back and forth arguing and/or bashing is not really furthering anyone's magic, or knowledge thereof. Constructive criticism, however, is always welcome -- in the end, that's the best way for us to continue to advance and improve this artform. For now, let's get back to the magic. Thanks!

JTM