TheatreHead - you seem to be under the impression that you are disagreeing with me, but this is not true. I completely agree that people not wanting come up with their own presentation is a major problem in magic, but if you just step back and look at the bigger picture then you'll see that it IS our problem. All of us. Anyone who is a magician stands to be affected by other practising magicians, because when you are in a restaurant and you introduce yourself as a magician, there will be those who become immediately disinterested because of the impact others of our trade have made on them.
Depends on your approach my friend.
Why should the artist show how they present their material? Because presumably the way that they perform it is, to their mind, the best way of presenting it to make it the most entertaining; and the more entertaining a trick can be made to seem, the more sales they are likely to make. Also it would seem to make a sort of intuitive sense that if one knows a trick and is planning on teaching it, then you would show it in the way that you use it rather than making something up that is less good than the real thing to advertise. That, my friends, would be counter-productive!
Ok, let me add something here...Dan Hauss, who is a good friend, is also like the MacGuyver of magic. The man creates and creates and does a damn fine job of doing so. Dan will tell you himself that he is more of a creator than a performer, and creates for others to perform. One example would be for his effect, Unmatched off of his Restless DVD. The effect was re-performed by Eric Jones because Dan wanted to show what it would be like to have the effect he created be performed by a seasoned performer.
OK I'm almost done. When you read a book, they typically describe the effect and then go on to explain the method. In a book, would you expect to find a description that played the effect right down to a sh!tty trick, or would you expect to see it being explained as something more? Obviously the description is there to make it seem really awesome and if spello-change in the video is as awesome as Feinberg can make it then he is doing neither himself, the art, or yourself any favours. As you said - it is the performer's duty. Something you all seem to overlook is that allowing the bad magicians to remain bad does not reduce competition and make us seem better by comparison - it simply means that we will have diabolical magicians, calling themselves magicians and trying to get gigs making us ALL look bad.
I'll say it again - I am not saying these things in order to stir up anger, but instead to try to make just a few of you realise what an effect you are having on others and what an effect they are having on you.
Disagree button engaged! When I first started in magic, 16 years ago, I would watch every VHS tape 3+ times to not only learn the moves, but also learn the patter as well. So basically, I became a copy of Michael Ammar...casting shadows everywhere I went. Fast forward button >>
So now when I watch an effect on a DVD or a 1on1, I will listen to the intro to give me a rough idea of what is supposed to happen and then I mute the TV. I wanna see the moves, and not be influenced by what they are saying or how they are saying it. Then, I will look at the explanation of the effect and then after I come up with my own ideas...will go back and re-watch everything from start to finish.
Because I think a good magician can look at the EFFECT, and decide within just a few seconds if this is something he/she can add to his/her repertoire or not. While the beginner magician needs a helping hand every step of the way; needing to know what to say at what time. Needing to know when to execute a certain move...etc. Notice I didn't use the word "bad" before the word "magician".
Spello-change has the potential to be a "damn good revelation" but, as stated before, if you simply use it in a trick like the one that Feinberg uses it is still rubbish. I like what you said, Dan, about it being a tool to allow people to find their own presentation for it, but what I am saying is that there will be a catastrophic proportion who don't come up with their own presentation, use the one in the video and thereby reflect badly on us all.
So I guess what you are trying to say is that by being rude, calling Jesse "stupid" and telling him how and what to do...that YOU are benefiting the magic community in some way? Care to explain how? Because personally, I find your first post on this topic very offensive. We are but a small group of individuals who all share a love and passion for one thing - magic. We need to support one another, not lash out and toss rude comments to each other. If you have friendly advice, then post it. If you have feedback about something you find as a "flaw", be constructive about it. Don't be rude and insulting about it, because in reality, you are making yourself look ridiculous.
Mike
