New Video About Me!

Hey everyone. I was recently featured in a peice on my school's TV channel. It is called the "Industrial Student" segment and it is all about a student with a skill or talent that they use to make money, and start a career for themself. So it was my turn, last year I did one as well.

The catch is I actually take "multi-media" class in school which is the class responsible for certain peices on the channel, one of which being Indistrial Stundents. So I was placed in charge of cinematography for my video.

This was my first attempt at plotting out shots and such using a story board and figuring out sound and angles, and I'm quite proud of it. I made a story board showing all the shots I wanted and gave it to my camera men who got the shots, then brought it to my teams editor (We're broken into production teams) and he put it together.

This ran on TV for 2 weeks and tons of people have recognized me while out and about, and I am very pleased with how it came out. So here it is

My Video...

Thanks. Any feedback is appreciated. (About my magic and the filming as well.)

P.S: I have a show tomorrow at the grand opening of a "Dollar Tree" store! I'm excited.

Dylan P.
 
Pretty awesome Dylan! I really liked the trick you did there, what's it called? My only minor minor minor complaint with the trick is that you were going a tad fast... unless that's your general style. Also, you may want to have used a tri-pod in some of the scenes, it makes it a lot more enjoyable to watch.

Mehar
 
Sep 26, 2007
591
5
Tokyo, Japan
I am glad that you got the exposure but two things kind of bugged me. You mentioned, "It is called the "Industrial Student" segment and it is all about a student with a skill or talent that they use to make money, and start a career for themself" but the clip didn't really seem to stand out and say, "hire me, I am a professional". I know that this probably is not your promotional video used to get gigs, however I was a bit distracted by the baggy attire, chain, and messy hair. I do not want to stand here and say to people to not dress the way that they want to dress because I fully understand the importance of people being who they are. However, if you are considering the professional aspects of being a magician, this carries with it responsibilities like proper dress, proper language use (written and spoken) etc...

I feel that you could have used this opportunity to really shine and stand apart. Yet, as a viewer who does not know you and who does not go to your school, I am left with the simple impression that you are just another guy that has picked up a talent and that the talent is pretty cool. From your other posts and videos on youtube, it is clear that you are quite talented and improving constantly, but again, someone who stumbles upon this video and without any prior knowledge to who you really are, might not be all that impressed by it. This is more a critique on the way the video was made and how your presented yourself, more than who you really are and how good you are at magic.

Lastly, I felt the ending shot (card spring onto the ground) was a bit cliche, and even then so, it seemed that the camera was zoomed out way too far. The cards just kind of sprung out to the right side of the screen, and not even that far. Was more like random "messiness" rather than "beautiful chaos."

:Quick edit: One more thing that I realized. In the opening of the video, the narrator says "A local magician attending B... High School." This line emphasizes that you are a MAGICIAN who happens to be in High School still, yet getting back to your image on the screen, it feels as though you are a simple High School student who happens to also do some magic. I feel the line in the narration and the way you are portrayed contradict each other a bit. Just some food for thought.
 
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Luis Vega

Elite Member
Mar 19, 2008
1,838
278
38
Leon, Guanajuato Mexico
luisvega.com.mx
I am glad that you got the exposure but two things kind of bugged me. You mentioned, "It is called the "Industrial Student" segment and it is all about a student with a skill or talent that they use to make money, and start a career for themself" but the clip didn't really seem to stand out and say, "hire me, I am a professional". I know that this probably is not your promotional video used to get gigs, however I was a bit distracted by the baggy attire, chain, and messy hair. I do not want to stand here and say to people to not dress the way that they want to dress because I fully understand the importance of people being who they are. However, if you are considering the professional aspects of being a magician, this carries with it responsibilities like proper dress, proper language use (written and spoken) etc...

I feel that you could have used this opportunity to really shine and stand apart. Yet, as a viewer who does not know you and who does not go to your school, I am left with the simple impression that you are just another guy that has picked up a talent and that the talent is pretty cool. From your other posts and videos on youtube, it is clear that you are quite talented and improving constantly, but again, someone who stumbles upon this video and without any prior knowledge to who you really are, might not be all that impressed by it. This is more a critique on the way the video was made and how your presented yourself, more than who you really are and how good you are at magic.

Lastly, I felt the ending shot (card spring onto the ground) was a bit cliche, and even then so, it seemed that the camera was zoomed out way too far. The cards just kind of sprung out to the right side of the screen, and not even that far. Was more like random "messiness" rather than "beautiful chaos."

:Quick edit: One more thing that I realized. In the opening of the video, the narrator says "A local magician attending B... High School." This line emphasizes that you are a MAGICIAN who happens to be in High School still, yet getting back to your image on the screen, it feels as though you are a simple High School student who happens to also do some magic. I feel the line in the narration and the way you are portrayed contradict each other a bit. Just some food for thought.

I am gonna have to agree with this post...seriously, when I started to make a name by myself (just like you) I started changing myself (or to be precise evolve myself) to be a better guy...this means

+dress diferently and better, invest in some nice clothes, buy a nice lotion, cut my hair and get a nice short beard
+go to gym, to get myself in good shape
+learn new things aside from magic
+reading books about personality, dating women and business
+get business cards and start going to restaurants to work

I gotta be honest with you...I saw a video of you many months ago and now I see this one and you are still the same...that means no changes in clothes, hair, look and attitude...I am saying this for your own good...you have the skill and the willpower to be a great magician...I think it´s time you start working on everything else regarding your persona (magic persona)

Good luck in the future

Luis Vega
 
Hey guys! great feedback. But what you have to realize is that this persona is how people in school see me, and the Channel is geared towards students, not the public. (Although can be accessed by the public). So by my appearance being this way it helps kids better relate and say hey I have talent too. It isn't for promotional purposes at all.

Also, when I am actually performing, my persona is much different. By performing I mean being at an actual gig. I wear tan khaki dress pants, a navy blue blazer and blue button-up dress shirt with my dockers. However, when I'm performing for fun, I'm wearing my real clothes. My real identity.

Just look at Dan Sperry, he doesn't look "professional" either. Professional being used in a sterotypical way. However, Dan, looking how he does, Probably gets more gigs than all three of us combined. And Dan even takes my look to an extreme weraing baggy clothes, or tight clothes, chains, piercings, tattoos, spiked hair, colored hair, black painted nails, etc. And he still gets bookings out the wazoo. Professional is only how you percieve it. Hell! to us a club dance is a "stripper" but to them they are "Professional dancers, or entertainers".

Food for thought.
 
Sep 26, 2007
591
5
Tokyo, Japan
Actually, you are arguing the wrong aspect of the word 'Professional'. I am not talking about how each individual perceives what a "professional" is, I was referring to the fact that a professional receives money for a service and because of that, your own perception of what that means becomes second in priority to what the customer wants or perceives that to mean.

But again, you did clear up some points about your dress at professional gigs, which is good. I think that one thing Luis and I were trying to mention was that even outside of gigs, maintaining a certain persona is a good idea. This might be a very specific out of the blue example, but imagine you do a gig for one group, and a guest at that event considers hiring you for their own party. You two exchange contact information and the prospective client informs you that he will contact you by the end of the week. Now let's say the prospective client happens to bump into you at a public venue and sees you in your usual attire and because of some reason or another, is put off by the image, he ore she may choose to not hire you now.

Of course this is not the most accurate or fair way to make a judgment of character or talent, but it happens, and although the "I will be who I will be and do what I do, and not change myself" is a great ideology in principle, it is not really how the world works.

As long as you maintain a hobbyist status, you will not really have to deal with these things, but as you move closer and closer to delving into the professional side of magic and financially reimbursed entertainment services, you will need to consider these things.

Anyway, back on topic.

About the video still, most of the critiques were about the video itself. As you asked for critiques on the filming/ editing/ directing, try to look at things like "does the nuance of the narration match the picture?" Does the zoom distance match the shot in frame, etc... These could help for your next project.
 
Apr 27, 2010
229
0
baller08.blogspot.com
Dylan - congrats on your gig for the Dollar Tree store opening. You're in high school and you seem to be doing alright, but the advice given here is very helpful, especially the tips from Luis.

You're going to want to get out of the mentality that you "put on a costume" when you perform but that any other time it doesn't matter. This is where taking a page out of how celebrities project their image is a good idea. If you look at guys like Brad Pitt or George Clonney you'll notice that when they're out in public they're almost always dress in a way that represents their personal style. Your personality as a magician should be a consistent part of who you are regardless if you've got a deck of cards in your hands or not, otherwise there will be something very forced or not genuine about your magic persona.

In other words, always dress, move, and act as if you've got a camera on you. This will help you more than just in magic, it's important to your social image in general and you'll get many other benefits from that.
 
What people are misconstruing is the fact that I make a good deal of money doing this. Regularly I get 2-3 bookings monthly. usually for 3 hours or more and I charge 100$ an hour. So in general I am hired, and if someone decides not to based on my appearance when I'm in public., then so be it, I respect that persons opinion and hold nothing against them.

As for persona. persona, in my eye, is less about image, and more about who you are and how you act when performing. I use the same patter and same movements whether I'm out and about or at an actual gig. Nothing about my speech or how I talk changes at all. Only clothes do. And I don't sonsider it "putting on a costume". If it's an informal event I wear my chain and shirt and jeans. But if it is more high end, I consider it dressing up for a formal occcasion. Just like you may wear nice clothes when going to a fancy restaurant. you might always wear shorts and a hawaiin shirt, but at a high end restaurant you wear a suit.

It is not a costume, but rather an outfit depending on the classiness of the venue. If someone tells me it's very casual and informal then I wear my usual clothes. If it is formal then a suit does nicely.
 
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