This will be a longer post, and I do mean long so bear with me please.
To know the importance of presentation we must understand the meaning behind it. I'm sure most of you know the definition of presentation but just to make it "official."
pres⋅en⋅ta⋅tion
/ˌprɛzənˈteɪʃən, ˌprizɛn-/ Show Spelled Pronunciation [prez-uhn-tey-shuhn, pree-zen-] Show IPA
Use Presentation in a Sentence
See web results for Presentation
See images of Presentation
–noun
1. an act of presenting.
2. the state of being presented.
3. a social introduction, as of a person at court.
4. an exhibition or performance, as of a play or film.
5. offering, delivering, or bestowal, as of a gift.
6. a gift.
7. a demonstration, lecture, or welcoming speech.
8. a manner or style of speaking, instructing, or putting oneself forward
I'm fairly sure the sources are supposed to be at the bottom so I'll go with my gut on this one. Been awhile since I've taken a formal writing class so I apologize.
Now we all know that magic in anyway is being presented, from the simple close-up magician to Copperfield. However it doesn't mean it's a good presentation but it is by the definition presenting. So what makes them different? Besides the obvious of one using tons of gimmicks and on a stage while the other most likely has some coins and cards the effects they perform.
From different environments you perform in it affects your presentation and performance as a whole. One thing you could perform on stage and the streets would be presented different more likely because of the time and space so for the sake of staying with the majority I'll go with close-up (street magic.
I've gotten a bit off topic but needed to clear a few things up before I really begin this. The importance of presentation is one very few seem to realize now, even though they say they understand they still ignore it. To many videos of real performances, which makes me happy to see, and they do the same thing that they try and preach against. These vids are not necessarily exclusive or even in T11 as to not point any fingers.
If you have something you like, Lit, Biddle, Swami, or w/e fits your style then it's time to understand something. This effect will never amount to even half of what it could if you don't present it correctly and give it respect. Think about something that is very important which is your character, look up William Draven's posts about this, and stick to it basing or at least keeping in the boundary of your character.
Understanding the potential of each and every effect you own will open up doors many haven't experienced yet. You make a script for the effect and you fool around with it until you feel it is real world ready, and then experiment with it. You critique everything that you feel that should be changed or points and subtleties that will sell the effect better.
For you see none of what I just said matters if you don't actually do it. I don't care if you preach what needs to be done if you don't do it. Without any real story, any real presenting the effect has no substance, no ability to sell anything but the climax. Do people like others based on their final thoughts and judgments on others? It's about the middle stuff and the thought process which intrigues people not just in magic but a true friend or teacher. This is important in magic and life, understanding the things that really matter.
I couldn't care less if you do the fastest pass in the world, did the cleanest double lift ever seen since the creation of it, or even did a stacked deck routine with a spectator, non stooged, shuffled deck. It matters none if you can not put yourself, your being, your character into it.
Perhaps people don't feel it's necessary since they get "good reactions" from laymen. I wrote this quote before from Morgician "I could walk into a restaurant and take a poop on the table and get reactions." You want astonishment, sometimes it isn't seen or even spoken of but it's what you want which is something quite difficult to accomplish.
The different sorts of presentation that I would see is improv, and scripting. Well I guess you could say patter from the way youtube magicians present but we'll assume we are past that. I believe strongly that every effect should have some sort of script to it, some guideline to look back on when things go bad.
I'm not talking about huge details and set by set instructions, maybe on your big ones but not necessarily all. Part of what you are doing will be improv obviously but I'll get to that in a bit. Your presentation needs to be tight, and keeping the presenting away from pattering and onto point of storytelling or w/e it is you do.
Now that all this is said and done you are only about 3/4 of the way there. You could have the fastest pass and the best script for an effect, still doesn't mean diddly squat if you can't perform it. This is the point where many magicians never get to, at least not of any real importance. Without presentation you have no performance to give, which in turns crumbles all.
Emotion is a big deal in pretty much all performance, this doesn't mean for you to assume a strong emotion. Your character may not be the most open, or the most out going, instead it's about the mystery that hides within you. Now you still have to perform some emotion to get an emotional response from your audience. It's impossible to get emotion from the emotionless, point being you won't get your audience to feel if there is nothing there.
A huge part of all this is your performance but how you are presenting. It's a bit complicated but I'll try to elaborate on what I mean. When you see several performers of any kind they make large movements, talk with emotion, and do other things that get them noticed and get the audience to pay better attention to. Now this would be your performance, but your presenting of this is also what sells this.
Hope that made some sort of sense. Now what can you do like what I described before about large movements, and what not. Well for one this is played in by your character. The second part of it is how you are selling and those subtleties I mentioned before, which a lot of is psychology. Things to get others to notice you, peacocking (something similar at least) which is dressing very brightly and in a lot of clothing to get others to notice you.
Now this isn't something you really need, peacocking that is, instead you want whatever will help sell yourself to the audience. Believe me the biggest thing that will justify your magic is yourself more so than anything. If they trust you, believe you then why should they doubt something that you just performed for them. In turn if they truly do then they shouldn't, you should astonish them in some way.
Now I understand a thing about this is people don't believe in magic, and this is true. Shouldn't stop you from trying though, because good things come to those who persist. Some people here can talk about a performance they did where the laymen just kind of sat there dumbfounded. Complete and utter astonishment, and this was just the effect. Imagine if you had real presentation, real performance, that instead of just selling the effect it magnified it greatly.
Morigician wrote about trying to fool the majority of people, or trying to fool everybody. I will make a similar statement, do you want to astonish 98% or astonish the other 2%. Not even astonishing them but making it not just a magic effect, but a little miracle that grows and grows until it becomes you levitating sixteen feet in the air when you showed them you hovered two inches off the ground.
To close off the thread I would like to say something to everybody that this pertains to. I do not care in any way, shape, or form if you agree with what I just said. I want you to actually do it, actually go out and do what I wrote about. For words and meanings mean nothing without affirmative action.
To know the importance of presentation we must understand the meaning behind it. I'm sure most of you know the definition of presentation but just to make it "official."
pres⋅en⋅ta⋅tion
/ˌprɛzənˈteɪʃən, ˌprizɛn-/ Show Spelled Pronunciation [prez-uhn-tey-shuhn, pree-zen-] Show IPA
Use Presentation in a Sentence
See web results for Presentation
See images of Presentation
–noun
1. an act of presenting.
2. the state of being presented.
3. a social introduction, as of a person at court.
4. an exhibition or performance, as of a play or film.
5. offering, delivering, or bestowal, as of a gift.
6. a gift.
7. a demonstration, lecture, or welcoming speech.
8. a manner or style of speaking, instructing, or putting oneself forward
I'm fairly sure the sources are supposed to be at the bottom so I'll go with my gut on this one. Been awhile since I've taken a formal writing class so I apologize.
Now we all know that magic in anyway is being presented, from the simple close-up magician to Copperfield. However it doesn't mean it's a good presentation but it is by the definition presenting. So what makes them different? Besides the obvious of one using tons of gimmicks and on a stage while the other most likely has some coins and cards the effects they perform.
From different environments you perform in it affects your presentation and performance as a whole. One thing you could perform on stage and the streets would be presented different more likely because of the time and space so for the sake of staying with the majority I'll go with close-up (street magic.
I've gotten a bit off topic but needed to clear a few things up before I really begin this. The importance of presentation is one very few seem to realize now, even though they say they understand they still ignore it. To many videos of real performances, which makes me happy to see, and they do the same thing that they try and preach against. These vids are not necessarily exclusive or even in T11 as to not point any fingers.
If you have something you like, Lit, Biddle, Swami, or w/e fits your style then it's time to understand something. This effect will never amount to even half of what it could if you don't present it correctly and give it respect. Think about something that is very important which is your character, look up William Draven's posts about this, and stick to it basing or at least keeping in the boundary of your character.
Understanding the potential of each and every effect you own will open up doors many haven't experienced yet. You make a script for the effect and you fool around with it until you feel it is real world ready, and then experiment with it. You critique everything that you feel that should be changed or points and subtleties that will sell the effect better.
For you see none of what I just said matters if you don't actually do it. I don't care if you preach what needs to be done if you don't do it. Without any real story, any real presenting the effect has no substance, no ability to sell anything but the climax. Do people like others based on their final thoughts and judgments on others? It's about the middle stuff and the thought process which intrigues people not just in magic but a true friend or teacher. This is important in magic and life, understanding the things that really matter.
I couldn't care less if you do the fastest pass in the world, did the cleanest double lift ever seen since the creation of it, or even did a stacked deck routine with a spectator, non stooged, shuffled deck. It matters none if you can not put yourself, your being, your character into it.
Perhaps people don't feel it's necessary since they get "good reactions" from laymen. I wrote this quote before from Morgician "I could walk into a restaurant and take a poop on the table and get reactions." You want astonishment, sometimes it isn't seen or even spoken of but it's what you want which is something quite difficult to accomplish.
The different sorts of presentation that I would see is improv, and scripting. Well I guess you could say patter from the way youtube magicians present but we'll assume we are past that. I believe strongly that every effect should have some sort of script to it, some guideline to look back on when things go bad.
I'm not talking about huge details and set by set instructions, maybe on your big ones but not necessarily all. Part of what you are doing will be improv obviously but I'll get to that in a bit. Your presentation needs to be tight, and keeping the presenting away from pattering and onto point of storytelling or w/e it is you do.
Now that all this is said and done you are only about 3/4 of the way there. You could have the fastest pass and the best script for an effect, still doesn't mean diddly squat if you can't perform it. This is the point where many magicians never get to, at least not of any real importance. Without presentation you have no performance to give, which in turns crumbles all.
Emotion is a big deal in pretty much all performance, this doesn't mean for you to assume a strong emotion. Your character may not be the most open, or the most out going, instead it's about the mystery that hides within you. Now you still have to perform some emotion to get an emotional response from your audience. It's impossible to get emotion from the emotionless, point being you won't get your audience to feel if there is nothing there.
A huge part of all this is your performance but how you are presenting. It's a bit complicated but I'll try to elaborate on what I mean. When you see several performers of any kind they make large movements, talk with emotion, and do other things that get them noticed and get the audience to pay better attention to. Now this would be your performance, but your presenting of this is also what sells this.
Hope that made some sort of sense. Now what can you do like what I described before about large movements, and what not. Well for one this is played in by your character. The second part of it is how you are selling and those subtleties I mentioned before, which a lot of is psychology. Things to get others to notice you, peacocking (something similar at least) which is dressing very brightly and in a lot of clothing to get others to notice you.
Now this isn't something you really need, peacocking that is, instead you want whatever will help sell yourself to the audience. Believe me the biggest thing that will justify your magic is yourself more so than anything. If they trust you, believe you then why should they doubt something that you just performed for them. In turn if they truly do then they shouldn't, you should astonish them in some way.
Now I understand a thing about this is people don't believe in magic, and this is true. Shouldn't stop you from trying though, because good things come to those who persist. Some people here can talk about a performance they did where the laymen just kind of sat there dumbfounded. Complete and utter astonishment, and this was just the effect. Imagine if you had real presentation, real performance, that instead of just selling the effect it magnified it greatly.
Morigician wrote about trying to fool the majority of people, or trying to fool everybody. I will make a similar statement, do you want to astonish 98% or astonish the other 2%. Not even astonishing them but making it not just a magic effect, but a little miracle that grows and grows until it becomes you levitating sixteen feet in the air when you showed them you hovered two inches off the ground.
To close off the thread I would like to say something to everybody that this pertains to. I do not care in any way, shape, or form if you agree with what I just said. I want you to actually do it, actually go out and do what I wrote about. For words and meanings mean nothing without affirmative action.
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ut.Perform comes into play. You can't know how well something is unless you perform it numerous times and get feedback. This reminds me of what Chris Kenner said on his blog about comedians and their instant feedback. If a joke bombs, you know it by the crickets you hear and not laughter from the audience. 