The trouble with webcams

[Jack]

In another thread several people were stating that the magic videos in the media section are borring. My response to that is... well they kind of are. Magic is an interactive form of entertainment where as flourishing is more spectacle. When you perform a trick in front of a camera you lose the excitement of a live audience. One of the best parts of magic is the reactions you get from your spectators. If you just perform for your camera you lose the "wow factor" and the performace seems flat and lacking. Now there are a handful of good magic videos in the media section where the magician is not perfoming for a live audience but the video is still entertaining. What makes these videos good is their production value. For example Torn and Restored Card by Mikaeru (black and white with an oldschool gas lamp) is once of my favorites because he had great presentation. There was music that set the mood of the trick, it was shot in black and white, the old gas lamp, his turned down cuffs, etc... all of these factors helped the magician tell a story through the trick and engaged the viewer. If it was just footage of him in his bedroom doing the trick it would not have had nearly as much impact. Instead he told a story with the video.

Flourishing has an advantage here in that it is much flashier than most sleight of hand. All it needs is some editing and good music and anyone can make a flourishing video. I do not mean to cheapen flouishing by saying this because it takes a great amount of skill and dexterity to do it well. However, you don't need to "fluff it up" as much because flourishing can stand by itself and still be highly entertaining in the hands of a skilled cardist.

I would like to see more videos of people performing magic for LIVE PEOPLE! That's what it's all about anyway.

Cheers!

 

[Aos]

nonsense
media section magic videos suck because everybody is doing famous tricks
who cares
i saw the inventor of that effect do it better than you ever will in your life
oh and here is a tip
instead of spending hours editing
spend that time learning how to properly do the effects
this is a new concept i know
quite revolutionary

flourishing videos contain even more trash
pretty much everybody is garbage
you can see that they had to do 40 takes to get the move right
and it looks awkward in their hands
then these people realize what they are doing looks bland
so they edit the crap out of it
stop overediting your videos
its nauseating
your effects need to speak for themselves

 

[Aos]

here is a theory as to why magic videos suck
its because people have an unearned sense of selfworth
because they perform their tricks for laymen (aka their mom)
who are usually shocked and amazed
then they come here
all smug
and their performance falls flat on its face
its easy to be an outstanding magician among laymen

 

[Jack]

I'm with you on your second post and most of your first Aos. That's why I want to see vidoes of people doing tricks for real people, on the street, at a gig, but out of their bedrooms and backyards. Heck, put up a video where you messed up in front of people and got out of it. People can at least learn from that. There is nothing to lose alone in front of a camera and therefore nothing to gain. You can't edit in real life. That's where you learn if you're worth a crap.

Cheers!

 

[JoeCarr]

shame i have no one to film me, trust me, if i could carry a camera round school, the results would be killer

 

[orchestrion]

nonsense
media section magic videos suck because everybody is doing famous tricks
who cares
i saw the inventor of that effect do it better than you ever will in your life
oh and here is a tip
instead of spending hours editing
spend that time learning how to properly do the effects
this is a new concept i know
quite revolutionary

flourishing videos contain even more trash
pretty much everybody is garbage
you can see that they had to do 40 takes to get the move right
and it looks awkward in their hands
then these people realize what they are doing looks bland
so they edit the crap out of it
stop overediting your videos
its nauseating
your effects need to speak for themselves


here is a theory as to why magic videos suck
its because people have an unearned sense of selfworth
because they perform their tricks for laymen (aka their mom)
who are usually shocked and amazed
then they come here
all smug
and their performance falls flat on its face
its easy to be an outstanding magician among laymen

You've been really bitter lately, dude. It would be just as easy to get your point across in a nicer way...

 

[Aos]

i got 3 hours of sleep last night
and i work as a programmer
making apps with complicated functionality for people who need help plugging in their computer speakers
it can be frustrating

work day is over
i will de-sour soon
not only will i de-sour but i will sweeten too
[bonus points for getting the reference]

 

[youngd94]

i agree... the reactions people make is the real magic that should be appreciated in the videos... it doesn't matter how well you can do a trick in front of a webcam if you can't get good reactions than its worthless

 

[Aos]

i think so too
and the reactions are personal
why make a video of them
we as magicians have seen tons of tricks
so why show the same performance of the same trick
i think the people in the video section should only post their own tricks
or at least significantly modified handlings of classic ones