Look at it this way: DVD's and PDF's are produced for money. books are produced to let people know routines that theyve been holding onto for YEARS. therefore: Book = always better
Books are also produced for money. Or else they'd be free. Last time I checked, the Art of Astonishment was still 30-something bucks a pop.
A more accurate statement would be, DVDs, instant downloads, and PDFs are put out to be accessible to buyers who shop through the computer. Some books are really good, and some DVDs are always good. We've had this long-standing debate about whether a movie or a book is the better format, but there's no real answer because it doesn't matter: whatever makes you learn best is better. There is no black and white absolute winner. It varies according to material, taste, production, and experience.
It is true, however, that books are more likely to provide you with at least a little bit of usable material, whereas when you go for a DVD, you'd better like what you see beforehand. You don't get much else. So the statement then becomes, "between single trick DVDs and books with lots of varied material, the books tend to be better". You'll notice it's still not absolute, because it again depends upon material, taste, production, and experience.
Is it just me, or is the overall quality of the magic products being released lower and lower at the same time as their advertisment is getting better and better?
For the most part, this is true. Lots of crap and un-usable material, but with amazing production and hype to sell it. We see this same thing with most movies. (Side note, it's really uncanny how the magic industry compares to the movie industry in such ways). But I hazard to guess it's always been this way: we just weren't around to witness it in the 80's, 70's, whenever. You'll find lots of duds, and unfortunately, you really have to go by instinct and brand loyalty a lot of the time.
Latley i have been getting some stuff that were promissed to be "Ultra practical,audience tested and extreamly vissual and easy to performe" and looked fantastic on the video. But when you get it you find out that it might be a neat and cool idea, but it is nothing you would use in the real world for various reasons. This seems to be happening more and more often.
Am i the only one feeling this way?
A lot of magicians buy tricks for the method and not for the effect. They're half right. A few magicians tell you, you need to buy a trick for the effect and not the method - the cool visual or impact you saw when you first witnessed it. They're half right. You shouldn't discard something just because it's gimmicked, or uses a certain prop, or leaves us dirty, or whatever - but we can be disappointed with a method because it just will not work, hinders the rest of our performance, or causes itself to be performed in an awkward manner.
You need to A) love what the trick does, and B) be able to work with the method. It's just that many people mistake that second part for meaning, "it has to be completely impromptu or else it's awful".
You'll notice that a lot of videos also are misguiding, showing only some of the effect, or presenting a list of key points in a vague or misleading way ("YOU NEVER TOUCH THE CARDS!" and it turns out they mean you don't touch them
during the performance ). That's why shopping for magic is so risky, because we can't discuss anything except what the video's already shown us. We can't discuss method to know if it will work with what we want to do.
If you look back at older books, your actually getting the full reportoar from a professional magician that they had been working on their whole lives and used and perfected in their whole career, and not just some cool idea that wont work in the real world.
That's not because it's from a book (not that you're saying that), but because it's from the past. Creators today are able to get away with jacked-up prices for simple material. Sankey still releases a dozen or so things on some DVDs, and I'm sure some others do too, but for the most part, it's sell, sell, sell.
And also, for some, it's just staying with the times. Some people produce DVDs and PDFs because that's what we use most. If you knew your target demographic had CD players, you'd put out CDs. Internet stores know we have computers, so they give us instant downloads and PDFs. It's part knowing your audience and part impulse shopping.
Is it the industry's fault for releasing single-trick DVDs and letting physical books die, or is it our fault's for constantly buying it up? Do any of us say, No I won't buy that. Instead, I'll write the creator and demand a book of some of his material.
Just like the "DVDs or Books?" debate, there's no black and white: sometimes the companies and creators just want money. Sometimes, they're using the given format because they want to teach that way. And sometimes, it's because we never complain or do anything about prices and content besides a few short-lived forum threads.
