Hey guys,
I am really curious to know what you think is right and wrong on YouTube. For example, it goes without saying that tutorials on theory11 tricks are wrong (there is already a sticky about that). But what is acceptable?
Are tutorials for the most basic sleights such as the DL acceptable? Should putting videos on YouTube of poor performances of paid tricks be allowed (I have learnt a few paid tricks by watching poor performances)? At the end of the day, this will always happen but it's a question of is it morally right or wrong. What do you guys think is wrong or right?
Thanks.
There's two sides to this coin. You have right and wrong in the sense of legalities. The kinds of things that people can have you arrested or sued for, and then there's right and wrong in the moral or ethical sense. Violating those won't get you arrested, but it can be just as damning to your career and reputation. Trust me I know first hand.
The problem with copy rights and magic tricks is you can't copyright a move. I can sit here and film tutorials all day long to published tricks like say Dress Code and put them up on youtube. Unless I'm uploading the original video legally there's nothing that can be done. I haven't violated any legal copy rights. Ethically though, I've just become the biggest douche dumpster this side of the net.
Posting tutorials, even basic sleights that are communal property, is frowned upon because it is, at the most basic level, exposure. Exposure in magic seems to be defined by an intrinsic definition. In other words if the information is readily available, with no price to be paid (monetary or otherwise), where anyone can easily see it or access it in mass, then it's exposure. Putting up your tutorial on a double lift on youtube would certainly qualify as that.
To add onto that, unless your a savant, you're double lift video may not be any good anyways. You may be doing more harm than good by posting a tutorial. You see this a lot with kids on youtube these days. They get a trick, they BARELY learn it, they haven't practiced it at all, and they're up there posting tutorials like they're some kind of pro. If you've just got started in magic then you are a student, not a teacher. You have no business posting tutorials until you've put the time and the practice into learning the craft. I'm talking about years of practice.
There is nothing wrong with filming and watching bad performances in self review. It helps you learn what you're doing wrong, but you shouldn't be posting bad videos on the net. There's no excuse for it. Not when you can edit, and refilm as much as you need until you get it right.
So at the end of the day there's nothing right about tutorials. Unless it's your own material, then do with as you please. Just don't do it. It's not worth the backlash you'll endure.