Where's your creativity?
- Thread starter visualartist
- Start date
If you think being creative only entails coming up with new mechanics, than perhaps a lack of imagination on your part is at the root of the problem.
May I chime in? I think the definitive question is: what works?
Are we really going to judge people for using someone else's routine? Don't get me wrong, I try my best to be as original with my presentations as I can, but at the same time: if someone is gracious enough to allow me to purchase their effect, and that person has proven with years of trial and error what presentation works best - why not use it?
Because, the real question here is this: what works?
Take Jeff for instance: he's come out with amazing effects, but I'm sure when he was first working them out they probably sucked. But after trial and error and trial and error, he found a presentation that worked. So why wouldn't he encourage people to use the same relative routine when performing his effect? It doesn't make those people any less of a magician, it make them - a magician.
What I'm trying to say is: yes, creativity is important, but we cannot condemn people who either don't have as much or completely lack it.
Are we really going to judge people for using someone else's routine? Don't get me wrong, I try my best to be as original with my presentations as I can, but at the same time: if someone is gracious enough to allow me to purchase their effect, and that person has proven with years of trial and error what presentation works best - why not use it?
Because, the real question here is this: what works?
Take Jeff for instance: he's come out with amazing effects, but I'm sure when he was first working them out they probably sucked. But after trial and error and trial and error, he found a presentation that worked. So why wouldn't he encourage people to use the same relative routine when performing his effect? It doesn't make those people any less of a magician, it make them - a magician.
What I'm trying to say is: yes, creativity is important, but we cannot condemn people who either don't have as much or completely lack it.
First off, creativity (as I understand VisualArtist) isn't just new effects and methods. It is much more than that. It is choosing what to present, deciding how to present it, deciding how to fit those choices together in routines or a show, deciding how to improve your presentations so that you have a stronger effect on the audience.
As for not having time to be creative, that is another way of saying you don't think it is important enough to your magic. That is saying that you are happy with "visual" effects that can be presented with a "say-do-see" patter.
If your friend recognized that creativity was important, he would make time. Stephen Covey, the author of The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People, tells the story of the lumberjack who works from dawn to dusk cutting down trees but still couldn't meet his quota. A passer by noticed how hard he was working and noticed it was taking him almost because his saw wasn't sharp. "Why don't you sharpen your saw?" the passer by asked. "Don't have time," said the lumberjack, "I'm too busy cutting down trees."
I don't know your friend and have never seen him perform. But I can say I've seen a number of performers that consider themselves "naturally entertaining" and are frequently booked who are truly boring and not nearly as engaging as they think they are. Anyone who considers themselves a "master" at anything is deluding themselves. No matter what our level of learning or amount of experience we all can continue to learn how to improve. Thinking you know everything shows how little you actually know.
Do you need to be creative to be good at magic? Nope. There are lots of examples of that. Do you need to be creative to be great at magic? I think so.
If you aren't creative, don't worry. It is a skill that can be developed. It actually is a skill that can be best developed in collaboration with others. Unfortunately, if you are asking "who cares?" you have doomed yourself to a lifetime of performing other people's magic using other people's presentation. To me, that is a great loss because the most magical part of any effect is you and by not being creative you have removed yourself from the performance.
I often tell people not to try to create new effects. First, I think the most of the people who try to create new effects don't have the foundations to do it efficiently. Second, I think that the would be creator's time is better spent learning those foundations. Third, I think that most people want to create to sell an effect rather than to perform it -- and that is the wrong motivation (focusing on what people would buy rather than what you and your spectators would enjoy seeing performed). All that being said, creativity is not about developing new effects. Rather, creativity is related to DEVELOPING YOUR PERFORMANCE.
Last edited by a moderator:
I'm going to disagree with you there because it sounds to me like you just don't want to do the work or the critical thinking it takes to do anything except regurgitate a canned routine.
As for your friend, I have only your word to go on for that, but therein lies three problems. The first being that I don't know you from Adam. The second that this is the internet and no one's word is ever good enough. Pics or it didn't happen. And finally, this all means what to me? For all I know your friend is a hack with good networking skills and not a lot of competition. If that is the case, then you are preaching laziness, indolence and complacency, thus you don't belong in this thread.
I'm willing to do the work. Why aren't you?
"Professional" Magicians
Has anyone stopped and thought that the professional magicians who perform effects verbatim are the ones that are the causes of magic being a novelty? Honestly, professionals like this I feel are the ones that hurt magic far more then pirating, youtube tutorials, whatever. Those professionals who do not spend time on their presentations will continue to stay as paycheck to paycheck sort of magicians and perpetuate the novelty of magicains instead of a serious art form.
Lets look at one of the more creative stage performers around at the moment Dan Sperry. No I'm not using him as an example because he is dope, because that is a pretty undisputed fact. I'm using him because I've recently heard, because of how original his show is, that he has acquired his own theater and venue to perform at. Just saying, the ones who stand out are the ones who will ultimately become successful.
Of course I'm just an arm chair magician so what do I know?
Has anyone stopped and thought that the professional magicians who perform effects verbatim are the ones that are the causes of magic being a novelty? Honestly, professionals like this I feel are the ones that hurt magic far more then pirating, youtube tutorials, whatever. Those professionals who do not spend time on their presentations will continue to stay as paycheck to paycheck sort of magicians and perpetuate the novelty of magicains instead of a serious art form.
Lets look at one of the more creative stage performers around at the moment Dan Sperry. No I'm not using him as an example because he is dope, because that is a pretty undisputed fact. I'm using him because I've recently heard, because of how original his show is, that he has acquired his own theater and venue to perform at. Just saying, the ones who stand out are the ones who will ultimately become successful.
Of course I'm just an arm chair magician so what do I know?
Last edited by a moderator: