G.O.P "Why to perform" essay

RDChopper

RDChopper

Aug 10, 2008
2,023
2
34
In a rock concert
I have been thinking the past couple of days and I came up with the idea of using facebook as a tool to promote "live" performing among us magicians, given the popularity of said site.

The idea behind the site is to promote and feature videos of live performances and also weekly essays regarding magic theory, and things of the like.

Of course I'm posting this here because I would like help from you guys in order to raise this site to a decent level, and if things goes as I expect them to go, I'm happy to say that everyone can find this site useful.

Think about it, if you ever need to see a performance of a particular trick you don't own but you would like to see how it plays for a live performance, you could request it, you could learn from numerous essays there and I along other people would make sure that only relevant things are posted there.

So to begin I would like to ask you guys (who are more suited for this task) to write a little essay or your thoughts on the following subject:

"Why to perform"

Yeah practicing the sleights and flourishes can be fun, but the purpose of the essay is to show the advantages of performing for breathing people and things of the like. The best essays (according to votation and consulting with people who knows about essays) will be featured in the site, to kick in and to start working.

I expect cooperation from you guys, thanks in advance, here is the link so that you can join right away :).

http://www.facebook.com/pages/GoOutPerform/10150105755270441?created&v=wall

EDIT::// I can't afford to give prizes and things of the like to support the participation of you guys, but I hope that you guys participate for the sake of all of us to learn something new :).
 
DannyT

DannyT

Aug 31, 2007
1,960
1
34
Long Island/New York
I like the idea behind it, but I'm not sure how far this will go.
My guess is that people will join, add some old videos of their performances they made a year ago, and the page will slowly die.

Just saying.

Truthfully, I hope for the best, but I expect the worst.
Good luck with it anyways.
I'm on board.
 
RDChopper

RDChopper

Aug 10, 2008
2,023
2
34
In a rock concert
DannyT said:
I like the idea behind it, but I'm not sure how far this will go.
My guess is that people will join, add some old videos of their performances they made a year ago, and the page will slowly die.

Just saying.

Truthfully, I hope for the best, but I expect the worst.
Good luck with it anyways.
I'm on board.
Click to expand...

Actually yeah, that's how it will probably end.

On the flipside howewer, I kinda imagine it like that blog that Aaron Fisher has on facebook, it has a lot of people there and he constantly updates it with good essays.

We have people capable of providing with informative essays and good stuff, why not share it with everybody?

I hope it leads to a good end.
 
Justice

Justice

Aug 14, 2009
98
0
Behind a mask
We might work every angle down, we might execute every sleight perfectly and so on, but if we don't actually perform the stuff we are practicing, we are missing a really important part of the magic.

The interaction.

No matter how much we practice a routine or sleight, we will never know the reaction that it will have on the spectator, we don't know if our patter, our routine and our sleights are flowing smoothly because we do not know the way that the spectator is going to digest all that.

That's one of the main reasons of why we must perform, because with time we will develop a sense of intuition that will tell us what will work and what will not work.

And of course,the main reasons of them all:

Magic is meant to be performed, Magic was created in the first place to entertein.

Of course you can settle down with practicing the flourishes or the sleights at home because that's your hobby, but there are a lot of advantages if we actually perform for people, here are some of them:

* Your social interaction skills will develop

*You will enlarge your social proof

*You will learn to adapt to different social sittuations, allowing you to adapt your routines and magic according the situation.

*You might end getting a good job out of it.

*Being able to make a life lasting impression on someone is priceless.

*The ability to change someone's day and to make them smile.

Among a lot of other things.

Perform. You will grow both as a person and as a magician.
 
J

James Smith

May 31, 2008
1,914
0
I have a few paragraphs written, but it's nothing to holler about. I'll add more details and such:

How did you become interested in magic? Did you see a magician perform for you, or did you see a magician on a web cam performing awkward-looking sleight of hand? Although it’s entirely possible that it was the latter—I highly doubt it. We may not realize it at first, but it is not the trick performed that garners an audience’s attention, but it’s the performer. It’s common sense that a person would much rather see a fun, outgoing person performing magic right under their noses than someone demonstrating a card trick on a web cam while a Linkin Park song plays. Magicians are entertainers, they’re meant to entertain.

So why would anyone perform for a web cam? It’s easier, that’s the sad truth of the matter. When performing for a group of people, one must worry about angles, and “difficult” spectators. When performing for a web cam, one has an unlimited number of chances, and one can position the camera at the perfect angle.

Ok, so if web cam performing is easier, than why should we “Go_Out.Perform?” Well, that’s a tough question, and the only good answer is; “because it’s fun.” There are very few better feelings than seeing the look of astonishment on a person’s face and knowing that you caused it. “Magicians are entertainers, they’re meant to entertain.” Many magicians don’t perform for people or for a web cam, they just practice, why, I have no clue. The reason you became interested in magic is because you were entertained by it, and you wanted to entertain too. You’re a magician, people want to see you perform magic, so get out from behind the web cam, get out of you room; grab a deck and a few gimmicks, and Go_Out.Perform. It’s a lot of fun, you’ll never regret it.
 
Steerpike

Steerpike

Sep 1, 2007
3,786
15
In reading this, you are currently staring at a digital screen and looking at a block of text trying to figure out where I'm going with this other than painting myself as Captain Obvious. But I need to highlight the medium to make a point here. What tone of voice do you imagine I would use were I to read this aloud? Some would picture me doing a very dry delivery like a university professor in a massive lecture hall. Friends would probably imagine a more dynamic tone, or think I might try to be funny by doing my over-the-top Russian Bond villain accent. A few of my correspondents probably imagine me saying this all through clenched teeth, barely holding back a stream of profanity while sculpting my facial hair into a Hitler mustache.

The truth is none of the above.

In text, 40% of the message is lost in translation. And that's an optimistic average. This is because 93% of human communication is non-verbal. Vocal tone and pacing, body language, gestures, volume and more are important to communicating because long before there was such a thing as a spoken/written language we had to communicate through such means.

Being able to see that in real time is essential to human interaction. Being able to gauge another person's reactions in the moment allows you to calibrate and adjust your own reactions. When you can't do that, well... it's a pretty lonely feeling. Do you really think a webcam is going to solve that? God no! If anything it just makes it worse.

If you have a YouTube channel you've posted webcam performances to, do me a favor and look at the comments. How many of them are real criticism. No, calling you a fag doesn't count as criticism. That's the noise that useless apes make to indicate they're unhappy. Telling you how awesome you are isn't criticism either. It's the text-based equivalent of a blowjob. And, this might just be my own baggage, but I don't think people are in the habit of giving life-changing advice during oral sex. It sort of kills the mood. Not that you need me to tell you this, but offers of trick trading are also not criticism. They're just retarded.

So with those filters in place, how much real, honest, valuable criticism have you gotten from your YouTube channel? If my prediction is correct, it's somewhere between zero and double-zero.

Do you still think performing for a webcam for a faceless audience of digital John Does is going to make you better? That it's going to be in any way fulfilling?

It turns out that we humans are still social creatures, despite our best efforts to live a life where we can filter out whoever we want whenever we want. There is nothing that can replace face-to-face interaction with another person. You can have 10,000 subscribers on YouTube, and you still won't feel nearly as good as that new busker who still is only pulling down minimum wage in the hot sun every afternoon but gets to be around literally hundreds of people in a single day.

I've run across a few magicians who brag about how 100 people favorited their Twilight Angels video. But none of them seemed quite as happy about it as the guy who performed a Santa-themed effect for a 6-year-old girl at a Christmas party and made her whole year.
 
RDChopper

RDChopper

Aug 10, 2008
2,023
2
34
In a rock concert
I was hoping for more participation, fool's hope I guess.


Thanks a lot for those that have contributed, I really appreciate it.

For those who are just reading, anything is useful. From tips, to suggestions, to an essay to a video, you can help :).
 
J

James Smith

May 31, 2008
1,914
0
RDChopper said:
I was hoping for more participation, fool's hope I guess.


Thanks a lot for those that have contributed, I really appreciate it.

For those who are just reading, anything is useful. From tips, to suggestions, to an essay to a video, you can help :).
Click to expand...

You have permission to add any of my street magic videos to the page. (the "out" in my sig) Good luck, and I'll be adding on to the post I already made.
 
ZacEckstein

ZacEckstein

Sep 15, 2007
1,127
0
31
www.myspace.com
We need to start looking at magic as an art form instead of an ego trip. The only way magic will advance in the peoples eye, is if we tell them that what we do is an art. Then all of a sudden you aren't being heckled and people enjoy it more. For example, when you are going to perform tell them what we do is an art. People sit around and invent the things you see Angel or Blaine do on T.V. . Give this as an example. When a Pacaso exhibit is coming to your museum, your museum didn't create the artwork, they are just merely presenting it for you so you can enjoy it and have fun! Magic is the exact same thing. Don't keep the people in the dark, just like any creator in art there is one in magic. Give credit where it's due... it's a very hard pill to swallow, but once you tell them that people sit around and create these things you show them, suddenly the pressure is off of you and you're not being heckled because they know you didn't create it and they enjoy it so much more now that you level with them. I know no one is going to say " Daniel Garcia and Dan White invented this effect where I blow up a balloon and put your phone in it." Because it just doesn't feel right to you. That is because you have been selfish with magic for the longest time and don't want to give credit where it's due because you want to be in the spotlight. But if you explain it like I did and tell them that it truly is an art form, and you give that example of the museum.... you will be the better for it. You aren't paying attention to the fact that to better the art of magic you can't be secretive to the public, and after all, they are the ones who watch us perform. Stop focusing on the trick, your presentation even to a degree isn't as important as what I told you. If you don't change your attitude, the public will have a snow balls chance in hell of changing theirs.


- Zac

P.S. :: I am reiterating a lot of this from Paul Harris.
 
RDChopper

RDChopper

Aug 10, 2008
2,023
2
34
In a rock concert
drkrelemnts said:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wK2rnz26LUs
That is the only video I can contribute at the moment. I hardly ever perform for camera and that is the only video I have of myself. I do however, perform constantly and will try to catch those within the next 2 weeks.
Click to expand...

Dude I had to post that in the site the min I saw it, it is great! kudos really.

The best way in wich you guys can help me right now is to invite all the magicians that you have added on facebook to the fan page, thanks :p.
 
LuseifHo

LuseifHo

May 3, 2008
1,146
4
Hong Kong
Nice concept... but I don't think a lot of people will bother to frequent a facebook page. Ah well... well see how it goes.
Do you want us to post videos directly to the page or here?
 
LuseifHo

LuseifHo

May 3, 2008
1,146
4
Hong Kong
Part 1 of a show I had back in January 2009.
It was more or less a personal project which I kinda of forced my way to fit a school assignment.
The other parts are... there. Theres also a crediting video as well.
The material I used was not original at all but... yeah. First time is a *****.
1 hour in total including intermission. Proceeds of... around 500-600 USD went to Orbis.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nUh1JTbJwqE
 
Steerpike

Steerpike

Sep 1, 2007
3,786
15
Z-Magic said:
Give credit where it's due... it's a very hard pill to swallow, but once you tell them that people sit around and create these things you show them, suddenly the pressure is off of you and you're not being heckled because they know you didn't create it and they enjoy it so much more now that you level with them. I know no one is going to say " Daniel Garcia and Dan White invented this effect where I blow up a balloon and put your phone in it." Because it just doesn't feel right to you. That is because you have been selfish with magic for the longest time and don't want to give credit where it's due because you want to be in the spotlight.
Click to expand...

Gotta disagree with this because you'll never see Lance Burton or Eugene Burger or Paul Gertner stop in the middle of the act to explain who invented what. It has nothing to do with ego and everything to do with theatricality. Magic should be sublime.

So no, I am not going to alter my scripting to say, "By the way, this effect was invented by Paul Curry." Nobody is going to hear that and suddenly start thinking that what I do is an art. Nobody.
 
Justice

Justice

Aug 14, 2009
98
0
Behind a mask
Z-Magic said:
Give credit where it's due... it's a very hard pill to swallow, but once you tell them that people sit around and create these things you show them, suddenly the pressure is off of you and you're not being heckled because they know you didn't create it and they enjoy it so much more now that you level with them. I know no one is going to say " Daniel Garcia and Dan White invented this effect where I blow up a balloon and put your phone in it." Because it just doesn't feel right to you. That is because you have been selfish with magic for the longest time and don't want to give credit where it's due because you want to be in the spotlight.
Click to expand...

You are saying the things but you are not really sure of why you are saying them.

I believe that you are saying this kind of stuff because one of Bro's Gilbert performances yes? He starts the trick by telling them of a fellow called Paul Harris and how those kind of guys get inside a little dark room to invent all the "imagination" games bro uses.

I actually don't think that he was saying that to actually "credit" Paul, I think he merely said that because he wanted to settle mood for the trick. By saying things like "dark room" or "imagination games" it starts making the imagination of the people go wild and imagine all sort of things. Leaving them more open to your magic.

I think you are quoting Bro out of context. I pretty much agree with steerpike point.
 
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