There is no doubt that there's far too much magic exposure on the internet in the form of video. However, magicians are contributing to the problem with their own uploaded videos by ignoring a simple step. Are your YouTube videos part of the problem?
To start, I often see YouTube magic videos where viewers repeatedly watch a magic trick and then post comments on how they think the trick is done. In many cases, viewers will even specify a moment in the video with a time stamp that tells others to view a certain action or key moment. The cumulative comments form a group effort to gradually figure out and identify the secret to a magic effect.
The solution is easy. If you upload videos of yourself performing magic effects, periodically check the comments posted to your videos. If the comments reveal secrets, delete them.
And while I'm on the topic of exposure, there's the related matter of far too much magic being posted onto YouTube. Is it really necessary to upload that video of yourself performing a well known trick to join the fifty others of the very same trick? If we can reduce the number of magic videos on the web, many of which are posted by magicians, we can reduce magic exposure.
More Reading:
Five Steps to Deal With Magic Exposure
Exposure Hurt Your Magic?
YouTube Magic Exposure? No Problem
Readers Respond to YouTube Magic Exposure is No Problem
Comments
Wayne, as usual, you have your finger on the pulse.
Most of us claim to know some of the ‘Golden Rules’ of magic. These rules include: ‘Never show an effect twice’; ‘Never show a magician an effect’; and ‘Never reveal a secret’.
It is obvious that deluded people who need an ego boost post their stuff on YouTube for the entire world to ‘admire’ (totally delusionary). From this we can determine that ‘magicians’ play lip-service to their ‘Golden Rules’. Taking each of the three Golden Rules I have cited in turn:
‘Never show an effect twice’ Check out the ‘number of views’ stats – more than twice? Rule broken!
‘Never show a magician an effect’ Check out the comments from ‘magicians’ who eagerly disseminate an effect and then STEAL it AND describe the modus operandi in their comments! Rule broken!
‘Never reveal a secret’ Check out the number of hammy performers who clumsily perform their hammy routines and then REVEAL how they did it. Rule broken!
We are meant to be elite entertainers who are TRUSTED with valuable secrets, and who work to an ethical code of conduct. With no disrespect to your suggestions Wayne, do not just sit policing posts and then deleting posts that contain secrets – this is PASSIVE and TIME-CONSUMING. If we are to continue to amaze and prosper then we need to take a much more PRO-ACTIVE stance. Try these:
STOP POSTING YOUR ART FOR OTHERS TO STEAL AND TAKE THE BREAD FROM THE MOUTHES OF OUR BRETHERAN OR GET OUT OF OUR FRATERNITY!
Take down YOUR contributions – NOW – there are much better ways to get noticed by the decision takers who will hire you.
Have all media that reveals secrets struck off via the YouTube complaints mechanism.
Encourage the YouTube moderators to prevent secrets being displayed in the first place.
Continually and continuously MOCK the offenders on every channel they leave open!
Boycott suppliers who supply commercial effects to the general public by refusing to purchase their wares.
Encourage ‘heavyweights’ such as Burton, Letterman, et al to take an active role in abolishing abuse of our art.
By doing this, we not only protect our interests and valuable assets, we also send a very strong message to the YouTube community that simply states “Abuse us at your peril”.
Do this, and within a matter of months, or even WEEKS, all we will see will be nerdy performances of commercial effects that have been made available to the general public – effects that we would never entertain.
The problem is that you cannot prevent kids from doing exposure videos. It’s not feasable. It’s sad, but that’s how it is.
You cannot prevent ordinary presentations to go to Youtube either – just as you cannot defy magicians to go on television (and that’s where many of the videos are made!). If the videos appear on a personal account, deleting comments that come up with the solution may be an acceptable way to protect the secret as much as possible.
However, magic is not only secret. The secret – doing the trick – is not enough in itself. We all know how to play the guitar: fingers here and there – but that won’t make music. Magic becomes an art because of the presentation. Even the easiest trick can be beautiful if it is beautifully presented, and that’s what only a professional Artist can do (there are no easy or bad tricks – just bad performers).
Therefore there is only one thing that limits the harm done by exposures: if a method is known to someone, and you present something with the same method, but presentation out of context, they won’t be able to track down the solution. We should not think that the audience thinks the way a magician does.
So I would say that unique and quality performancies are the best way to fool those who think, due to exposures, that they know how things work.
Here’s what I had to say on teh subject a while ago:
http://www.online-visions.com/other/0806cam.html
In following with Levantino’s comments……
Let us all, in the spirit of not showing another magician an effect, abolish magical societies (IBM, SAM, etc.) as well as all public performance venues (Magic Castle is a prime example)! After all, these are breeding grounds for magicians and magic enthusiasts, and we should all adhere to your sacred “Golden Rule”!
{Please note the HEAVY sarcasm}
Magic is a performance art…..emphasis on PERFORMANCE. The one thing to remember about YouTube is there are so many video clips posted, you have to search to find anything. Yes, there are “channels” you can subscribe to, however, being honest, your average “lay person” is not going to subscribe to a lot of magic videos. It’s generally going to be people who already HAVE an interest in magic who will watch videos over and over again.
I abhor the deliberate exposure of magic secrets to non-magic interested people, and there is some interest in exposure (hence the mild succes of the masked fool), although I also suspect that after a period of time, the general public tires of deliberate exposure.
If you are so insecure about your ability to entertain, that you are concerned about YouTube, perhaps you need to evaluate your ENTERTAINMENT skillset, not your ability to perform complex sleight of hand manipulations.
Hurrah! At last some great dialogue.
Big thanks to you Esther, you made one of my points so eloquently “There are no easy or bad tricks – just bad performers” (as an aside: I prefer the term ‘effects’ to ‘tricks’ – we are not charlatans). However, I observe that you are a little tease because your statement “there is only one thing that limits the harm done by exposures” does not state the ‘one thing’ that limits the harm. I am tantalised greatly Esther.
If an exposure of an (albeit commercial) effect has taken place, then the ‘one thing’ that ‘limits the harm done’ might be ‘don’t perform the revealed effect’. Whilst the stance I postulated is ‘Prevention is better than cure’, if ‘don’t perform the revealed effect’ is your ‘cure’ then I agree entirely with your postulation – the thing has been done – so why embrace it? However, I do encounter some difficulty when attempting to endorse your statement “they won’t be able to track down the solution” – oh yes ‘they’ will Esther, we are ALL part of a ‘collective mind’!
Your thought-provoking statement “We should not think that the audience thinks the way a ‘magician’ does” opens up many avenues of exploration. Please indulge me in probing this line of thought. ‘Magicians’ who ‘think like magicians’ tend to string together a bunch of meaningless commercial effects; most of which are old, tired, and worn-out. Such people ALSO harm our art. This is akin to Blanchard’s ridiculous ‘One minute manager’ concepts – to be found filed alongside ‘One minute rock guitarist’, ‘One minute opera singer’, ‘One minute ballerina’, and ‘One minute heart surgeon’.
As you state Esther: (quote) “Magic becomes an art because of the presentation” (unquote). To perform compelling magic requires applying your mind to not only making your effects powerful – but in making sure that all of the effects are beautiful, compelling, LOGICALLY SOUND and ‘above all suspicion’ so trickery is ever suspected – and therefore never sought. I would very much welcome your comments on my submission under the discussion on iPhone magic.
Successful entertainers use the ‘rule of three’ – context, premise and antithesis to construct routines that engage and entertain. It is not about complex manipulations – sleight of hand or otherwise – these abilities merely provide the means to the end. It is what you create in the MINDS of your audience that achieves the antithesis that produces the sought reaction you have planned for. The context is the plot (the story line), the premise (reason behind it) drives the plot, and the antithesis (call it surprise) brings out the intended humour (emotion). If magicians are merely stringing together a string of meaningless effects, and not applying these three simple rules then they are missing much and they will not advance themselves or their art. If they insist on displaying their ‘talent’ and revealing the modus operandi on YouTube AND it is a REAL threat then ACTION must be taken.
Let us remind ourselves that it is the MEEK that inherit the Earth. An illustrative digression. Lead (ethyl) is a neurotoxin that causes irreparable damage to the brain. It also causes blindness, and damages the kidneys, and liver. Check out Thomas Midgley!! It was he who introduced lead into the atmosphere on a grand scale, and then went on to pollute the entire atmosphere further by introducing CFC’s (greenhouse gas). Divine providence stepped in – he contracted polio which crippled him … Oh it gets better … After many years of suffering, a contraption to turn him over in bed put him out of his misery. It went wrong and STRANGLED HIM! It is attested that it took over two hours.
The inhabitants of a remote Scottish island made of slate began excavating the slate so as to use it as a durable covering over their roofs. Not content with only drawing sufficient for their needs, such was their greed they commenced exporting it. The central core of the island was slowly but surely stripped away and eventually the excavations were so large they penetrated into the sea. Bad move! From out of nowhere a huge storm brewed up that raised the entire island to the floor and killed the inhabitants!! It’s now a tourist attraction!
Our motto is ‘God on my right’. As we stood alone (not for the first time) against the might of the Spanish (and later the Nazis), Sir Walter Raleigh chased the Spanish Armada and their evil ‘Spanish Inquisition’ away from our shores. With the English Channel blocked with THEIR ships, and no means of passing the noble man, the Armada sailed up the eastern side of our great isle, and proceeded down the western side – hell-bent upon escape. Divine intervention again played its part. When what remained of the Armada entered the Irish Sea, a huge storm brewed up – and sank the lot with loss of all hands! Blessed are the meek!
And in case you all doubt me regarding ‘thinking like a magician’ and NOT as an entertainer, check out this street magician and listen out for the applause.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bjhHhp-plyw
Thank you for broadening the debate in such an intellectual way.
With very best wishes
Daniel
Hi Jay and a very warm welcome to you
Let me begin by asking you – have I misinterpreted Wayne’s editorial? I believed the article was about REDUCING MAGIC EXPOSURE. You claim to abhor the deliberate exposure of magic secrets so, pray tell, what have I written that has caused you to take umbrage against me?
My post clearly stated: We should protect our interests and valuable assets and send a very strong message to the YOUTUBE community, and I elucidated methods to achieve this aim. Where on earth did I say “Abolish magical societies … and ALL public performance venues”? Maybe I also said the term ‘Brotherhood’ is a prejudice against fifty percent of the people who wish to participate in our art – women. The ‘Magic Castle’ is the headquarters of the Academy of Magical Arts and was the brainchild and life’s ambition of the American Magician William Larson. It was brought into reality through graft and dedication by his two sons Bill and Milt. These two individuals, together with Bill’s wife Irene have arguably done more to advance the art of magic than any other two individuals in the world. Someday I hope to have the ability and privilege to perform there.
Also, in passing, wherever did I say I had any concerns with YouTube? I actually drew attention to the number of hammy performers who clumsily perform their jaded hammy routines and then REVEAL how they did it – which, in my book anyway, is immoral. Maybe we should reveal the methods used to protect our country on YouTube. Jay – this will not do!
You also go on to say (quote) “after a period of time the general public tires of deliberate exposure” (unquote). Judging by the number of ‘viewings’ on these exposed effects, and the number of newspapers openly sold daily I must beg to differ. Nothing gives the ‘general public’ more glee than to see someone or something exposed – be it politician, entertainer, or ‘card-trick’. The bad news makes the front page. Our achievements (sport for example) are always at the back. Check out Penn and Teller’s ‘Bullsh!t’ series and be enlightened.
With regards to the ‘Golden Rules’ (which, contrary to what you have stated, I do NOT claim any credit), you claim that they are sacrosanct (“I abhor exposure of magic secrets”) – but suggest that they actually stand for nothing and should be negated in the spirit of showing a ‘magician’ an effect. This begs the question ‘What is the difference between a ‘magician’ and a non-magic interested person that would qualify a ‘magician’ to know a secret and a non-magic interested person not to know it. Methinks your morals are blinding your ethics. Permit me to illustrate:
The British magician and illusionist Percy Selbit was the first person to ‘saw a woman in half’. As magic fell into quickstep with the roaring twenties, no other illusion captured the imagination of the public faster. As Mr Selbit reached his finest hour, the career of the American illusionist Horace Goldin fell on hard times. Undaunted, he saw the effect performed at the Palace in New York – and promptly copied it! He then waited for Mr Selbit’s itinerary to be published – and then played a week ahead in every town Mr Selbit was due to visit.
Unworried, Mr Selbit not only outshone the plagiarizer, he returned to England, where he was honoured to become only the second magician to perform an act on ‘The Royal Variety Performance’ at the London Hippodrome on the 12th December 1922. It was ‘Sawing a woman in half’ that the King wished to see.
Keep up the merry banter folks – we are finally making hay.
All the very best
Daniel