beginners Archives

I Want to Be Like Derren Brown

I-WANT-TO-BE-DERREN-BROWN Derren Brown is at the top of his game at the moment, and quite deservedly so. His shows are well produced, entertaining and generally awesome. From the perspective of the magic community, they are one of the best things to happen to magic in many years. Inspiring a whole new wave of future magicians and mentalists to start the journey into magic and mentalism. But where do they start?

There is a huge range of material on the market promising to teach you the techniques and secrets of Derren Brown. Most can be quite low quality, with more hype than content. So we are often asked which training books and DVD’s are the best in our opinion, to get a beginner started. This is what we usually suggest:

The first step:

13-steps-to-mentalism

13 Steps to Mentalism by Corinda

This is the core source for starting to learn mind reading and mentalism tricks. Perfect for beginners, the book requires no previous knowledge and will show you the fundamentals as well as the presentation and performance skills to get the best from them. This belongs on every mentalists hands.

Banachek PSI Series DVD

A great series of DVD’s teaching mentalism for both the casual performer and the seasoned professional. For those of us that prefer to learn from a DVD, this is great material that is easy to perform and teaches you the core principles you will need, along the way.

Reality is Plastic – Ebook

If you want to dive into the world of hypnosis, but designed for magicians rather than stage shows, then this ebook by Anthony Jacquin is highly recommended. Derren Brown is know for his extensive use of impromptu hypnosis, and this ebook is probably one of the best ways to begin to learn these techniques.

Mentalism is general is very much presentation based. Often the props are simple, sometimes no more than a pen and a sheet of paper. The power of the tricks comes from how they are performed, and the interaction between the performer and the spectators. Knowing the secrets, is a very small part of the learning process. We strongly suggest that you seek out every opportunity to watch other mentalists as much as possible. Go and watch how Derren Brown performs magic in his latest show and pick up the DVD’s of his previous shows. They don’t teach how he does the tricks, but they will teach you the way he presents them. His showmanship is world class, and priceless tuition for you.

Official Site for Derren Brown Show information

Doing Magic Tricks with Shaky Hands

by Merchant of Magic 1 Comment

‘I’m struggling with my hands shaking when I do sleight of hand magic. What can I do to help?.

If you find that your hands start to shake when you are performing a trick, don’t worry, you are not alone at all. It’s a common problem that beginners face when learning how to do magic tricks. Assuming you are healthy, and it’s not a medical issue, those shakes come from three sources:

Nervousness
Hand Tension
Concentration

It’s OK to be a bit scared.

It really doesn’t matter how much you practice your magic tricks in private. The moment you try to perform it for a spectator, it’s going to be a bit scary. Suddenly the smooth flow that you have when you run through it on your own is gone, and you feel like you’re taking an exam rather than doing card tricks.

The ONLY way to fix this problem is to become relaxed doing the trick in front of people. The more you do this, the less anxiety you will feel. If you are just starting out, you probably won’t have a large audience of spectators to practice on. Your family and friends are not ideal for this type of training as you need experience with total strangers.

DO THIS: Get out and perform to a large number of total strangers: Look through your local newspaper of what’s on’ websites and find a local charity event or festival. Contact the organiser and ask if you can attend for free to perform some walk-around magic tricks. Many events will be very open to receiving free entertainment, so you should find this quite easy to set up.

Avoid doing this in bars and just on the streets. Bar’s and clubs have their own social dynamics and are not so good for cutting your teeth as a beginner. Street magic requires a license, but more importantly the spectators are very wary, busy and generally not there to be entertained by someone stopping them on the streets. You want to choose a location, where the spectators are already open to being entertained by a performer. You want to focus on performing the tricks for people happy to stop and watch them, and not have to deal with selling the idea of stopping and watching first.

Check out this information on reducing nervousness when performing magic tricks

Relax your hands.

Learning a new magic trick means that you have to concentrate on every move. Your focus is on the technique just as much, if not more, than the performance of it. Once you add a total stranger staring at you while you perform, the tension you will feel increases considerably. You may look relaxed and happy, but tension builds up in your hands, and can express itself, through shaking.

DO THIS: Before you start the magic trick, shake your hands around and stretch out your fingers. Now try to remember to keep a relaxed grip on the props as you hold them. Imagine they are made of glass, and just need a delicate touch. Being aware of tension building in your hands, will greatly reduce any hand shaking that may occur.

When is the magic trick ready to perform?
Before you perform a trick to spectators, make sure you fully understand it. If you rush into performing it before the moves have become fully ingrained, you will be at a disadvantage. You need to be able to forget about the moves, and just enjoy the performance and interaction with the spectator. This comes from practice and rehearsal of the magic trick over and over. If you find you freeze when you start performing, or get shaky, it’s a sign, that more work has to be done, running through the whole trick as a routine from start to finish.

DO THIS: Don’t practice just the moves in silence. Once you learn the moves, push your practice to the next stage, and run through the whole trick in full with the patter, as if you were doing it to a spectator. Don’t stop to adjust a move or the set up of the props, just go through the whole routine. The more you do this, the less thinking you will need to do, when you perform the magic trick live. Concentration on the process, creates an inner dialogue of self doubt, which builds tension. Familiarity comes from repetition, and that will help solve this problem.

Best wishes

Dominic Reyes

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How Much Should You Charge for Magic

by Merchant of Magic 2 Comments

Understand your costs.

Depending on the type of magic act you are marketing, your overheads may include several costs that need to be estimated. You need to determine how many bookings you will need to cover them and bring you an acceptable income. Your costs may include:

Equipment
Travelling expenses to and from bookings
Costumes
Make-up
Consumables, such as decks of playing cards
Backing music
Insurance – Public liability insurance is essential.
Club or society membership

If you are already working in a full-time job, you need to calculate your costs, then work out how many bookings over a year, it will take to replace the income you currently receive.

Looking at that figure, do you think it is feasible for you to attract that number of magic bookings at the fee you charge, to replace your current income and allow growth over time?

What is your target customer?

What type of act do you provide? If you’re a children’s entertainer, your market is very different to that of a close up magician or a stage show illusionist. Each type of customer and venue has different needs, and a different budget for your services. When setting your fee, you need to look at the factors in your specific target market and set your fee within that market’s pricing level.

Starting small.

Your reputation and customer base will take time to grow, so you may find that you will need to accept some bookings for less that the going rate when you start out. As your reputation as a great magician spreads and your marketing efforts bear fruit, you will be able to increase your fees over time. We recommend that you do not work for free to begin with. It is very easy to get stuck in a regular booking that is not producing an income, because you started for free, and can’t justify to the client why they should now pay you. A reduced fee for a limited time as a ‘trial’ is fine, but be aware that your fee will often reflect your value to a client. There is much better way than competing on price when you start out.

Aim low on the customer, not the price.

Rather than targeting prestigious venues or premium clients with a low price, pick clients that have a lower budget, but would love to have magic at their venue. Premium venues will be wary of an entertainer who is cheaper than other entertainers locally, but a small business may be delighted to be able to afford your services.

Restaurants.

Unlike a party or celebration event, the goal of a restaurant is to make a profit from their customers. They need to sell their food as well as to entertain them. It doesn’t matter how good a magician you are, the restaurant will know how many customers (or covers) it will turn in an evening, and that sets its budget for that night. Live entertainment is always sort after. In fact, during times of economic pressure, venues will seek out live entertainment to give them an edge in the market. A magician is a low cost option for a pub or restaurant, compared to live music or sporting events. Restaurant work is low paid, but a few regular evenings each week and support you during the early years, and be a good source of leads for work going forward.

As a general rule of thumb:

For a restaurant, it is acceptable to charge 4 x the price of a meal for one.

Weddings.

Weddings have a larger budget than a restaurant, after all, the goal of a wedding is to entertain the guests, without making a profit from them. Because of this, you can charge a more realistic fee. The price you can charge for your services will depend very much on the area and wealth of the clients who book you. A simple and easy way to set your rate is to find out what comparable forms of entertainment charge in your area. Get some quotes for casino tables, live wedding singers and photo booths locally. A wedding magician can normally charge a small premium above these other options but will be price capped close to them.

Children’s Shows

If you provide a children’s magic show, it is quite easy to find out what other magicians in your area are charging. Don’t undercut the other magicians locally, as that simply creates a rush to the bottom of the market. If you would like to increase your fees in this market, look to advertise your services in wealthy areas. Try not to limit yourself just to parties near where you live. If you are prepared to travel, you can market yourself in a number of affluent towns and cities, increasing the fee for your services, rather than trying to increase the number of shows you perform.

Understanding your costs, income needs and the market for the product you are offering, is vital to your success as a professional magician. Once you have identified these factors, you can work on establishing your reputation and client base over time, and then increase your fees for performing magic tricks.

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