When Spectators Film Your Magic Performance – Should You Mind?

Keith asks if it’s OK when spectators film your magic performance.

Keith writes: Hi Dominic, Loved your book Approaching Tables. There’s more useful info in this book than all the books and DVDs I’ve bought on this subject. If you are ever looking to update it, I wondered what your thoughts were when people film your magic on their mobile phones (which seems potentially likely) – any thoughts on whether this is a good or bad thing, whether you should discourage them, or if you need to make any adjustments or compensation for it?

Hi Keith, thanks for the kind words about the book. I enjoyed writing it and it was a chance to answer a LOT of questions we get asked at Merchant of magic every day. To answer your question, I often have spectators film my close-up magic, probably because I encourage it as much as possible. There is nothing to fear from your spectators filming you. As long as you think about the following:

When people film your magic it’s invaluable marketing

They say that word of mouth is the best form of adverting, and they are right.. Every performance you give is an advert about how great you would be at your spectators future events. If some of the guests pull out their phones and film you performing, encourage it. Although all of my work tends to be close up to groups of guests, I’ve found this applies just as well for any size crowd. Make sure you switch around your material, so they can film something close up right away and then prompt them to pan out for reactions..

Spectator reactions are THE footage you want them to capture.

You want them to have some great footage of everyone having fun, they can show their friends..

Make sure your angles and misdirection is good

It’s pretty obvious, but make sure you switch over to material you know is 100% tight. Cameras can’t be distracted, so make sure that you don’t flash anything. The tricks you perform need to be structurally robust. In other words, they can withstand someone watching them over and over again. If you have to do a secret load, or misdirect the audience whist a change happens, this won’t hold up to repeat viewing.. always pick material to suit the conditions.

Remember: Audience attention spans are very short when it comes to video.. Switch over to short punchy effects at the start, so some magic happens quickly. If you start a long drawn out routine, don’t be suprised if their camera gets put away half way through.. you don’t want that.

Use off camera moments

Be aware of when the filming is taking place, and when spectators are just watching. You can use those moments, to set up something that can’t be done on camera. If I know someone is going to film because they are getting their phone out, I will try to do a body load or steal a watch, right away. I can then do the reveal, once the camera is rolling.. This is like instant, impromptu, pre-show!

Ask one of the spectators to use YOUR phone to film your magic.

You REALLY CAN do this. People don’t find at all. Just hand someone your phone and say:

“I’d like you to film this, because there is NO WAY you will believe what you are about to see..”

That doesn’t make sense, but at the same time.. it feels like it does.. I say that a LOT. You probably won’t show them the footage anyway, as you will go on to perform more.. but it SOUNDS good, and you will find the person will usually really enjoy doing it. That footage is great for your showreel, and you can even send it over to your client later when you recontact for a follow up.

Try to steer them to focus on the reactions of the spectators

Sorry to say, but the method of your trick is BORING to everyone other than other magicians. People sit through the method, to get to the magic. It’s just a tool to get a spectators reaction. The reaction is the reward and your footage should be full of rewards!

If you see a spectator just zooming in on your hands, steer them to focus on the whole group. other spectators questions and engage with them, make them a feature of the performance too. Bring you r hands up away from your waste line level. Your crotch is not the best think to be on camera,, faces are! If you reveal a card, move over to stand next to a spectator and bring it up to be displayed at a level that gets people in the shot. Open up whats being filmed. It’s quite easy once you start thinking about it.

Remember to smile and have fun

Pause at good moments for them, move into the best light available in that area, and remember to smile.. You need to make sure you look like you are having fun. I know you will be, but have you checked how you look when you are deep in a routine and paying attention to 10 things at once.. Smile, relax and make it look effortless.

Make sure you get them to send you a copy

After you finish with a group, take a moment to ask for a copy of the footage. They can transfer directly from phone to phone. or just ask for their email address so you can get a copy later. Make sure you do this… Bank all the performing footage you can.

When spectators film your magic tricks, they need to reference you.

Take a moment to give the spectator your business card and ASK THEM to put it up on youtube or facebook with your NAME. Always do this.. Without some reference to you, it’s giving you nothing back.

Remember to smile and have fun

Do you have any tips about having spectators film your magic that I have not mentioned here? Please tell me about it in the comments section below.

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Using Other Magicians Tricks in Your Showreel

by Dominic Reyes Leave a Comment

Simon writes: 'What about performing other magicians tricks in your showreel… do you need further permission from the creator to use it on your website?'

By Dominic Reyes

If you copy a magicians work or clone an act without permission, then that would be unethical and may even be illegal depending on the nature of the material copied.

It's different for material commercially released that you have purchased. It can generally be assumed that a creator that releases an effect commercially is intending for magicians to learn and perform the effect to the public. That would be the 'purpose of sale'. If you buy the trick, you are also buying permission to use it.

Some tricks are sold with the performance or broadcast rights for the material retained by the creator. That would be made clear at the time of purchase and in the training material or magic tricks instructions. It's pretty rare. Generally, if you have purchased a magic trick product, the creator will be granting you permission to perform it publicly.

However, if you are using the material for a TV show, it's good form to let the creator of the effect know in advance.

The magic community tends to be self policing. From an ethical point of view, the magic community would look down on a magician that copied the exact PRESENTATION of an effect. Although that may be permitted if it is taught to you as part of the product you purchased, you should really create your own unique presentation. Nobody wants to be a clone..

In a showreel, you are selling YOURSELF not the tricks themselves. The focus should really be on YOU and the reactions you are getting. It's probably not a good idea just to film a trick and show it on your website. A better approach would be to show footage of you performing your magic and people reacting. You don't show the whole trick, just a few magic moments within the routine. When a client looks at your showreel they are looking for a SOLUTION to their problem: keeping their guests entertained. They are looking to find someone that fits their theme for the event, will appeal to the type of people attending, and will entertain everyone. In the short time you have to 'sell yourself' in a showreel, use footage that shows that you are the solution they have been searching for.

What do you think? Let us know in the comments section below:

Making a Magicians Showreel – Filming Your Magic Tricks at a Gig

by Merchant of Magic 3 Comments

Do you ever film your magic when you are doing a magic show? If you haven’t considered doing this, it may be worth looking at why this can be a valuable asset for making a magicians showreel.

When it comes to keeping a video record of a magic show, stage magicians have it easy! They can set up a camera and film each show they do, getting a great deal of material to use for their marketing. What about us close up magicians? How do we get footage to be used for making a magicians showreel and promotional material? Let’s look at the best way to fix this:

When you attend a magic gig, we recommend taking a good video camera with you. Many smartphones have excellent video capability now, so it’s worth investing in a smartphone that can capture HD video.

Getting Permission to film

Steve writes:

‘I wonder if the clients who have paid good money for magic at their event, will [see videos filmed at their event] and wonder what their magician is doing whist being paid to entertain THEIR guests…?!’

If you keep pulling out your camera and taking shots or video, your clients may not like it. You’re supposed to be there to entertain. You’re on THEIR time, not yours. It’s vital that you get permission to film, not just from the client but also from the venue. You should also pick the times and places you film carefully.

When you, or your agent take a booking, ask the client if it would be OK for you to film a few short clips of the magic. Offer to give them a copy too. Explain that you are keeping a video diary of your magic which helps you improve, and also helps your business grow.

If you don’t want to film your performance, you could explain to the client that you will only film, during parts of the evening when you can’t perform, such as during the speeches or awards, or before and after your booking time. That’s a good time to film some testimonials or a short talk about your services as a magician. You will find that most clients don’t have any objection to this. If they do, then there is no need to push the point. You don’t need to film at every gig, just enough of them, over time, to build up your footage.

Get it in writing.

It’s important that you include a section in your booking contract giving you permission to film and to be allowed to use the footage commercially. A quick Google search will bring up several template contracts for ‘signing off’ permissions that you can use.

Having a spectator film for you.

If you are with a group of spectators and have established a good relationship with them, ask one of them to film the next magic trick you perform. Hand your phone to one of them and prompt them to capture the reactions of everyone going crazy over what’s about to happen. That gets a laugh, and the person filming will enjoy the process. You can tell them that you plan to email a copy to the host of the evening as a souvenir.

You will find that many of the spectators will also ask for a copy, so it’s a great time to capture their email address’s so you can forward it to them later with your details.

Quality.

The footage will tend to be quite raw. The idea of live filming like this is to create something REAL, in the moment, and live. The footage will have terrible production values, but it’s of great value for that very reason. It’s valuable to include material like this when making a magicians showreel. Here’s an example filmed at a gig by professional magician Mike Fairall.

The footage you capture doesn’t need to be perfectly shot. You want something live, fresh and REAL. You can edit the footage and cut sections in and out later, if you want to use some of the footage for a professional showreel. The main aim of live video, is to build up a series of short videos, that capture your energy and how much fun the spectators are having.

The best time to film for making a magicians showreel.

Before you start the gig, whilst the guests are still in their meeting, or the wedding service is still going on.
Outside the venue, before you arrive.
During the speeches, presentations or awards.
After the gig, when you have packed up.
Build it into a magic trick

It’s a good idea to arrive early at your gigs. It gives you a perfect opportunity to check out the venue and record a short video about your services.

Think about how you could ask a spectator to film a trick and the footage become part of the trick itself. Could an extra revelation or magical event happen when the footage is played back to them?

Testimonials.

Asking a few spectators to record a short testimonial is very valuable to you. You can do this after you finish for the night. A great place to capture this, is outside the venue, where people gather for a break. Also, you might sound out the client when they thank you at the end of the gig, and see if they would find it fun to record something for you.

Remember your audience when making a magicians showreel

When you film, bear in mind who you are filming this for. The footage is NOT for other magicians. It’s not about how successful you are. The footage should be aimed at your target audience. As a magician, your target is the host of a magic event. The problem they need a solution for, is how their guests will be kept entertained and happy.

Your footage should show themwhy you are a solution to this problem. Your technical competency as a magician can be assumed. The focus of the footage should be on spectators having a great time and being entertained, NOT how well you can perform a sleight or flourish.

Recording footage of your magic to use in making a magicians showreel isn’t hard to do, as long as you get permission and don’t press people to take part. It shouldn’t get in the way for your show or your services.

NEXT: Creating a Magicians Brand