Comments on: Magician’s right to not get fooled? http://www.doublefacers.com/2008/11/magicians-right-to-not-get-fooled/ Thu, 09 Sep 2010 00:58:02 +0000 hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.0.1 By: Michael Feldman http://www.doublefacers.com/2008/11/magicians-right-to-not-get-fooled/comment-page-1/#comment-17 Michael Feldman Wed, 26 Nov 2008 21:07:42 +0000 http://forcesunseen.wordpress.com/?p=20#comment-17 I think it depends on the motivation behind the complaints. I think there is a valid complaint and an invalid complaint. if you are just a magician who is pissed that you got fooled by video editing, then suck it up and get over it. on the other hand, I think there is a legitimate complaint: magicians who use video editing or stooges on TV or video ruin the medium for the rest of us. In order to be truly entertained by a MAGICIAN on video or TV, the audience must believe that it would look the same if they were watching it live... otherwise it's no different from the special effects in the Matrix -- cool, but clearly not magic. If lay spectators think it's just camera trickery, there is no mystery anymore, editing is something they already understand, and our job as magicians is to share with them things they cannot understand. Every time a magician is outed for using special effects or stooges on video or TV, it undermines all magicians' credibility when performing through that medium, and this makes it harder for the rest of us. There is already a severe lack of trust built into magic on TV (as you can tell from the lengths many TV specials go to to prove it's not edited -- long single shots, multiple camera angles, live audiences, disclaimers at the beginning of the show, etc). If I were going to complain about this video (and I don't really care that much either way), I would say that the magic community can't afford this kind of trickery (or at least we can't afford to get caught) if we are going to survive on TV. I think it depends on the motivation behind the complaints. I think there is a valid complaint and an invalid complaint.

if you are just a magician who is pissed that you got fooled by video editing, then suck it up and get over it.

on the other hand, I think there is a legitimate complaint: magicians who use video editing or stooges on TV or video ruin the medium for the rest of us. In order to be truly entertained by a MAGICIAN on video or TV, the audience must believe that it would look the same if they were watching it live… otherwise it’s no different from the special effects in the Matrix — cool, but clearly not magic. If lay spectators think it’s just camera trickery, there is no mystery anymore, editing is something they already understand, and our job as magicians is to share with them things they cannot understand.

Every time a magician is outed for using special effects or stooges on video or TV, it undermines all magicians’ credibility when performing through that medium, and this makes it harder for the rest of us. There is already a severe lack of trust built into magic on TV (as you can tell from the lengths many TV specials go to to prove it’s not edited — long single shots, multiple camera angles, live audiences, disclaimers at the beginning of the show, etc).

If I were going to complain about this video (and I don’t really care that much either way), I would say that the magic community can’t afford this kind of trickery (or at least we can’t afford to get caught) if we are going to survive on TV.

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