|
|
j100taylor Inner circle 1198 Posts |
I noticed that Craig has some high standards in regards to proper crediting and won't accept statements like "I learned this move from such and such DVD". My take is that as long as someone isn't blatantly stealing and makes an effort to credit sources I'm happy and am more interested in the effect(s) being taught. Not everyone is a historian.
Lakewood, Ohio
|
The Baldini Inner circle I some how pounded in 2445 Posts |
For me, Giving credit is a sign of respect and a way of thanking that person for their contribution, our fraternity is really quite small and we owe it to one another to acknowledge those who came before us with an idea or concept that led to the new creation, it is those who inspire and challenge us to create or re-create, and by giving credit you are not just giving a name, but so much more, such as the history behind the magic, there are many who today, just don’t care about how or where something came from, they don’t care that it was a rip off or an overseas cheap copy, but the majority of us do care and want to know where and how things came about, I cared enough to reply. I wish a man like Bill Palmer would read this and reply, he would know just how to say what I am trying to, I wish I had a fraction of his writing ability,
|
Fin Veteran user 322 Posts |
For me magic is an art, and great magical "effects" are like great works of art. When someone invents an incredible effect, and then subsequent generations use it, add to it, often improving it, I think it is incredibly important that the originator of the effect is remembered and respected. Of course, to a layman, or an amateur magician or hobbyist who just loves playing with a good gimmick, it may not seem so important HOW that trick came into being, but to any serious magician, to anyone who want's to maybe invent a trick one day, to anybody who sees an effect and really wants to know all about it, then the originator and the history behind the effect are the place to go if you actually want to learn! When I see an incredible effect, (e.g. I was recently blown away by Peter Eggink's "Flightcase") I don't just want to know how it's done so that I can do it. I want to know how it's done to widen my knowledge of the principles of magic.. to hopefully give me a better understanding of the sorts of thought processes one might go through while inventing such an effect. If I ever want to come up with something similar, then a proper study of magic and it's great inventors is a must.
Crediting is important for so many reasons, and on a review show that's all about magic, and more importantly is being made specifically FOR MAGICIANS, I think it is absolutely vital that people are properly credited, and I commend Craig and Dave on their stance on this. |
jfquackenbush Special user Out here on the desert 607 Posts |
It's important for the same reason it's important in any kind of written work. If you don't acknowledge your sources, you are plagiarizing other people's work. My problem with the way magicians credit things, though, is that it seems like too often people are more interested in being exhaustive than they are at being useful. For example, it took me years to track down and learn the hurricane change in its original form because while it's been taught in a number of places, it's often been taught badly and while it was always credited, a lot of the times the crediting was "this is Harry Levine's move, the hurricane change." That's absolutely useless. Dig a little deeper and maybe you'll find out it was published in Trapdoor. Almost equally useless. What issue of trapdoor? How the heck am I supposed to get ahold of that? Where is there an archive or a library or a publisher I can order from? Now granted, Steve Beam is a great guy, and once you track him down I'm sure he's happy to sell you a copy of issue 42, if he has one still. But that's not a useful credit. And if all you're doing is saying "this is based on ideas I got from Lennart Green, Dai Vernon, Darwin Ortiz, and Guy Hollingworth" then you're not doing your job. I'd much rather see a single, good, direct credit to a specific publication than the kind of know-it-all name dropping that often stands in for a proper attribution and does little more than say to the reader "look how knowledgable and wide read I am."
I'm glad this came up, because it seems to me what the magic community really needs is a style guide like the MLA, the Bluebook, or the Chicago manual. I have half a mind to start putting something like that together in my free time actually, now that I'm thinking about it. I invite anyone who is interested to PM me if you want to help with the project. It may not come to anything, but the Café seems like as good a place as any to start a project like that and try to get it spread around and adopted as a standard.
Mr. Quackenbush believes that there is no such thing as a good magic trick.
|
Craig Petty V.I.P. UK 2298 Posts |
We stand on the shoulders of Giants. Look at it this way. Imagine you invent a move that is brilliant and you put it on DVD and then a whole bunch of other DVD's come out after that and use the move without mentioning you - would you be happy?
Crediting allows us to pay respect for the performers and creators that have come before us. Plus a well credited DVD will give you a load more DVD's and books that you can research and ultimately buy which will give you even more information on a subject you are interested in. Not crediting is just lazy and should not be accepted in any way shape or form Does this help? Craig |
j100taylor Inner circle 1198 Posts |
Craig - Thanks for replying. I absolutely would hate it if someone didn't give me proper credit and agree with the rest of your points. I agree on the easy point that one should give credit. I guess I was more interested in how much research is needed to properly site a new effect.
jfquackenbush - I found your post very interesting and agree with everything you said. I don't have the interest or skill in helping to define standards but think its a good idea and wish you luck on moving it forward.
Lakewood, Ohio
|
The Magic Cafe Forum Index » » The Wizard Product Review from World Magic Shop » » Why is crediting so important? (0 Likes) |
[ Top of Page ] |
All content & postings Copyright © 2001-2024 Steve Brooks. All Rights Reserved. This page was created in 0.02 seconds requiring 5 database queries. |
The views and comments expressed on The Magic Café are not necessarily those of The Magic Café, Steve Brooks, or Steve Brooks Magic. > Privacy Statement < |