|
|
idomagic Loyal user Denver, CO 255 Posts |
You seem to be prolific at creating helpful books and DVD's. How much time do you invest?
Chad Wonder (Chad Wonder Magic, Inc)
Past President SAM 37/IBM 131 (Mile High Magicians) www.idomagic.com www.iDOMAGIC.dev |
Danny Orleans V.I.P. Chicago 119 Posts |
Hello Chad:
I had my book on Children's Magic partially written when, per the suggestion of my wife, Jan Rose, decided to do a high quality video of my show. Everything that I wanted to discuss in the book was right there, actually happening, right before my very eyes. All the interesting misbehaviors of the audience, all the audience management strategies that I wanted to identify in the chapters, all the wonderful laughs and audience reactions that I would try to describe in words. So... I never completed the book. As it turns out, the medium of video turned out to be a MUCH better teaching tool for magicians to learn the audience management strategies, because you can see them in action. You can see them actually working. You can hear the tonality of my voice and the enthusiasm and cooperation of the children watching my show, participating and volunteering on stage. I spent more time on the first project, THE ART OF PRESENTING MAGIC TO CHILDREN, then I thought I would. The biggest challenge was the complex editing of the Commentary section. Michael and I talked and talked and much had to be edited down, selected, and made to fit. There was TOO MUCH commentary. So much that at times you'll see us "rewind" the tape to point out another important audience mgmt strategy. My editor lives in Vegas. He couldn't do it without me, so I had to fly out to spend four days with him sitting at the editing machine. And that was just for the most difficult editing. I didn't count the hours. If I had, I might have stopped in the middle of the project! It was surely hundreds of hours of my time, much of it done in the evening in hotel rooms while I was performing at trade shows. It was a legacy project. It took six months to complete from start to finish. The DVD sets are my contribution to the current and future children's magicians. This is how I'd like to be remembered... as a magician who was able to create practical solutions that are easy for all of us to incorporate into our shows. Practical solutions for managing children's behavior. It is a challenge that is glossed over in the literature. I took the opportunity to discuss it in detail. The famous actor, Jack Lemmon, when asked about mentoring young actors, once said, "that people who do well in a business have an obligation to 'send the elevator back down' to help lift people starting out on the ground floor." The DVD projects that I've completed are my elevators for the magic community to get onto and ride upwards. I know that those who choose to walk through the doors, will find the business of entertaining youth much easier. |
The Magic Cafe Forum Index » » The May 2014 entrée: Danny Orleans » » Writing a book or shooting a DVD » » TOPIC IS LOCKED (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 < |