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Chappo
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Bris Vegas
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Gday lads and ladies!

Finally got up the website I've been working on with a colleague. I would love to receive some constructive criticism from the general magic community.However...

DISCLAIMER: I am prepared to cop a bit of flak. I attempting to market myself as a corporate package. I can't afford three separate websites for my 'skill triad'. I have 3 skills that I focus on when it comes to corporate performance, and nothing else. Please do not think I attempting to portray myself as a jack of all trades...

Also, the multimedia section is a tad sparse at this point in time, but that will change in the new year.

Cheers lads! Make sure you post constructive criticism. Smile

http://www.rowanchapman.com.au
The rules of a sleight of hand artist, Are three, and all others are vain,

The 1st & the 2nd are practice... And the 3rd one is practice again


- 'Magic of the Hands', Edward Victor (1940)
thumbslinger
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Hey Rowan-
Well, it's clean and tidy. Looking at what you have, the only thing I might suggest you consider is only letting the main image to the right of the copy animate/change with each navigation link instead of the 'section' header doing that short animating and fading up.

Reason is, the fewer components that move on the stage/screen, the easier it is for the user to detect new content. Now, I realize all that is loading is new content (the header, the actual text and the graphic) but if the text box just stays there (you are using a dynamic text box with the scroller component aren't you?) then the auto scroller can appear when necessary and that way, you're not actually loading a new text box with each click and the visual jarring (though not really bothersome) is cut to a minimum.

This is very nit-picky I agree, but since I am a designer, which includes sites since about 96/7 when Netscape burst on the scene, I've seen small details that add up to success and clicks and others that don't.

But, take it all with a grain of salt and tell me to shove off if need be!

Much, much better than the typical stuff. The intro flame thing is cool!
Chet Atkins, Jerry Reed and Tommy Emmanuel are all you need to study to learn to play guitar.
Chappo
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Bris Vegas
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Thanks very much for your kind words and constructive criticisms.

To be honest, I'm not sure what you mean... Smile The dynamic text box and the animatics between each section of the site was specifically designed to emphasise a CHANGE between pages. I know that this may be visually jarring to some but I just wanted to reiterate that the 'skill-triad' is not melded into one 'creative conglomeration'. I wanted to maintain a distinction betweem each corporate offering.

I may have completely misunderstood what you've been trying to say, but thanks again!
The rules of a sleight of hand artist, Are three, and all others are vain,

The 1st & the 2nd are practice... And the 3rd one is practice again


- 'Magic of the Hands', Edward Victor (1940)
professorwhut
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Very nice and very professional.
I like it.
After much soul searching about a signature, I decided not to have one.

TG Pop [aka ProfessorWhut]
Justin Style
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It's a clean site but I am confused as to what you are?

Musician?

Magician?

Actor?

There is no way I would believe you are a "corporate" magician though. Check out Paul Gertner, He's a corporate magician.

I tried to watch the videos but they were very annoying with those pop ups at the bottom of the screen. Try a different layout. I will say the chick looks hot! I didn't have the volume turned up so I don't know how well she sings or you play the sax?

With that in mind, why not make a seperate web site for your music endevors?

You need some better photos.

Stay away from fancy words...liease???

The first page took to long to load, avoid flash. Both in your magic and in your web site...lol

If you are trying to sell yourself as a Magician, drop the "actor" and the "sax" stuff. Again, make seperate web sites for each.

These are just some of my random thoughts, with just a little tweaking you'll have a great site!

Good luck!
magicman88
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Your page looks excellent!
Myrsolon
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Overall I think the site is ok. I agree with Justin, you need to narrow your site down to highlight just your magic, setup diffrent sites for each venture.

Also, just a personal thing, I probably wouldn't bad mouth the competition with over generalizations like:

"Not many roving magicians provide a genuine persona that their audience can interact with. They are there to make their clients look stupid and to elevate their own egos."

I'd probably focus on what you can do through highlights instead of that kind of contrast. Show us how you're better, you start to right before you go into that.

Anyway, just my opinions.
dsalley13
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Very, very nice. I'd like to see your magic videos with spectators. It's fun to watch a spec's reaction. Also, maybe slow you effects down a bit and let them sink in.

I play the Hammond organ (50 years) and can appreciate the multi-talented part of your being a magician, musician, and actor. All of those disciplines together makes each individual part seem better and what better way to learn timing than music and/or acting? Even in magic, it's the notes you don't play that are equally or more important. Slow your pace and it helps build the final effect. It's like using commas in written language. Slight hesitations let the magic bloom in the mind of the audience.

All the Best,

dsalley13
mmreed
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My opinion...

I dislike having to WAIT for the site to load, just so I can see fancy spot lights over the navigation.

Flash sites are a fad - and many people HATE them. Stick to FAST loading GOOD LOOKING raw HTML and CSS formatting.

I dislike the combined approach of actor musician and magician... I think that will hurt you. People are looking for a MAGICIAN.. and may see you as a "jack of all trades... master of none..."

I like the color schemes and the look... its the technicals and the combination I think hurt.
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Ed_Millis
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In my opinion, the site itself looks good. I had no problem with loading times for the main site, but the video would not come up on my machine. You may want to use bold or caps to highlight your three strengths, and link these to your pages. And tell the prospective client what each of these strengths can do for their program - keeping it fun and flowing as an MC, interactive entertainment which can also include branded effects, or background mood enhancement.

As a writer, I strongly suggest you get a proof-reader for spelling, grammar and verbiage. I understand you probably wrote what you would tell someone, but written communication is very different from everyday speech. Often our literal speaking does not look good in visible words. If you can’t spell and can’t write to make sense, I as some sort of corporate official may lower my opinion of how you will communicate with the people at my event - and if you present yourself that way to me, I will wonder what you will bring to my guests.

I might suggest captions to go with your photos. Could these be events where your prospective clients may have actually witnessed your talents, but not known it was you?

Just my thoughts.

Ed
Thales
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I like your site a lot. Over all very well put together. I agree that you might want to separate out your various skills into separate web sites but if that would cost more than you want to spend than is works well enough. My suggestion is to get different pictures of yourself for your home, bio, actor and contact pages.
"If you can't change the method, change the moment." Vernon
Hansel
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Your site looks GREAT!!!
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Chappo
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Bris Vegas
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Whoa! Here comes the flak… And yes, most criticism was exactly what I expected to hear. Overall, some very nice words and some decent criticism. I am going to attempt to answer all your questions in full… and with GOODER grammar then my previous attempts (as someone kindly pointed out).

@ professorwhut:

Thanks for that mate. Whilst it isn’t optimal (as nearly everyone has pointed out) I believe that it will suffice for now. Merry Christmas!

@ Justin Style:

And thus the professional descends upon the amateur’s aspirations with vulture-like efficiency! Jokes aside…

Quote:
It's a clean site but I am confused as to what you are?

Musician?

Magician?

Actor?


You’re confused as to what I am? Fair enough. I may need to emphasise the skill-triad a tad more, though I did attempt to put my entertainment offerings in three separate sections.

Quote:
There is no way I would believe you are a "corporate" magician though. Check out Paul Gertner, He's a corporate magician.


And you don’t believe that I’m a corporate magician? All I can say is… Ouch.
I am kicking myself that I haven’t uploaded this *** show reel of mine yet.
It hasn’t been uploaded as I have yet to find a video format that can be uploaded to YouTube (or similar hosting site) with no change in quality. Anyhow, my Show Reel is always mailed out by DVD to prospective clients by hand. It shows my performance style, what demographics I can create entertainment for and how I can rove in a corporate environment. Also I didn’t know you had to be Paul Gertner to be a corporate magician. Smile Stay tuned on this one…

The ‘pop-up’ video problem is no fault of mine. This is YouTube’s standard channel embed design. Trust me, if I could afford a better option I would take it. I was not going to embed 3 separate videos as that would heavily limit my offerings and cram up the multimedia section.

Glad you liked the hot chick. She sings very well. I should know because she’s my sister… I’ll leave that little moment with you. Smile

Shame you didn’t get to here the sax. Let me know when you do.

Quote:
The first page took to long to load, avoid flash. Both in your magic and in your web site...lol


I will also be answering all issues with flash in a later response.

Quote:
With that in mind, why not make a seperate web site for your music endevors?

Quote:
If you are trying to sell yourself as a Magician, drop the "actor" and the "sax" stuff. Again, make seperate web sites for each.


If I had the money I would. Yes, I know this is not the optimal design. Yes, I know that a lot of clients will choose someone with a web page dedicated solely to magic. Yes, I know that it is the less professional option. Hell, I’d love to have 3 separate business cards as well. But I cannot afford it. I have to work for the army as well just to make ends meet mate! I am a 20-year-old university student busting his guts to appear professional… I struggle to pay petrol, rent, insurance, car services and over $40 000 of accrued commonwealth support loans for university. I simply cannot afford it.

Quote:
You need some better photos.


I hope you aren’t referring to the professional shots. Ouch. If you are referring to the multimedia section, I agree. But hey, something is better then nothing. You are looking at spectator reactions and getting to see what I do. Yes, I am a hypocrite, as I claim to offer a ‘smorgasbord’ of pictorial/audio visual previews. Working on it. Like I said, it’s my first website.

Quote:
Stay away from fancy words...liease???


Will do.

Thanks for the comments Justin and Merry Christmas! Smile

@ magicman88

Thanks so much mate! Glad you enjoyed it. Merry Christmas!

@ Myrsolon

Please see my response to similar comments from Justin. No point in just copying and pasting it.

Quote:
Also, just a personal thing, I probably wouldn't bad mouth the competition with over generalizations like:

"Not many roving magicians provide a genuine persona that their audience can interact with. They are there to make their clients look stupid and to elevate their own egos."

I'd probably focus on what you can do through highlights instead of that kind of contrast. Show us how you're better, you start to right before you go into that.


Agreed. In fact, I agree A LOT. I didn’t even write this in! The web page team took some creative liberties as you can see… I had been feeling a bit iffy about that statement for quite a while and I will remove it and the first opportunity.

@ dsalley13

Once again I am kicking myself that I haven’t uploaded my *** show reel. The reason why it hasn’t been uploaded is due to the fact that I haven’t yet found a video format that can be uploaded to YouTube (or similar hosting site) without detriment to video quality.

Thanks for those words on musicianship. I agree entirely. I hd a fantastic chat with Adam Grace recently on these very characteristics and he certainly believes in the magic-musician symbiosis.

Merry Christmas! Smile

@ mmreed

Quote:
I dislike having to WAIT for the site to load, just so I can see fancy spot lights over the navigation.


As do I, but you aren’t just waiting for a couple of lights over some buttons. You’re loading an entire layout and sequence of animatics; something which ( I believe) is worth it.

Quote:
Flash sites are a fad - and many people HATE them. Stick to FAST loading GOOD LOOKING raw HTML and CSS formatting.


I guess we will have to agree to disagree. I have a vastly different view to this. Many people, like yourself, will advocate the need to have a simple site in HTML/CSS/PHP as it is easy to access, navigate and gain information from. Others, like myself, will support the ideals of increased professionalism in website appeal (to managers, executives, etc…)

Quote:
I dislike the combined approach of actor musician and magician... I think that will hurt you. People are looking for a MAGICIAN… and may see you as a "jack of all trades... master of none..."


Please read my response to Justin’s similar comments.

Quote:
I like the color schemes and the look... its the technicals and the combination I think hurt.


Glad you liked the colour scheme I chose! I find it somewhat reminiscent of a stage, something I dearly love. Merry Christmas! : )

@ Ed_Millis

There was some excellent material in your post. I have since PM’d you.

Quote:
I might suggest captions to go with your photos. Could these be events where your prospective clients may have actually witnessed your talents, but not known it was you?


I hope not! Smile I don’t personally see the need for captions, cause I’m pretty sure I have a rather distinctive look. I’m a bigger fella with a Blade 2 Haircut! Not too many of those magicians in Aussie at the moment… at least I hope. Merry Christmas!

@ Thales:

Glad you liked the site mate. Thanks! I agree with the Home, Bio, and Contact page photo requirement. That is definitely a work in progress… Also, please read my response to Justin’s similar remarks in regards to multiple websites. Merry Christmas!

@ Hansel:

Thanks so much for dropping by and leaving an appreciative comment! Merry Christmas! Smile
The rules of a sleight of hand artist, Are three, and all others are vain,

The 1st & the 2nd are practice... And the 3rd one is practice again


- 'Magic of the Hands', Edward Victor (1940)
Chappo
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Bris Vegas
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Apologies for the double post... Thought I'd add in these links to stress my argument.

http://www.themagiccafe.com/forums/viewt......um=261&3
http://www.themagiccafe.com/forums/viewt......um=261&1
http://www.themagiccafe.com/forums/viewt......um=261&4
The last link has been put in detail below (my conversation with Adam):

QUESTION
Quote:
Hi Adam,

I'm going to put to a question to you which I have been wishing to ask for a quite a long period of time now. I am still relatively new to magic (3 years into it). Also, the majority of my corporate experience lies in roving acting as well as my private jazz gigs. Forgive me if the question has been thrown at you before, but I am rather isolated when it comes to magical discussions (currently residing in Brisbane, QLD , Australia).

I am currently undertaking a Human Movement Studies degree (Kinaesiology for the yanks), working with the Australian Army as a Reservist, playing Jazz Saxophone around Brisbane, undertaking film work when it comes my way and indeed any acting gig when they present themselves (a fickle industry as you well know), completing voice over work for animation, rehearsing in musical theater gigs and ... performing my magic whenever I get a chance. I would like to refer to myself as a Renaissance man, rather then a Jack of All Trades. And, once again, as you well know, you can hardly rely on any one field of the afore mentioned to generate CONSTANT income. Unless your bl**dy lucky!

For me, life is too short to be boring. I know that if I stuck with one single commitment/field of interest I would bore myself to death; no matter how much I may enjoy it as an entity. So I really begin to boil when people refer to me as some no-hoper who has no idea what he likes and is trolling the corporate circuit with his big-ol'-bag-o'-corporate skills simply to make a buck in any way possible.

Unfortunately, from what I have experienced, many magicians I have met show a unique animosity to this particular outlook on life. I simply put this down to the fact that they highly suspect I am one of those fools who make a living off gaffed decks... IE: One who has NO skill and shows no dedication whatsoever to the art. I guess I would describe it as a tribalistic attitude. Whilst the existence of such an animosity is typical towards anybody who undertakes a variety of 'different jobs in the industry', I have found a very different level of 'it' in magicians.

I sincerely love each area of my work and work my butt off 24/7 to perfect each and every aspect that displays professionalism within my chosen fields. My ultimate career goal is to become an actor (god for bid... what an industry... I must have a death wish) and I will be undertaking a bachelors degree within a year. I am very aware of it's fickleness and temperamental nature and it is not a decision I have taken lightly.

I have griped on about this too much already... Thanks for reading my garbled thoughts thus far! Extra kudos to you if you can actually make head or tail of what I am attempting to say . I guess I would really like to see what you have to say about the opposition the Renaissance Man faces, as well as the industry in general.

Thanks so much Adam!


ADAMS REPLY:

Quote:
Chappo,

I feel you man. It sounds like we have a lot in common. I can understand your love for many arts.

All of these things shape you into a more well- rounded performer. As a magician, you can use your acting skills to design a character and create a real experience for your audience. Your music will help you understand timing, tempo, and structure of your magic act.

As you progress, all these talents begin to merge into one thing: Chappo. Your brand becomes special and all the years of hard work pay off. It does take some time to find that balance.

I had a manager who told me I needed to focus on one thing... only one career. I saw this point of view but didn't really FEEL it. After all, if you take one thing out of the equation, the rest suffers.

As far as opposition to YOUR way. I have a really great outlook on that. #$%^! them! Just keep pressing forward in search of your way. It is your understanding of life that makes you special and some people don't get that.

When I was a kid, I remeber magic, as a whole, being a supportive brotherhood. It seems that things have changes over the years. (By the way some of the most succesful corperate magicians use gaffed deck all the time.)

I always had this crazy idea that I would explore every avenue that I could.Through this exploration I would find out what I was meant to do.

I'll let you know when I do Smile
The rules of a sleight of hand artist, Are three, and all others are vain,

The 1st & the 2nd are practice... And the 3rd one is practice again


- 'Magic of the Hands', Edward Victor (1940)
Justin Style
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Creative brain storming!
pradell
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Nice site, from one Jazz Mugician to another!

Break a reed!

:magicrabbit:
Vick
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Nice site

I agree with maybe considering 3 different sites for your talents. It's a little confusing to look for a magician and get a sax player. Little too much of trying to be all things to all people.

Plus if I'm booking a sax player how serious or dedicated do I think he is (regardless of talent) if he's an actor and magician too
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Chappo
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Some more replies for the wonderful people who have posted comments:

@ Justin:

Brain storming? Brain storming? You flatter me kind sir... Smile

@ Pradell:

Quote:
Nice site, from one Jazz Mugician to another!

Break a reed!


Sacrilege! How can you call yourself a magician when you play jazz as well!?!?? You and your instrument shall burn in the fiery abyss, thrice-accursed spawn of Satan. Smile Merry Christmas mate! Love to hear some of your stuff.

@ Vick:
Vick, your site has one of the funkiest designs I've seen to date. Well done! It has an excellent layout that is a joy to navigate. Now your comments...

Quote:
I agree with maybe considering 3 different sites for your talents. It's a little confusing to look for a magician and get a sax player. Little too much of trying to be all things to all people.


I'm going to go against what I said before and proceed with a copy-paste job from the uber-post I made. (It's alright, I couldn't be bothered with reading all of it either. Smile )

Quote:
If I had the money I would. Yes, I know this is not the optimal design. Yes, I know that a lot of clients will choose someone with a web page dedicated solely to magic. Yes, I know that it is the less professional option. Hell, I’d love to have 3 separate business cards as well. But I cannot afford it. I have to work for the army as well just to make ends meet mate! I am a 20-year-old university student busting his guts to appear professional… I struggle to pay petrol, rent, insurance, car services and over $40 000 of accrued commonwealth support loans for university. I simply cannot afford it.


As for your second comment...

Quote:
Plus if I'm booking a sax player how serious or dedicated do I think he is (regardless of talent) if he's an actor and magician too.


Would you be booking me at all if you didn't think I was up to it? Smile

Trust me, the decision to have an all-incorporating website was a tough one to make. My options were...

1. Have no website, thereby effectively eliminating any chance of professionalism (or hope of gigs) from my work. I decided against this.

2. Make one website for only ONE of my corporate offerings. Thereby maintaining a professional approach to self-marketing... but eliminating any hope of work my other options. I decided against this also.

3. Make one website for all 3 (not 4, not 5, not 10, not 25) of my skill sets. This would be at the expense of some professionalism, but would allow me to afford design costs. I chose this option.

In short, I admit that this is what some clients will think. But maybe it is just possible, that I can offer all three of these options with an equal amount of professional confidence to a client; knowing full well that I really CAN provide them with first class entertainment no matter what they choose...?

NB: Just a quick side note lads and ladies... Whether or not the website has worked for me in this case, I have just picked up my FIRST INTERNATIONAL GIG! Smile I will be flown to a resort in Fiji for a private function where I will be performing (wait for it...) both:

1. Jazz

AS WELL AS

2. Magic


Who would have thought? Smile

Maybe it's a fluke, maybe it's just pure dumb luck... or both. Either way, I'm happy.

Merry Christmas!
The rules of a sleight of hand artist, Are three, and all others are vain,

The 1st & the 2nd are practice... And the 3rd one is practice again


- 'Magic of the Hands', Edward Victor (1940)
Vick
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Much thanks Chappo,
Overall I like your site, wanted to give you some feedback on it, hope it does well for you



My site was my original design which I had a professional company do the landing page and I did the rest. Little messy and always growing and changing. It could become a black hole for my time to fall in but it's livable
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Vick
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P.S. very nice on the Fuji gig, congratulations !!!
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