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Michael Kaminskas V.I.P. 117 Posts |
That's too funny...because I have always wanted to write a book for children on magic but apparently the "P" word has hit both of us! I agree that many of these so called "beginner" books do have some excellent magic in them.
That is where I learned the classic "two in the hand...one in the pocket"....and I know the trick is a great one that I still use, but even more importantly it exposes the magician to an even greater concept. The one ahead principle. Just think how many effects are based on this one concept alone...from stage illusions to close up magic...the principle spans the magical globe. To think, all this from a "beginner" book on magic... |
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723sabre Loyal user 260 Posts |
Quote:
On 2013-03-26 22:17, Michael Kaminskas wrote: Nooooo...never!! Well, maybe...OK, yes.... Heck I like Jay and he still has created far more good magic than most people could do in 20 lifetimes! He hypes his stuff, good for him...we should all be so enthusiastic!! I also like his basic positivity as a person. I find DVDs suffice for many things but I like books for cards and coins too (took me a bit of time to see the value of books admittedly) |
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Michael Kaminskas V.I.P. 117 Posts |
Jay is one of the most creative if not THE most creative person I know. I value his opinion as a friend and as a magician. He sees everything in a different light, and he continually pushes the envelope. Anyone else after creating for so many years would just hang it up and be happy with what they have accomplished.
The greatest thing about Jay Sankey is Jay Sankey...for those that believe, no explaination is necessary. |
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Stephon Johnson Special user Razorback Country 544 Posts |
Since I am an artist, the illustrations in magic books captured me almost as fast as the magic itself! As quickly as I learned magic effects and sleights, I also began making my own illustrated scripts and diagrams to work out how I wanted tricks to look. I always wanted illustrate magic books for a career, but such was not my path! (Another story). This, I LOVE magic books! That said, I love videos just for pure learning. Nothing quite like personal instructions from a master. However, there's a danger of wanting to look or sound just like the guy or gal on video, instead of making it your own! In a book, you have little choice but to take the info and make it yours!
WHAT IF you wake up tomorrow with ONLY the things that you THANK GOD for today?
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Michael Kaminskas V.I.P. 117 Posts |
Hi Stephon,
What you said is a very curious question. I personally love the illustrations in magic books. Done well that is. Some of the illustrations I've seen I can't make heads or tails out of and that only hurts the learning process. Lately, with better publishing methods and an ease of getting things printed many works have gone to using photographs instead of the traditional line drawings thus eliminating a step. I have used both in my printed works and I don't know which is better. I'd be interested in seeing your work. Maybe I can have you illustrate some future projects of mine. The ability to not see the performer does have it's advantages to me. But that also depends upon how one learns...visual, technical, combination of methods. In books we are open for much more interpretation and personally that flexiblity appeals to me. |
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Anatole Inner circle 1912 Posts |
I always liked the illustrations shown here:
http://www.101magicsecretsrevealed.com/secrets009.htm and the related pages that show excerpts from the Will Dexter book _101 Magic Secrets Revealed_ always appealed to me. The illustator is listed as "Stan Lane." Does anyone know anything about him? My copy of Chuck Romano's _The Art of Dception_ is back in Virginia Beach so I can't check to see if Stan's artwork is mentioned there. ----- Amado "Sonny" Narvaez
----- Sonny Narvaez
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Mercutio01 New user Ocean City, NJ 68 Posts |
As a beginner, I appreciate full color photographs over illustrations, mainly because I find it easier to follow along. The flip side is that there is less content in those kinds of books, so there is a trade-off.
~Cameron Mount
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Michael Kaminskas V.I.P. 117 Posts |
Yes, the main difference between those and say the work of Mr. Dunn or the line art that graced many books in the 80's and 90's is that they are more sketches ...the detail, shading of the hand...they give more realism but does that make it clearer or just make it more difficult to learn.
Full color photographs are a popular way to go lately...and they show very well so from a teaching aspect..I think they do the job quite well. However, unless they are photoshopped, they can't show "action" like a well drawn illustration does. Or showing multiple layers....say for example a card hidden under a card case. I'll always prefer illustrations for several of the above mentioned reasons, but also for the pure artisic characterisitcs... |
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Andy Young Special user Jersey Shore, PA 813 Posts |
Just to put my thoughts on the matter. As a beginner it is best to have a dvd and book together. The best example for me is Royal Road to Card Magic. Most people I feel have a hard time understanding books (I have a degree in Physics and still sometimes don't quite get what they are saying). The more you read magic books the better you become at, but in order to do so I think having a companion dvd helps aid you in the beginning steps of translating books.
So as I continually work with books it has become easier to understand what is written, but it would have taken longer without that first companion dvd set. I tend to like books more, but they may also be due to the fact that I keep a notebook for every book I have and keep a running list of every effect that I have in my catalog. |
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Michael Kaminskas V.I.P. 117 Posts |
So would that be a book and the companion dvd of just a performance with no explainations? Right?
The only drawback I see to video shot for most dvd's is that as soon as a camera is present I don't believe many people react as they normally would. So after a bit of time and the ability to relax I feel they fall into a comfort zone but that is not really how it happens in the real world. I suppose that is why I find performance shot at actual events to be the best, however, it can also be difficult to get and to obtain release forms so you can distribute the material. Love the notebook though Andy...I have several and I just keep adding to them....my advice...re vist them frequently...write down stuff that doesn't even make sense..one day you will figure out how to accomplish what you once thought impossile....it's a great feeling..I promise you |
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Andy Young Special user Jersey Shore, PA 813 Posts |
I have the R. Paul Wilson dvds and they explain everything. I think that as a beginner you need the effects explained, I would read the book try the effect or sleight out. Then watch the video. Then read the book and watch the video pausing to see how the two jived. If they didn't match up I would try to think if they way it was presented was a better way of doing it or not. Wilson has a better DL than the Royal Road and I am glad that he included it.
Once you have a working understanding of the type of magic, a performance should be all you need. But starting out the explanations were a key part of learning to decipher books. As for the draw back of not really getting a persons reaction, I don't take there reaction into consideration (although it may help). When I first watch an effect being done I don't try to figure out how it is working. I just watch. I then pause the movie and start writing in my notebook. I just give my first reaction to the effect. Is is fun or serious, what where the key points that I remembered and what went right over my head. By doing this I have started to see how layman view effects. I noticed that as I learn the effect I often over think an effect and the notebook allows me to understand the important parts of the effect. So with all of that, I don't really mind if people are screaming or shouting, laughing or crying on the movies. It is the norm to have over the top people on your dvd to help sell your effect. So my thing is always try to work through an effect and give it a chance because you may walk right past a great effect if you are only looking at how other people see it. |
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Tony Chris V.I.P. Vancouver, Canada 714 Posts |
Ya know, there was a time when I only wanted to learn from the books. Made me feel like I was really getting everything in detail and I thoroughly enjoyed sitting down in my favorite chair with my new magic book. I really looked forward to it. Then I started buying more and more VHS magic videos at the time and realized there was a whole different dimension to learning. Different than books and more visual of course. Then more and more DVD's started making their way into my collection for about 10 years and now I am going back to books again.
I guess nowadays I am really reading more books but as a few have already mention here, a combination of both is ideal, at least in my opinion. I agree also with Steve on the whole sell a DVD with a gimmick these days. I have over 40 products on the market and half of them are with instructional DVD's plus the gimmick. I have found plenty of my DVD's on torrent sites and try to have most of them removed but without the DVD or special cards, it does make it harder for the pirates out there to get the best of me. I guess the trend these days is DVD's due to the abundance of them that are so readily available and mass produced. I still like to sit in my favorite chair in my office every so often with the lights dim, a nice drink at my side and a wonderful world of magic ready to be discovered word by word. Tony
As magicians we create what onlookers call magic. If they truly believe in what we have created for them to witness then magic is real!!!
- TONY CHRIS, A.K.A. Zany Zack http://www.tonychris.com |
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motown Inner circle Atlanta by way of Detroit 6127 Posts |
While I have an appreciation for video, I tend to be more of a book guy. Each has it's strong points. The thing I like about books is the crediting. It's a better resource for following the trail/history of an effect. It's led me to so many other great books and publications. They make things easier to track down.
"If you ever write anything about me after I'm gone, I will come back and haunt you."
– Karl Germain |
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Stephon Johnson Special user Razorback Country 544 Posts |
One of the first books that really blew my mind with the ARTWORK and the MAGIC was Bill Tarr's "Now you See it, Now you Don't!: Lessons in Sleight of Hand" The artwork style was unlike anything that I had seen to that point, and it clarified a lot of the classic sleights and effects with an almost "animation" series of drawings.
I also fell in love with "Dunninger's Encyclopedia of Magic" which had tons of classic artwork and illustrations for everything from Stage, to Parlour to "Street" type magic effects. As you can tell, these offer a different experience from videos. I LOVE learning from videos, but I don't think of any of them when I'm looking for an "old friend" to revisit on rainy days with a cup of coffee! But I DO have some books like that!
WHAT IF you wake up tomorrow with ONLY the things that you THANK GOD for today?
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Michael Kaminskas V.I.P. 117 Posts |
Yes, I watch magic for entertaining and learning purposes but you are right that nothing is quite as special as flipping through the pages of an "old friend" and finding something special that you may have glanced over previously.
Love it even more when I learn the effect and perform it and they ask what dvd is that from? I get a laugh and tell them they didn't have dvd's in the 1950's...lol... |
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wwhokie1 Special user 512 Posts |
Both have advantages and disadvantages. With books sometimes descriptions and drawings are simply insufficient leaving the reader with questions unanswered. There is nothing like watching the slight or move actually being performed to help you really understand it. Sometimes even that is insufficient, and the little details can be easily missed. But I find that the most important thing is the quality of the teacher regardless of the form of media used. Some people are just bad teachers whether it is in print, video or in person. A couple of problems with video: 1. its like watching a movie of a great book, so much gets left out. 2. todays dvds tend to be one trick dvds. Where books are filled with so much more. With today's approach you could take mark wilson's course and turn it into a 200 volume dvd set, that's just insane, and expensive.
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Michael Kaminskas V.I.P. 117 Posts |
Think you've opened up a can of worms now...Here comes the Mark Wilson Course of Easy to Master Magic set....All the props and 200 DVD's for the amazingly low discount price of ....haha...I said slightly sarcastically...
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