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Dynamike Eternal Order FullTimer 24148 Posts |
Any suggestions for my clown promo?
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Bill Hegbli Eternal Order Fort Wayne, Indiana 22797 Posts |
That looks great Mike, fun, exciting, funny.
The only suggestion I have is that at the beginning and later, you use the same transition effects to much. I would change them up a little more to keep it interesting. At the end you do not have your phone number and Email address large enough and centered. Leave it up for a second or two longer so they can write it down or remember it. You might even have it at the transition points from stills to video throughout. Like with the spinning drawing of you, there is no contact information. |
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Dynamike Eternal Order FullTimer 24148 Posts |
Wonderful information, Bill. Thank you very much for your time, thoughts and kindness.
If only there was a "love" button. |
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tacrowl Inner circle Maryland 1633 Posts |
Mike -
Nice work but I'm not sure the promo sells you. The song is cute, but making the promo "fit" the music does nothing to give clients a reason to hire you. Here are some thoughts - take them for what they are - just an opinion: First - when clients are looking at video, chances are they have several options to watch and they don't always sit through a whole promo. They want to know up front if you are right for their audience. The opening graphic and photo montage waste valuable viewing time. I'd put the best stuff at the beginning - showing the kids laughing, the audience shots with you involved and have a voice over - something along the lines of "When you want the kids to have an incredible time, Dynamo the clown keeps them laughing, involved and having fun. With live animals and audience participation, Dynamo helps you create a memorable occasion." At the end, a voice over call to action with the announcer voicing your phone number would make a strong finish. Next - I'd cut out a bunch of the scenes and tighten others. The dove production could be trimmed at the front and end (so they don't see the bird fly to the ground.) The shot of you kneeling with the little girl leaves a lot of empty background - use that for a quote if you leave the shot in. You could trim that to about 60 to 80 seconds and have a much stronger piece that would keep potential clients through to the end. Of course, right now, with a new video, most people offering advice will watch beginning to end. The key is to look at the viewer analytics a month or two down the road to see where viewing drops off. It can be pretty eye-opening. Wishing you the best with it! |
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Dynamike Eternal Order FullTimer 24148 Posts |
Great suggestions, Tom. I like how you and Bill point out your suggestions and give solutions with none of that run around stuff. It shows you guys really know what you are talking about. Thanks, buddy.
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rossmacrae Inner circle Arlington, Virginia 2475 Posts |
Love the song!
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Gerry Walkowski Inner circle 1450 Posts |
Hey Mike,
I have some suggestions, but you might not like them. For starters, I think you do quality work as a magician. My suggestion is this and it’s quite blunt – drop the clowning. To me at least, Dynamo and Dynamike are too similar, and I wonder if you’re diluting your positioning in your own market place by trying to pretend you’re two different people basically performing the same act. To me and many others, clowning and magic don’t mix well together. I think it’s a fair bet to say that most magicians, well the serious ones at least, cringe when they see clowns perform magic tricks. Look, I think clowning is a wonderful thing. It’s great to see a true clown at work, especially one that doesn’t use magic as a crutch because he or she can’t develop an original comedy act. Years back I caught the Moscow Circus. They had 2 clowns in the center ring, and I was almost in tears from laughing so hard. I also have no problems with circus clowns with the funny skits and crazy walk-around antics. So clowns aren’t the problem; it’s clowns trying to be magicians. You seem to be such a talented magician. I would think that you would be busy enough as a magician that you wouldn’t need to cross over to the other side. I say all of this with respect to you as a magician. Gerry |
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Dynamike Eternal Order FullTimer 24148 Posts |
Okay. When do you want me to stop it?
Posted: May 15, 2015 07:04 am Just kidding. Gerry, have you heard of "Unique Selling Proposition"? If not, the members on the following thread will explain it to you: http://www.themagiccafe.com/forums/viewt......forum=44 You are right mentioning clowns do not present magic in a professional manner. That is my USP. Most magicians are not use to it. The same way most clowns told me "Clowns only wear a red nose." Mine is blue. I want to do what pleases me and my clients, not other magicians and clowns. They are my competition. Clowns started without hip hop also. Tommy the Clown is unique by being a hip hop dance clown in LA: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1NacXY4prSE Smiley the Clown is unique by being a rap clown and DJ in Detroit: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Vr807kLZZeE He is my number one competitor. I present Dynamo as "The Magic Clown." Prospects ask me why are Dynamo's fees so high. I tell them are getting "two in one." They are not getting just a clown. They are also receiving a professional magician who uses live animals in his act. Some prospects have dropped the package because the clown fee is not in their budget. Others prospects go for it and are pleased. I don't want to spread myself thin by having both characters on my website. I have two different websites and phone numbers: www.dynamikemagic.com www.detroitclown.com In 2008 I mentioned I wanted to be a clown: http://www.themagiccafe.com/forums/viewt......275424#5 I love what I am doing. |
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Dynamike Eternal Order FullTimer 24148 Posts |
Quote:
On May 15, 2015, Gerry Walkowski wrote: The kids look like they are laughing hard and having a fun time to me: |
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saysold1 Eternal Order Recovering Cafe addict with only 10795 Posts |
I love the song.
My suggestion would be to hire a genuine editing pro to do the work - spend the $$$ and let the pro who knows their craft make a video that does your entertainment services justice and makes you shine. That would be - to my mind - money well spent IMO rather than asking the peanut gallery here for constructive tips. You seem to be at a fairly advanced stage in your market segment - the video should reflect that. It's not that the video isn't good (it's fine) but it certainly doesn't approach the quality and polish of a professionally edited promo that reflects the high calibre of your work. Good luck and take care.
Creator of The SvenPad Supreme(R) line of aerospace level quality, made in the USA utility props. https://svenpads.com/
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Dynamike Eternal Order FullTimer 24148 Posts |
Thanks for adding your time, Brett. That makes good sense too. I never thought of it that way. Thanks again.
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Bill Hegbli Eternal Order Fort Wayne, Indiana 22797 Posts |
In the old days many famous magicians worked and used two or three different names to show they had different acts. I kept them working and repeat bookings. It gave a solution to, "We had him last year".
That does bring up a point, though, is Dynamike The Clown and Dynamike the Magician to confusing, even with separate websites. I know I am confused just trying to type this. Something to consider, maybe using a different name for the Clown in you. Oh, just looked a your backdrop, see you already have it imprinted, to late. It was a very true statement that clowns are terrible at performing magic. They are also super cheap at buy any tricks. Just the nature of the group, I guess. They spend all their energy and money on makeup and clothing. And that they think means they are a clown. I once did a local downtown event. About 10 clowns were there in all the outfits and makeup. All they did was all stand in a huddle and talk and drink the free drinks. They did not go out and talk to any of the kids or do anything. I did my show an left, and they were still just standing there in the pavilion. tacrowl, had some excellent suggestions, voice over and trim. To be honest, I did think it was a little long, most like because of so much repeated transition effect. Now that I think back, that may be a good place to have the voice over as well. I love the song as well. |
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Dynamike Eternal Order FullTimer 24148 Posts |
The clown name is Dynamo. The magician is name Dynamike.
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Donald Dunphy Inner circle Victoria, BC, Canada 7563 Posts |
Quote:
On May 15, 2015, Bill Hegbli wrote: I guess that Dynamike must be different than the norm. He owns several Richard Hughes props, a higher-end chair suspension, etc. Not that fancier props make him a better performer. But he also doesn't fit your assessment that, "They are also super cheap at buy any tricks." - Donald P.S. Mike - One thought I had about your video is that you should have the actual video clips right near the start (seeing the reaction of the kids), and have the slide show of still photos later in the video. So, you might not want to lead with the slide show of still photos.
Donald Dunphy is a Victoria Magician, British Columbia, Canada.
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Gerry Walkowski Inner circle 1450 Posts |
Hey Mike,
As for the USP, I was actually well ahead of the curve on that one. I even beat David Dee to the punch on that one. Mike, at times we all do stuff (me included) and sometimes we don’t think things through all the way. As an example, sometime back a person was promoting the use of copyrighted costume characters. I was one of the first to jump in and point out that’s illegal. Now as for your case, by all means run with the clown idea if you want to. I was just trying to highlight some reasons why you SHOULDN’T do this. I’m just confused in that you seem to have spent so much time and energy becoming the DETROIT MICHICAN MASTER MAGICIAN (and I don’t know if I would truly call that a USP), that I just shake my head wondering why you’re going off in a completely different direction. I’m also not saying you can’t be successful as A PARTY CLOWN. It looks like the children are having a great time at your show. However, my reference to the Moscow Circus clowns also proved one of my points. Those clowns were so funny because they DIDN’T perform magic. They didn't use MAGIC as a crutch because they couldn't develop an comedy act. I guess it all boils down to how you wanted to be remembered. Hey, if you’re happy having the word CLOWN used in your obit, then I would just keep doing what you’re doing. That’s certainly not the way I want to go out, though. If you’re truly successful in your magic business, then why chase after this clowning concept? Now if business is DOWN and you feel the need to diversify in order to eke out a living, then that’s a different story. If that is the case, though, then to me a better strategy might be to start an entertainment agency under a completely different name altogether and just send out clowns and other variety acts. At least that way you maintain your good name and all the hard work you put into being a very good magician. All of this is meant with complete respect to you as a performer. Gerry Posted: May 16, 2015 06:34 am P.S. While you have different websites for your two different names, I think the Dynamo and Dynamike names are too similiar and even the websites, while different, seem too similar as well. Gerry |
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Dynamike Eternal Order FullTimer 24148 Posts |
Thanks, Gerry. At times I have received calls from prospects looking at both websites the same day not even knowing they are talking to the same person.
If I was not living in the most damaged city in the USA from the economy, I would have more business from magic alone. I have a certain area in my mind dealing with moving to. Some prospects are strong on the clown only no matter what he does. Quote:
On May 15, 2015, Donald Dunphy wrote: I never looked at it that way. I will surely focus on that. Thanks for bringing it up. I am going to do a lot of experimenting with that video from all the suggestions I am receiving here. There is not a lot of members making the suggestions, just a few. Each one is very strong. It's the quality that counts. Thanks everyone. |
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Gerry Walkowski Inner circle 1450 Posts |
Mike,
Completely understand. I hear you loud and clear. I knew someone who was doing something similar to what you're doing, except the person had one website for his own shows and a completely different website for everything else in the entertainment world. He was able to mantain his image and high fees on one website and book clowns and other variety acts through his other website. They way he handled it, there was no way you could make the connection between the two. He also had a seperate phone line for each. He took calls and his wife took calls on the other line. If he wasn't working on a particular weekend, and his # 2 website received a booking, sometimes he would work these engagements under a completely different name at a lower fee. Wishing you the best, Gerry |
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charliecheckers Inner circle 1969 Posts |
I really like the discussion Gerry introduced, because it allowed Mike to explain his reasoning and approach to the clown character he has developed. I think it is important to revisit the thoughts behind our approaches from time to time, and make sure they align with our needs and desires. Great discussion.
With regard to the promo, it would be helpful to know how and where you intend to incorporate it into your promotional activity. Visually, you have some great footage of reactions, your professional staging and show content. The content in terms of video, pictures and branding and theme song are all impressive. Knowing more about the intended use of the promo will perhaps lead to specific recommendations. |
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docdazzal Veteran user San Tan Valley, AZ 360 Posts |
Hi Mike...
Great video...great clowning...great magic...great song...and great entertainment. I think you're doing a lot more right than not. Keep-on...keeping-on Mike. Wishing You Continued Success, Dan |
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danfreed Inner circle West Chester PA 1354 Posts |
Here is my theory on vides, and people are welcome to disagree. What are you selling, is it you or is it happy laughing kids? Why do they want a show - because they want happy laughing kids. Sell the benefits more than the features. That is why I'm not a fan of using music in demos. If it's all music, then there is no laughs, no applause, no kids going "oh my how did he do that!" And if you use music on top of the laughs & stuff then you distract from the laughs & stuff and reduce the impact of them. Some people feel music creates energy and helps with continuity, which is true, but you aren't selling music, and you aren't sending your demo into a film festival, you are selling happy laughing kids. Another problem is videos taking too long to get into the fun stuff, as others mentioned.
Dan Freed
AKA The Amazing Spaghetti https://www.magiciandanfreed.com/birthday-party-magician-for-kids http://thecaricatureartist.com http://danieljayfreed.com |
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