If so, then I'd rather take up knitting than continue in magic.

I personally think that accomplishing an illusion via camera trickery is cheating, but then again, that's looking at it from a magician's point of view. As for the masses, there are million of people out there who still believe that if it's on television it must be real. Yeah, right.

I cant believe this is going on for this long.
Everyone (I hope) realizes that chris angel uses "camera edits" But how is a camera edit different from sleight of hand? In both instances your deciving the audience (which in a way is what magic is all about) Camera edits just show how technology is being incorporated into magic. Chris Angel performs his magic to entertain people and dont try to tell me people arnt entertained when they see him on tv. After all, That is why they watch him.
Calling it cheating, i know what you mean however , as stated in M-W Dictionary and American Heritage:
Magician: one who performs tricks of illusion and sleight of hand
Illusion: a misleading image presented to the vision

A Magician can perform an illusion using a camera and still be considered a "Magician"
^^^Case And Point

Camera trick require little or no skill to perform. Sleight of hand require great skill and many practice. You can perform hundreds of these camera magic tricks you'll still be a ordinary magician. Why? Because you can not perform live in front of real audience. One can only become a great magician with lots of hard work and training.

I dont think Criss Uses camera tricks. Stooges... YES it's kinda obvious. But I think he is a very convincing magician. As for david Blaine? no, not as much. Fist of all, He used so many cuts and edits. I heard for his show he showed an audience the balducci levitation. then he said it was all done with wires. which of course, balducci isn't, it's completly impromptu. He then took the audiences shots of balducci and mixed that with his wire levitation.....anyway.......

What Blaine did is nothing compared to Angel's crap. But I still dont like what Blaine did though.

Sigh, another person who thinks camera trickery is ok, here i go again trying to explain why its not.

This is the thing about camera trickery, using a camera I could do the majority of the effects angel does but I could never really do them. The only reason people believe his camera trickery now is because Blaine made magic on tv real again. People knew he didnt use editing much if any at all, so people believe magic on tv again. The camera tricks that were on magic specials b4 Blaine seem to be a thing of the past to viewers. They think Angel is equal to Blaine as far as not using camera trickery, but thats not true no matter how you look at it. Even if u dont think angel uses camera trickery he at least did for his self levitation more than likely as Blaine did also, however he was just a little higher than Blaine (ok, like twice as high). Many viewers dont believe his real material though because of camera trickery, and they dont believe real material from other magicians on tv as well. However, whether viewers do or do not believe camera tricks on tv my point is this, if I film a camera trick and show A VIDEO to people then they will know its a camera trick, or be very suspicious of it. So in no way can a camera trick be done in real life off of television. All camera tricks do is take successful televised magicians and raise them to miraclemen level and make them look that much better than other actually talented magicians, therefore stopping other magicians from succeeding.

And the main thing is a magic show is not like ok master magician show us everything you can do its ok this camera will be millions of viewers' eyes and ears following you to watch your magic. A camera is not a gimmick, it is the same as the eye and ear of a viewer as if they were standing right in front of you watching. There is no way to "cut" or "pause" the eyes of a spectator, therefore you cannot cut or pause in an illusion you perform in front of a camera.




Also dejavu r u sure the spider in the hat trick is the same as the one angel actually showed on tv because i know some ways you could do that illusion but he did none of the ways I know, and there was a cut so I was wondering if u r sure about it being real. And just for the record there are many other camera tricks also I could name, and some edits to enhance real tricks.

I like how you put it tonto, especially in the second paragraph.

There is only one trick Criss does that I dont know how to do, I dont know if it is Camera Editing or not. But I know lots of his tricks, which mean he doesnt have to use it. Besides, most of his Mentalism tricks can be bought. His Hellstromism isnt a trick, and most of his others are just plainly slight of hand.

There is only one trick Criss does that I dont know how to do, I dont know if it is Camera Editing or not. But I know lots of his tricks, which mean he doesnt have to use it. Besides, most of his Mentalism tricks can be bought. His Hellstromism isnt a trick, and most of his others are just plainly slight of hand.

This doesn't make any sense. If he is a very convincing magician he doesn't need to use stooges. David Blaine is more convincing magician than Criss. At least most of his audiences are real not actors.

I know how the majority of his material works too, its not hard to figure stuff out if you can watch it again and again, but I have seen a lot that seems to be editing. And he does do a lot of stuff that you can't just buy, you would kind of have to make the illusion yourself. I dont recall a "Impromptu Walking On Water Completely Surrounded Illusion" or "Fly Like A Bird" Illusion either. lol Those r just some examples of stuff he does that can't be bought somewhere.

Its not unusual that a magician will use an assistant in a trick. Even Blaine used one for one of his trick. And, I agree with thecooltonto. If I ever found out Criss Angel used camera editing to complete a trick, I would think less of him. But, I also know a good many of his illusions. And if he did create some of them, like me, I wouldnt want to sell them. At least not while I was still preforming.

Yeah I agree its not unusual for a magician to use an assistant in a trick, lots of tricks require assistance or they are impossible, although I think stooging is unnecessary and dumb because stooges are not required or needed. And I also agree magicians who create some illusions that they perform might not want to sell them. I think lots of magicians have effects that only they know or only them and a small number of other magicians. A good example is a magician I work for who owns a magic store. He has some of his own effects that are decently good, but he only sells a select few of them, and out of that only one or two are marketed, the rest are only sold through his store. And I love one that he has, a trick deck that changes color, but its not marketed I guess because he doesn't want to sell a huge number of them. So some magicians create illusions then perform them, but don't market them. I mean its perfectly logical.


And sushix, I agree Blaine is more convincing than Angel.

i can personally guarantee and i can't say how that criss never uses camera tricks except on that one levitation where he faces you and rises up in the air