i had a question about pk touches and it took him a little wile to rply due to filming mindfreak and i suggested that they dont cut the camera so much to prove that theres no camera tricks and this is what he said


Just a heads up, MIndFreak works with numerous editors that are in california,
after we shoot the magic, they edit it. I have no control over the editing, it
is frustrating at times but they edit for the masses, not for the magicians. As
a result there are often edits where we needed non. SOmetimes a word has to be
cut out or a bad angle so they edit then. Bottom line is, Criss does not care
what any magician things his methods are, he knows the truth and that is we have
ways to perform each effect.

All the best my friend and good luck with PK touches, thanks for the kind words.

Banachek

In thoughts and friendship
Banachek
www.Banachek.com

College Performer of the year, 2 years
Novelty Entertainer of the Year
PEA Creativity Recipient

If you notice, not once does he say that they don't use camera tricks. He actually avoids saying it. Which suggests he knows they use camera tricks, but doesn't want to say that.

Keep in mind that you are talking to an "employee" of Angel's. Much of what Criss does is outright camera trickery, (larger scale) the rest is simply stooges and cut-shots. Not that what Criss is trying to portray cannot be done, he simply can't do it...and definitely not live anytime. I guess it must be a coincidence, a thousand of them, every time the camera cuts away during the exact moment Criss is supposed to execute a sleight or other move; most not even being that difficult. That is fine for the TV audience I guess, but you are not a magician...you are an actor.

Go to the Cafe and read what real-world professionals (myself included) have to say about it, professionals who make their living doing honest magic. Read Michael Close's posts in particular, a real-world "worker." In the end it may not matter what magicians think, but they are not being deceived like laymen are. But we are talking about a whole other form of trickery here. When you hide behind the camera and start claiming that "what you see is what you get," and try to undermine, discredit, and insult other real-world performers; you are going to get called out every time.

I don't care what he says about not using camera tricks. I have proof. Look at the poolside table vanish. That says it all right there. Its cute to make it seem like he vanished and is completely gone. But we know where he really is hiding. Then he had stooges say thats he was gone and giving false reactions. And that is not right. I mean if he really did get those reactions then edit it to make it look better it wouldn't be so bad but fake reactions too. Come on Criss you can do better then that.

Hope he relizes he isn't helping the art,

Sean McQuaid

Yeah and if you read much of Banachek's books or watch any of his stuff you can see how much he seems to be influencing Angel as to what material to be doing, so I'm starting to see Banachek's hand in it all as well. But obviously that is just my speculation.

That doesn't prove anything at all. (referring to the original post.)

Criss doesn't use camera tricks... he might cut at a spot (editing) and use stooges, but no actual camera tricks... He is a tv magician, and yes, he can't do most of his material in a real life situation. He doesn't claim to be able to do all this without a camera...

Actually, he does claim that he can do everything live, without cameras. He has repeatedly said that he will not do anything on tv that he can not do in real life. And yes, he does use camera tricks. Which is exactly why Banachek never states he does not use camera tricks.

Yeah the thing I don't get is if Banachek feels that he (banachek, himself) is honest and because of that he doesn't think he should lie about camera edits or claim to be phsychic, then why does he feel that it is ok to use camera tricks on television?

Hey everyone.
Today I was looking at my tivo recording and i wen tto a mindfreak episode. It was the buried alive episode. And i noticed that criss said the he would b ethe first person to do this stunt. And i found it kind of interesting that banachek ( a member on his team and a famous mentalist) Did this stunt and completed it aobut ten years ago. So yes criss makew smany false charges. So if he is lieing to us aobut things liek that i am sure he would lie by saying he can do everyhting live. And yes criss wasn't tlaking aoub t being the first one to do it on ecamera becuase bancheks was also on camera. Just thouht that was interesting and decided to share.

Banachek has done a lot of the effects Criss has done already. And already done on television.

A lot of the stuff is shown as performance only in Banachek's PSI Series, including the driving while blindfolded.

But the thing to remember here is that his audience is a T.V. audience. And they are laypeople.

Magicians are really the only people who get their panties in a knot about television trickery. And really only because we get compared to them, and can't do the same effects that they can get away with because their audience is a television viewer, and ours are live.

But there are certain things you have to do, to portray certain effects for television. Remember, you can't misdirect a camera. So you have to DIRECT a camera. And if need be to avoid exposing methods, you have to do some clever editing. And if selling an illusion requires stooges for the people at home to be mystified, it has to be done.

It's just the way it goes. Before jumping on anyone on television for using trickery, just remember, magic isn't real. It's entertainment. It's mystical. But it isn't real. We use trickery every time we perform. Television magicians use technology as their gimmicks. We use other types.

^^^^^
That is a very good point and i agree wiht your post fully. If that makes sense.


Respectfully,
Sean McQuaid

If Criss Angel presented his TV show - entertained the audience and left it at that, I wouldn’t have a problem with him. The fact that practically every episode he claims that what he is doing has never been done before is pure BS. What’s more is his outrageous claim that “What you see is what you getâ€

I agree with you there. That's pretty bold, and an outright lie.

[quote="Wildheart"]What’s more is his outrageous claim that “What you see is what you getâ€

I don't do that, and why? Because thats not smart to say you didn't do what you did do. It gets people thinking in the wrong direction. I just emphasize on what they think is happening. If I do a DL I won't say something like "And of course I wouldn't use any fancy card moves to do that." I would just say something matching the effect or what they think is happening to get their minds thinking of how to really do it, which is actually impossible. I don't direct them towards thinking of a trick move or something. Thats not smart.

And its not necessary for Angel to do that with camera trickery either. Thanks to Blaine's work, the general tv audience now trusts that magicians are not just using camera tricks again and again. So Angel has that trust, even though he is lowering magic back down to camera trickery on tv again. But the tv audience still thinks that him and Blaine don't use camera trickery, so there is no need to say you aren't doing something you are if your audience doesn't think that you are doing it.