Hey everyone! thanks for taking the time to read this post I am from Australia and I just started a group of magicians we are called Sh4de we are going to specialize in street magic. we've all been performing magic now for about 6 months and would love to get advice from magicians to help us improve our magic! we'd love to hear from you all!

This is our promo : http://au.youtube.com/watch?v=Jp_zS4ZLONo

and this is our first video of tricks : http://au.youtube.com/watch?v=IwxZewMQ0d8

We are starting with simple tricks and trying to achieve the best possible reactions for them first and then work our way up to the much harder tricks!

thanks again
Vinh Giang

OK, You asked for it so I will be brutally honest with you. Starting with your name It may have some meaning or slang reference in Australia, but you lost it in America.

In your promo there is a place where you show a black 3 and it turns into a red ace then the picture goes into a negative. Drop the artsy fartsy camera crap. It looked like the colour change was a camera trick not a magic trick.

On the second video the background noise wipes out what you're saying. All I heard was the background noise with an occasional girl screaming. She could have screamed because you patted her on the butt not because of the magic. Again these are good pieces, but you are trying too hard to be cute with the camera and not trying to mystify with your magic.

Just something to consider when cutting a commercial for yourself.

Going to have to disagree for the most part paddy, the promo looked good to me, but was way to slow, we need reactions fast, not for 20 seconds after what was a fairly boring video in essence with nothing much going on.

Second video was pretty good. Keep at it.

G'day Paddy look cheers mate i really appreciate you taking the time to write such a detailed peice of feed back for me! I really want to become a good magician! yeah you are right i do love to play with the camera quite abit and you know how it is when you give a child a new toy haha we tend to go a little crazy! but tip definately noted!

hey ukcop Thanks mate! im still learning and im really grateful that you'd take the time to message CHEERS!

Ukcop, I did say it was good, but those 2 small things could be changed to make it better. I missed the fact that is was slow that you got. I don't think we disagree, we are both just trying to fine tune things for sh4de.

Meh, I agree with Paddy. It wasn't a "real" enough promo. Read Jay Sankey's article on his website about Real Magic Video Demos.

Oh yes take it from the "expert" Jay Sankey. Yep I believe everything from someone who takes other peoples tricks and calls them his own.

Did you just diss Jay Sankey? You better not have... I am coming after you!!!

I only watched the first video.

1: Way too long. The video felt "over" at 90seconds.
2: You need to get actual performance footage in the first 90.
3: As paddy said, the video was too slowly paced.

Popchris had a good suggestion. Jay Sankey had quite a bit to say about demo videos, and most of it was good advice. His central point was that you need to show effects beginning to end - no fragmented performance videos.

Hey Sh4de!

I liked the video a lot, I guess you put a bit of time into it.
I was wondering, what part of Au are you from, or are you an internet group?

It's just there's only two magic clubs in my area, one of them is comprised of people fifty and older and the other one is an IBM ring which I'm not good enough for.

BULL CRAP!!! The IBM is for ANYONE interested in magic. My ring has several kids and adults who are just starting in magic, we help them all we can and encourage them to learn enough so they will enter into contests.

Popchris you wrote:

Yep, have to admit it. I have less than "very tiny" respect for the man.

hey pingumagic
haha i feel you man usually i have a group here as well in South Aust and wow everyones really old in there too and half of them hardly ever perform!! but still mad respect for the for sticking with magic for so long and having it as their main career! it shows that they must be killer at it! but yeahs we are a bunch of university mates! thanks for the comment brother!! which part of aust are you from?

I watched the Jay sankey video and it was very helpful cheers ppl. much appreciated!

Sorry to hear that. Oh well, more of his routines for me!!! I guess it comes down to taste...

some rings are quite "set in there ways" and don't like the route magic is going, i.e. the street style, I know how you feel about the IBM, I left them a few years ago and my magic has improved greatly without people telling me what I should learn next

That was realy cool.^^