Magic Camp Movie

[CraigMitchell]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=pl ... AqitNPKETs

If I was an outsider looking at this trailer - I'd be convinced that magic was only for misfits ( how right they may be

[Jeff.Prace]

Adamson, you have clearly never been to a magic camp. You have it all backwards.

[mrgoat]

Alas these kids will remember the secrets they have been taught at magic camp for the rest of their lives. I know perfectly well that 90% to 95% of them will not be doing magic in five years time but now the secrets have been exposed.

So, someone interested in magic, that pays to go to study magic, shouldn't be taught magic in case they lose interest in it in the future?

Riiiiight...

[Jonathan Townsend]

So, you think making a Svengali deck routine part of the curriculum might up the odds of them taking the craft more seriously?

[Derrin Berger]

I'm sure there are many "magic camps" that most of us would shudder at, but Tannen's (the one from the documentary), couldn't be further from anything to shudder at.

1. Not all parents pay for for the camp. Many students actually pay for it themselves, or get help through any number of scholarships from organizations like the S.A.M.

2. The staff is entirely volunteer. Almost 3 dozen of us every year take time away from our own lives to give back. Many of us were students there ourselves. So it's not a situation where anyone is trying to make an easy buck by exposing tricks.

3. The content of what's taught goes FAR beyond exposure (which is actually shown in the movie). We spend more time teaching stage presence, creativity, and theory.

4. This particular camp has been around for almost 40 years and has had a long list of supporters I'm sure you respect. David Blaine, Josh Jay, Jeff McBride, Vito Lupo, Steve Cohen, Hiawatha, David Oliver, Johnny Ace Palmer, Meir Yedid, Eric DeCamps, Marc Desouza, and David Copperfield have all been there. I'm sure when Bob Elliot helped start this camp decades ago, he wasn't just trying to expose magic to those unwilling to seriously learn.

5. The other major point being missed is that being a young magician is unique, and many don't have other magicians their own age to spend time with face-to-face. Being able to spend a week with people just like you can be very comforting, and there's tremendous value in that.

I honestly can't think of many better places for a kid seriously interested in magic to get started.

[mrgoat]

The point that they are paying for it is well taken. However, it should be noted that it is the parents who are paying rather than the child.

Still, I am open to being convinced. By all means present your point of view and I will consider it.

I thought I did present my point with my sarcastic reply. Obviously it wasn't clear. I will break it down.

Child into magic is given money to go to a place to study magic. During the course of this study, they (shock horror) are TAUGHT some magic. A % of them will lose interest in magic YET THEY WILL STILL KNOW HOW A TRICK WORKS.

So what?

Who cares?

I do linking rings all the time. At least three times people have come up to me and said they've seen it exposed on the TV but they had no idea how I did it, cos the guy on the TV had a hole in his rings.

A few kids being taught magic is A GOOD THING! The fact that some grow out of this interest is of no consequence. Kids get taught lots of things. Education is good. Paying to learn magic shows a level of commitment.

Are you seriously suggesting we outlaw magic camps because some kids might know how linking rings or a zombie is done?

This really is pointless.

Hope that clarified my position.

[mrgoat]

I honestly can't think of many better places for a kid seriously interested in magic to get started.

QFT.

[Richard Kaufman]

I think Adamson is a troll of some sort by his responses.

[John M. Dale]

This isn't Mark, is it? I get a weird Lewisish vibe for some reason, or maybe it's just the Bourbon talking.

JMD

[Jeff.Prace]

Magic camp is so much more than "teaching secrets," and that's why the kids who attend are likely to stay in magic - even if it's not professionally. Plus, all of the kids who sign up already have a high interest in the art, otherwise they would never even consider a magic camp.

There are classes in creativity, crafted so kids solve magic problems in new, practical, and exciting ways.

There are classes on comedy, taught by some of the best around.

Advanced classes teach the psychology and theory behind the tricks we already do.

Most of all, it's a place to be encouraged - encouraged to perform, explore, and grow.

[Richard Kaufman]

Adamson, or whoever you are, no one really cares what you think about magic camps.

[mrgoat]

I'll wager 50 crisp english pounds it is Lewis.

It stinks of him.

Feel stupid for being trolled!

RK, check his IP, pound to a penny it's in Canadia.

[Ian Kendall]

He's a tad obvious when linking to content he's already flagged up elsewhere...

[mrgoat]

Talking of Linking Rings, here's a clip of the above poster, who is obviously Lewis, performing it SO BLOODY BADLY it is worse than exposure.

Cant wait till Richard wakes up to ban him again.

[mrgoat]

Oh yes, and here is the video I made mocking Lewis for being so VERY VERY VERY BAD at magic

[erdnasephile]

I'll wager 50 crisp english pounds it is Lewis.

If it is Lewis, that's pretty weird (and sad).

What kind of person keeps coming around where they've been thrown out repeatedly?

[Jonathan Townsend]

Looks okay to me

http://www.magiccampmovie.com/#!about/c10fk

Any campers care to discuss their experience of the documentary filming or what they got from magic camp?

[Derrin Berger]

While I'm not a camper any more, I've been at Tannen's for 20 years (I was a camper at first) and personally, I've gotten more out of that camp than anywhere else. I'm happy to answer any questions about the camp and the documentary. Jeff's been there for a few years now, hopefully he can continue to chime in as well.

[Q. Kumber]

The best thing a magic camp or junior club can teach young magicians is the ability to stand up in front of an audience and communicate.

They should also learn basic memory techniques.

And I always suggest three simple tricks that are easy to do and easy to remember, so even if they drop out of magic, they will have a party piece.

With those three, you have something you can use for the rest of your life.

And if you stay in magic, all the better.

Not everyone who learns the piano becomes a musician.

[Richard Kaufman]

It was Lewis. The new Forum software allows me to simultaneously ban someone and delete all their posts at the same time.
It has been done.

[mrgoat]

/me looks for LIKE button

[erdnasephile]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=FAqitNPKETs

If I was an outsider looking at this trailer - I'd be convinced that magic was only for misfits ( how right they may be

To very loosely paraphrase Mr. Maven: I'm pretty sure that the majority of magicians get into magic to try to address one social pathology or another.

They key question is whether or not the individual eventually overcomes their shortcomings and stops using magic as a crutch and begins to express his/her art through their magic.

[CraigMitchell]

Just finished watching the film ( its available on itunes ) - and it paints a truly unappealing picture of not only magic but those who attend magic camp ... if I had no other knowledge - I walk away from the film more convinced than ever that magic / magic camp is nothing but a shelter for social misfits, losers, high school drop-outs and general weirdos. It is beyond depressing ... and a horrible wake-up call ( once more ) as to the world's view of so many who take up magic.