The Joys of TV Magic - Britain's Got Talent

[CraigMitchell]

http://www.express.co.uk/showbiz/tv-rad ... ghby-Rylan

"She then upturned the card she had been holding in her mouth and revealed it was the one Richard had signed. Or was it?

Viewers were quick to notice that the “R” and the “i” on the word “Rich” was suspiciously different to the one he had written earlier.

One Twitter user wrote: "That trick easy! He already has his signature on second card on pack, Hollys on top, turn two over in hand his signature 1/2 #thismorning”"

[Richard Kaufman]

That stinks!

[erdnasephile]

A very unfortunate incident.

It reminds me of Eugene Burger's account of when Doug Henning got busted using Phoa's Cut and Restored Silk on a talk show. (Mastering the Art of Magic, pg 22) in terms of what Mr. Burger has to say about method selection.

[Tom Moore]

I'll pre-empt the accusation of bias by pointing out up front that I have previously worked/consulted on various "got talent" shows around the world but haven't been involved in this season. I also do not know the performer so my comments should be taken as more general and based on the performers i have had to work with across dozens of these shows.

It is the magician's fault.

If you're going on a TV show you need to make sure that the material you present is rewind-proof (at least to a basic level) and that you have rehearsed it extensively before you go anywhere near a camera. Copperfield used to perform an effect in hundreds of live performances before it got anywhere near a TV camera for his specials to ensure that he was operating at his absolute best. If you're presenting something that requires you to duplicate a specific action then i would expect a performer to have rehearsed that move thousands of times so that even when half asleep, on an air-plane, in turbulence they could still nail it every time. Magic is after all about putting way way more effort in to something than any normal person would possibly imagine.

If you're going on a TV show you need to make sure that not only are you presenting something original (or at least not common) but also that you understand the history of the show and the effect - it's a fact of modern TV watching that the moment you appear on screen audiences are going to be googling what you just did so don't do an off-the-shelf performance of a trick/routine that has been featured on a sister show. You WILL be caught-out as has been proven time and again for the past 10 years and to think that you won't get caught out then your ego is in need of a reality check.

I understand that performers on these types of show often reply with the conspiracy theory answers about how "the producers" made them do that trick or routine and ultimately that's a cop-out answer. I have yet to meet a producer who wasn't open to presenting something even bigger/better than their initial idea and even if you really do hit a brick wall then you always have the option to come up with a radically different staging or refuse to take part in the show. The catch-all response of "I knew if i didn't say yes they'd just get someone else who would do it" is a nonsense - If someone said "if i don't rob this bank then someone else will" everyone would laugh at the ridiculousness of the claim.

If fame at all costs is your intention then go on TV and do whatever you want to do, if however you sell your soul by making these mistakes then the performer (and other magicians) loose all rights to claim outrage or upset at what the press and social media do because at every stage the performer had the option to chose the alternative path and decided not to.

[Leo Garet]

It is the magician's fault.

Well, that’s told me, but what the hell.
Whilst bowing to Mister Moore's clear and obvious experience and expertise, I disagree.


If there is "blame" one person cannot be held responsible. All actors forget lines once in a while, no matter how many times they've chanted the "To be...." Soliloquy. All musicians hit a flat/sharp note once in a while, no matter how many times…etcetera. Of course if it’s Jazz, it don’t matter…much.
The best rehearsed effort is subject to Murphy's Law.

That said, if the magician does not accept that he's* in a strange land surrounded by people (and technology) who may wish him well, but expect him to deliver the goods, then the magician is indeed culpable. If there are bad angles, someone or something (the camera) will spot whatever there is to spot. The "someones" will then make deductions and assumptions and sneer as is appropriate to their own demeanour.
Then, as Mister Moore rightly notes, it’s all over the media in minutes, if not seconds.

A minor point. If the act has been rehearsed and performed hundreds of times (as per Copperfield) is it possible to come up with a “radically different staging” at what most likely will be some sort of eleventh hour?
I suggest that it’s not. And in this instance concur with Mister Moore’s observation: “refuse to take part in the show”.
Trouble is, fame is indeed the spur.

*Or "she," of course.

[erdnasephile]

I agree with Mr. Moore--the method was ill chosen for the particular conditions it was to be performed in. I actually thought that the production was fine--there were no poor angles, hand burning, or abusive hosts here. Just a suboptimal choice (and a painful lesson) for the performer. That, plus an regrettable education for the public.

[performer]

I haven't seen the clip as yet but I have been on television many times and I agree with Tom Moore. You really do have to know what you are doing. Having said that television is a strange environment to most performers and it takes a lot of getting used to. Unfortunately your first experience may well be in front of thousands (maybe millions!) of people and that can be very daunting!

I was very fortunate to get a whole month of television training on a daily basis but the audiences were limited to about 50 to a 100 people at the most. I was pitching svengali decks at the Ideal Homes Exhibition in London about a thousand years ago or so. I could probably pinpoint the exact year if I exerted myself because it was just before colour television was being introduced to the United Kingdom. The BBC had set up a small TV studio at the exhibition and were running daily programmes to be seen by attendees at the exhibition only rather than for general broadcast. All the shows were broadcast in colour but this had not yet been introduced for public broadcasting. However, it was going to be in a month or two. The idea was to show the public what they were going to be in for. People take colour television for granted nowadays but way back when the only programmes shown were in black and white this incoming novelty was anticipated with great excitement.

I was approached by the BBC to do 15 minutes of magic every day for the entire month of the show. I demurred at first because it would take me away from selling my merchandise and the BBC did not show any enthusiasm for paying me. However, they convinced me by appealing to my ego saying, "Do you realise that if you do this you will be the first magician on colour television in Britain?" Since I always felt that I was destined to be a historical figure I decided to go along with it.

I learned such a lot in that month. All sorts of things like keeping the tricks in the camera frame and giving little cued warnings to the cameraman when I was about to move out of frame. And so on and so forth. The best thing I learned is that television is an intimate medium and you should relax and act as if you own the place. Show no nervous body language whatsoever and not talk too fast. When cameras do long shots you can actually see how nervous the performer is. And to go to another extreme, bombast and too much energy is a very bad thing too. Quietly does it.

This was all very useful in the decades to come when I went on television many times not only in connection with my magic but with my psychic work.

Tom is right. You really have to be prepared and study the show beforehand and the attitude of the hosts. If they appear to be aggressive then you have time to plan your strategy in advance as to the best way to deal with them. You really can't do this kind of thing on a spur of the moment. Preparation is the key.

[AJM]

Just turned on the TV to see them announce him as the winner of BGT this year.

Well done to him.

Andrew

[erdnasephile]

Great news! Kudos to Mr. Jones!

[erdnasephile]

Here's his Grand Finals winning performance:

[Travis]

Maybe I'm just cynical, but this just did nothing for me, in terms of the trick. No disrespect to anyone who's served in the military. They all deserve to be honored, but this felt more like pandering than a demonstration of skill. I can't imagine even a layperson being decided by the first part with the very studied and minimal "shuffling". It all just felt strung together to support the emotional grandstanding.

But, like I said, maybe I'm just too cynical.

[Jack Shalom]

Really? Couldn't they find a larger flag?

Patriotism as the last refuge of a boring magician.

Embarrassing, IMO.

[erdnasephile]

Here's his audition:




and semi-finals performance:

[Travis]

Again, this just does nothing for me. Feels unfocused and all over the place. What's with the bottle suddenly breaking in order to open it? Weird and confusing. And why ignite the page after the word's been revealed? Why not let us see it burn into the page, if you're going to do it that way?
Happy to see magic out there on tv and winning. I'm just rather surprised that this is what won.

[erdnasephile]

Not really my cup of tea (why do magicians persist in thinking the average person likes getting electric current sent through their bodies? The next time someone does that, the spectator should clutch their chest, keel over, and sue the performer). However, a winner is a winner and everybody else goes home--he understood the competition, conquered, and I wish him well.

On a slightly related note: I wonder if real folks are beginning to get a sense of sameness. For example, didn't some dude on AGT do a Pegasus Page routine (using nearly the exact methodology) as well? To be fair, most people probably don't see all these shows and watch the magic, so perhaps it all new to them.

I remember watching my first magic convention contest in the 80's and I was sitting next to a guy who said to me: "I'd never compete unless I had an contest act of my own stuff." I didn't realize how smart that sounded until after I had seen my 15th ambitious card routine and my 10th zombie. Making a living with personalizations of published effects makes total sense to me. Competing against others with them in a high stakes contest, perhaps not so much.

Don't get me wrong. I love the classics (and perform them) as much as anyone; however, I must admit wincing a little when I see someone invert dome-like objects over spheroid detritus, stop there, and call it original.

In that sense, I would rather the public just spend time watching "Fool Us" to see some of the best pros that are out there and the amazing variety and talent that is possible in magic.

[erdnasephile]

Then again, perhaps if the public sees enough really great magic juxtaposed against not so great magic, they will be able to finally grasp the notion that magic itself does not reflect the foibles of so many of its practitioners.

[Travis]

Now, THIS is a great performance.
https://youtu.be/ILOjUHn39qM