The Genii Forum

I know you can easily make a close up practice mirror and i have done so very well in the past. I am just curious to know if there are any better quality ones for sale anywhere?...

Many thanks!

i've never seen one substantially better than the ones one can easily and cheaply make for themselves.

I bought, and I am happy with the 3 Way Mirror by Sean Yang from Vanishing Inc. Note: it is a flexible mirror so it will not provide a perfectly sharp reflection, but it is very light and practical.

Altho I only have one, I've found this table mirror from Ikea to be very usable and inexpensive.

http://www.ikea.com/us/en/catalog/products/10182189/

Brad Henderson wrote:i've never seen one substantially better than the ones one can easily and cheaply make for themselves.

I thought that was the case after doing a short internet search. Thanks Brad!

PickaCard wrote:I bought, and I am happy with the 3 Way Mirror by Sean Yang from Vanishing Inc. Note: it is a flexible mirror so it will not provide a perfectly sharp reflection, but it is very light and practical.

I was thinking of getting a Sean Yang mirror but decided not to due to the very same thing you stated. Thanks for your input!

Gordon Meyer wrote:Altho I only have one, I've found this table mirror from Ikea to be very usable and inexpensive.

http://www.ikea.com/us/en/catalog/products/10182189/

Thanks Gordon!, looks like a great little mirror. Three way helps with angles better though. I do mostly card work so...

I appreciate your input!

Mirrors are useful but you don't want too much of it.

It seems like using a webcam or similar would be superior to a mirror. That would allow you to watch in a focuses manner, after the fact, instead of dividing your attention between what you are doing and the mirror in real time.

Plus you could focus on an imaginary spectator or two when practicing instead of a backwards version of your hands.

Bill Duncan wrote:It seems like using a webcam or similar would be superior to a mirror. That would allow you to watch in a focuses manner, after the fact, instead of dividing your attention between what you are doing and the mirror in real time.

Plus you could focus on an imaginary spectator or two when practicing instead of a backwards version of your hands.

I would agree: I use my iphone and a small tripod to film myself.

A great set up to me would be to have a set up with a bunch of recording cameras from different angles and several monitors that you could turn on and off. That way you could record your performance and review, but could also see real time views as you were walking through a sleight or routine if you desired.

The other practice item I would love to see would be a realistic spectators hand that could do basic motions. Some routines are difficult to practice without an assistant spectator to grasp things.

(PS: Chris: The nicest 3 way practice mirror I ever saw was real glass in oak frames hinged together. It's actually a very easy thing to make if you have wood working skills. There are local woodworker's guilds/clubs in practically every mid to big city, and one of my friends in our guild says it's pretty easy to find talented people to custom make something like this for you.)

It's pricey but Rings-N-Things has one:

https://www.rnt2.com/magicians-practice-mirror.html

JMD

By all means use mirrors and web cameras. I have done so myself. However there comes a point when you need to get away from it as soon as possible. You can have too much of a good thing and if you overdo it then it can affect your work adversely.

The video cam on my iPhone has been a great coach for me (and a brutally honest one). I feel I can scrutinize my performance much better by giving it my undivided intention after recording it, as opposed to trying to observe it in real time while doing the trick or move in a mirror. The video also helps me a lot more than a mirror in regard to the all-important presentational aspect. It's fun too! Watch the video, then back to the drawing board, video again, and keep repeating the process, chipping away, until something resembling mastery is achieved. Then if you get something you're relatively happy with, you can e-mail it to friends and get their feedback as well. Besides, every time I'm in front of a mirror, I find myself asking: "Mirror, mirror, on the wall, who's the greatest of them all?" And it invariably whispers back hauntingly: "Performer, Performer..."

I must say that Alfred is very astute in these matters.

Hi Christopher,
The best quality, 3 way mirrors are made by Joe Anderson out of Dallas Texas. They are beautiful and will last a life time. I use mine everyday.
Bill

You can get both, mirror and video, in one. Simply take your mobile device (phone, tablet, ...) and use the camera that faces you. Then prop up the phone or tablet like a mirror in the position you like. If you can convince your significant other to lend you her phone, or if you have kids, like I do, who must do as they are told, you can get two or three devices to record from different angles as well as play back immediately as a mirror would do. That way you get the benefit of a mirror and a video at the same time. You can get immediate feedback like you would do from a mirror, but you can also review the videos later, to keep as record for your progress, or share with others.

PhotoBooth, already on most Macs, shows on your monitor what it is recording in real time. A little external Logitech camera will provide a lot of flexibility with angles. I would guess there are equivalent Windows programs.

Jack Shalom wrote:PhotoBooth, already on most Macs, shows on your monitor what it is recording in real time. A little external Logitech camera will provide a lot of flexibility with angles. I would guess there are equivalent Windows programs.

Cool! Can you use multiple cameras at a time or switch between cameras?

Wow, i admire what lengths some of you go to but i am old school. I gather that if a mirror was good enough for the likes of Ed Marlo and Dai Vernon then it probably will suffice for me.

lybrary wrote:You can get both, mirror and video, in one. Simply take your mobile device (phone, tablet, ...) and use the camera that faces you. Then prop up the phone or tablet like a mirror in the position you like. If you can convince your significant other to lend you her phone, or if you have kids, like I do, who must do as they are told, you can get two or three devices to record from different angles as well as play back immediately as a mirror would do. That way you get the benefit of a mirror and a video at the same time. You can get immediate feedback like you would do from a mirror, but you can also review the videos later, to keep as record for your progress, or share with others.

.

Hmm that is actually a good thought! Thank you

John M. Dale wrote:It's pricey but Rings-N-Things has one:

https://www.rnt2.com/magicians-practice-mirror.html

JMD

Hey! Thank you, yes, kind of pricey.

Bill Malone wrote:Hi Christopher,
The best quality, 3 way mirrors are made by Joe Anderson out of Dallas Texas. They are beautiful and will last a life time. I use mine everyday.
Bill

Since Bill is the most tremendous sleight of hand artist I have ever seen in my almost 7 decades (not to mention entertainer), I would think that Mr. Anderson ought to be pretty dang pleased with that endorsement.

MagicbyAlfred wrote:

Bill Malone wrote:Hi Christopher,
The best quality, 3 way mirrors are made by Joe Anderson out of Dallas Texas. They are beautiful and will last a life time. I use mine everyday.
Bill

Since Bill is the most tremendous sleight of hand artist I have ever seen in my almost 7 decades (not to mention entertainer), I would think that Mr. Anderson ought to be pretty dang pleased with that endorsement.

I sure second that!

In case anyone is interested in recording via an iphone, here is the mount that I use with a tripod. It's cheap, lightweight, portable (pocket-sized), and secure.

https://www.amazon.com/JOBY-GripTight-M ... dpSrc=srch

erdnasephile wrote:

Jack Shalom wrote:PhotoBooth, already on most Macs, shows on your monitor what it is recording in real time. A little external Logitech camera will provide a lot of flexibility with angles. I would guess there are equivalent Windows programs.

Cool! Can you use multiple cameras at a time or switch between cameras?

Multiple cameras at the same time, probably not, unless there's some fancy software I'm not aware of. You can switch cameras, but I think that each camera would start a new video.

I'm wondering:

How did all those Castle legends from the 60s and 70s get as far as they did without smartphones and other doodads to record and analyze their practice sessions and performances?

Why is there no contact info for Joe Anderson?

HERE is one from Jason Ladanye that looks really good.
I might get one of these myself.

Leonard Hevia wrote:I'm wondering:

How did all those Castle legends from the 60s and 70s get as far as they did without smartphones and other doodads to record and analyze their practice sessions and performances?

Why is there no contact info for Joe Anderson?

I think it boils down to the fact that all this technology we live with now is not as necessary as we think. I mean, go back a little over 10 years and we too was in the same situation!.

Brad Jeffers wrote:HERE is one from Jason Ladanye that looks really good.
I might get one of these myself.

Aww... Yes, that is actually a very nice mirror and not crazy expensive either. Thanks for the link!.

have you tried a trifold make up mirror? around $15.

Christopher1979 wrote:

Leonard Hevia wrote:I'm wondering:

How did all those Castle legends from the 60s and 70s get as far as they did without smartphones and other doodads to record and analyze their practice sessions and performances?

Why is there no contact info for Joe Anderson?

I think it boils down to the fact that all this technology we live with now is not as necessary as we think. I mean, go back a little over 10 years and we too was in the same situation!.

I respect what you are both saying: certainly one could be a master without video and it is not strictly necessary. However, as we know, time/tech changes (sometimes for the better) and I feel certain that at least some of the masters would avail themselves of video if they were alive today because of some of the distinct advantages. I liken it to what has happened with professional athletes, and how video has revolutionized both training and game performance.

Mr. Anderson made some exquisite stuff for me years ago. Very nice man with mad skills. I will reach out to him and see if he has current contact information he might wish to share, as his former website is no longer up.

[quote="Leonard Hevia"]I'm wondering:

How did all those Castle legends from the 60s and 70s get as far as they did without smartphones and other doodads to record and analyze their practice sessions and performances?

Maybe because they had the likes of Vernon, Jennings, et. al. to help them analyze...

Just get your wife to watch:)


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jdwatchboy wrote:Just get your wife to watch:)

Spousal abuse?

erdnasephile wrote: As we know, time/tech changes (sometimes for the better) and I feel certain that at least some of the masters would avail themselves of video if they were alive today because of some of the distinct advantages.

And if the internet had been around in 1932, Vernon could have saved himself a great deal of time and effort, by simply locating Allen Kennedy via Facebook.
What a wonderful age we live in.

Leonard Hevia wrote:

jdwatchboy wrote:Just get your wife to watch:)

Spousal abuse?

LOL! Clever comments, gentlemen.

Course, the spousal abuse could run both ways: Magician inflicting endless poorly executed card tricks upon spouse; followed by spouse's brutally honest feedback, thus crushing magician's already fragile, but overinflated ego. Although the former could be seen as the real abuse, while the latter, simply self-defense.