FISM DAY 3 COMMENTARY HERE

[Richard Kaufman]

See subject.

[Roger M.]

Because the previous thread is locked, I'll post here that I actually believe the most accurate representation of FISM for those who aren't there is best achieved by reading both Richard and Craigs posts.

I honestly feel I'm getting a balanced picture of the event.....it's not perfect, but definitely doesn't suck.

It sounds like nearly every convention on earth, which isn't a bad thing.

Geography (which translates to temperature and humidity) and culture are obviously playing into this event, but does that really surprise anybody?

I, like many, am inclined to attend conventions in Las Vegas or some other super-easy to get to, traveller friendly town and save the adventure travel for the cool season of the country in question.

[CraigMitchell]

"People reading these reports should understand that Craig has a hair up his butt about FISM and never hesitates to run with any negative thing he can possibly say. He claims he's just being "honest," but his views are not only his opinions, but they strike me as negatively biased. The general view here in Beijing is that the convention is excellent. "

Richard - sometimes you just make me laugh. If you disagree with something I post, by all means write a differing view - but now claiming I'm biased - is quite phenomenal. I'd start questioning whether you in fact are objective ... while you may not appreciate my contributions - the huge numbers of emails I get seem to indicate otherwise ( and anyone knows that my contributions are not limited to FISM - so let's get real ) Please refrain from comments such as 'baloney' 'butt' et al. They are beneath a person of your stature. I'm sure we can dialog in a mature fashion. But anytime you possibly disagree with me you appear to resort to the lowest common denominator.

In case you haven't actually been reading - I have overall been having a wonderful time and am the FIRST PERSON to give credit where credit is due ... some quotes which maybe you missed:

* "Registration was a breeze with a not a soul in sight"
* "The registration kits is one of the best FISM ones yet. They've gone all out ... Beautifully put together and really sets the stage for something special."
* "Magic is definitely in the air"
* "The Gala Banquet takes oppulence to a whole new level. The ballroom is decked out to the nines with beautifully printed menus giving a preview of the Chinese feast to follow. Attempting to feed over 2000 people is no easy feat. But the convention has it waxed with an 18 course meal and drinks on tap ... As convention banquets go - this surely has to be one of the most impressive in years"
* "The contests have run like clockwork thus far ( big kudos to Gay Ljungberg and his team ) and it's been fantastic to see so many great friends. Everyone is having a really enjoyable time thus far ..."
* "The Close-up Contest is held in a superb auditorium seating about 300. Lush seating and great sight lines "
* "All in all - a strong array of talent in a show at just under 2 hours that likely catered to all tastes ( an epic feat considering the number of people and countries in the audience ) If we can keep this up - we could on the winning streak. FISM is definitely in full throttle in Beijing."
*"What do I enjoy so much about FISM ? That for one entire week in 3 years I can immerse myself entirely in magic, forget about the 'real world' outside and have a really great time with friends - old & new. ...
* "What has ... been overall a fairly good event. They do some things so well and then this."

Lots of negative bias oozing through here ?

This is growing tiresome ( sorry, Dustin ) and I really don't have the energy to continually have to defend every little piece because you don't approve ... nor do I need my character called into question. If you would prefer me not to write, please let me know and I will happily stop. But I write what I think - honest and sometimes quirky observations as I see them ... unlike 99% of reports which permeate the magic world.

[000]

Craig, keep calling as you see it!

[ForgetRich]

Now, now men. Craig is opinionated, no doubt, but Richard has every right to comment upon observations made in his forum.
Anyway it makes for provocative reading. You are sort of like the Rogers and Ebert of magic. By the way. I am very new to this forum, and I hope this is not common, but it seems like really bad form to not identify yourself when making comments. Gentlemen...box!

[ForgetRich]

Ha! Make that Ebert and Roper...you know what I mean.

[Jegoldie]

Craig, I enjoy your honest report backs on all the events that you attend. Some people just don't seem to approve of your honesty.
;)

[Jacky Kahan]

just found this... not sure if it's livestream... but nice clips..

http://streetofcards.tv/

[Quique]

Please Craig, don't stop posting.

Personally I think your reviews have an halo of negative criticism but they are much apprecited actually.

In my opinion, if anyone else has a different point of view, simply post your own review on the subject, not throwing sand into other poster's eyes. After all that's the spirit of a Forum, isn't it.

Quique

[Chad Findlay]

Thoroughly enjoying these threads! I agree, post your own perspective, we'll decide how to interpret - makes things much more interesting :)

[Richard Kaufman]

Craig is free to post his opinions, just as I am free to comment on them. Incorrect statements reveal bias.

Incidentally, there is a rumor going around here that the Genii Forum has been "blocked," but since I'm making this post you can see that this isn't the case.

An Ha Lim kicked everyone in the head this morning which his performance in the stage contest. Great.

[CraigMitchell]

So now that we are going to play nice, let's continue shall we.

"Regarding last night's close-up show, performing close-up magic in a way in which it can be seen by 2500 people is an almost impossible task. It IS rocket science."

There's your problem - don't perform for everyone at once ( I don't recall this problem rearing its ugly head at past FISMs ... in fact, they usually split the groups )

"Why does Craig bring Stan Allen into this? His comparison is false and biased."

Let's feel the love for Stan. At the Magic Live I attended, everything went 110% - Stan put an enormous amount of effort & energy into the presentation of the close-up ... Stan has an eye for detail for the little things ( and in this case, no one had an eye for the biggest problem of all - the venue ). It has already been commented that some feel that close-up is playing second fiddle to stage by way of technical & production.

"For all but a tiny group of people in the first few rows, watching close-up magic at a big convention means watching a large video screen."

Not all of us are on the high rise seating, Richard. If you are flat on the ground, you have a row of heads obscuring your view of the monitors. And no one can honestly tell me that performing in a smaller venue but still with screens, beats the 2500 seat warehouse of a theatre.

"And it's not possible to have the performers work for small groups and rotate rooms"

They've done it before.

"I haven't watched but a little bit of the contests (I always let the judges weed out the crap and so I just watch the finals--the top five in each category) but the general comment seems to be that the quality of the contestants is not great."

Close-up is stronger than stage - but only 2 acts have been disqualified for being below FISM standard - which is a vast improvement over previous years.

FISM 2012 - BLACKPOOL DECIDE FOR THEMSELVES?
-------------------------------------------

But what dear Richard & I do appear to agree on is that Blackpool is a poor choice for FISM in 2012.

As far as I was aware, the General Assembly is meant to evaluate and vote on the host city for 2012 - assessing the quality of its bid indepedently. Considering that the voting process only takes place tomorrow - how is it then possible that Blackpool are already taking registrations ( 450 Euros for advance registration for the city that hasn't even yet been officially approved if you are intending to go ) Is that not a slap in the face to the member societies ? Does this not make a mockery of the actual host city voting process ? If the member societies have already been polled - I will happily retract this all - but just because there is only one candidate city does not mean that it's bid is up to standard or that the General Assembly won't make alternative recommendations. It seems a little presumptious to me on the part of Blackpool.



Close-up reviews from Tuesday & Wednesday to follow along with pics and the mass murder of fish ( fair warning, this could be negative bias in favour of living things ) in the stage contest today ...

[CraigMitchell]

CLOSE-UP - TUESDAY
------------------

Well it turns out that China is worried about fire regulations after all. Guards are now posted at all the doors keeping the throbbing masses at bay ( literary device alert: hyperbole )letting only the maximum 360 or so people in.

Don't mess with the guards:




1. Charming Choi Parlour Korea
Charming Choi has been a regular at quite a few magic events of the years with a personality all his own. Sue-Anne Webster reprises her role as our official volunteer ( thankfully no shock therapy today ) and partakes in a strange DVD prediction effect involving XXX titles and Disney favourite The Little Mermaid. Thankfully the Little Mermaid made it and Charming Choi performs cups & balls under water in a fishtank ending in a cascade of goldfish.

2. Daly Tang Micro China
3 coin trick, appearing / vanishing cards to music ending with a card spread with a piano design on the backs.

3. Martin Lubcke - Cards - Germany
The tuxedo should have been the first clue that things were headed downhill. A signed card is supposedly meant to be discovered within a frozen icecream - but with the load painfully obvious and the performer appearing somewhat 'touched' or 'extreme' as he would like to say - this was just strange.

4. Nektarios - Micro - Greece
Recorded voice-overs of imaginary telephone conversations appear to be a new trend this year - and a warning of things to come. Pips vanished from cards, we had a matrix with smiley faces, smiley face cards and smiley face t-shirt. Why ?

5. Sho Arai - Cards - Japan
Set to music - pips appeared on cards, the card box along with some stage style card manipulation. Yawn.

6. Rod Chow - Parlour - Canada
The money man who takes a theme to the n-th degree. Pay cheque to cash notes - notes to Amex - gold card to gold bar with appearing diamond ring and a drop of his production load on the floor. Unfortunately the novelty fast wears off and becomes repetitive.

7. Ramon Rioboo - Cards - Spain
A non-English speaking performer trying to speak English which makes things very difficult. Signed card to pocket, cards stapling themselves in a 'homing card' style routine and few other things which failed to make my notebook.

8. Kif - Cards - China
Three cards are selected and in an apparent memorisation of the deck, the performer works out the missing cards - with the aid of 'Super Mints' and orchestra of toy trumpet, drum and tambourine. How ridiculous do we get.

9. Charlie Caper - Parlour - Sweden
As winner of Sweden's Got Talent, the pressure was on ( the full act is available on YouTube ) But Charlie wasn't on form - dropping his vanishing cane and bowtire steal clearly visible on the big screens. In one of the funniest sequences though - Charlie had added an extension cord to his chair in honour of inviting Sue-Anne 'electricity' Webster onto stage.

10. Min Hyung Kim - Cards - Korea
Color changing liquid amidst a 4 ace discovery to the sound of Michael Jackson's 'Dangerous' with crowd singalong. Complete with Barbie doll. Bizarre.

11. Mago Bruno - Micro - Peru
The telephone rings and an imaginary conversation ensues ( warning signs flash all over ) Repetitive and predictable with 'jumbo' pocket watches replacing buttons on his jacket, manipulating giant thread and needles and the not so magical production of a ligher from a table.

12. Ryu Hyun Min - Cards - Kore
Dressed in a bright red bow tie and waist coat, the performer could easily pass for 6 years of age. 3 card monte with appearing deck of cards, signed card in pocket in envelope amidst general confusion.

13. Yves Doumergue - Parlour - France
The act that literally had everyone wide awake and at the edge of their seats. 3 volunteers are brought onstage and requested to selected a dynamite looking firecracker. 4 are real and one is a dud ( he lights one to prove it - literally shaking the CNCC convention centre to its core with an enormous bang ) The volunteers each take one - the last spectator inadvertently providing the magician with incorrect information as to what number he has selected. With the magician now reaching for one of the remaining sticks ( using incorrect information as to what sticks remain ) - he places it in his mouth and begins to light it. Some members of the audience are horrified - not knowing whether to intervene to prevent a ghastly accident. A scream is heard and the magician's face is covered in blood ... he had planned it all and knew exactly which one to choose.

To be honest, I felt very guilty. I should have been deeply concerned about this poor human being about to disfigure his face by accident in the name of entertainment - but thought, wow, this is going to make for such a great story. Oh - the human compassion.


Judges - Dick Koornwinder, Tim Ellis ( did you know that according to the FISM brochure he's a Grand Prix Champion ) & Boris Wild - had their hands full !

[CraigMitchell]

CLOSE-UP GALA SHOW - TUES - PICTURES
-----------------------------

All the pics from the world's largest close-up show thanks to Peter Din.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/40946626@N04/?saved=1

[naquada]

I've set up a flickr pool of FISM photos as well if Peter Din / anyone else wants to add photos in:

http://www.flickr.com/groups/fism2009/

I did the same for FISM 2006 as well...

[Magic Newswire]

just found this... not sure if it's livestream... but nice clips..

http://streetofcards.tv/

A few are broadcast live, but most are archived in Jeff McBrides forum. Jeff popped into the first FISM thread to remind people that he was doing it. They are certainly fun to watch.

[naquada]

for jeffs video links.. best to keep the page open as they will pop up as they broadcast live..

[Shawn Farquhar]

What an amazing evening show I just witnessed. I am sure Craig will give you a full update. For me, and I suspect everyone in attendance, the highlight of the show was the Chinese Diabolo act. They were perfection! The act ended to a "leaping ovation" ... the entire room was buzzing following them and the only sad things was they were dead in the middle of the show and everyone else had to follow them!

The Stage contests had some super great acts like An Ha Lim and a few I'm not sure should have even been allowed ... Once again I am sure Craig will fill you in ...

I had a glorious day and really look forward to just hanging out tomorrow.

[naquada]

how did the close up go today ? :)

[Richard Kaufman]

It was a very good stage show this evening, but a little long. Topas is obviously a favorite--he received huge applause for everything he did. But, with a show that long, I would have cut out the performance bits by the emcee. Also, Peter Marvey appeared unexpectedly on the bill to do the three illusions that were cut due to running time from the first stage show.

It's true: the Diavolo women were ASTOUNDING. You really had to see it live to appreciate THE IMPOSSIBLE things they were doing.

I caught Juan Tamariz's late show tonight. 40 minutes of the kind of miracles with cards which so few can do today. Astounding. It was fun to watch the Chinese audience scream out loud at the end of every trick.

[CraigMitchell]

Your hosts for FISM 2012 - Blackpoo
------------------------------------

As taken DIRECTLY off the official Blackpool registration form.

[Kenardo]

I think Craig is doing a superb job reporting FISM events. Keep up the great work.

I also like reading the different viewpoints from Richard, Tim, and Shaun.

Regarding the close-up show in a huge room with screens, I also completely agree with Craig. It's ridiculous. One of the strengths of close-up magic presentation is the interaction with the spectator assistant and the audience; that cannot be achieved to a maximum effect in a huge room. Ricky Jay always made sure the venue was suitable for his 52 Assistants show because he knew it had to be to succeed. In addition, having poor or inept video crews just makes the whole experience more frustrating and annoying.

By the way, Richard, I believe that you mentioned that you were in China last year. Were you involved with any of the planning for FISM, and if so, in what capacity?

[AJM]

I had a dose of that once - put it down to a dodgy curry.

[Shawn Farquhar]

I too am confused how a bidding club can be advertising and selling before they are official. I've tried accessing the fism.2012.org site but it doesn't appear to be live either.

I also have to agree with Richard on the length of the show being long. I did however love Topas, so I would have perhaps shortened each of the following acts times just a tad to make the show tighter. Peter Marvey, Yunke, Victor Voitko and Jeff McBride. They a re all awesome performers and could have easily rocked the room the same in a shorter set. That said, it was still 90 minutes shorter than the show I was on in Blackpool!

Tonight it appears there will be no magic in the show. I wonder about this decision ... and I am also curious why perhaps China's most famous export, Juliana Chen is not on the bill during this entire event?

[ForgetRich]

Hi buddy,
I have been thinking the exact same thing. Why no Juliana?
Word is you did great performance! That is all I am going to say. Oh, and it says IBM sponsored in the program but we know the deal. Oh Canada...
Don't respond.

[Richard Kaufman]

I was not involved in the planning.

[Tim Ellis]

LOL at the pic of Dick, myself and Boris that Craig posted. Just in case people think that's typical of the Jury.. ;) No, it was posed. We actually got along very, very well and all of our decisions were unanimous.

The winners of the close up competition are

[Shawn Farquhar]

Howdy Mr Forget!

I did a fine set and look forward to hearing the results. As for the program, they actually changed the page so it does read CAM. How cool is that ... only place that says IBM is the website now ... and I love IBM so no worries....

The final group of stage contestants has just ended and once again I was stunned at the incredible talents of Han Seol-Hui ... looks like Korea will do really well in the finals ...

[ForgetRich]

Oh that's great. Guess they found the time to make the change.
I've seen Han Seol-Hui three times and every time he
improved so much. The last time in Thailand where it was obvious
the act was ready and he got what I am sure he got in Beijing,
a standing ovation. Anyway good Karma my friend, you deserve it.
Say hello to Lori and Hanna Bandanna.