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kasper777 Regular user 144 Posts |
I am considering purchasing this tape. I would like to hear reviews from people who have watched the tape and what you think about it. I would like and honest review of the tape, not "I like it, get it" because your name is on the credits. I recently bought his C&Bs tape and was a little mislead. The write up claimed he was going to teach some on building and holding a crowd. Granted, through his performance you can see his joke but he doesn't teach how to deal with people leaving. And yes I do have the Cellini tape. Also, I found the quality of the tape not to be all that great, audio kept cutting out, it would go to a blank screen, not at all what imagined, but the thoroughness of the explaination was good, and it was a treat to see him perform.
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Danny Hustle Inner circle Boston, MA USA 2393 Posts |
You need to watch the cup and ball tape again. This time you need to listen when he is talking about things like downplaying your character, etc. There is a TON of information on that tape about audience management that applies to any street show. It might become more obvious to you after you get out on the street and do a few shows. This is a tape you should continue to watch as you learn. Some of the great information may be flying over your head at the moment because you don’t have enough practical experience.
I have watched the Cellini tape this way and am amazed by how much more I pick up by reviewing it often. I am assuming I am the one you are referring to when you talk about having a name on the credits. For the record I received nothing for helping Gazzo put together that tape, nor did I want or expect anything. I have no financial stake in the tape whatsoever. Gazzo is a good friend and it was a project he wanted to get done. I was able to help him out with it as a friend and that is the end of the story. It was an honest opinion I gave and if I thought it was junk I just wouldn’t mention it at all and would probably even steer you away from it. The truth is, I simply believe that it is the best tape of it’s kind on the market for street work. It is a two-hour tape where Gazzo takes you into a heck of a lot more than the cups and balls. That tape and the Cellini tape (Jim’s book and lecture notes too if you can find them) are all you need to get out there and put the leather to the bricks. This assumes you are already a magician. I’ll even go a step further, you shoot me a PM and tell me what I claimed that you didn’t see and I will review the tape and tell you where to find the information on the tape AND I will expand upon it. The same goes for anyone here that would like the same information that feels the same way. Gazzo happens to be a good friend of mine but that is not the reason I am suggesting his tape. I’m willing to back that up with no problem. Fair is fair. I want everybody here who is truly interested in busking with magic to benefit from my limited knowledge. I am not an expert on the subject by any means but I can help you get out there and not make a lot of the mistakes that I did. Guys like Gazzo, Cellini, Lucky, Sonny Holiday, and a few others were nice enough to do this for me and I figure the least I can do is to give some of it back. All I ask is when you get a couple of years under your belt you do the same for some guy starting out. It is an old tradition we venture in to by working the street. This might sound corny but it doesn’t make it any less so. It is important that we preserve it with as much help to one another as we can. Best, Dan- "MT is one of the reasons we started this board! I’m so sick of posts being deleted without any reason given, and by unknown people at that." - Steve Brooks Sep 7, 2001 8:38pm ©1999-2014 Daniel Denney all rights reserved. |
MagiUlysses Special user Kansas City 504 Posts |
Greetings and Salutations Dan,
I'll second your comment, as if you needed it, but add a proviso: if you are already doing some street, or fairs or festivals, some of the stuff on the Gazzo or Cellini's tapes may not be new, and if that's true, you're futher along than you might think! I had a chance to meet with Cellini prior to his lecture in KC and after having a chance to read his book and view his earlier video, and one of the things I thanked him for was confirming some of the things I was already doing in gathering and keeping a crowd. Sometimes it is good to know, from an expert's point of view, that you're on the right track! Thanks for sharing you ideas, opinions and experience. Joe in KC |
mslj New user Bradford, England 95 Posts |
Kasper777, firstly I'm not sure what tape you are refering to but on a general note I think one of the problems with videos is that they are often seen as a media to watch but not to study. So we sit down and watch from start to finish and miss 95% of the value of what is being shared.
If I had a video to teach me french I'd watch a bit, rewind and watch again three or four time, taking notes as I did so. There is so much packed into the Cellini and Gazzo tapes, so many one line pieces of vital information that unless the tapes are studied will be missed. So I sit with a pen and notebook and make like I'm in a lecture. The other thing about a good tape (and yes top marks for guessing that I put the Cellini and Gazzo tapes in that definition) is that the more I watch them, new and previously unnoticed material jumps out at me. |
Whit Haydn V.I.P. 5449 Posts |
One of the reasons that I have always preferred books to tape, is that it is so much easier to go back to the last paragraph and read it again. Tapes are often a difficult medium to learn from. The material that takes two hours to read out loud or listen to on a video tape can be read in a fairly concise booklet in about a third the time.
Tapes are great because they allow you to see moves and routines and presentations in a way that a book can't. However, the detail, psychology, and philosophy that is fascinating in a book, usually comes out flat and boring when it is a talking head on video. Also, there are some video quality issues with the Gazzo tape. However, you should remember that tapes that are created by artists for artists will not always have the high budgets and standards that tapes made by a big company can have. But it is the only way that the artist can keep his fair share of the profit. The big companies pay an artist up front for the shoot, usually only around $3000. Then they own the tape forever. The only way the artist can maintain his fair share of the profits is to put up the financing himself-- which is often impossible--or having the tape shot on a shoestring, as Gazzo did on that tape. He was able to get friends to shoot and edit the tape for free. He gets a much better part of the proceeds by producing his own tape than if he went to L&L or A-1 and gave his "life's work" for what he might make at one festival performing it. The information is the same. The lighting, sound and editing is not as good. It's the difference between Indies and Hollywood. The bigger the budget, the better looking the movie. But the best produced is not always the best content. A lot of magic tape producers would not have given Gazzo a full two hours to ramble on about every detail. They would want him to rehearse and make everything tight and keep it under an hour--leaving out most of the really important stuff that is such a gift on Gazzo on the Cups and Balls. |
sir real New user I've been tied to 85 Posts |
I recently bought Gazzo uncensored and have been very pleased with it. This is real footage of Gazzo working three different types of venue.It is not a frame by frame instructional tape,however if it is studied as such the lessons to be learned are many. Points in the various levels of crowd interaction that are possible,drawing an edge,delivery,pacing of a show,comedic timing,(can be helpful in any type of theatrical presentation)working the hat,to name a few! A while back someone remarked in a post that they would pay to watch Gazzo paint a house (or something like that). At the time I did not understand that,but after seeing this tape I can honestly say I would too!The tape is worth the money on entertainment value alone but you get much,much more.Next on the list c&b tape of course!Best regards,Sir Real
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