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Mesquita Special user 917 Posts |
Any review on this??
Quote:
Pete McCabe and 26 other guys show you the art of scripting magic. Includes 45 scripts, 13 essays, 7 interviews, and 1 flowchart to make you a better magician. It seems an excellent book. Thanks
"Siempre somos tres me acompaña la luna y me sigue mi sombra" René Lavand
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MagicBrent Inner circle 2574 Posts |
I've only read the first couple of chapters but this is a must have...a lot of good practical ideas and also scripts for tricks that have been sitting in my drawer for a long time. It's made me reassess all that I can do with what I have and create more magical experiences for people. It's a nice hardcover book. Feels solid like a good textbook. You can't beat the price for the number of pages either.
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RicHeka Inner circle 3999 Posts |
I will gladly post a review on this book after I read some more of it's contents[over 400 pages!],but let me say this in the meantime..I find it difficult to put this book down.
I totally agree with MagicBrents comments. I am finally learning the proper and professional 'way's' to script effects for more effective presentations.Some of the most respected magic minds have tipped their methods. This appears to be one of those books[like 'Strong Magic'and 'Maximum Entertainment' etc.] that can have a profound effect on ones magical life. Rich |
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mesmer Inner circle 1186 Posts |
Buy this book....this is the 2nd MUST have Book after Maximum Entertainment by Ken Weber.......
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Robert M Inner circle 2482 Posts |
I agree. I'm about 3/4 of the way through, and I can't put it down, either. I had Michael Ammar's "41 Cent Miracle" in Easy to Master Money Miracles - Vol. 1 sitting on my shelf, yet I had forgotten what an amazing script this is. Like Pete says, "If your audience doesn't like you after this, they never will."
Great book! Robert |
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Mr Phil Regular user Tilton, New Hampshire 160 Posts |
I just got it today and am still in the first read, but this is one of those books. Like the gentlemen above this is a must read. It does not matter your level of expertise as a performer, nor you favorite audience, this book will improve your performances. And that's only from the first read.
All the best
Phil
Mr. Phil & Co.
Quality Family Entertainment, Guaranteed!
(603) 286-3029
WWW.mrphilandco.com
Snail Mail to: P.O. Box 31
Tilton, NH 03276
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dgcuff Regular user Canada 191 Posts |
This is a terrific volume. Too many screenwriting book are written by people aren't screenwriters. J. Michael Straczynski's Complete Book of Scriptwriting is a rare but solid exception. So too is Pete McCabe's Scripting Magic, who has written for "Sports Night" and "The West Wing." Make no mistake, despite a long and impressive list of contributors, this book is largely McCabe. The interviews with Michael Close, Max Maven, ol' NFN, John Lovick and Eugene Burger are terrific icing, but I was more focussed on the cake: the scripts (McCabe's and others'), and the commentary on the scripts (almost entirely McCabe).
I have no intention of detailing the effects in Scripting Magic. There are several good effects, but in this book, we're studying why the scripts work (as opposed to why the effects work or how the effects work), so a list of effects is almost completely irrelevant to those wondering whether to buy. The scripts are good work to be sure, but the real value of the book comes not in reading the scripts but in studying them, usually in concert with McCabe's commentary. Writing good magic scripts is not a clear and ordinal procedure, and Scripting Magic is not a Syd Field workbook that tells you the second act of your script should start by page 30. The process of writing magic scripts is something McCabe does not distill to a formula. It would be difficult to do that... but my only major criticism with the book is that I wish McCabe had tried, even if he had failed. Scripting Magic could have been better for at least one more attempt to summarize what the author had learned about how to script for magic. Still, did I mention...? A terrific book. It's amusing and instructive at the same time. Books on writing should be well written, and many such are not. Scripting Magic fer sure is good, and it's fun, and I recommend it for anyone who either studies magic or would like to start. McCabe comes from a screenwriting background, and it shows immediately and pervasively. Screenplays describe what the audience will see... and so, McCabe argues, should magic scripts. This principle continues to turn my mind to mush, largely because of my background in the theatre. Stage plays can be descriptions of performance, but there's also a tradition of stage plays as repositories of performance. To take an extreme example, the stage manager's script is a kind of an instruction manual on how to stage the show--every detail. In theory, one ought to be able to transfer an entire production to a different stage manager merely by handing over that script. If you don't happen to have a stage background, you won't struggle with this stage-versus-screen clash of values. If you don't happen to believe that scripting is a good idea, then far be it from me to persuade you to change or belittle you for staying that way. McCabe's book brings up some interesting questions, such as when you should script (after having ad-libbed your way through an effect, maybe?) that could benefit even those who feel stifled by scripting. It's better you should approach Scripting Magic once you're ready to embrace scripting, not get bullied into it. With my background in publishing (no, not the one in theatre; my other background), I noticed that the book was printed in Canada... and that the book doesn't clearly identify its publisher. The omission of publication data makes me think that the publisher is the author. Nothing wrong with that... but it may be a clue to why the book is so reasonably priced at $40; self-publishing can have lower overheads (if done right). When I purchased this book, all I knew about it was that I wanted to learn how to write better magic scripts. As it turned out, that was all I needed to know. With any luck, I have given those of you considering the purchase a slightly more detailed idea as to what you're getting if you buy. If you're serious about magic and/or your mind is mature, this is a book you will treasure and use.
I formerly ran a site of links to help Canadian magicians, magicinfo.ca, but I retired it in 2022.
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doiron Regular user 180 Posts |
Great review. I think that's pushed me over the edge in favor of buying it.
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Piers Inner circle A Limited Edition of 1394 Posts |
I am glad I bought it.
The combination of scripts and analysis is really strong. Piers. www.justgiving.com/piers-cancer-fund www.justgiving.com/Piers-Cancer-Fund-2 www.justgiving.com/Piers-Cancer-Fund-3 Finished my 4 months of Chemotherapy in 2009. 3 monthly checks since... and into 2021! As seen on the QE2 and QM2. Author of Salem's Cornucopia - SUC Book |
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Yves Tourigny Veteran user Somewhere in Quebec 323 Posts |
I made a few purchases recently and I had to decide between that book and Trnasformation by Laurence Hass. I went with Dr. Hass book. I've still to read it but Sripting Magic is on my "next to get" book. dgcuff did a very interesting review of it and I now want it more. Soon.....
Yves |
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MagicSanta Inner circle Northern Nevada 5841 Posts |
You'll enjoy Transformation.
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mesmer Inner circle 1186 Posts |
If you like Ken Weber "aximum Entertainemnt"...You will treasure "Scripting Magic"........and I think "Transformation" is for a begginer
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Mark Rough Inner circle Ivy, Virginia 2110 Posts |
Mesmer, I'm not sure I get why you think "Transformation" is for a beginner. It seems to me "Transformation", "Scripting Magic" and "Beyond Deception" make a trilogy that could (if it's all applied correctly) turn you into a wizard. I don't see how that's a beginner thing. Maybe I'm missing something. Can you give me a little insight into your thinking?
What would Wavy do?
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James Alan Special user Toronto, Ontario 680 Posts |
Finished the book a few days ago. If you ignore all the writing strategies and take nothing from this book other than inspiration to create better magic, it would still be worth it.
That said, I do disagree with some of the content. (That's not a criticism: a book where I agreed with everything it said would be a waste of time) It also seems to lack structure. McCabe appears to jump from trick to trick with no sense of really "going anywhere". In that sense it resembles Tamariz' The Five Points which has a lot of great advice sort of thrown onto the page with bullet points. It's fortunate that the author was able to obtain permission from the contributors to explain methods that go along with the tricks. It makes things easier to follow. I do think however, the book suffers because it contains no pictures. This makes it hard if you're not already familiar with the sleights and tricks being discussed. dgcuff: I didn't know Straczynski had a screenwriting book. I'll have to look into that, thanks. |
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silverking Inner circle 4574 Posts |
Pete has really hit the subject of scripting hard, with a book that should be a must read for every magician.
This book will put some big-time understanding into your head about the process of scripting your routine, no matter how short (even if it's only a single trick).........it's gotta' have a script if you want to be seen as anything but a duffer. The message is loud and clear.....every single professional magician scripts (almost) every single thing they do.....and so should you. An equally strong message is that you simply can't improvise effectively UNLESS you have a script you can first leave to begin improvising, and then return to when you've finished improvising. It's powerful stuff. It's one of those books (like Designing Miracles) that will change how you perform. Highly recommended. |
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squando Elite user 444 Posts |
I have read most of this book. It is strong.
My initial reaction to the advice was adverse. I agree that a script is vital, but disagreed about his style. Basically McCabe advocates that the methods (the secret handlings) should not appear in you script because you want to write from the audience perspective. I had always wrote scripts with inner cues to trigger my secret handlings. But I tried his way and agree that it strong. I think as magical performers we operate on two tracks, the one the audience sees and the track that includes our secrets. This book WILL strengthen the track that the audience sees. I think as lovers of conjuring we favor the track with our handling and fail to emphasize the audience viewed track. Anyway, this book has shown me how scripts can emphasize the audience view. It shows that method are secondary to entertainment. I knew this, but still worked too hard on the mechanics. The real engine is making a script for the audience.
Frank
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Mike Powers Inner circle Midwest 2983 Posts |
I'm 50 pages in and it's already clear that this is a great book. Not only is the information about scripting excellent, but the tricks are great too. This book will certainly be a candidate for book of the year.
Mike
Mike Powers
http://www.mallofmagic.com |
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fib Inner circle 1535 Posts |
Seriously, "Scripting Magic" is one of the finest books EVER written about how to prepare your performance. It stimulates you to think about EVERY detail -- things you have to say and how to synchronize the words with the sleights or moves or misdirection -- to discipline yourself to write a script -- TO PREPARE your presentation, which is a must -- because EVERYthing in your act has to go smoothly -- to sustain the illusion. A routine or effect has to have a beginning, middle, and end to sustain interest. For lazy people like me, who have sometimes gone out there and winged it, and not planned each sequence of my presentation, it has been a wake-up call badly needed. Pete McCabe has sat down and done a LOT of the work FOR YOU.
Thank you, Pete McCabe! fib |
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kentfgunn Inner circle Merritt Island FL 1639 Posts |
Hmmm . . .
Bought the book on Joe Pon's recommendation at the Shop in SF. It made me realize I never really wrote out a script. The book simultaneously enlightened me and embarassed me. There is good stuff in the book. Now go get one. |
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MagicSanta Inner circle Northern Nevada 5841 Posts |
Don't worry, I doubt Joe has either.....
(I've known him for about 20 years) |
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