Hey everyone,
Is it just me or do you as magicians, when you see a magic trick/illusion performed on a video demo you know exactly how the trick is done 89% of the time after seeing it? Well for me this seems to be the case. I feel as if I am ripping the artists off of a sale of a very good effect. For example I watched the demo for Mayne's Shock FX and figured out how to do all of the ones previewed there and I think I figured out Peter Loughran's Elevator levitation as well just by watching the video once. Do I just have a good imagination to figure exactly how these things are done or do I just have good eyes? I don't mean to figure out the effects, I just want to see if they look good. What do you guy/gals think?

I think I better concentrate harder, because for me it only works 87.4% of the time...Rats!

I think this is an interesting question, because magic is no doubt becoming more and more commercial. It seems as though there was a time when learning from the creative minds required acceptance into their inner circle. You got there by reading the texts and practicing and performing. The process took months, if not years, if not decades. Now you need a credit card and a paypal account for the DVD, and they'll sit in your living room complete with rewind and slow-mo.

If I make my own stripper deck, am I doing something unethical and wrong? How about if I make my own sub-trunk? How about if I make my own snow animator? How about if I hear a great line by a stand up comedian on Comedy Central...or one from a magician's DVD, or a magician's live performance?

Am I wrong to take a great routine, put my own handling/personality into it, and call it mine?

...and why?

When I look at the vids from Penguin Magic, I could figure them out 90% of the times.

Same here on the penguin magic

I think it is good to be able to figure a trick out so you know what you are getting before hand. I mean even if you knew what the gimmick was, I would buy it anyway. Like Blizzard, I know what the gimmick is and the whole routine but I'm still going to buy it. That is only me though, the magic community may not like my thoughts.

Its nice to be able to figure out demotricks, but that's probably cause you combine your knowlege of magic, together with your imagination - it only means that you are a creative guy.
Nevertheless - laymen watching these have no clue, and that is why we do magic in the first place right? to entertain laymen...?
Atleast that is why l buy magictricks
-e-

As you are a magician you will never again look at magic the way lay people do. So if you want to know if an effect is good (Response way`s) Then watch the look on the speckies faces as they watch.Method is nothing audience response is everything (They pay us ! ).

I don't think it really matters if you figure out the effect, I mean its just one effect. I always end up getting the whole video. I admit that I used to figure out the effect on the demo but not anymore, theres no time with all the practicng I have to do. Beginniers learn from demos experts are smarter.... they buy em and give credit to the creative mind that created the sleights/effects.

I agree that even I am starting to spot the methods rather easily in the demos. But I still get my fair share of being fooled. Even when I buy a new effect and try it out for the first time, I think "This is so obvious! They're gonna see it immediately!" But they never do.

I think it's important to try and keep that "spectator" frame of mind when approaching a new effect. To try and see as they would see it.

Well guys, thanks for your thoughts...

Firedice has the ball I believe. We forget that magicians know the techniques and avoid the misdirection. Keep trying to fool spectators, not magicians
Shanester

"Dont run if nobodys chasing you" So true. Alot of us work to fool magi but then never show it to any. If we did simpler tricks it would be easy, fool most, and be better alot of the time. Sometimes technical is good sometimes its not.

I have bought many tricks that I already new how they were done. But a lot of times you want the gimmick to be better than the ones you try to make.

When you guys first saw D'lite demoed, did you figured it out?

It is their own fault for posting the videos. You cannot blame yourself for knowing how another magician does something. If they expose it is their fault...even if they do not know they are exposing.