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NJJ Inner circle 6437 Posts |
As I've mentioned elsewhere on the Café, I was recently asked to be a pair of magical hands on a TV commercial for one of the large sporting clubs in Australia, the Penrith Panthers. Originally, they asked for some basic flourishes, but as the shoot went on they kept saying, "Well, now we want it to look like your doing this so we'll edit it like this..."
Amazingly, I was able to ACTUALLY perform all of the effects that they wanted! I did it in two shots using cards that had printed! We only used one editing trick. Here is what I did... I started with springing a full deck of cards, into a riffle shuffle into a turnover spread. I then picked up 13 cards and fanned them. VO: Pick a club, any club in the Panthers Entertainment Group. Here we cut to the FACE of 13 cards, showing the 13 different venues. This is only editing trick. VO: EVERY Panthers member enjoys EVERY benefit in EVERY Panthers club through their ONE Panthers membership. I closed the fan and l****d 12 of the cards. the 13th card had the Panther logo on it. Thirteen cards became one. VO: ONE membership… ONE card… ONE does the trick! I did a twirl change and changed this card into a Photo Membership card for the club. Here we cut, and I set up for Marlo's snap change. VO: What’s more; full membership starts at an incredible low $8.80 and just $4.40 for Pensioners. I performed Marlo's snap change and then l*****d the membership card so it turned into a card with $8.80 printed on it. Then I did a push through change of the $8.80 card so it turned into one that said $4.40. (The $8.80 was DF with the $4.40) VO: Now, MORE Panther Members at MORE Panther Clubs can enjoy MORE benefits. Panthers Entertainment Group, where every member wins hands down. I then quickly produced a fan of the 13 membership cards, removing the $4.40 card. It wasn't magical but it looked cool to anyone! And that is it! I'll post a link when the ad is finished! They'll probably edit it down so it looks like editing tricks. I just hope that they pick the right takes... Nothing worse then seeing a flashed snap change! |
Bohh Regular user Northeast Ohio 162 Posts |
That sounds fun. On the side I'm into video editing and making short films. Must have been a blast!
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Flec Special user UK 585 Posts |
Sounds great! Anywhere we can view it online?
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NJJ Inner circle 6437 Posts |
I'll post a link when it's done.
Think back onto the whole magic vs. camera trick debate. This experience has made me realise that is not black and white. |
Partizan Inner circle London UK 1682 Posts |
Ask the editors (get the details from the production company) and ask for a copy of your performance to use in your portfolio. They are OK with this and can put it on DVD for you.
Did you get names of people? Name dropping can get you good results with bookings. "Yeah, I worked with this producer, or that director, or this cameraman". People in the industry know names.
"You cannot depend on your eyes when your imagination is out of focus."
- Mark Twain |
broothal Elite user Europe 448 Posts |
I agree. I recently starred in a commercial that ran nationwide for six months. I got several bookings from that. And it's a good idea to place it online. People somehow think that "as seen on TV" is a quality stamp.
I had the same experience as you. They had lined up a blue screen and some motion capture cameras, since they expected an actor and not a magician. It was a pleasant surprise for them when I did the planned effects using sleight of hand. |
LordM Loyal user Portugal 232 Posts |
It sounds amazing. That reminds me of Christopher Heart, the magician that was the "thing" from the Adams Family.
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Pete Biro 1933 - 2018 18558 Posts |
Commercials do pay. I was in one once (not magic) and the residuals bought me a brand new Camaro. Heheheh.
STAY TOONED... @ www.pete-biro.com
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Kevin Ram Special user Travelling through Europe 791 Posts |
Isn't he the guy who made the bottom deal tape?
They pay in human slaves nowadays. Great.
"Your the Italian stallion" As said by my g/friend
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NJJ Inner circle 6437 Posts |
I didn't ask for enough money!
It's sad that the 90 performance will be edited down to 30 seconds. I am sure people will ASSUME camera tricks. But I guess it doesn't matter to laypeople. Posted: Jul 23, 2004 ------------------------------------------ Has anyone ever seen a magician flash in a tv commerical? Do you think this is the magician's fault or the director's fault? |
Shane Wiker Inner circle Las Vegas 1199 Posts |
Quote:
On 2004-07-23 23:22, Nicholas J. Johnson wrote: No, I haven't, but if I did, I would think it would be the director's fault. A lot of the moves used on TV are very angle sensitive, and if the director uses a shot from a camera angle that is wrong, or even uses a shot that flashes, then it is his fault, in my opinion. Shane Wiker |
Mauricio Jaramillo Elite user Colombia 413 Posts |
Quote:
On 2004-07-23 23:22, Nicholas J. Johnson wrote: If you ever see that commercial for gambling addiction that Brad Christian made, you'll see quite a bit of flashing. |
Bob Sanders Grammar Supervisor Magic Valley Ranch, Clanton, Alabama 20504 Posts |
Directors and producers love to use magicians for talent because we do it in one take. They can't believe it.
I've never done commercials for Australia but I have done them in the USA. They are good work. Producers are not usually willing to give you a copy for your purposes but will tell you when to set your VCR to rip one off TV. (Some commercials never run for all kinds of reasons. Often the advertiser wants to catch the competitors by surprise. Security can be tight on a commercial before release.) And I have never made one that had magic done by edits. They will frequently use the zoom and make something look fishy that doesn't need to be. They also never give you credit as a magician unless you've "Got Milk?" Two of mine, I never even got face shot. Television lives in fear of the "great talking head" since there is so much of it on TV. So producers avoid heads when they can. They seem to like headless magicians! (I came to magic via the musician/ entertainer route in the recording industry. Recording artists get the same treatment. But a hit commercial can pay better than a hit record. That's why successful writers can make more than successful singers.) Having also been a university marketing professor who taught advertising, I think if the "creative" people in advertising understood magic better, more magicians would be used in the production of TV commercials. We should let them in on the secret. Magicians are a good deal! Congratulations on your advertising commercial. Bob Magic By Sander |
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