Hi Wayne, It's David from Sorcerer's Safari.

Considering that you do a lot of video shooting, post-production and marketing, I think you'd be one of the best sources for the following information...thanks for taking the time to look through it and hopefully answer at least part of this gigantic question- haha.

I was wondering what goes into making a promotional video (as for a website and also a DVD to give out to potential agents/long term customers). What should be filmed (patter, climax of effect, reaction, combination)? How long should it be? Should it contain marketing messages? If so, which ones? How would you go about finding someone to edit it? Is it necessary to edit it to make it look professional? And is there any material out on this subject?

Also, for promotional photos...what do you *(you as in general people)* do? Are there some effects *(referring to camera effects)* that you want to stay away from? Any that make for a good photo? How to find a professional photographer that will suit your needs? What types of photos do you want (head shots, magic shots, poses, poses while doing effects, poses will holding effects, etc..)?

Finally, what are some general suggestions about web sites? Should it be informal or formal? Third of First person or a combination? How many photos and how much video is too much (and too little)? Should your contact information be on the home page, on a separate page, or both? Should the entire site's text be about marketing? Or just a portion of it? How do you make yourself sound like a great entertainer? How much "biography" is important to make you sound experienced? How many references if any are needed? And if no/little references, how many testimonials? Are any needed at all?

The reason I'm asking is that I'm having a very good graphic artist and code developer/web designer make me a brand spankin' new website and has asked for some photos and video (existing photos he's edited greatly, but maybe some professional ones would help also?) and a local restaurant has asked me for video footage of me performing to show to it's customers who are looking to book it for a few hours for parties.

Wow, sorry about how long that is...Most of it is applicable to everyone, if there's something that you can help me with more specifically to my situation feel free to PM if you have the time (in fact a PM is always appreciated but I understand how busy your schedule can be).

Also, I'm proud to tell you that things are looking a lot better (school pressure about how people think about magic, my magic itself, and getting booked) in large part thanks to you. So thanks : )

~David

DAVID!! Buddy, It's Bill Koch from SSS! Long time no talk! How are you?

For starters, great questions! I was hoping to ask him the exact same ones, but you beat me to the punch. I am in the process of doing the exact same thing. I do my own website (www.magicbillk.com), but I would like better pictures, and more impressive footage.

If I may, I'd like to ask a couple of questions as well:

Wayne, where did you go to school/ what did you study? What classes would you suggest for a college student who wants to be a professional magician? Should you take graphics/multimedia classes? Business courses? Philosophy? I'm about to plan my fall semester, and I want some suggestions from a professional on some class ideas.

Also, when you make your videos/photos, what hardware/software do you use? I am all Mac based, and I have Photoshop CS2 and the Final Cut Studio Suite. What type of camera(s) do you use? Computer: Laptop or desktop? Processor speed? RAM? PC/Mac? What do you use to make the things you do look so good? Toss me all the nitty gritty data.

If you can't tell, I'm a complete computer dork...

David- Shoot me an email at magicbillk@mac.com and let me know how you're doing, and what you're up to! Are you going back to SSS this summer? I'm strongly pushing to go. I loved it last year!

Wayne - Thanks for reading!
-Bill