Free 1-Hour Interview On The “Business” Of Magic – Available Until Friday

Whether you want to take your magic to the masses or even if you just want to perform some shows for a little extra money…you need to master the business side of magic.

On 7/27/10 I interviewed Elliott Smith, a professional magician with over 35 years of experience. Most magicians haven’t heard of Elliott because he’s been busy performing his show for the “real world”.

He shared some great tips for those magicians who are just starting out, whether you’re 15 or 50, and also some advanced tips for those of us who are already working pros.

You can download and listen to the entire interview for FREE here:

http://attendthisevent.com/?eventID=14047140

Go spread some wonder,

- Tim David

P.S. Here’s that link I promised at the end of the interview:

65% off of Elliott’s book, “Highway To Success”

I Can’t Figure This Trick Out…

http://www.pubtricks.com/?trick=pub-dartboarddeception-trick.wmv&id=452

It looks to me like someone could take this idea, add some presentation skills to it and have a really strong routine.

Any thoughts?

- Timmy D.

A Magician Who “Gets It”…Do You?

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/3032619/#36107119

Follow that link. Watch that video. Learn from that magician.

‘Nuff said.

Go spread some wonder! (Never have those four words been so appropriate.)

- Tim David

Free Lecture Replay Now Available

Wanna hear a free lecture on impromptu magic?

It happened last night, but you can listen to the recording now at:

http://instantTeleseminar.com/?eventid=11937018

No need to sign in or pay anything. Just listen.

I recommend downloading the file and listening to it on your computer or iPod whenever you want. (However, make sure you get to it soon because the special deal is going to expire in a few days.)

Go spread some wonder!

Live Lecture TONIGHT On Impromptu Magic

You’re invited to attend a LIVE telephone magic lecture tonight as my personal guest.

Tonight I’m going to answer the BIG question:

“What do you do when they ask to see a trick?”

Impromptu, on-the-spot magic is such an important part of your magic career and it often isn’t given the attention it deserves.

As a magician, you need to be able to WOW anyone, anywhere, at any time, with ANYTHING you can find!

It’s a tough job, but fear not! I’m here to help with SOLID real-world tips from over 15 years as a professional magician.

You’re going to love what I reveal tonight.

It doesn’t matter if you’re a close-up performer, a stage performer, or anything in between. Your impromptu set will be responsible for more bookings than anything else that you do.

It’s going to be AMAZING and I hope to “see” you there.

Mark your calendar!

EVENT:  Secrets of Impromptu Magic
DATE & TIME: Tuesday, March 16th at 8:30pm Eastern
FORMAT: Simulcast! (Attend via Phone or Webcast — it’s your choice)
TO ATTEND THIS EVENT, CLICK THIS LINK NOW…
http://instantTeleseminar.com/?eventid=11937018

My “Business Tip” For Anyone Who Does XCM

This is going to be a quick post…I’ve got a diaper to change, so I’ll get right to the point.

Anyone who is any good at XCM (Extreme Card Manipulations) can create an assembly program to bring into schools.

Basketball tricksters do this all the time.

They go in, they blow the kids away with amazing tricks, then they talk about the importance of hard work.

They motivate the kids to achieve their dreams.

I don’t see why an XCMer couldn’t do the same thing!

Schools pay good money and you can even get grants for this sort of thing.

What do you think?

A Great Idea For Anyone Who Does XCM

XCM (Extreme Card Manipulation) has been discussed quite a bit at this blog over the last few days. After I posted the video of “Card Manipulation Guy”, people started talking and bringing up some really good points about XCM…

• Can XCM be entertaining by itself?
• Should XCM be considered a branch of magic, or its own art?
• Should magicians ever perform XCM in their shows? (Sort of like the old “should mentalists ever perform magic tricks” debate.)
• Is all that practice worth it?
• Will an XCM artist ever become famous outside the magic world?

Well, I’d like to switch gears a little bit and ask this question…

Can an XCM artist ever earn any MONEY???

Despite all the above discussion, everyone agreed that “Card Manipulation Guy” (I don’t even know his name…is it Dmitri?) is completely amazing and utterly talented.

So let’s help him, and ALL XCM artists, brainstorm ways to make their art pay off!

Where are some of the places an XCM artist can perform (ONLY XCM! No magic!) to earn a little bit (or a lot) of income?

I have a great idea, but I want to hear yours first. Post your possible XCM venues as a comment below…

Magic Trick Gone Wrong…Funny

These three guys are actually very creative film makers and they’re taking YouTube by storm.

Have you seen their interactive web videos yet? I’m just warning you now…if you start, you’ll be watching them for the next few hours…they’re THAT good!

Here is one I saw today:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eDn0ow8EzcU

Why are they so entertaining? And more importantly, what can we learn from them as magicians and mentalists?

They are entertaining because…

* They’re kind of funny

* Good special effects

* They’re freakin’ INTERACTIVE!

In my opinion, the ONLY reason they have so many views is because the videos are interactive.

The plot (by itself) sucks and the comedy is just okay…However, the fact that I can interact and “choose my own adventure” makes this WILDLY entertaining.

Please, please, PLEASE make it a point to involve your audience when you perform your magic. It will take your performance to a new level.

P.S. This is one other possible reason the card manipulation guy fails to entertain people…his act is not interactive.

For you card manipulators out there…come up with a way to involve your spectators. It may take some creativity, but you’re artists…I know you can do it. Send me a video of what you come up with and I’ll post it here.

My Opinion Of The Card Manipulation Guy

No doubt you’ve seen the video of the RIDICULOUS display of card manipulation skill on my blog.

If not, here’s the direct link:

http://timdavidmagic.com/?p=167

You’ll quickly see that there are already over 50 comments about this guy ranging from “OMG THAT IS THE BEST!” to “Boring after 30 seconds”. (There are some pretty funny comments and some pretty rude comments mixed in there as well.)

Here are my thoughts:

• First of all…YES, this guy is outstanding at what he does.

Probably the best I’ve seen.

• He should NEVER do magic tricks for 3 reasons:
  1. He’s too good at manipulation to waste time with anything else.
  2. People already assume he can do anything he wants with a deck of cards. No need to prove anything.

  Here’s the big one though…

  3. Magic would never be about the effect if it came from his hands. It would always be about the skill he possesses.

  Not his fault…but true nonetheless.

• The focus of his act is on his skill…not on the audience.

His skill sets him apart from everyone else – To the point where people feel that they cannot relate or connect to him.

In fact, almost everyone I showed this to said something like: “Wow…that’s amazing. This guy probably has no social life.”

In closing, this is a classic example of someone who has the potential to be very well known and even famous in the magic and XCM circles, but outside of our little world, I don’t predict he’ll become a household name.

I hope he proves me wrong.

What do YOU think?

Post your thoughts as a comment below.

Go spread some wonder!

- Tim David

Inhuman Card Manipulations

A magic friend of mine sent me this video called, “Opera”:

My question for you is this:

What’s more impressive to you…a great magic trick, or a great demonstration of skill, like in the video above?

Let me know your thoughts by posting a comment below.