https://www.ozmagic.com.au/index.phpHot News!enenadmin@ozmagic.com.auCopyright 2010 ozMagic2011-05-27T09:05:33+10:00 hourly 1 2000-01-01T12:00+00:00 Tue, 19 Jan 2010 02:26:17 +1000admin@ozmagic.com.auEthics2011-05-27T09:05:33+10:00https://www.ozmagic.com.au/blog/files/ca9c96d3b2bb435d639726d4e256e9cb-5.html#unique-entry-id-5https://www.ozmagic.com.au/blog/files/ca9c96d3b2bb435d639726d4e256e9cb-5.html#unique-entry-id-5Jordan Paris stole the jokes he used on Australia's got talent. So everybody is asking what is the difference between that and the singers doing covers of other people's songs. Well, there is a difference!
1. There is an expectation by the audience that a comedian is presenting his own original work. That is not the case with cover bands.
2. The composer of the original song gets credit for their work. The comedian whose work is stolen by another does not.
3. The composer of the original song gets paid royalties for his/her work. The comedian does not.
However, in reality, there is not much of a difference. Rarely do we see singers/songwriters on Australia's Got Talent performing their OWN material. AGT is just a karaoke contest on television!
Here's an idea, peoples.... Why not go out instead, see a live show/band? Support our local talent. God knows we need your support!]]>admin@ozmagic.com.auBlog2011-03-09T09:46:50+10:00https://www.ozmagic.com.au/blog/files/3878b1638ac02d360a5857af724820c9-4.html#unique-entry-id-4https://www.ozmagic.com.au/blog/files/3878b1638ac02d360a5857af724820c9-4.html#unique-entry-id-4“I can tell you how Da Vinci painted the Mona Lisa. Painting the lady is a whole other thing....”

I just found this quote and it resonated with me. It does no harm to be reminded every now and then that magic is not so much about technique as it is about “painting ladies”!

About the Author: Dave Lord is a Brisbane Magician who has studied for an Associate Diploma in Creative Arts at Brisbane College of Advanced education. (Major in Drama) He lectures for magicians worldwide with his unique presentation "Pay No Attention To That Man Behind The Curtain". For more information about Dave or his lecture, visit: www.davelord.com.au
]]>admin@ozmagic.com.auPresentation2011-01-05T00:11:55+10:00https://www.ozmagic.com.au/blog/files/e805f1066077e8b09681670b5d25a83f-3.html#unique-entry-id-3https://www.ozmagic.com.au/blog/files/e805f1066077e8b09681670b5d25a83f-3.html#unique-entry-id-3We find ourselves in this situation because when we are learning and practising a new routine at home, we tend to focus only on the moves and technique. Because we tend to be alone during practice, we neglect to pay attention to the words we will be saying while we present the routine to an audience. I think that, because many magicians on Youtube are working to a camera and not a live audience, maybe they just never quite get around to writing their patter. Over the years, I’ve tried to define the characteristics of a good presentation. Based on my own experience of reactions from audiences, I’ve determined that punchy patter meets these criteria:
PLOT - Plot is the soul of a routine. People often confuse "Plot" with the "Story" of a routine. They are very different things! For example, the story of the movie "Jaws" is that a huge shark terrorises a coastal town. The plot is how all of the content is arranged into scenes, and played out in a certain order to carry the story forward to its climax. So the story of a rabbit production might be "A rabbit magically appeared from an empty box". However, the plot might start with, "My grandfather found this magical box in a castle, in a land far, far away…." Good patter will be descriptive of the plot of a routine, and not the story. Too many magicians focus on the story only, and end up with what I call the "Bus Tour" presentation. Like the tour guide on a tourist bus…"If you look to the left you will see the City Hall, built in 1903" except we say, "Here I have an empty box. If you wave this wand over the box, a rabbit is going to appear."
PURPOSE - Patter is one of the elements in the plot that gives the story purpose. Without purpose why would anybody have a reason to watch your performance? The patter is an extra layer added to the story and needs to be integral to your character or stage persona. So, instead of saying, "Here I have an empty box”, here is my patter…. "Tell everybody what is inside the box." They say, "Nothing". I say, "Wrong! There is air inside the box! I know you can't see it but that does not mean it isn't there. There are a lot of things in life that we can't see, but that does not mean that they don't exist. There is a life lesson here for all of us, don't you think?" I play this in a comedic style, very tongue in cheek. It serves the obvious purpose of establishing that the box is empty, but it does it in a far more entertaining way, don't you think? It also advances the story because it leads the audience to the question of what is going to happen next. Might something happen to change the empty state of the box?
STRONG VERBS - Ask yourself which of these sounds more professional….. "Now, what I am going to do is I am going to get you to pick a card, but don't show me, and then I want you to show it to the rest of the audience." or… "Take a card and show the audience. Don't let me see it." Often it looks like we don't know what we are doing up on stage because that is, in fact, the simple truth! We waffle about with unrehearsed patter, and look unprofessional because of it. A simple solution is to replace the banter with some patter containing some strong verbs, and eliminate all of the superfluous words.
FLOWING RHYTHM - When I was at college I learned a simple concept that had a profound impact on my attitude to performing. "Music is not just a series of notes played in succession. It is a series of notes and spaces played in succession, and the spaces between the notes are every bit as important as the notes themselves!” It is the spaces that give the music character and emotion. Likewise, good patter should be timed appropriately to convey the feeling of the routine.
CONCISE EXPRESSION OF IDEAS - Don't allow an overly complex plot to confuse a simple story! There is nothing sweeter in the telling than a simple story like "A rabbit appeared from an empty box!", or the one that has earned me more bookings than any other trick I perform, "He vanished my lit cigarette in his empty hand!" Don't get me wrong…. my cigarette vanish routine is up to 6 minutes long, full of laughs and visuals, and with multiple high points. However, none of that interferes with the simple expression of the concept that someone's lit cigarette has just dematerialised in my empty hand. I am hoping to get some more spare time (maybe after the school holidays are over) to write a bit more on this topic.
About the Author: Dave Lord is a Brisbane Magician who has studied for an Associate Diploma in Creative Arts at Brisbane College of Advanced education. (Major in Drama) He lectures for magicians worldwide with his unique presentation "Pay No Attention To That Man Behind The Curtain". For more information about Dave or his lecture, visit: www.davelord.com.au
]]>admin@ozmagic.com.auGeneral2010-01-19T02:31:52+10:00https://www.ozmagic.com.au/blog/files/b9301d20fb10f8218a6b6ba64b80a11b-1.html#unique-entry-id-1https://www.ozmagic.com.au/blog/files/b9301d20fb10f8218a6b6ba64b80a11b-1.html#unique-entry-id-1Hi there.....
This is the first blog entry for ozMagic.
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