This week, Tyler and Jonah sit down to discuss their past month’s projects, advertising, their views on ethics in magic and Shin Lim. 

Catching Up

Tyler has continued with his studies into media creation. His focus has primarily been on video production, and he is looking to branch out his video into magic related areas. Jonah’s month was full of magic between his show at Dave and Buster’s starting up, two Art of Magics since the last catch-up, and a performance at TIFF.

Advertising

Alongside his performances, Jonah has been delving into the world of online marketing for his shows and has discovered that it is a nuanced process. He has had to not only consider the audiences he wants to be targeting, but how to balance the cost of the ads versus the revenue coming in from the sales.

Ethics in Magic

In response to a fan question, Tyler and Jonah spend time discussing the ethics surrounding magic. Their discussion centers around the audience’s perception of the magician and their performance. The two tackle the question of: is the context of a magic show enough for an audience to know it’s not real? Or does the magician need to be explicit in their presentation that it’s a trick and outside forces?

Shin Lim

With Shin Lim’s recent America’s Got Talent win, Tyler and Jonah are excited about how magic is being perceived in the public eye. The two see Shin Lim as elevating the art and performing a different kind of stage magic compared to what people are use to seeing. He pushed the limitations of card magic, and has moved the performance and creation of magic forward.

Referencing the Garret Thomas episode, Tyler and Jonah note that people are consuming magic without feeling the need to perform it. People are interested in experiencing the magic, not just deconstructing how it the trick was done. Shin Lim has had a noticeable effect on this transition alongside Penn and Teller’s Fool Us.

Resources:

If you’re interested in video production and editing software like the ones discussed on the episode, here are some programs to look into:

• Adobe Creative Cloud (Tyler’s recommendation, and used by professional editors)
• Hitfilm Express (a free alternative to Adobe, perfect for people starting out)
• Avid Media Composer (paid and free versions, industry standard)

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