You Don’t Have a Camera? Really!?
Sometimes the short and the sweet articles end up being favorites of my loyal subscribers. Today I plan to test that theory. It’s simply this: I’ve seen a load of magic websites that a) look like crap, and b) have no video footage of the performer whatsoever.
The Lecture
Seriously!? You really don’t have any footage!? In today’s world, with smart phones, and inexpensive camera’s, there is no reason not to have footage on your site. Again, I’m speaking only to those who are seeking to land gigs and clients and to make some money. Obviously if you’re a hobbiest, this doesn’t necessarily apply. However, ironically, I’ve found that more amateurs have video content than some pros.
So a word to the amateurs . . . please . . . practice first. That’s all I’m saying. Anyway, back to those making money with this stuff. Please take the time to film something, anything. Upload it to YouTube and embed it in your website. There is truly no excuse for not doing this.
HD cameras are very inexpensive these days, but even if you don’t have an HD camera, most digital cameras these days are just fine. My $89 Kodak digital picture camera has a video feature on it that is extremely good quality. If you still think it’s too expensive, then borrow a camera from someone. I’m sure you know someone who has a camera.
The Footage
Now that I’ve convinced you to get a camera (if not, read “The Lecture” until you are convinced), what do you do with it? Simple, just get some darn footage. Have a friend film you doing a trick to some other friends. Have him film some footage of your next show. Film yourself doing some visual magic in front of the camera.
Set up a free house party at a friends house and film it.
The Editing
Editing software is cheap and easy these days. Again, I’m sure you know someone who has access to this stuff. You’ll have two types of footage:
- Stuff that needs no editing
- Stuff that needs editing
Yep. That’s it. The stuff that needs no editing needs to be super short (less than 2 minutes) and have a magic moment or effect that is clear both in concept and video quality. For those, just upload to YouTube and embed on your site.
For the ones the need editing, you’re either dealing with a short video that’s not quite short enough, or you’re wanting to piece together a montage with some music. Below is a sample of a video I edited myself for my promo package for back in the day when I was seeking more gigs than I currently am:
You’ll notice basically three sets of footage. First you’ll see clips from my DVD, Stone Cold Magic. Second, you’ll see footage from a parlor-style show, and third, you’ll see footage from the pre-parlor event where I was performing strolling magic. Some of this footage is nearly 10 years old, and my camera quality back then was nowhere near what it is today, so you may see some funky pixelated issues. If I ever start performing more frequently, I’ll update the footage, but for now, it’s just fine.
Of course, not everyone has a DVD product that they can pull footage from. You don’t need to. This is the footage I referred to earlier as performing “visual magic in front of the camera.”
The music is from Kevin MacLeod’s website (Incompetech). It’s a killer site with a cubic butt ton of free royalty free music.
Absolute worst case scenario, you can buy a camera and some editing software for a combined total of under $300 bucks. There’s no reason not to create some video footage for your potential clients.
Until Next Month . . .