Video Chat Magic - Will Houstoun and Steve Thompson
https://www.vanishingincmagic.com/magic-books/video-chat-magic/
Book and Download  $79.95
Download only    $59.95

The Hype:

From some of the greatest minds in magic, comes the most exciting and comprehensive selection of routines, tricks, concepts, essays and tech solutions for virtual magic, all in one massive release.

In March 2020, the magic community was thrust into the most rapid and dramatic transformation it’s ever seen. Never had the game changed so much, so fast.

As they say, necessity is the mother of invention. So, Steve Thompson and Will Houstoun partnered up to champion the idea of embracing virtual magic, acknowledging its challenges, and, more importantly, leveraging its unique advantages and opportunities.

With the generous assistance of some of the biggest names in magic and mentalism, they threw themselves into researching and innovating what magic could become in this new world. They weren’t interested in simply adapting old tricks to the new environment, but rather discovering innovative new effects and methods.

Over the course of 6 intense months, they produced a subscriber-only online collection aptly titled “Video Chat Magic” that grew monthly in breadth, acclaim and membership—and even raised over $35,000 for charity along the way. It featured incredible contributions from the likes of Max Maven, Jim Steinmeyer, Adrian Lacroix, Marc Kerstein, Pete McCabe and Richard Wiseman, as well as other special guests like Larry Fong, the blockbuster cinematographer behind Batman vs Superman, Watchmen, and Kong: Skull Island, who took part in a dedicated series exploring camera work and lighting for virtual shows.

Now, in exclusive partnership with Vanishing Inc., this ground-breaking material is available in one interactive book. The content is carefully arranged into thematic chapters that take you on a journey from early discoveries to game-changing breakthroughs and fascinating conclusions.

Reluctant to make the leap into performing virtual magic? This book will inspire you. Ready to blow minds? This book will show you how. Simply put, “Video Chat Magic” will shatter your preconceptions about how much impact you can have, and how deeply you can connect with your audience, through a screen.

Inside you’ll find over 50 tricks, tools, techniques, essays and pieces of technology, not to mention 25 ideas for VideoMasker alone (a universal version of MagicMask from Marc Kerstein and Seth Raphael that is included with your purchase).

Learn how to do the cleanest predictions imaginable, how to create more engagement than is possible in person, how to bend time, how to make objects appear in your spectator’s hands and, most of all, how to take advantage of this new performance space to give your spectators truly memorable and meaningful experiences.

Special Bonus: And that’s not all! Pete McCabe, the professional script writer and author of the venerable “Scripting Magic” books, was joined by Paul Draper to present Scripting Magic 2.1—The virtual magic addendum to the beloved original volumes.

“Video Chat Magic” is offered in two interactive formats:

The first is a stunning 350 page full-color hardback book (that comes with a new QR code enabled virtual experience that allows you to watch videos as part of the reading journey). The second is an interactive ebook. Both versions include access to a variety of resources including tools, prop printouts, special videos, software solutions, and templates for key effects and methods.

It is clear that virtual magic is here to stay and “Video Chat Magic” is guaranteed to open up your mind to new possibilities and make you a better magician. It will also help make the world a better place, because a portion of every sale will be donated to givewell.org.

My Take:

Covid may have made virtual performances a necessity, but this book goes a long way towards making it a permanent part of the magic landscape. Instead of the technique of the video lecture being over, this book shows you how it can not only be the start of something new but that it can even be superior to a live performance.
Consider this. With a live performance, you have a very limited audience and in a larger venue, you might even look so small that the audience cannot tell what you are up to. How would you like to be able to look each and every member of your audience  right in the face and have them see all your magic up close and personal? And this possibly to thousands at once. And if you don't feel that your audience can have the connection with you that it should, Will and Steve will teach you the techniques to overcome any reservations you might have.

I had the pleasure a few years ago of seeing Dr. Houstoun lecture in Columbus. Very impressive, intelligent man. Even got his PhD, in which he studied the use of magic as an educational contrivance in the Victorian period, He is also the new editor of the Young Magicians Club magazine "Secrets"  He is also an ex-member of YMC . A quick Google on Steve Thompson will show you how active he is in the community. He has product for sale all over the net. (Including Glance, one of my favorite book tests.)  So, you can see that this project has been put together by good and knowledgeable people. And, or course, the book is the usual excellent quality I have come to expect from Vanishing Inc.

No time is wasted on idle chit chat. This book is all meat and no potatoes. On the third printed page, you are given 10 very useful tips to improve your online performance. I found out some things about platforms like Zoom that I did not know existed.  Were you aware that if you look directly into the eyes on screen of your audience, to them it looks like you are focusing on their chins? You are shown how to overcome that and strengthen your connection. If you feel the lack of audience participation and excitement is lacking when you perform virtually, a technique is taught to greatly increase the excitement of the performance based on old techniques used on television since the earliest days. You will find yourself spending extra time in the section on Audio Deceptions. I found this absolutely brilliant and fascinating.

This section also features some powerful effects by David Britland as well as others by the authors. Think of adding this one to your audience. It is a real reputation maker. You mail an envelope to one of your audience members. He removes the contents and then closes it up and places it in his pocket. Another member of the audience has received a sealed deck of cards and could be thousands of miles away from his fellow volunteer. He opens the deck and checks it out. He names a card and instantly it vanishes from his deck and appears inside the sealed envelope in the pocket of the other volunteer. If that is not a reputation maker, I don't know what is. A great take on the Trick That Fooled Einstein is taught with M&M's. Gimmicks are used but you are taught how to easily make them.

Videomasker is a software program that alone justifies the cost of the entire package. Too many ads claim that their trick looks like CGI. This not only looks like CGI, it is CGI. It allows you to mask a section of the screen and do your dirty work unseen. I am sure you have all seen a program where someone is broken out of prison or an item is to be stolen. The guards have a monitor to watch but the good guys have circumvented that allowing the corridor to appear normal while the action actually takes place. By using masks to stop action on a portion of the screen, it allows a prediction card to be replaced with the actual prediction invisibly. When the mask is turned off, the prediction is shown to be 100% accurate while having never left being in full view the entire time. This looks unbelievable and there is a thorough tutorial on how to accomplish this. The uses for this incredible piece of software are limited only by your imagination.

In the section on mentalism, several tricks are taught including effects by both Max Maven and Jim Steinmeyer. My favorite of these is the Zoom Switch, performed and taught by Laura London. The actual work is very easy yet it packs a huge punch. Another favorite is Harry Reigel's "Retail Therapy". I have seen other effects with a similar plot but this is so cleverly designed, it will leave a big impression. In it, you go shopping for an outfit at an online store. After you pick the outfit, the cost of each is added. Each price is totally different, yet you show that you knew the total all along.

TimeShifter is another piece of software which allows you to slow down a portion of the screen while the rest of it goes on as normal. You really have to see what can be accomplished by this including one trick where a coin moves by itself, no magnets, no wires, nothing. Simple yet it looks great.

To engage your audience some interactive effects are taught. You must have seen Max Maven doing some of these on a special or two. You put your finger on the screen and make some moves. At the end, Max was able to tell you just where you landed. A marvelous way to make your audience a part of the show and help with your connection.

This is followed by a series of very informative essays by such luminaries as Richard Wiseman, Max Maven and several others. The book ends with a couple of interviews. The first is with Larry Fond, who has been the man behind the camera of several huge Hollywood movies. He gives some great tips on setting up your lighting for your show. The last is pretty much a lesson on scripting your show with Pete McCabe and Paul Draper.

Scattered though the book are coded links to videos showing the things mentioned in the book. You will need a QR Reader on your phone to view these. However, you also have the entire book in pdf so when you read it on your computer, you are given live links to click for the same videos.

If you haven't figured it out by now, I love this book. In my opinion, it is going to become a classic. Virtual performances have so many things superior to a live in person show. You might be able to do a show for a family reunion where the family can be separated by thousands of miles. Each attendee will feel as if you are performing only for them. You have total control of your performance. And best of all, you don't have to travel. I know that a lot of you spend a lot of time on the road. This will allow you to not only spend more time with your family but think of the savings on motels and gas. Plus, afterwards you get to sleep in your own bed.

I have seen performers give lectures and performances online since the beginning of Covid for free. they wanted to keep their face in front of the publics and some just needed some place to perform for their sanity. With this new media coming into play, you will no longer feel awkward asking to be paid. You have earned it and you can use the money.

Speaking of money, a portion of each book sold is being donated to Give Well, an organization devoted to providing education to children in Sub-Saharan Africa so in making the purchase of this book, you are contributing, too.

Conclusion: This is a master work bringing the new technology out of the closet. Read this and apply what you have learned and you will be surprised just how much more powerful your performance can be. Obviously this book is highly recommended. In fact, I can prune this review down to just two words. Buy it.

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