Yes again it's time for another one of my FMS! series. I wasn't planning to do another one of these that quicky but I feel my hand has been forced a bit by this due to events happening recently and I realise I'm probably not the only one who gets irritated by this.
So as a Christmas present I was given some vouchers for a magic store. Awesome! So I jumped on my computer today to peruse what is being promoted. There's been a couple of things that drew my eye, but one piece of magic that seems to be thrown about at the moment is Anverdi's mental die. When I saw the promotional material I was tempted to purchase it. It's a hefty amount for what it is, but it looked worth it on face value. But like every other magician, I've been caught out before buying something that looked amazing only to have it arrive and discover how shit it actually is (let's face it - we've all been there... We've all got a cupboard full of crap that you can't even sell on the second-hand sites). So one of the things I usually do is watch the videos and look for live performances of the trick. What's the point in purchasing something that you've never seen work before? It's one of the reasons why I enjoyed popping into Davenports and watching the staff show routines and purchasing them after a demo. It's so much better to get a POV of the trick beforehand and see it in real life, not just on a screen.
So I was disappointed to find this video when it came to the product demo.
7 minutes... 7 minutes of talking. No actual demos. Just talking. Chatting. Discussing. A 30-second explanation of the trick and what it basically does but no performances, not even a single actual demonstration of the trick in a studio.
As a magician, I want to know if this works as a routine. I want to be able to see a prop or routine being performed by someone so I can get a feel for what I'm buying. Not just people doing some showy stuff discussing how amazing the inventor is. I get that people are good (and I respect Anverdi and his creations in this case), but if I'm spending my money on something I really want to know what I'm getting my hands on. Pyro mini is probably the best example of what I'm looking for when it comes to decent vids. Little bit of design, talk about the inventors etc, but showing some really decent shots of it in use. That way you get the best of both worlds...
Now credit where credits' due, I found a demo by Propdog online and the die trick is impressive, but if I wasn't doing this article I'd have brushed over it and got something else. Along with incredibly fake demos it's one of the most annoying thing marketers do when it comes to selling magic tricks. They forget it's about the performance of the trick, not just the pedigree of the inventor.
For the love of magic... please inventors... put up actual demos of your tricks and routines. Let's see what we are buying before risking our money on buying stuff that will end up in a cupboard for the rest of its life.