Agree with pretty much everything you said. One thing I would add is that the titles of these tutorials also needs to be policed because It's frustrating to see videos names something like "Amazing Criss Angel trick REVEALED!!!". I would consider those videos to be exposure as they are targeting lay audiences who may just be interested in watching magic performances on TH-cam.
Hi asad. Would it be possible for you too teach us a pressure if so plz teach us the under pressure fan. I want to learn but the tutorials on TH-cam aren't very good and I am not really that good at a pressure fan. Thanks :)
Re: Posting Sources, it's not a moral or etiquette issue so much as teaching. I'm a college teacher so saying where you got your information allows someone who comes to your work later to not only follow the path backwards but to also look for others who used that information and see what they did with it. You note in so many of your videos that the tricks are rooted in basic principles. Identifying that principle or naming which trick you learned it from allows people interested in magic to Google it, see not only the original trick, but also how other people have interpreted and understood that trick and maybe even spot a previously unrecognized innovation. In other words, knowledge isn't about having someone teach you how it's done, it's about learning how to teach yourself how it's done.
I saw multiple attacks on teachers on magic on TH-cam lately, two against Shwood. One against Disturb Reality and a few against TH-cam in general. Bryan was the only one who bothered to answer, heck in both cases there were posts by him directly on the attack. I learned almost everything I know about magic tricks here. And I feel that many "old dogs" are scared by the idea that magic is available to everyone who wants it. They feel it cheapens the art if someone else can do it to. The seem to think that a trick that's taught free of charge isn't worth anything. What I think is that they forget the most important thing. It is not the technique that makes a trick great, its the story. You can do the most amazing sleights and I won't enjoy it if you are just not an enjoyable person, or even worse have a plain boring persona. But if you tell a story and use the magic tricks to enhance it, if you have a gripping persona and know how to keep me interested I tend to enjoy many tricks even more if I know how they are done. I appreciate them even better if I see a well executed trick that fits the "play" you perform on stage (whereas stage could be an actual stage, a table at the bar, your office behind a webcam or the open street). Sorry for the longish post, so let me end it quickly - most of the people you will ever perform for will go to TH-cam and try to find out how a trick is done, those who do either want to perform it themselves (and if they truly do either point them the right way or teach them yourself) or are just those kind of people who need to know anything and cannot accept any wonder - don't worry about those, they will never truly enjoy your performance anyway.
After reading through the comments for a while, I did find some interesting points. I agree with 99.9% of what you said, Brian. However, I can't help but feel torn on this issue. TH-cam was the starting point for my magic and it would be hypocritical of me to say that secrets shouldn't be taught on TH-cam because they are very easily accessible. It's how I got my start and I'm grateful for it because it brought a lot of joy in my life. It also led me to get books and DVDs and really jump headlong into the art. However, it really sucks when I preform a trick and someone TH-cams it simply for the knowledge of the secret. And for further clarification, I have no issue with teaching close friends and people who genuinely are interested in magic. However, what bothers me is the macho hecklers who want to look up the method solely for exposure. I know it's unavoidable but it's still a pain. That is my (albeit, long winded) stance. (Also, pro tip for everyone, and I know this seems like common sense but for the love of all that is magic, don't tell your spectators the technical name of the trick. That only gives people the TH-cam search term. Just call it "a trick" or "an experiment".)
Very good points made. Like you I grew up without the Internet invention, if I liked a trick I saw performed by the likes of Paul Daniels, David Copperfield, Doug Henning I would go to the PUBLIC library, yes Public, meaning anyone could go find the Magic book section and read about these tricks and illusions, from a simple card move to a grand sawing a lady illusion, all was revealed. In life you'll always get the odd few people who would like to know how a trick was done, but they are a minority and are the sort of people who read the last page of a mystery book to reveal the murderer, or read the answers hidden at the back of a book for the quiz or crossword. If I think about all my immediate family, friends and relatives, not one of them could give a "hoot" about how a trick I showed them worked! And they wouldn't even be bothered looking it up for hours on the web... they treat the magic shown as pure entertainment, that's right, a word most amateur magicians forget and concern themselves with internet exposure. People like to be entertained, whether it's with magic, music or comedy. If all the so called purists of magic just got on with learning to entertain and stop getting too hot under the collar with magic exposed, they'd enjoy themselves and the hobby much more. Bottom line... you'll never ever stop exposure, that's just a sad fact. But interesting to note that these people that complain and comment on these videos of exposure, what were they doing watching it in the first place if they are dead against it? And by watching it, and making comments, you only bump up the culprits viewer numbers and bring their video to the attention of even more people! Returning to my original point, and one you mentioned, the internet is the modern day Public Library, it's a great educational tool for any hobby, and I would imagine most young people learn the craft of magic by watching TH-cam. I bet very few people buy books now, I remember talking to the late Martin Breese who was a book publisher of Magic, who noticed his sales of books on Magic began to drop each year since the internet was made more accessible. I know this topic will go on for another 20 years, just wanted my say.
I really agree with this video, and especially love how on Scam School you teach tricks which can be done with almost no experience or extra materials. I remember being younger and I read a book on magic tricks which all required lots of specific materials, trick decks, etc... whereas after watching some videos here I was able to buy a regular pack of cards at the dollar store, and within minutes was able to do illusions. To me a lot of it is specific techniques versus the actual routine as well. For example you can practice specific moves - controlling a card to the top/bottom, double lifts, forcing a selection etc... but the magic and enjoyment comes from how you combine those into a narrative. I also work as a DJ so its similar to being able to learn individual skills such as beat-matching, key progression, scratching, EQs, Fx, etc.. but the performance comes in how well you weave all those elements together. The best part too is even after you've learned how a trick is done, it's still impressive to watch how effortlessly the performer executes each part of the illusion. Even better are the tricks where there is no slight of hand, like the match in the mouth or nail in the nose. Despite knowing how they're done AND being able to do them myself it's still crazy to watch.
I don't know if much of Scam School audience is serious about learning magic. I think for every individual who actually learns in earnest, there are a bunch of people like me. I love magic, but I'm not a performer by a long shot, unless you count the one magic show I've done in middle school (a long time ago, long before TH-cam was a thing). So for me Scam School is a purely intellectual pursuit. I only very occasionally do a few simple effects to amuse my drinking buddies, and that certainly doesn't make me a magician. So does that count as exposure and not teaching? I don't know. All that said though, knowing what's behind the curtain doesn't diminish my appreciation for the art, in fact it's probably the reverse. Even if I know how to do an effect, or where to look to see through it, it doesn't automatically mean I can replicate it, or that I can't appreciate the skill and showmanship of the magician. So I don't think exposure itself is that big of an issue in the first place. If someone sees a magic trick and dismisses it on the basis "I know how to do it from TH-cam", I don't think they'd appreciate it if they didn't "know" either. We've come rather far as a society from a time when anyone actually thought that stage magic is actual wizardry and witchcraft -- I think most, if not all, people understand that magic is "smoke and mirrors" as it were. But it's still entertaining even if you know that -- in some cases more so because you know, not in spite of it. I don't think, personally, that knowing precisely how much smoke and where the mirrors are is diminishing that value. I do completely agree with the other point you bring up here. Blatant rip-offs are bullshit and need to stop.
I totally agree with you ! I don't see TH-cam as a free disposal of magic but a huge encyclopedia. And it's so much easier to learn (learn and not understand) a move by actually seing it rather than having some motion drawings. TH-cam is the new library for anything : magic, tiying a tie, making a good bbq, [insert_whatever_you_want] !
thank you! finally, I always felt guilty for looking on how to perform to others, and by no means do I do this for a profession, but I enjoy making others astounded by these tricks. it's nice to know someone shares this practice
I got into magic because of you and have been into for years now. My brother is a professional fire dancer too on a side note. I have sadly not kept up with scam school in recent times but your argument is spot on. Stop revealing other people's work! One of my friends told me to torrent a magic trick one time when I didn't have the money to get it and the thought wag instantly dismissed. It's an art that will only stay alive if we keep it alive. Do not steal from the pockets of fellow magicians. But if your hearts really in it for the long haul this shouldn't even be an issue.
Great point. I too am old school and grew up going to my local public library going through magic books. I never thought of TH-cam as a modern day learning library but in thinking back on it I've learned how to maintain my pool and change the air filters on my wife's car from watching TH-cam videos.
Well done, Brian. A concise and elegant argument. How you define TH-cam is simple, honest and accurate. The sheer volume of content on this space dedicated to teaching everything from Plato to Picasso is where newer generations go to learn. Keep up the great work and the great content.
I cannot believe how many people take offense to this, if it weren't for Brian and Scam school I wouldn't have even given magic a try, but now I have better dexterity, the ability to blow people's brains out, and really just more happiness in general. I personally think everyone here should be thanking Brian, he definitely deserves it.
My little dude is currently obsessed with magic tutorial videos on TH-cam and just watching tricks and trying to recreate them. He's just 4 so I have to monitor where TH-cam tries to take him as I don't need him trying to put a spike through his tongue just yet (sorry, Brian). Right now he's getting the stage presence and banter down. He's witnessed the the (relative) equivalent of dozens of live magic shows in the space of a week or so. What a lucky little bugger to have the Library of Alexander available to him at the speed of light (or whatever speed Comcast allows for).
I have a BIG DILEMMA... One of the best thing i discovered in this ongoing year was this channel, Scam School changed my life, Brian, i always wanted to do the things you teach us and never really thought i could learn it by myself watching it from a youtube video, it was weird, because i like to consider myself a self-teaching individual whose almost 80% of the things i learn is from the internet and even more from TH-cam. This is one of my favorite channels on youtube, and i would love to hit the like buttons on all the videos, and share them, and stuff like that, but i found myself in this big Dilemma... "Do i want people to see that i like almost every video that teaches the things i try to perform? or should i keep it a secret so when i scam them it would be more believable that it truly is magic?" it's just a big big dilemma i had since the first video i saw from Scam School. I would really appreciate if you could reply with your thoughts Brian, or anyone who watches this channel and has the same problem with a known solution would be equally appreciated :)
hi.. i think brian (please correct me if i'm wrong (+sorry)) doesn't drop trick names/throws out credits when he performs... like brian said...the spectator has got make the first step(s) ...you shouldn't throw magic of all kind in your friends faces... that will not help the art of magic (in the long run) i add tutorials to private playlists/you can unlink your youtube account from g+/fb if you want to ... so you don't have to handle two accounts... after some time all your friends will know that "you're the magic guy" anyway...but only if you're willing to put in the effort - otherwise the name might differentiate ;-) be careful - don't try to learn all magic, pick out a few good ones and practice..practice..practice. over the last few years i've lerned that people with our mindset - who really want to learn new stuff/how stuff is done - are kind of rare...at least in my age group (35+) magic is somehow a way of life - experience everything though kids eyes and you've won the worldcup (no ball at this point - keep practicing you old tricks) i know so many people that just want to get homefrom work & watch real-TV (zap out of reality) and if it comes down to a new experience (like learning a trick) they're not willing to put in any effort. no effort = no dopamine.(feel good hormone) i've been doing magic for 17years and i think magic taught me that learning something/anything(!) is the greatest thing life has to offer...if you don't wanna end up like one the couch-potatoes in your private surroundings. of course - everybody wants to know the secret after a good performance... but only those few guys with the right mindset might "see the light" after all ;-) i've never been asked: "what's the name of the trick?" or "where did you learn that?" ... i feel kind of said for those guys - learning anything can be frustrating, but you have to see past that issue - it's part of the process. maybe it's a german lang. issue... esp. a lot of older guys/girls don't speak english after all. mmh?...but every trick looks the same in every lang. ...most of them don't even know that ;-) i 've the upmost respect for brian / scamschool and many other young magicians (houchin/mayne/garcia/blaine...and many many more(sorry)) their way to perform/teach/invent new tricks kept me always hungry - lead me to the point where i am toady. ok "for the most part" my mindset is my responsibility not theirs ... but those guys made me feel home/not alone....on dopamine-island!!! (...in germany?) did anybody walk out of their mother? (gross!!) no - we all dropped many times when we tried...finally we were able to walk!!! > reward: dopamine a drifted of quite a bit, sorry. >>> don't try to change your friends / make them magicians !!! just be happy about your mindset and enjoy the ride! just intervene in your friend life when they walk on the "dark side" - it's hard to change them anyhow... greez from hamburg
You are 100% right. Magic is not about 'keeping the secret'. It is about making the magic happen. And both performing and teaching are doing just that.
I dont fully agree with all you have to say. Learn something in the morning and perform it at night? That is why many magicians out there suck. A true practitioner KNOWS that to perform something WELL takes thousands of hours.
Of course. ...But what you described is *exactly why* we don't teach those tricks on Scam School. Why would we teach something that nobody could perform?
Thank you Brian you are awesome... I'm a newbie and my friends are loving all the card tricks I've learned on Scam School. I'm an old granny having a blast learning from youtube... Thank you
Fair enough, just out of curiosity what was it about Jarek's video that you disagreed with, the fact that he taught 'your trick' or the fact he didn't give any credit for your creation? :)
I've been on the fence for quite some time about the whole "magic on youtube" thing, and I think this is a really good watermark for whether a magic video on youtube is ethical or not. Well done.
Great "controversial stance" Brian. I'm a magician and I really don't mind you teaching other people magic like on Scam School. Although I WAS a bit annoyed when you revealed one of my most popular tricks. In short: I got over it. I still perform that trick regularly, and not once did someone say: "Hey! I saw that on TH-cam!" ;-)
Thank you thank you thank you thank you thank you. These are nearly my exact thoughts on teaching magic through TH-cam. I don't personally teach magic on TH-cam myself because my YT audience is primarily my friends, not magicians. But good magic teaching on TH-cam has been monumental in my growth as a magician. If magicians shy away from this amazing resource we have to create new and better magicians, I think that's incredibly stupid. Good video, Brushwood.
Big fan of your show and I really support your idea of "TH-cam Magic". There's just one thing I think you could do better. You teach very simple tricks with simple props, so that people can immediatly go out and do it. Eventuelly these people wanna do better, more complex things and I think it would be cool if you could adress some good books/dvds/whatever at the end of a episode that teach similiar stuff to the one you taught on the episode, just on a higher and more detailed level. Keep up the good work :)
A very interesting point I hadn't considered before about TH-cam requiring active participation in order to find methods. Except it's not quite that simple when you consider that TH-cam has video recommendations that often include the exposure of a trick that you just watched a performance of. That's when it does become exposure as whilst the viewer can opt to not view it, by having it so close whilst they're still confused about what they just saw, they are more likely to take the easy route. I think that I would accept TH-cam as a library if it wasn't also an archive - linking the source of an art to it's presentation so closely makes it all to easy for the distance to be blurred.
I totally agree. It's not a library. It's similar. But it's a new animal. I have seen a video of a performance and then a "tutorial" about the method suggested next.
Brian, this is a great discussion on this touchy subject. This comes up all the time on the Full Circle Magic FB group (on which I'm a moderator), I'm going to post a link to this every time someone argues that all TH-cam tutorials are exposure.
Thanks so much! I'd like to do a followup on the nature of what constitutes a "ripoff" of another person's effect, but I need to collect my thoughts on it. We had some fascinating discussions on this during the SAM / Theory11 livestreams: theory11 x SAM - Live Event 07/15/2013 theory11 live x September 2013
I owe re-learning my love of magic to a couple of things 1: dislocating my thumb and needing something to gain back my dexterity 2: youtube and more so the 1 and only scamschool. theres no one I know that can teach me and I have three young kids so getting the time to read doesn't come round often but my son and daughter love watching tricks being done. and I can learn while the're being amused without youtube people like me cant get ideas or even learn some of the basics so i say keep teaching and we'll keep learning and practicing
Love this video its awesome I love youtube I am 15 and have been practicing magic for 2 years almost and performing for almost a year. I love this because it was sites like scamschool and free magic live that got me into magic and helped me to learn. Now I have found mentors because of that teach me not tricks (like I thought they would at the beginning) but performance tips and development of my character. And I would like to say thanks brian for all the videos you have made you have really helped me in my development.
You don't know me, and yet I feel like I owe you an apology. I've seen a lot of people hating on you for a long time for exposing magic. I have to admit that I took it for granted that's what you were doing and didn't realize you got everyone's permission for any trick which you performed. It's always been an odd feeling for me because one of the best effects I do was inspired by something I saw on this channel. I'm glad you posted this video - it has made me change my perspective. If I ever see you, maybe I could buy you a drink.
Thanks so much, Bartholomew. It really means a lot to hear that from you. Feel free to spread the word to anyone else who's under the wrong impression! :-)
I personally will never become as great like you and others guys on your show, but I love doing these tricks taught on here to impress and entertain my friends. I am glad I found your show on TH-cam. I have a notebook and I write down how some of these trick are done but I try to find way to deliver it. At least I have something to attract the ladies.
The youtubers who make magic trick videos for entertainment or comedy which rake in millions of views, who then expose the trick, would still be considered exposure in my eyes. People stumbled across the video for the entertainment value, they didnt look it up because theyre an aspiring magician.
i wasnt aware about people ripping off dvd and acting like they were genuinely practicing their own trick. i watch scam school for the same reasons i watched val valentino masked magician show, just because i m currious about what s behind the tricks itlself, and when i watch a close up or a stage trick i m more amazed about they build up everything than the tricks, this also why i enjoy scamschool, BB explain also how any average joe can start and does the trick on their own.
Was this posted because of Jarek 1.20 the whole memorized deck thing. I don't think marketed effects should be exposed. It takes away from the artist but most people don't care they just want a quick answer. If I do tutorials it will be on moves or public domain tricks, or effects I've made up from moves.
When I first got interested into magic I went to the library. after a long process of looking some teen said go to the card trick teacher web sight its much easier. I did and it was. No harm in that. The card trick teacher is very respectful of the information being given out and I have perfected a craft because of sights like his. win/win I think.
I mostly agree but I feel that TH-cam is too open for anyone to see. Ya it's great to have tricks easily accessible for beginners but I hate when I do a great trick for someone, then they look it up on TH-cam 2 seconds later. TH-cam is too known. There should be like a magic tube or something that only magicians know of but make it free and so anyone can upload.
Brian i am getting into magic and find it really hard to get new tricks because they are expensive and when i show simple tricks it to many people they find it out really quick can you help me out with some little better tricks
i am in total agreement with this if it was not for youtube i would be down hundreds of tricks. this is a community for sharing ideas and as long as you don't claim that something is yours when you didn't make it then it is ok.
With all due respect: No. No, it's not good enough. I can't get on stage, do all of George Carlin's best bits and then claim "But I never claimed to have written it!" That wouldn't fly in real life, so it shouldn't fly on TH-cam.
very well said, i still dont understand how magicians can flag a tutorial on a trick they came up with, to me its like if los del rio flagged everyone that posted a tutorial on the macarena unless you paid them 39.99 to watch their music video on how to do it. its kinda the reason i got out of magic
See I find youtube somewhere in between TV and a Library. Granted these day, my primary form of video consumption is internet video and usually video made for the internet so I may have a different position on the matter. I do agree future magicians will come from the internet learned crowd.
Here is my issue with TH-cam and magic. Let's say I buy a book or DVD and learn a great trick and preform it. What's stopping the audience from going on TH-cam and learning how the trick is done and ruining the effect? I've had this happen a couple of times and it's such a horrible experience as a magician. I like ScamSchool in the sense that it's like dipping your feet in the water before jumping into the world of magic.
Brian, I know you're annoyed that howtodisturbreality "nicked" your routine and taught it exactly how you did and he didn't credit you. BUT he did credit you on Facebook when he posted the link, just thought I'd let you know
Hey BB. I recently came up with a solo card game to play when you're bored that really helps build agility in your fingers. Are you interested in seeing it? I can send you a video.
Well I guess it kinda depends on the person you know? I mean TH-cam can be seen as a library and a place to learn, but there are times where I would perform an effect to someone, and upon meeting them again, they would tell me that they know how I did it by looking it up on TH-cam which kinda just kills the magic.
Scam School lol yes. All I'm saying is that a library or TH-cam, can both be a place for exposure or for a place to learn. It's just that, for magicians, I think the secret of. an effect is what makes magic become real to the spectators but if they were to use TH-cam to find out the secret, it would kind of ruin the feeling of magic for them. But then again I guess that all comes down to the person and whether or not they truly want to enjoy magic and just let it happen, or search around trying to find how someone did an effect.
FARTandDARTmarksMAN But I guess I'm saying exactly that: if someone cares enough to look it up on TH-cam, then, pretty much by definition, at that point they've decided to become a magician. In which case you should welcome your brother in magic, not shout him down as "cheating."
I completely agree👍. I actually teach a few of my friends magic and have no problem in teaching them magic as long as they show me that they are willing to actually learn magic and not just know the secret to an effect.
Well stated. TH-cam/internet is the new library. (when's the last time an encyclopedia salesman has come to your door?) You nailed in 6 min what many would take hours to say. IMO you teach at a very understandable basic level, with mind blowing reproducible methods while always giving credit to where it is due. You don't "expose" nor "exploit" However, the day I see spiked hair sticking up through a masked man on prime time T.V. is the day I start hating on ya Brushwood...but until then keep it coming! Good Stuff!
I think the points you bring up are great and wonderful and I think you should have made this video way earlier like in the beginning of scam school. But is clicking on a video showing up in the sidebar or related videos of non-tutorial/exposure videos, or clicking on a video from the search because you looked up your favorite magicians (Blaine/Dynamo/Angel/etc) deliberate and serious enough? I don't think so and I think you really underestimate TH-cam. This is not just a library, you do randomly get stuff thrown at your face like on all social media, and really like TV as you'd watch your favorite shows and when these are not on you'd watch other stuff at random. This is also proven by the fact that there is a huge (and I mean HUGE) amount of people starting magic because they just happened to run into a TH-cam video teaching it, plenty because of yours too, without there being any intention to learn magic to begin with. Since you said to have the purpose to "create more magicians" I guess you'd say that's alright but for that I think you're wrong, just on that topic. Well done on clearing up the rest though. Thank you.
I'm almost certain (and please, show me if I'm wrong) that one of the primary functions of the card catalog is to expose people to related materials to whatever they searched for... how is that different from what TH-cam does?
With a card catalog the actions that follow are a whole lot more deliberate and serious. A card catalog would be more like Google (without its video search), followed by magic forums, (free) teaching programs and such. I agree with you that one does not need to pay for magic, but they would need to take a deliberate and serious action, just like you said yourself. With TH-cam on the other hand it is as if you would offer secrets while performing magic. "Want to know how I did it?" Most spectators are going to take that offer even though they had no original intention to learn the trick and know its secrets to begin with. That action is similar to the single click it takes to get to a TH-cam tutorial or exposure video. The biggest amount of people getting into magic via TH-cam are in fact those who did not have the original intention to learn magic or become a magician, who looked up magic performances by famous magicians from TV instead or other things like bar bets/challenges, pen spinning and such. Also, if someone wishes to learn one thing or one kind of magic, when subscribing to let's say Scam School, you will be throwing tricks at them at random, so also tricks they might not be interested in and will never even perform. Or they will think that because it is you teaching them these, that they will have to be exactly like you and perform these specific tricks, whereas with a card catalog or Google they will get wherever they want to be themselves. Hope that kind of clears it up. Thank you.
Philafxs your argument is based on 'original intent' which is of itself not quantifiable on a real scale. The people who come on here and learn one or two bar tricks are not becoming magicians. And I'm sure you know or takes a lot more than doing the things that Brian teaches to gain that title. Those that are inspired to continue will advance and find more in depth resources while those that learned a bartrick will simply be a guy who knows a little trick which is in no way a harm to our art. So a few people know what a stripper deck is so what. It's an excellent way to bring in New magicians. One of my friends watched a few episodes of scam school and he can't even remember the topic of the episodes much less the trick. While I watched scam school and have now been a magician for years. I'm even a member of IBM. It was never my intent to become a magician but thanks to Brian I am now. I couldn't be more thankful for the foot in the door he gave me. I've even doesn't countless amounts of money on the art. My point is it's a new dawn. Old ethical beliefs of magic have to adapt to new technology, it simply doesn't have a choice. But giving people's tricks away for free is horrible, if it is an original piece of work. We all know you can teach someone a trick and then do it right in front of them and they will continue to be perplexed. It's the nature of magic to attract the people who are serious and weed out those who are not through the amount of dedication it takes. I just don't agree that it doesn't only attract those interested in magic while I guess since I haven't had the intent to be a magician all my life I am somehow less of one now. This attracts new real magicians in sense a little deeper than "Hey I can do a bar trick now".
Uhhh.. you basically verified exactly what I think is wrong with public TH-cam tutorials and exposure videos, though you see it as a good thing because thanks to these you are a magician now. What about all those "people who come on here and learn one or two bar tricks" who now are familiar with tens of magic secrets? Who now may very well be (calling themselves) magicians too? And who might remember some of the magic secrets and at least know how and where to look them up? Just to make clear, I am looking at this from an independent point of view. I couldn't care less about old magic ethics or whatever. I am not a magician or magic creator. I do know and talk to magicians, creators, hobbyists, people learning magic from TH-cam and such pretty much daily and I have even talked to some magic teachers on here. Either have their own opinions and I allow and accept all of them. What I posted simply is about what Brian said in this video, something I couldn't possibly agree with for that it's technically incorrect. Most of the points he made were great, wonderful and valid, this one just was not.
What you said would be true. If it wasn't a major underestimation. The guy who learns the marketed effect isn't really the problem it's the jerk who taught it. And there are far more of those than you think. If most kids want to learn something odds are they'll look it up on TH-cam to see if there's a free tutorial first. And if there is. They've just been part of ripping someone off. And they encourage each other to teach what they don't want to buy. And then there are the people who only learn magic from TH-cam. You'll never become a good magician watching disturb reality of 52cards. You'll have to buy a DVD, watch a lecture, be around magicians, and most importantly learn how to think for yourself.
My sister once asked me, if I could teach her one of my (simple)magic tricks, but I told her, that i won't until she starts trying to learn tricks by herselfe. I think that people like the masked magican are so shame for our community, because he just spoilers illusions that can't be performed by anyone... but still this illusion is then destroyed for the spectators :/ teaching magic on a plattform like youtube is very difficult, because you probably reach the wrong kind of persons. I think we should give a (if we need to teach magic for free) everybody at least the possibility the decide whether they want to know the secret or stay with the feeling of "wow wtf did he do that" :D. So my personal opinion is that tricks u need to spend money for are much better than free tutorials, because no person would buy them just to know the secret, but to perform them. (Talking about professional tricks here). Also, which annoys me a lot, I learned many tricks (from D&D or theory11,...) not by buying them, but by watching terrible performances on youtube... to conclude I'd say that we definetly should show less free or homemade (nonprofessional) magic content in the internet. Thanks for reading.
i think that youtube is a terrible place for learning magic because anyone can put tutorials up and say that it is a proffessional magic trick but that's not always the case some of theses effects make absolutly no sense in performing them in the real world. there is a two reason you should start learning from books and dvds of well known companies like theory 11, dan and dave, ellusionist, sandsminds magic, and other well known websites that provide valid magic. the first is that there is a group of proffesional magicians that revise these affects submitted to them and decide weather this is a trick worth selling and putting up on there website. think about it this way every effect put up on a magic website is representation of themselves and there own judgment. the second reason is by learning all off youtube you are taking bread out of these performers mouths who are some of the greatest magicians in the world and are the magicians you should be learning from.
I learn it from youtube and buy stuff.. I don't do reveals though...and if you are giving away magic effects, it's not that hard to just Facebook message the creator and ask if its ok.. I did it, took 2 minutes...
this is a tricky topic i learned off youtube how to fix my toilet did it take money away from a plumber yes, should it be outlawed ? Idk i dont think this topic well ever be fully decided .
Jarek1:20 should've mentioned you but i think he is one of those magicians that learned everything from youtube so he's not necessarily stealing from you he might just be making tutorials on tricks that he learn from youtube
Penn and Teller are magicians and they still got fooled on their TV show. As for the point of buying DVDs. SOMETIMES buying them from the magician is far too expensive for me (being in Australia). I was going to buy some things off the scam school website but it was $35 to get it to Australia before I even started which was very sad for me. I had paid to get some magic tricks off creator and I've worked out tricks on youtube watching people do the, your three coin trick is one that I worked out Brian (I won't share, don't worry) and I'm not ashamed to say I've watched some tutorials on youtube to see how to do tricks I couldn't work out
how much you wanna bet the greatest 21st century magician hasn't been born yet? the great war (WWI) started a hundred years ago, we're that far into the 21st century.
Brian, I have a trick to share with you, which I invented, that would be PERFECT for Scam School!! However I'm not sure what your current address is to send it to. If you (or someone who sees this) could let me know then that would be great!! thanx.
Agree with pretty much everything you said. One thing I would add is that the titles of these tutorials also needs to be policed because It's frustrating to see videos names something like "Amazing Criss Angel trick REVEALED!!!". I would consider those videos to be exposure as they are targeting lay audiences who may just be interested in watching magic performances on TH-cam.
Hi asad. Would it be possible for you too teach us a pressure if so plz teach us the under pressure fan. I want to learn but the tutorials on TH-cam aren't very good and I am not really that good at a pressure fan. Thanks :)
Robin Panter you can learn it on dananddave too.
Everyone either learning or teaching magic on TH-cam ought to watch this video.
Thanks for the kind words!
Great Video. I Agree completely.
Asad I love u
Wherein I attempt to take six years of thoughts about the nature of teaching magic on TH-cam, and distill them into 6 minutes.
())====D~~ There it was done by someone who isn't 12!
Kelly McKenzie LOL. Nice.
"By 12 year old" you mean "any member of Chatrealm" right?
(._.) (|:) (.-.) ( :|) (._.)
They see me rollin'. They hatin'.
Kelly McKenzie it's less 'hatin" and more "Highest Honours of Scam School" :p
Brian is the man , youre like a wise drunk partying Dumbledore, passing wisdom on to the next generation of magicians.
+Elizabeth Stewart This is far and away my favorite description of me. Please have this put on my tombstone.
I'm way, way too late to suggest "Stumbledore", aren't I?!
Re: Posting Sources, it's not a moral or etiquette issue so much as teaching. I'm a college teacher so saying where you got your information allows someone who comes to your work later to not only follow the path backwards but to also look for others who used that information and see what they did with it.
You note in so many of your videos that the tricks are rooted in basic principles. Identifying that principle or naming which trick you learned it from allows people interested in magic to Google it, see not only the original trick, but also how other people have interpreted and understood that trick and maybe even spot a previously unrecognized innovation.
In other words, knowledge isn't about having someone teach you how it's done, it's about learning how to teach yourself how it's done.
good points.
I saw multiple attacks on teachers on magic on TH-cam lately, two against Shwood. One against Disturb Reality and a few against TH-cam in general.
Bryan was the only one who bothered to answer, heck in both cases there were posts by him directly on the attack.
I learned almost everything I know about magic tricks here. And I feel that many "old dogs" are scared by the idea that magic is available to everyone who wants it. They feel it cheapens the art if someone else can do it to. The seem to think that a trick that's taught free of charge isn't worth anything.
What I think is that they forget the most important thing. It is not the technique that makes a trick great, its the story. You can do the most amazing sleights and I won't enjoy it if you are just not an enjoyable person, or even worse have a plain boring persona.
But if you tell a story and use the magic tricks to enhance it, if you have a gripping persona and know how to keep me interested I tend to enjoy many tricks even more if I know how they are done. I appreciate them even better if I see a well executed trick that fits the "play" you perform on stage (whereas stage could be an actual stage, a table at the bar, your office behind a webcam or the open street).
Sorry for the longish post, so let me end it quickly - most of the people you will ever perform for will go to TH-cam and try to find out how a trick is done, those who do either want to perform it themselves (and if they truly do either point them the right way or teach them yourself) or are just those kind of people who need to know anything and cannot accept any wonder - don't worry about those, they will never truly enjoy your performance anyway.
After reading through the comments for a while, I did find some interesting points. I agree with 99.9% of what you said, Brian. However, I can't help but feel torn on this issue. TH-cam was the starting point for my magic and it would be hypocritical of me to say that secrets shouldn't be taught on TH-cam because they are very easily accessible. It's how I got my start and I'm grateful for it because it brought a lot of joy in my life. It also led me to get books and DVDs and really jump headlong into the art. However, it really sucks when I preform a trick and someone TH-cams it simply for the knowledge of the secret. And for further clarification, I have no issue with teaching close friends and people who genuinely are interested in magic. However, what bothers me is the macho hecklers who want to look up the method solely for exposure. I know it's unavoidable but it's still a pain. That is my (albeit, long winded) stance. (Also, pro tip for everyone, and I know this seems like common sense but for the love of all that is magic, don't tell your spectators the technical name of the trick. That only gives people the TH-cam search term. Just call it "a trick" or "an experiment".)
Very good points made. Like you I grew up without the Internet invention, if I liked a trick I saw performed by the likes of Paul Daniels, David Copperfield, Doug Henning I would go to the PUBLIC library, yes Public, meaning anyone could go find the Magic book section and read about these tricks and illusions, from a simple card move to a grand sawing a lady illusion, all was revealed.
In life you'll always get the odd few people who would like to know how a trick was done, but they are a minority and are the sort of people who read the last page of a mystery book to reveal the murderer, or read the answers hidden at the back of a book for the quiz or crossword. If I think about all my immediate family, friends and relatives, not one of them could give a "hoot" about how a trick I showed them worked! And they wouldn't even be bothered looking it up for hours on the web... they treat the magic shown as pure entertainment, that's right, a word most amateur magicians forget and concern themselves with internet exposure. People like to be entertained, whether it's with magic, music or comedy. If all the so called purists of magic just got on with learning to entertain and stop getting too hot under the collar with magic exposed, they'd enjoy themselves and the hobby much more. Bottom line... you'll never ever stop exposure, that's just a sad fact.
But interesting to note that these people that complain and comment on these videos of exposure, what were they doing watching it in the first place if they are dead against it? And by watching it, and making comments, you only bump up the culprits viewer numbers and bring their video to the attention of even more people!
Returning to my original point, and one you mentioned, the internet is the modern day Public Library, it's a great educational tool for any hobby, and I would imagine most young people learn the craft of magic by watching TH-cam. I bet very few people buy books now, I remember talking to the late Martin Breese who was a book publisher of Magic, who noticed his sales of books on Magic began to drop each year since the internet was made more accessible.
I know this topic will go on for another 20 years, just wanted my say.
I really agree with this video, and especially love how on Scam School you teach tricks which can be done with almost no experience or extra materials. I remember being younger and I read a book on magic tricks which all required lots of specific materials, trick decks, etc... whereas after watching some videos here I was able to buy a regular pack of cards at the dollar store, and within minutes was able to do illusions. To me a lot of it is specific techniques versus the actual routine as well. For example you can practice specific moves - controlling a card to the top/bottom, double lifts, forcing a selection etc... but the magic and enjoyment comes from how you combine those into a narrative. I also work as a DJ so its similar to being able to learn individual skills such as beat-matching, key progression, scratching, EQs, Fx, etc.. but the performance comes in how well you weave all those elements together. The best part too is even after you've learned how a trick is done, it's still impressive to watch how effortlessly the performer executes each part of the illusion. Even better are the tricks where there is no slight of hand, like the match in the mouth or nail in the nose. Despite knowing how they're done AND being able to do them myself it's still crazy to watch.
Excellent BB.
Thanks, Dr. G!
I don't know if much of Scam School audience is serious about learning magic. I think for every individual who actually learns in earnest, there are a bunch of people like me. I love magic, but I'm not a performer by a long shot, unless you count the one magic show I've done in middle school (a long time ago, long before TH-cam was a thing). So for me Scam School is a purely intellectual pursuit. I only very occasionally do a few simple effects to amuse my drinking buddies, and that certainly doesn't make me a magician. So does that count as exposure and not teaching? I don't know.
All that said though, knowing what's behind the curtain doesn't diminish my appreciation for the art, in fact it's probably the reverse. Even if I know how to do an effect, or where to look to see through it, it doesn't automatically mean I can replicate it, or that I can't appreciate the skill and showmanship of the magician. So I don't think exposure itself is that big of an issue in the first place. If someone sees a magic trick and dismisses it on the basis "I know how to do it from TH-cam", I don't think they'd appreciate it if they didn't "know" either. We've come rather far as a society from a time when anyone actually thought that stage magic is actual wizardry and witchcraft -- I think most, if not all, people understand that magic is "smoke and mirrors" as it were. But it's still entertaining even if you know that -- in some cases more so because you know, not in spite of it. I don't think, personally, that knowing precisely how much smoke and where the mirrors are is diminishing that value.
I do completely agree with the other point you bring up here. Blatant rip-offs are bullshit and need to stop.
I totally agree with you ! I don't see TH-cam as a free disposal of magic but a huge encyclopedia. And it's so much easier to learn (learn and not understand) a move by actually seing it rather than having some motion drawings. TH-cam is the new library for anything : magic, tiying a tie, making a good bbq, [insert_whatever_you_want] !
thank you! finally, I always felt guilty for looking on how to perform to others, and by no means do I do this for a profession, but I enjoy making others astounded by these tricks. it's nice to know someone shares this practice
I got into magic because of you and have been into for years now. My brother is a professional fire dancer too on a side note. I have sadly not kept up with scam school in recent times but your argument is spot on.
Stop revealing other people's work! One of my friends told me to torrent a magic trick one time when I didn't have the money to get it and the thought wag instantly dismissed. It's an art that will only stay alive if we keep it alive. Do not steal from the pockets of fellow magicians. But if your hearts really in it for the long haul this shouldn't even be an issue.
Great point. I too am old school and grew up going to my local public library going through magic books. I never thought of TH-cam as a modern day learning library but in thinking back on it I've learned how to maintain my pool and change the air filters on my wife's car from watching TH-cam videos.
Well done, Brian. A concise and elegant argument. How you define TH-cam is simple, honest and accurate. The sheer volume of content on this space dedicated to teaching everything from Plato to Picasso is where newer generations go to learn. Keep up the great work and the great content.
I cannot believe how many people take offense to this, if it weren't for Brian and Scam school I wouldn't have even given magic a try, but now I have better dexterity, the ability to blow people's brains out, and really just more happiness in general. I personally think everyone here should be thanking Brian, he definitely deserves it.
My little dude is currently obsessed with magic tutorial videos on TH-cam and just watching tricks and trying to recreate them. He's just 4 so I have to monitor where TH-cam tries to take him as I don't need him trying to put a spike through his tongue just yet (sorry, Brian).
Right now he's getting the stage presence and banter down. He's witnessed the the (relative) equivalent of dozens of live magic shows in the space of a week or so. What a lucky little bugger to have the Library of Alexander available to him at the speed of light (or whatever speed Comcast allows for).
I have a BIG DILEMMA... One of the best thing i discovered in this ongoing year was this channel, Scam School changed my life, Brian, i always wanted to do the things you teach us and never really thought i could learn it by myself watching it from a youtube video, it was weird, because i like to consider myself a self-teaching individual whose almost 80% of the things i learn is from the internet and even more from TH-cam. This is one of my favorite channels on youtube, and i would love to hit the like buttons on all the videos, and share them, and stuff like that, but i found myself in this big Dilemma... "Do i want people to see that i like almost every video that teaches the things i try to perform? or should i keep it a secret so when i scam them it would be more believable that it truly is magic?" it's just a big big dilemma i had since the first video i saw from Scam School.
I would really appreciate if you could reply with your thoughts Brian, or anyone who watches this channel and has the same problem with a known solution would be equally appreciated :)
hm... maybe make a second account to like and subscribe with?
hi.. i think brian (please correct me if i'm wrong (+sorry)) doesn't drop trick names/throws out credits when he performs...
like brian said...the spectator has got make the first step(s) ...you shouldn't throw magic of all kind in your friends faces... that will not help the art of magic (in the long run)
i add tutorials to private playlists/you can unlink your youtube account from g+/fb if you want to ... so you don't have to handle two accounts...
after some time all your friends will know that "you're the magic guy" anyway...but only if you're willing to put in the effort - otherwise the name might differentiate ;-) be careful - don't try to learn all magic, pick out a few good ones and practice..practice..practice.
over the last few years i've lerned that people with our mindset - who really want to learn new stuff/how stuff is done - are kind of rare...at least in my age group (35+)
magic is somehow a way of life - experience everything though kids eyes and you've won the worldcup (no ball at this point - keep practicing you old tricks)
i know so many people that just want to get homefrom work & watch real-TV (zap out of reality) and if it comes down to a new experience (like learning a trick) they're not willing to put in any effort.
no effort = no dopamine.(feel good hormone)
i've been doing magic for 17years and i think magic taught me that learning something/anything(!) is the greatest thing life has to offer...if you don't wanna end up like one the couch-potatoes in your private surroundings.
of course - everybody wants to know the secret after a good performance...
but only those few guys with the right mindset might "see the light" after all ;-)
i've never been asked: "what's the name of the trick?" or "where did you learn that?" ... i feel kind of said for those guys - learning anything can be frustrating, but you have to see past that issue - it's part of the process.
maybe it's a german lang. issue... esp. a lot of older guys/girls don't speak english after all.
mmh?...but every trick looks the same in every lang. ...most of them don't even know that ;-)
i 've the upmost respect for brian / scamschool and many other young magicians (houchin/mayne/garcia/blaine...and many many more(sorry))
their way to perform/teach/invent new tricks kept me always hungry - lead me to the point where i am toady.
ok "for the most part" my mindset is my responsibility not theirs ... but those guys made me feel home/not alone....on dopamine-island!!! (...in germany?)
did anybody walk out of their mother? (gross!!)
no - we all dropped many times when we tried...finally we were able to walk!!!
> reward: dopamine
a drifted of quite a bit, sorry.
>>> don't try to change your friends / make them magicians !!!
just be happy about your mindset and enjoy the ride! just intervene in your friend life when they walk on the "dark side" - it's hard to change them anyhow...
greez from hamburg
You are 100% right.
Magic is not about 'keeping the secret'. It is about making the magic happen. And both performing and teaching are doing just that.
I dont fully agree with all you have to say. Learn something in the morning and perform it at night? That is why many magicians out there suck. A true practitioner KNOWS that to perform something WELL takes thousands of hours.
Of course. ...But what you described is *exactly why* we don't teach those tricks on Scam School. Why would we teach something that nobody could perform?
Thank you Brian you are awesome... I'm a newbie and my friends are loving all the card tricks I've learned on Scam School. I'm an old granny having a blast learning from youtube... Thank you
Has this got something to do with the recent video by Jarek 1:20 of Disturb Reality?
Not at all. It's something I've been meaning to post for a while.
Fair enough, just out of curiosity what was it about Jarek's video that you disagreed with, the fact that he taught 'your trick' or the fact he didn't give any credit for your creation? :)
I've been on the fence for quite some time about the whole "magic on youtube" thing, and I think this is a really good watermark for whether a magic video on youtube is ethical or not. Well done.
Thanks! Sorry it took 6 years of meditation before I found the words to describe what my gut was feeling.
Brian, you gained my respect, sir. Thanks for fleshing out the ethics of what you do and why.
Great "controversial stance" Brian. I'm a magician and I really don't mind you teaching other people magic like on Scam School. Although I WAS a bit annoyed when you revealed one of my most popular tricks. In short: I got over it. I still perform that trick regularly, and not once did someone say: "Hey! I saw that on TH-cam!" ;-)
Thank you thank you thank you thank you thank you.
These are nearly my exact thoughts on teaching magic through TH-cam. I don't personally teach magic on TH-cam myself because my YT audience is primarily my friends, not magicians. But good magic teaching on TH-cam has been monumental in my growth as a magician.
If magicians shy away from this amazing resource we have to create new and better magicians, I think that's incredibly stupid.
Good video, Brushwood.
Big fan of your show and I really support your idea of "TH-cam Magic". There's just one thing I think you could do better. You teach very simple tricks with simple props, so that people can immediatly go out and do it. Eventuelly these people wanna do better, more complex things and I think it would be cool if you could adress some good books/dvds/whatever at the end of a episode that teach similiar stuff to the one you taught on the episode, just on a higher and more detailed level.
Keep up the good work :)
An excellent idea. Shwood, get your ass over here and read this.
A very interesting point I hadn't considered before about TH-cam requiring active participation in order to find methods. Except it's not quite that simple when you consider that TH-cam has video recommendations that often include the exposure of a trick that you just watched a performance of. That's when it does become exposure as whilst the viewer can opt to not view it, by having it so close whilst they're still confused about what they just saw, they are more likely to take the easy route.
I think that I would accept TH-cam as a library if it wasn't also an archive - linking the source of an art to it's presentation so closely makes it all to easy for the distance to be blurred.
I totally agree. It's not a library. It's similar. But it's a new animal. I have seen a video of a performance and then a "tutorial" about the method suggested next.
Isn't that exactly what you'd expect a good librarian to do? Examine your requests and suggest pertinent related works?
Brian, this is a great discussion on this touchy subject. This comes up all the time on the Full Circle Magic FB group (on which I'm a moderator), I'm going to post a link to this every time someone argues that all TH-cam tutorials are exposure.
Thanks so much! I'd like to do a followup on the nature of what constitutes a "ripoff" of another person's effect, but I need to collect my thoughts on it. We had some fascinating discussions on this during the SAM / Theory11 livestreams:
theory11 x SAM - Live Event 07/15/2013
theory11 live x September 2013
I think Brian is refering to DisturbReality (who took one of his tricks and revealed them without giving him credits) in this video..
Definitely not. Jarek was nothing but awesome about that.
That was possibly the best thing I have ever heard. Good job, sir.
I owe re-learning my love of magic to a couple of things 1: dislocating my thumb and needing something to gain back my dexterity 2: youtube and more so the 1 and only scamschool.
theres no one I know that can teach me and I have three young kids so getting the time to read doesn't come round often but my son and daughter love watching tricks being done. and I can learn while the're being amused
without youtube people like me cant get ideas or even learn some of the basics so i say keep teaching and we'll keep learning and practicing
It's now very difficult to find magic shops. :-(
Love this video its awesome I love youtube I am 15 and have been practicing magic for 2 years almost and performing for almost a year. I love this because it was sites like scamschool and free magic live that got me into magic and helped me to learn. Now I have found mentors because of that teach me not tricks (like I thought they would at the beginning) but performance tips and development of my character. And I would like to say thanks brian for all the videos you have made you have really helped me in my development.
Always the voice of reason Brian, nicely said.
I agree with this whole heartedly and have gained even more respect for you and what you do now.
I believe that this video needs to be watched by everyone that has an opinion on this subject because it is very clear
An interesting commentary on an issue that I didn't realize was so complex. Thanks for enlightening me!
glad you enjoyed it :-)
*Listens to first 30 seconds* *Scrolls Down* "Yep..."
It is funny, because I was wondering how you choose the tricks you teach. Thank you for sharing your thoughts.
You don't know me, and yet I feel like I owe you an apology. I've seen a lot of people hating on you for a long time for exposing magic. I have to admit that I took it for granted that's what you were doing and didn't realize you got everyone's permission for any trick which you performed. It's always been an odd feeling for me because one of the best effects I do was inspired by something I saw on this channel. I'm glad you posted this video - it has made me change my perspective. If I ever see you, maybe I could buy you a drink.
Thanks so much, Bartholomew. It really means a lot to hear that from you.
Feel free to spread the word to anyone else who's under the wrong impression! :-)
Well said Brian! Heart felt, intelligent and relatable by many. Also, I love the analogy of obi-wan who lied about having jedi powers. lol.
so this was basically a response to Jarek120 right? :P
Dood u are so respectable and are awesomely inspirational about ur passion
I personally will never become as great like you and others guys on your show, but I love doing these tricks taught on here to impress and entertain my friends. I am glad I found your show on TH-cam. I have a notebook and I write down how some of these trick are done but I try to find way to deliver it. At least I have something to attract the ladies.
The youtubers who make magic trick videos for entertainment or comedy which rake in millions of views, who then expose the trick, would still be considered exposure in my eyes. People stumbled across the video for the entertainment value, they didnt look it up because theyre an aspiring magician.
Cheers brian that was amazing everything was great and thanks for clearing the whole teaching and exposure thing :)
awesome, i loved this one! if i ever get to be a magician i will not forget ur lessons :)
I like to know how a trick is done. Seeing it done well is a joy. BB is an all round good sort who makes magic more popular.
i wasnt aware about people ripping off dvd and acting like they were genuinely practicing their own trick. i watch scam school for the same reasons i watched val valentino masked magician show, just because i m currious about what s behind the tricks itlself, and when i watch a close up or a stage trick i m more amazed about they build up everything than the tricks, this also why i enjoy scamschool, BB explain also how any average joe can start and does the trick on their own.
Tricks and tips to fool your friends? On youtube?! How scandalous!
you mean scamdalous 'Kappa' ;)
Was this posted because of Jarek 1.20 the whole memorized deck thing. I don't think marketed effects should be exposed. It takes away from the artist but most people don't care they just want a quick answer. If I do tutorials it will be on moves or public domain tricks, or effects I've made up from moves.
absolutely not. Jarek was nothing but awesome in our phone conversation. This was just something I'd felt like needed to be said for a while.
I was curious how long it would be before someone with an authority take on this topic. Nice!
When I first got interested into magic I went to the library. after a long process of looking some teen said go to the card trick teacher web sight its much easier. I did and it was. No harm in that. The card trick teacher is very respectful of the information being given out and I have perfected a craft because of sights like his. win/win I think.
I mostly agree but I feel that TH-cam is too open for anyone to see. Ya it's great to have tricks easily accessible for beginners but I hate when I do a great trick for someone, then they look it up on TH-cam 2 seconds later. TH-cam is too known. There should be like a magic tube or something that only magicians know of but make it free and so anyone can upload.
Brian i am getting into magic and find it really hard to get new tricks because they are expensive and when i show simple tricks it to many people they find it out really quick can you help me out with some little better tricks
i am in total agreement with this if it was not for youtube i would be down hundreds of tricks. this is a community for sharing ideas and as long as you don't claim that something is yours when you didn't make it then it is ok.
With all due respect: No. No, it's not good enough.
I can't get on stage, do all of George Carlin's best bits and then claim "But I never claimed to have written it!" That wouldn't fly in real life, so it shouldn't fly on TH-cam.
OK that is a good point a bit of rephrasing on my part is in order. give credit were it is due yes to the best of your ability.
2:10 magic green cup from the bottom left sides moves, Creeeepy.....
very well said, i still dont understand how magicians can flag a tutorial on a trick they came up with, to me its like if los del rio flagged everyone that posted a tutorial on the macarena unless you paid them 39.99 to watch their music video on how to do it. its kinda the reason i got out of magic
Whats the difference between Magician and Illusionist?
Only the levels of one's own pretension.
Very well said and well thought out.
I GOT SOO SCARED!! I thought the title said on the end of teaching magic on TH-cam... don't scare me like that
haha--- I suspect you have little to worry about.
See I find youtube somewhere in between TV and a Library. Granted these day, my primary form of video consumption is internet video and usually video made for the internet so I may have a different position on the matter. I do agree future magicians will come from the internet learned crowd.
Here is my issue with TH-cam and magic. Let's say I buy a book or DVD and learn a great trick and preform it. What's stopping the audience from going on TH-cam and learning how the trick is done and ruining the effect? I've had this happen a couple of times and it's such a horrible experience as a magician. I like ScamSchool in the sense that it's like dipping your feet in the water before jumping into the world of magic.
Brian, I know you're annoyed that howtodisturbreality "nicked" your routine and taught it exactly how you did and he didn't credit you. BUT he did credit you on Facebook when he posted the link, just thought I'd let you know
I don't think yours is a controversial stance at all. I think what you're recommending is fair and correct.
Hey BB. I recently came up with a solo card game to play when you're bored that really helps build agility in your fingers. Are you interested in seeing it? I can send you a video.
absolutely! email me with a link.
Ok. I currently have a broken wrist, so I'll make the video in a couple weeks when I get my cast off and send it to you.
+Austin Ford I think you should let Brian post a video of this game and he could give you a shout out or something.
That's the hope.
Your right Brian, the people nerd to know, spreed the word ..
Well I guess it kinda depends on the person you know? I mean TH-cam can be seen as a library and a place to learn, but there are times where I would perform an effect to someone, and upon meeting them again, they would tell me that they know how I did it by looking it up on TH-cam which kinda just kills the magic.
You just described the way a library works. (wait... that was intentional, wasn't it?)
Scam School lol yes. All I'm saying is that a library or TH-cam, can both be a place for exposure or for a place to learn. It's just that, for magicians, I think the secret of. an effect is what makes magic become real to the spectators but if they were to use TH-cam to find out the secret, it would kind of ruin the feeling of magic for them. But then again I guess that all comes down to the person and whether or not they truly want to enjoy magic and just let it happen, or search around trying to find how someone did an effect.
FARTandDARTmarksMAN But I guess I'm saying exactly that: if someone cares enough to look it up on TH-cam, then, pretty much by definition, at that point they've decided to become a magician. In which case you should welcome your brother in magic, not shout him down as "cheating."
I completely agree👍. I actually teach a few of my friends magic and have no problem in teaching them magic as long as they show me that they are willing to actually learn magic and not just know the secret to an effect.
Well stated. TH-cam/internet is the new library. (when's the last time an encyclopedia salesman has come to your door?) You nailed in 6 min what many would take hours to say. IMO you teach at a very understandable basic level, with mind blowing reproducible methods while always giving credit to where it is due. You don't "expose" nor "exploit" However, the day I see spiked hair sticking up through a masked man on prime time T.V. is the day I start hating on ya Brushwood...but until then keep it coming! Good Stuff!
I just want to dedicate this comment to the part @ 0:10 - 0:24
I think the points you bring up are great and wonderful and I think you should have made this video way earlier like in the beginning of scam school. But is clicking on a video showing up in the sidebar or related videos of non-tutorial/exposure videos, or clicking on a video from the search because you looked up your favorite magicians (Blaine/Dynamo/Angel/etc) deliberate and serious enough? I don't think so and I think you really underestimate TH-cam. This is not just a library, you do randomly get stuff thrown at your face like on all social media, and really like TV as you'd watch your favorite shows and when these are not on you'd watch other stuff at random. This is also proven by the fact that there is a huge (and I mean HUGE) amount of people starting magic because they just happened to run into a TH-cam video teaching it, plenty because of yours too, without there being any intention to learn magic to begin with. Since you said to have the purpose to "create more magicians" I guess you'd say that's alright but for that I think you're wrong, just on that topic. Well done on clearing up the rest though. Thank you.
I'm almost certain (and please, show me if I'm wrong) that one of the primary functions of the card catalog is to expose people to related materials to whatever they searched for... how is that different from what TH-cam does?
With a card catalog the actions that follow are a whole lot more deliberate and serious. A card catalog would be more like Google (without its video search), followed by magic forums, (free) teaching programs and such. I agree with you that one does not need to pay for magic, but they would need to take a deliberate and serious action, just like you said yourself.
With TH-cam on the other hand it is as if you would offer secrets while performing magic. "Want to know how I did it?" Most spectators are going to take that offer even though they had no original intention to learn the trick and know its secrets to begin with. That action is similar to the single click it takes to get to a TH-cam tutorial or exposure video.
The biggest amount of people getting into magic via TH-cam are in fact those who did not have the original intention to learn magic or become a magician, who looked up magic performances by famous magicians from TV instead or other things like bar bets/challenges, pen spinning and such.
Also, if someone wishes to learn one thing or one kind of magic, when subscribing to let's say Scam School, you will be throwing tricks at them at random, so also tricks they might not be interested in and will never even perform. Or they will think that because it is you teaching them these, that they will have to be exactly like you and perform these specific tricks, whereas with a card catalog or Google they will get wherever they want to be themselves.
Hope that kind of clears it up. Thank you.
Philafxs your argument is based on 'original intent' which is of itself not quantifiable on a real scale. The people who come on here and learn one or two bar tricks are not becoming magicians. And I'm sure you know or takes a lot more than doing the things that Brian teaches to gain that title. Those that are inspired to continue will advance and find more in depth resources while those that learned a bartrick will simply be a guy who knows a little trick which is in no way a harm to our art.
So a few people know what a stripper deck is so what. It's an excellent way to bring in New magicians. One of my friends watched a few episodes of scam school and he can't even remember the topic of the episodes much less the trick. While I watched scam school and have now been a magician for years. I'm even a member of IBM.
It was never my intent to become a magician but thanks to Brian I am now. I couldn't be more thankful for the foot in the door he gave me. I've even doesn't countless amounts of money on the art.
My point is it's a new dawn. Old ethical beliefs of magic have to adapt to new technology, it simply doesn't have a choice. But giving people's tricks away for free is horrible, if it is an original piece of work.
We all know you can teach someone a trick and then do it right in front of them and they will continue to be perplexed. It's the nature of magic to attract the people who are serious and weed out those who are not through the amount of dedication it takes.
I just don't agree that it doesn't only attract those interested in magic while I guess since I haven't had the intent to be a magician all my life I am somehow less of one now. This attracts new real magicians in sense a little deeper than "Hey I can do a bar trick now".
Uhhh.. you basically verified exactly what I think is wrong with public TH-cam tutorials and exposure videos, though you see it as a good thing because thanks to these you are a magician now.
What about all those "people who come on here and learn one or two bar tricks" who now are familiar with tens of magic secrets? Who now may very well be (calling themselves) magicians too? And who might remember some of the magic secrets and at least know how and where to look them up?
Just to make clear, I am looking at this from an independent point of view. I couldn't care less about old magic ethics or whatever. I am not a magician or magic creator. I do know and talk to magicians, creators, hobbyists, people learning magic from TH-cam and such pretty much daily and I have even talked to some magic teachers on here. Either have their own opinions and I allow and accept all of them. What I posted simply is about what Brian said in this video, something I couldn't possibly agree with for that it's technically incorrect. Most of the points he made were great, wonderful and valid, this one just was not.
What you said would be true. If it wasn't a major underestimation. The guy who learns the marketed effect isn't really the problem it's the jerk who taught it. And there are far more of those than you think. If most kids want to learn something odds are they'll look it up on TH-cam to see if there's a free tutorial first. And if there is. They've just been part of ripping someone off. And they encourage each other to teach what they don't want to buy. And then there are the people who only learn magic from TH-cam. You'll never become a good magician watching disturb reality of 52cards. You'll have to buy a DVD, watch a lecture, be around magicians, and most importantly learn how to think for yourself.
I think it should be, " To stop tasting sugar and start making sugar." ( 1: 56 )
My sister once asked me, if I could teach her one of my (simple)magic tricks, but I told her, that i won't until she starts trying to learn tricks by herselfe. I think that people like the masked magican are so shame for our community, because he just spoilers illusions that can't be performed by anyone... but still this illusion is then destroyed for the spectators :/ teaching magic on a plattform like youtube is very difficult, because you probably reach the wrong kind of persons. I think we should give a (if we need to teach magic for free) everybody at least the possibility the decide whether they want to know the secret or stay with the feeling of "wow wtf did he do that" :D. So my personal opinion is that tricks u need to spend money for are much better than free tutorials, because no person would buy them just to know the secret, but to perform them. (Talking about professional tricks here). Also, which annoys me a lot, I learned many tricks (from D&D or theory11,...) not by buying them, but by watching terrible performances on youtube... to conclude I'd say that we definetly should show less free or homemade (nonprofessional) magic content in the internet. Thanks for reading.
I 100% agree with Brian!
I read that exact same speech on a T-shirt!! Okay, that's a lie. However, well said BB. I like the cut of your jib. Keep up the good work!
I fucking love you Brian.
I platonically love you.
You're a legend man!
Your hair looks much better.
What's the video jarek copied brian on
I agree with wat ur saying man. Keep on doing ur thing
Thank you for not making us go buy stuff at magic shops cause every single other channel says buy my stuff buy buy buy so thanks for the free tricks
Awesome, Brian!!!
The true master of magic is obviously the magic moving cup in the video....
i think that youtube is a terrible place for learning magic because anyone can put tutorials up and say that it is a proffessional magic trick but that's not always the case some of theses effects make absolutly no sense in performing them in the real world. there is a two reason you should start learning from books and dvds of well known companies like theory 11, dan and dave, ellusionist, sandsminds magic, and other well known websites that provide valid magic. the first is that there is a group of proffesional magicians that revise these affects submitted to them and decide weather this is a trick worth selling and putting up on there website. think about it this way every effect put up on a magic website is representation of themselves and there own judgment. the second reason is by learning all off youtube you are taking bread out of these performers mouths who are some of the greatest magicians in the world and are the magicians you should be learning from.
I learn it from youtube and buy stuff.. I don't do reveals though...and if you are giving away magic effects, it's not that hard to just Facebook message the creator and ask if its ok.. I did it, took 2 minutes...
Jarek 1:20 this is for you pal. Learn your own tricks.
no, no, no. Not in any way intended for Jarek. Jarek was nothing but awesome on the phone.
love the vids man
I wanna be a magician
Got mad because the Jarek thing huh?
Not in the least. Jarek was a completely awesome on the phone and a total gentleman.
Well I still assume that the reason for making this video was Jareks video. However I totally agree with you.
Brian Brushwood wait what happen with jarek, please elaborate
MrMagic322 Jarek uploaded a tutorial on how to memorize a deck of cards. same tutorial idea scam school has.
this is a tricky topic i learned off youtube how to fix my toilet did it take money away from a plumber yes, should it be outlawed ? Idk i dont think this topic well ever be fully decided .
good speech totally agree waiting for your next scam
Jarek1:20 should've mentioned you but i think he is one of those magicians that learned everything from youtube
so he's not necessarily stealing from you
he might just be making tutorials on tricks that he learn from youtube
If he learned them on youtube, then why does he need to make tutorials about them? The videos already exist.
he does manny tricks and things he didn't learn from youtube and therefore won't teach on his channel. For example drescode and pressure.
RavenGlenn to make money :D
Thank you Brian
Penn and Teller are magicians and they still got fooled on their TV show. As for the point of buying DVDs. SOMETIMES buying them from the magician is far too expensive for me (being in Australia). I was going to buy some things off the scam school website but it was $35 to get it to Australia before I even started which was very sad for me. I had paid to get some magic tricks off creator and I've worked out tricks on youtube watching people do the, your three coin trick is one that I worked out Brian (I won't share, don't worry) and I'm not ashamed to say I've watched some tutorials on youtube to see how to do tricks I couldn't work out
if you wana be magician you must spend ....time and money...!!!!!!
(sorry for my bad english)....www.silvermagician.net
Your English is fine sir. However, I'm a writter. I make next to no money. I do spend some money on tricks, but not large amounts
how much you wanna bet the greatest 21st century magician hasn't been born yet? the great war (WWI) started a hundred years ago, we're that far into the 21st century.
excellent point.
Excellent. Call me a fan.
Brian,
I have a trick to share with you, which I invented, that would be PERFECT for Scam School!! However I'm not sure what your current address is to send it to. If you (or someone who sees this) could let me know then that would be great!!
thanx.
brian@shwood.com!
well said