Alan Jones - The Enigmatist

Magic on TV : Britains Got Talent

Posted on May 29th, 2008.

Ummmm….

So I’ve just seen the last (I think) of the magicians who survived the auditions for Britains Got Talent and were asked to appear live on the ‘live shows’.

I’m really sorry but I can’t recall the name of the act that appeared on Tuesday evening (27th may)… what I do recall was the levitation which was presented in the audition. It seemed obvious from the televised reactions of the judges that this effect stunned them….

So, what happened at the live show?

The act received less than favourable comments…

Last night (Weds 28th May) we saw Carl Dean and Claudine (well that’s how I remember them) - The Deans of Magic - who were given an equally ignominious send off…

Whilst I don’t know much about the first performer, I am aware that The Deans are an internationally known and well respected act.

So what is going on here?

Magic does have audience appeal…. I believe that.

Illusion Acts are also well received live where the spectacle is on a grand scale.

On TV the spectacle has to be reduced in scale (the limits of the TV screen) and is often ‘victim’ of production decisions made by directors who have limited experience of how magic works or looks.

The vanish/reappearance effect presented by the performer on the Tuesday evening worked well for TV, but left the theatre audience cold. In all probability this was not primarily the fault of the performer but of some of the staging decisions made by the production team.

The magician in me is aware that some of the awkward questions asked by the panel on that night could’ve been avoided if the performance itself had been tweaked in one or two small ways.

As for The Deans - well again they were not given time to develop their show… I for one would love to know where it was going. But again victims of inappropriate close-ups (the candle manipulations for example) which were not necessarily in the control of the magicians.

So where does this leave things?

I firmly believe that an illusion act could WOW the judges and the audience at one of these kind of shows and would love to see that happen.

I think that there are three key challenges to be undertaken in terms of such an act….

FRAME (magic for NOW has to find a way of shedding some of the cliched trappings of the past… what works on stage in a theatre may not translate to TV because the dynamic is very different)

PACE (in terms of TV the magic acts I saw in the auditions took too much time to get to the emotional hook - and in the live shows the same unfortunately was true. This is why the audience response was so negative so quickly)

EMOTION (where is the emotional hook and how is dramatic tension developed? This has to do with balancing expectation with surprise amongst other things)

The ‘comedy’, ‘close-up’ and ’street’ magicians who have had a rebirth on TV are able to hook the audience immediately through patter, surrealism or ‘personal energy’ which has driven them to re-invent (re-frame) some of their approaches for TV.

David Blaine, like him or loathe him, was a bit of a pioneer really…. notice how his TV shows have a major focus on audience reaction and not on the tricks themselves? This immediately creates a connection for the TV viewer - they can place themselves within the setting (a normal street); identify with the spectator being show the trick (a normal person) and so be amazed with them!

Stage illusionists have a different set of criteria to work with …. they are in a non-normal setting and they have limited direct connection with the audience (especially in a short TV performance). What they do have going for them is the ability to use a wealth of theatrical tricks to create mood and atmosphere…. sometimes, however, taking far too long to create this AND in doing so lose the audiences attention.

30 SECONDS is what you have psychologically to create an emotional hook and a lasting impression!

10 SECONDS is what you have to capture an audience in a TV setting…

Ah well…

I am not an illusionist (I don’t have the look), but I love stage magic…

SO… if there are any budding talent show audtionees out there who’d like to chat and perhaps even like help in creating an act which could give some of the other speciality acts a run for their money on shows like Britains Got Talent… I’d love to share some thoughts…. (I won’t charge much LOL)

I’m not the greatest performer in the world, but I do have directing experience; have coached performers (including magicians) and have a desire to promote magic in all its forms …

The offers there for what it is worth
Ah well, back to my work….

I’d just like to send a BIG WELL DONE to all the magicians who tried to get on this series of Britain’s Got Talent - you are working to keep the art alive…

Alan

PS: Just seen tonights BGT show - sorry VIZAGE, I forgot they were in…

Again I think some of the comments were a bit barbed and the buzz-off was unfair (especially if one judge did decide to think for another)…. I can see how the act works brilliantly live - quick change a great skill/talent in and of itself. I remember being wowed by Arturo (hope I got his name right)….

For this act, as with the two others mentioned, the same challenges apply (frame, pace and emotion).

Unfortunately there were a few more pre-conceived notions with these guys from the judges perspective than with the ’straight’ magic acts (they were highlighting two distinct talents - vocal and magical … so even more targets for critics to highlight). A part of me really celebrates the fact that this act stuck to their guns and didn’t change what they were doing and how they were doing it. Another part of me is frustrated - if the judges criticisms had been given as feedback in another situation (directors notes or coaches observations) I wonder if Vizage would’ve made the suggested changes?

One of the things that attendance at the Mystery School sessions with Jeff McBride and Eugene Burger has highlighted has been the real value of the ‘eyes of others’. As performers we are often too close to our material to consider, let alone make, the changes which would take us from being good to brilliant - brilliant to excellent!

Actors and singers have vocal coaches and directors - how often do magicians avail themselves in a professional sense of ‘others eyes’ in a supportive, creative and dynamic way?

I think this kind of creative dialgoue, this coaching needs to happen outside (or perhaps alongside) of the feedback we get from fellow magicians when performing at conventions, magic society functions and so forth. Performing for other magicians at conventions and shows can sometimes place the performer in a bubble…. at best this bubble is an insulator against some of the realities of ‘real world’ - at worst it can be a time capsule in which performance frames and themes stagnate and loose touch with the interests, knowledge and conext of a non-magical audience. Competition or ovation winning magic (at a magic convention or major society) MAY not be the kind of magic that is commercial…..

Hell, I’m waffling again…

BUT RESPECT to the magicians and illusionists that put themselves into the firing line in shows like Britains Got Talent…

Current - Related gripe (which I may not believe tomorrow) … Be great to have a talent show where singers were not included! They have other avenues and opportunities to ‘break through’ - a show in which ONLY speciality and variety acts could be showcased would be great!

ALAN

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