How do you improve your magic, by focusing more on books or more on DVDs.

For myself, I am more into books as books will teach more on basic principles to apply to my magic tricks. Most dvds, I found out that they are so focused on teaching techniques until they forgot to teach basic fundamentals magic principles such as appearance, disappearance, penetration, etcs.

Not only that, most books give you the basic performance ideas for you to creatively innovate the tricks rather than in dvds lead to most magicians clon their moves and patter, in the end it seems that the person performing the move are the clons of the particular magician that is teaching in the dvds.

However, one of the advantage in learning from dvds are you are able to learn the moves and sleights easily compared to books where you need to visualize the moves in your head and through trial and error. But the problem with most dvds are they never teach you the fundamentals in magic but just mentioned it.

Just a discussion, feel free to healthily argue about it. :)

I should add one more advantage of learning magic from books, you can carry books to whereever you want. Imagine your laptop is out of battery or breakout. Book is easy to refer as well since you need not to pause a scene or rewind,repeat and forward the video.

But DVD got its advantage too. You all already know it right, don't you? Nothing is extremely right and nothing is extremely wrong. Just be flexible.

Just my 2 cents

A good thread to start, Jeremy.

C'mon guys, let's hear your views.

You already know I prefer books over DVDs. I've said a lot in my "Ramblings" already.

Erm...I don't intend to start a new thread. How about in the same time tell us your favorite books as well and why you like them and what you've learnt from them (books).

I prefer books, more bang for the buck.
but I also love DVDs, helps slow learners like me learn a bit faster so I'd say the ideal combination is :-

60% books
15 % DVDs
5 % concentrated power of will
10% pleasure
5% pain
and 100% reason to remember the name...

hey wait, that's lyrics to a Fort Minor song... :P

:lol:

what is this? DVD vs books? its like media or technology wars here...hehehe! Anyway, in my point of view both are good in their own ways and there's also cons for both. I read magic books when i was a kid and everytime i went to my hometown library..magic books will be included. Of course, books to read and imagine...DVD to watch, listen, pause, rewind, fast forward. If this topic was opened before 1990 or the 80s and 70s... it does not make sense because DVD has not been invented yet but only VCD or they call it laser disc. So at that time, I dont think there are magic instructions in vcd or laser disc that time yet because most of it comes from magic books. DVD is a "media technology" and books is a "media". So this is about comparing between a technology and a normal media or printed media. Of course, book is for me like a treasure. You need to read it thoroughly and need to understand the words in it, the expressions and need to work with our own imaginations then only we can figure out what the book is trying to tell us. But the knowledge gained is precious and detailed. DVD is for convenience and fast access to particular information that you want. DVD of course have pictures and sounds which helps us to understand more but i believe not all DVD is as detail as a magic book. If a book can explain 1000 over pages, i think we need more than 5 DVD is produced to explain the same thing as the 1000 pages magic book. But we all know what DVD is. It is a media technology so a book can't produced sights and sound and as direct as the DVD. We all know book has no limitations on pages, but DVD has limitations as in size of the movie. So these are the pros and cons that I know about DVD and books. Its better to gain information from both media because it is HARMLESS. In fact it really help improve faster (DVD) and matured (BOOKS). So, you wanna be a matured and experience magician (books) or a person who improves faster (DVD technology) or BOTH?

to myself i prefer book! B) cos u can slowly 2 watch mah!DvD cannot oh,cos after u watch and u dun understand u need reply replyx2...so 'ma fan' :lol:

For me its DVD and Vids...

As it's more "hands-on" compared to illustrated frames.
And you get a heavier impct when they do it while explaining. :wub:

Read more what professional said over internet helps.
beside those video and book.