Practice in Front of a Mirror? Here's a Better Method
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Practice in Front of a Mirror? Here's a Better Method
The old adage is.. magicians practice in front of a mirror. They need the perspective offered by a face-on view to see how their effects will look to an audience. Although this is a fine method of practice, there IS a better method.
Almost everyone has a video camera or web cam. Using a camera gives you the opportunity to see yourself from both the front and sides. Plus, you can concentrate fully on performing the effect, not trying to perform and watch yourself in a mirror at the same time.
If you archive some of your effects on tape you can go back and see your improvement.
Personally, I have a Pure Digital recorder, better known as a FLIP camcorder. It records to internal memory, doesn't require tape or a disc, saves my recordings in MP4 format, and plugs into my computer with a built-in USB plug. This has been the ideal method for me, and I believe something similar will work wonders for you magic as well..
