Producing Magic Videos - Craig Cochrane

One of the main tools that your going to need is a camera. Don't worry, you don't need a camera that costs over £1000 to produce a very good magic video, a simple webcam or a digital camera with a movie function is perfectly fine. Of course saying that, you don't want terrible camera quality that it is hard to see what your doing, but most webcams can produce reasonable good quality. If your wanting an actual camera that is meant for filming, them make sure you get MiniDV, as this is the best format. To import the video footage to your computer you will need a "firewire" port, but if you don't have one then you can simply buy a firewire card that can be added to a PCI slot.

When it comes to actually filming your magic you can just simply go ahead and film it, but if your wanting to make a good video then there's a few things you need to consider. If you have someone holding the camera, then you don't want them shaking the camera like crazy, but if you have to have someone to hold it, then make sure they have a nice steady hand, as shaky footage doesn't look nice, but the best thing to use is a tripod. When shooting your magic it's good to film a few takes of the same routine, that way you have more than one take to choose from. After all, videos can be watched over and over, so you want it to look good without any flashes and not to let out on how the trick is done, so don't take any chances. Another good tip is to film at different angles and experiment with them and also make sure you have a nice backgorund to the video. A good background is very important.You can either use a simple curtain and hang it up or even find a spot outside or inside that has a good setting. After all you don't want your kitchen as your background.

One of the most important stages of producing a video is editing. There are many video editing programs out there, all of which cost different and some can cost up to £1000 or more. It really depends on how serious you are about making videos, but you don't need the most expensive to edit a video. If your just a casual editor and just want to make a quick video then "windows movie maker" is perfect for that. The great thing about this is that it's free and can produce reasonably good videos, but it does lack in a lot of video effects and editing tools. If you want something much better then something like Adobe Premiere Elements is a good choice and costs about £60, but there are many more available at affordable prices.  When it comes to actually editing the video then they are lots to do, so it so it's entirely up to your imagination. Sometimes a video that is just slightly edited are sometimes the best, but you can add a lot of different effects, so be creative. A very important part of editing is the music. Find good music that will make your video stand out and don't use music that will bore and annoy people that they have to turn off their speakers. Learning to use the editing programs can be very hard, especially if your using the professional versions, which can take years to become good at using them. Usually the budget editors are easy and can be learned within a couple of weeks. Video editing does put a huge demand on your computer, especially your cpu, but you don't have to have the fastest computer to edit videos, but you don't want a slow computer either.

When you finish editing your video, you can do a few things from here, but you probably just want to upload it to the web and share it. You can convert and compress your video in many different formats for the web, usually either in windows media or quicktime, but make sure you keep the video to a respectable size. There are many video hosts you can use.... e.g., www.youtube.com or www.putfile.com. Finally the most important thing about making videos is not to copy other magicians performace style and then just filming yourself doing the exact same. There's so many videos with people just copying other magicians, copying their patter, the way they stand, their actions etc.... so be creative and most importantly be yourself