OKAY, LET’S SHOOT

THE MAGICIAN
BY ANTHONY OWEN
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Entire contents copyright © 2001/2012/2013 Anthony Owen. First published by the author 2001. Digital
ebook created and published by Hey Presto Limited Copyright © 2013.

ISBN: 978-0-9572128-9-3
 About the Author
Anthony Owen has received awards from the British Academy of Film
and Television Arts, the Royal Television Society and the Rose D'or for
his work as a television producer. He has collaborated on television
productions with performers such as Paul Daniels, Penn and Teller, Pete
Firman, Barry and Stuart, Marc Paul, John Lenahan, Juan Tamariz,
Alistair Cook, Dominic Wood and Stephen Mulhern.

Anthony was the Executive Producer for all eleven series of the BBC's
The Real Hustle, has worked as a consultant, producer and Executive
Producer on all of Derren Brown's television projects for Channel 4 since
2000 and was the creator and Executive Producer of the BBC's Help! My
Supply Teacher is Magic. He is currently the Head of Magic at Objective
Productions in London, a position he has held since 2003.

His original magical effects, routines and ideas have been featured by
performers around the world including David Blaine, David
Copperfield, Dynamo and Uri Geller. He has acted as a consultant for
numerous performers and theatre, film and television productions
including The Royal Variety Performance, Sherlock series 2 and 3 and the
Universal Pictures movie The Magicians for which he co-wrote the story.

Anthony is the author of over twenty books on magic, including Some

Tricks, Some More Tricks and The Sticky Blue Book and has released
several of his original effects for the magic community including
Ultimate Oil and Water and Natural Lottery. He is the 2012 winner of the
British Magical Society's David Berglas Award for outstanding
contributions to British magic.

Anthony lives in London with his wife and three children and has less
packs of cards than he used to have.
OKAY, LET’S SHOOT
THE MAGICIAN
BY ANTHONY OWEN
 Introduction
[2013 Edition]

This book contains a series of three essays which I wrote for paid
subscribers to the Stevens Magic Emporium Gemini Network between
November 1996 and February 1997.

Remember when you're reading that it was all written long before
anyone had heard of David Blaine. In some ways my concluding
comments on close-up magic and reactions predicted his genre-changing
1997 television special, Street Magic. If Robert-Houdin was the father of
modern stage magic then David Blaine was the father of modern television
magic.

In the sixteen years since I first wrote these words I have been fortunate
to have consulted on, created, produced and Executive Produced over
one hundred hours of television magic. In that time I have changed my
view on some of the comments in these essays. And some I believe even
more strongly than I did when I wrote them.

Also included is a new bonus chapter exclusive to this edition that gives
advice and tips for any magician about to make an appearance on TV.

If you find the contents of this book interesting you may wish to check
out my Magic Interview Series audio interview with Jay Fortune. This is
currently available from TVMagic.co.uk and all the best magic dealers
around the world.
Enjoy!

Anthony Owen, 2013

 Okay, Let’s Shoot The Magician
“Even if you can’t get a job on television - you can always write about
it.”
Jay Marshall
(TV Magic and You by Jay Marshall, published by Magic Inc.
1955)

Television is a truly magic word for many magicians. It would seem that
magic is very in favour with the powers that be in the American
networks, but with more shows and specials being announced every
month I start to wonder how many magic specials there have to be before
they stop being, well, special.

British magic had a similar ‘burst’ of enthusiasm for magic in the early
1990’s with series’ featuring Paul Daniels, Jerry Sadowitz, Jeremy Beadle
(a British television personality with a love of magic), Simon Drake (and
others in two series of The Secret Cabaret), Geoff Durham (and many
others in two series of The Best of Magic), Wayne Dobson (three series),
Williamson, Pasquale, Coby, Hobson and The Pendragons (in Comedy
Magic Hour special and series) and more. There are many who use this
explosion to explain away the current scarcity of magic on television in
Britain.

My intention is not to be negative about the current fascination in the

States, but to see if there is anything we can learn from magic on
television to benefit all of us.

As you may know, I have more than just a passing acquaintance with
magic on television. I have just completed a run of appearances as
resident magician on the BBC1’s live Saturday morning show (22 week
series), I was the magic consultant and researcher on Granada
Television’s Stuff the White Rabbit (a new magic comedy series hosted
by John Lenahan and featuring Jerry Sadowitz, David Williamson, The
Amazing Jonathan, Tom Mullica, Rene Levand, Chris Power, Noel
Britten, Otiz Canneloni, Fay Presto and Richard McDougall) and am
involved with the writing, development and production of several
different television magic projects. As a result of these experiences I have
some thoughts and theories about television - and magic on television, in
particular - that may be of interest.
 Television Is A Venue
Firstly, television is a venue. (Mike Close wrote a great piece on venues
which first appeared on the Gemini and is reprinted in Workers Five.)
Just like a restaurant which books table-hoppers or a magic venue which
books stand-up performers, television is a venue for magic and like every
venue you work the more you understand about the working, thinking
and philosophy behind it the better your results.

A restaurant magician won’t get far if he or she doesn’t recognise that the
audience are there to eat a meal, sure they might have chosen that
restaurant over another because they have heard about the great
magician, but in my dictionary a restaurant is a public place where meals
or refreshments are served. Get in the way of that happening and you
won’t last long. And it’s no good going out on stage at a magic venue
fifteen minutes before you go on to screw together your props if there are
no curtains and the audience are already sat in their seats waiting.

The more you know about the way that television is made - in the same
way that the more you know about how the waiters will serve the meals
or the theatre staff with admit the audience - the better job you can do.

In the last couple of years I’ve heard a lot of magicians express the
opinion that they don’t need books like Strong Magic or the new Tommy
Wonder books, because ‘theory’ is only necessary if your personality or
technique is weak. They argue “Would David Williamson read such a
book? No, his personality and technique are strong enough that he
doesn’t need these theories.” Sadly the people arguing these points aren’t
David Williamson.

As I said in my last piece for Gemini I want to be the best magician I

possibly can. I find arguing that you are already ‘strong enough’ is
defeatist. Maybe reading magical theory won’t make me a better
magician (although the previous success rate seems quite high!), it’s
highly unlikely it’s going to make me worse. And, the David Williamson
I know would read these books.

And I view my venues - and the people behind them - the same way. The
more I know about them, and how and why they do what they do, can
only help me to understand what they want from me and ensure that I
strive to deliver it.
 TV People Are People Too
And yes, just like the waiters and stage managers you work with at your
venues are people, so are the folk who make television! I know that you
knew that! But the perceptions of what television is (and perhaps more
importantly, what it can do for them) does seem to affect the way that
some folk (magicians particularly) treat people who work in television.

In the September 1994 issue of Al Smith’s bi-annual Sentinel (now

deceased) the pseudonymous Max Speed wrote: “Virtually every
magician, magic magazine and book seems to have fallen victim to the
myth that TV is some kind of holy establishment inhabited by superior
beings who long ago discovered the sweet mysteries of life. Beings who
are ordained to forever be above the common herd.”

Well they’re not. They are human beings who can and do make mistakes,
change their mind and be as irrational as any human being. Sure there
are people I know in the television industry who do behave as though
they are gods, but I think most of the misconceptions magicians have
about television comes back to what they think television is and what it
can do for them.

Television will not make you a star and it will not make you rich.
Remember, television is a venue. Albeit a venue with a big potential
audience. With sufficient repeat television performances, marketing and
a product that they want the audience could make you a star and they
could make you rich. But it is audiences that make rich stars, not venues.

And how do you get repeat television performances? Well you can
increase your chances. As with all venues there are certain styles of
presentation, performer and effect which suit it better.
And this is what I’ll talk about next month. Have a good one.
Okay, Let’s Shoot The Magician
Again!
“Close-up magic rules because of the intimacy, interaction and variety
of personalities.”
Jon Racherbaumer
(The Linking Ring magazine, October, 1996.)
 The Dealer’s Catalogue
Last month I talked about television as a venue for magic based on my
recent experiences with it as a performer, consultant and producer. I
concluded that, as with all venues, there are certain styles of
presentation, performer and effect which suit it better.

Now initially this might seem to go against an opinion which I expressed

recently as a panellist in a debate at The Magic Circle, that magic cannot
be categorised. I do not believe that there is such a thing as ‘close-up
magic’, or ‘stage magic’, or ‘children’s magic’. I believe that these
categories were created by magic dealers to make purchases easier for
their customers and increase sales.

I believe that something either is or isn’t magic. As long as the performer

doing it communicates the effect they want to achieve to every single
person in the audience then it’s magic. If they don’t, then it isn’t.

If all the time, effort and ink that magicians have wasted in the last fifty
years arguing over what is or isn’t close-up magic had been put into
improving the level of communication with our audiences I suspect
magic would be in a better state.
 What Is TV Good For?
However, having said that, there are certain venues which are more
appropriate for certain styles of presentation, performer and effect,
because they will enable you to raise that level of communication.

Restaurants are ideal for small, intimate, personal performers,

presentations and effects and not particularly suited to music-based
spectacle. Imagine Siegfried and Roy performing their glitter ball
levitation in your local Starbucks and I hope you’ll get the idea!

However, imagine a local restaurant magician performing Fly-Ring to a

couple sat on stage at the Mirage and you’ll appreciate that Las Vegas
showrooms are venues with their own set of preferred performance
styles and material.

So what are the right things for television? Well, now we start getting
into my personal opinions, for if television executives knew what the
perfect recipe was they’d be showing it all the time! Maybe they are...

What are the shows that people watch on television in their millions? Sit-
coms, game shows, soap operas, chat shows, panel games and award
ceremonies! All of these shows have one thing in common, something
that I believe television communicates really well - people.

Media studies experts could probably tell you why this is far better than
I, but it seems to me that a television set is like a guest in the viewers’
homes introducing new people into their lives all the time. How many
sit-coms, soap operas and chat shows base most of their action around a
set modelled on a living room? Viewers sit at home watching people
come and go into another living room! Instead of playing ‘parlour games’
they sit in their own parlour and watch other people play them.
When you appear on television you are a guest into a home. You are
visiting a living room with two or three people in it. I know there maybe
a studio audience full of hundreds of screaming folk - and I’ll explain
why I think they are needed next month - but I feel if you are going to
make an impact you need to talk to the viewers. Don’t shout at them,
don’t ‘project’ to them; talk to them, just like you do when you’ve got
two or three people in your living room. Television is an intimate,
personal medium, use it to be intimate and personal.

Most of the successful television presenters in the U.K. (Noel Edmonds,

Jeremy Beadle, Simon Mayo, Chris Evans, Terry Wogan, Anne Robinson,
Phillip Schofield etc.) come from a background in radio. Radio is an even
more intimate, personal medium and, as I have discovered from my own
experience, is a great way to learn how to ‘converse’ with a silent
audience.

This ‘be intimate and personal’ style of presentation would seem to go

against the thoughts of the television executives (especially those in your
country) who continue to make their magic shows ‘big and spectacular’. I
realise that they must work with the talent they can find and give them a
setting in which they will perform at their best and this means setting
acts that are used to working in Las Vegas showrooms in Las Vegas
showrooms.

Constantly working in a particular field or venue does shape a performer

and one of the downsides of the Vegas venue is that it cultivates a
performer who is rarely able to get intimate and personal with their
audience and so often fails to communicate directly with viewers. The
studio audience whoop and scream, but studio audiences always whoop
and scream, and so viewers are dulled to it. The result is an unmoved
viewer.
 Close-Up And Personal
However, there are performers who have lots of experience being
intimate and personal with an audience. And there are lots of them -
close-up magicians. Phil Willmarth commented in a Linking Ring
editorial recently that television was a perfect medium for close-up
magic. The ‘talking points’ of recent specials do seem to have been the
close-up magicians or segments - Rene Levand, Tom Mullica, Bill
Malone, Luis De Matos, Steve Forte, Mac King at the bar, Lance Burton
close-up etc. The visible and audible on-screen audience reaction is
different from a theatre audience and thus is communicated to the
viewers far more effectively. Plus the performers talk to the viewers. In a
cover story article which appeared in the Mail on Sunday colour
supplement here in the U.K. last weekend (18th November) about Stuff
the White Rabbit, Jerry Sadowitz was quoted as saying “Close-up magic
so suits TV it hurts”.

I’m not saying that stage and stand-up magic doesn’t work on television.
I’m just saying that I think it is more effective if it is done in a way that
the viewer plays a role, something more than just zooming over the
heads of the studio audience. I can understand trying to capture the feel
of a ‘live event’, but all it usually makes me feel is ‘I wish I was there’.
Perhaps that is the goal? Perhaps these specials are just supposed to be
advertisements for a live show? (Often they are). But I passionately
believe that television as a medium has the potential to do so much more
with magic. If I feel that the studio audience is getting a better show than
the viewer then something is wrong.

The Hidden Secrets of Magic special was probably my favourite ‘dream

team’ showing to date. It had illusions in it, but it presented them in an
‘intimate and personal’ way so that we cared about the people. It told us
- the viewers - the stories about the real people behind the illusions and,
as a result, made them even stronger. Spectacle is perfect for cinema or
Las Vegas, but television is for people.

The studio audience will whoop and scream whatever you do, it’s their
job. Your job is to understand and utilise your venue and, I think,
performing on television, that means communicating to the two or three
people sat at home who have given their time to meet you. If you get the
chance to perform on television, make sure they do.

Next month I’ll talk about why I think we need those screaming
audiences. Have a good one.
Okay, Let’s Shoot The Reaction
Shots
“Doing a magic trick on TV that you expect to fool the people at home
with is a fruitless venture, by and large, because no matter how good
your trick is, people’s guts tell them that it doesn’t matter... So if
people see something on television that is impossible, they simply say
‘it’s impossible’, shrug their shoulders, and they don’t care.”
Teller
(Genii magazine, May 1995)

“Television is about creating something real. Magic is about creating

something that is not real.”
David G. Croft
(Director of ‘Stuff the White Rabbit’ in conversation 1996)
 “Magic Doesn’t Work On Television”
I tend to agree that magic on television does not fool people, because that
glass screen is a powerful psychological barrier. (However, I’m also
dubious how important ‘fooling’ our audiences really is.)

But magic on television can create something real, which can have an
impact and make viewers care. And that comes back to what I said last
month, that I think television is great at communicating people. The
other thing I think it is good at, is relationships between people. And as
performers that is what we do - we create relationships.

We create relationships with our audiences, our assistants, our

volunteers and on television we have the potential to create a unique
relationship with viewers!
 Applause Please
Although last month I said don’t worry about the studio audience, your
relationship with them and their presence is important. (See Joseph
Gabriel performing to an audience of two on ‘Champions of Magic’ for
an example of how important.) Their reaction is one of the real things
that magicians can create and that can be communicated to the viewer.
That doesn’t mean it can’t be false or created in an editing suite, but
without some form of strong audience reaction, I think magic is almost
impossible to communicate on television.

And, I feel, the more personal and individual you can make that reaction
the better. Television viewers have become almost numbed to the
applause and cheers of studio audiences. Sure, when you are at a live
event the combined audience reaction is a wonderful, powerful thing.
However, in the world of television, applause has been devalued, it has
become little more than punctuation in the programme and laughter is
something that comes in ‘cans’.

Now television directors, perhaps realising this devaluation, prefer to

show us the reactions of individuals. (Watch shows like Ricki Lake for
examples of this.) These shots are far more personal and provide the
viewer with a more ‘genuine’, more instant reaction to the event.

However getting audience members on-stage to assist (or even sat on the
edge of the stage!) is even better. It enables you to build up a relationship
(that word again) with individual audience members and the way that
you introduce and handle those people and that relationship
communicates to the viewer a great deal about you.

Not that this is anything new. By all accounts, performers like Billy
O’Connor, Max Malini and Dick Jarrow relied on the reactions of on-
stage audience members to communicate many of their effects. (Most
mentalists still do.) But television now gives us the opportunity to
strengthen and enhance that reaction by bringing us closer. Anybody
who has ever seen the video of Robert Harbin performing the (then new)
Zig Zag Lady on Sunday Night at the London Palladium will know
exactly what I mean.

When what is normally termed as close-up magic (see my comments last

month about categories in magic) is performed on television it relies even
more on the reaction of the spectators. Without the screams and applause
the reactions of those few spectators carry even more weight (see Joseph
Gabriel again). The smaller the audience, the more important their
reaction becomes.
 Faking It
I mentioned earlier that I have no problem with using false reactions.
Various folk have written to magic magazines questioning the ‘ethics’ of
editing and ‘camera tricks’ (As Mike Caveney has said “A camera trick is
a trick magicians can’t work out.”). As far as I am concerned, it is like
Jamy Ian Swiss says about revealing secrets, it’s not a ethical thing, it’s a
theatrical thing. The spectator reactions are essential to convey the effect
to the viewers. If that means fixing them and hiring actresses for their
ability to go “wow!”, so be it. Television is in the business of cheating to
create something ‘real’. The important real thing you must strive to
create is a relationship with the viewer. If that means faking the ‘real’
relationships on screen, so be it.

However, I’ve never used false reactions myself, not for any ethical
reason, but just because I think genuine reactions are better every time (I
think Penn and Teller’s television appearances are the best examples of
this). It might mean shooting the same effect in studio every night until
you get a good reaction, but I believe it really is worth it.

If you get the chance to appear on television there are things you can do
to make a strong genuine reaction more likely. Firstly, make sure the
spectators are comfortable, happy, relaxed, unembarrassed etc. or make
them completely on-edge! But in the latter case, the reaction you get
might be not what you want!

When at all possible, use an on-screen spectator(s) to assist you. You

should be sat down and as close to each other as possible (intimate
medium remember?). It does make a difference to the relationship you
portray, the reaction you get and the viewer’s response.
And finally you need to know where in your performance that reaction
should come and, most importantly, what affect it will have.

At the end of the day, it kind of comes back to the conclusion of my

‘Communication’ essay, which appeared on Gemini earlier this year: if
you don’t know exactly what you want your performance to
communicate to your audience, you’re unlikely to ever achieve it.

And if you do know, well, then I believe television could be the most
ideal and powerful venue you could wish for.
 Top Tips For A Magician
Appearing On TV
[Bonus Chapter for 2013 Edition]

So you’ve been asked to make a one-off appearance on a television

programme. Here are my Top Tips...

Know Your Venue: What is the television show that you're appearing
on? Why have they booked a magician? Why have they booked you? Is it
a local news magazine programme reporting your recent magic club
competition win? Is it a networked talent programme whose judges will
rip you apart after your performance? Is it a documentary that is using a
magician to illustrate some specific point? Is it a kids’ programme that
wants you to teach their viewers a simple magic trick? Is it a magic
show? Is the producer a magician? Have they hired a magic consultant?

I imagine that you wouldn't take a professional non-televised gig

without knowing exactly what the conditions were. You should ask as
many - if not more - questions if you're appearing on television. Is it live?
Is it pre-recorded? Is it ‘as-live’? Is it single camera with pick-ups? Is it
multi-camera with a live cut through a desk? If you don't know what
those things are and the difference that they’ll make to you, then you
should learn.

Know Your Trick: This is not the time to try out that great new trick that
you've just bought or read. This is the time to do a trick that you know
inside-out and that you've done hundreds or thousands of times before.
Do something from your regular performing repertoire that’s strong,
direct, baffles lay people and which can be filmed under any conditions
and from any angle. Don’t do anything with threads, black art or sleights
which are not 100% angle-proof. The British magician Geoffrey Durham
also has some terrific advice on what makes a good trick to perform on
television in his excellent book Professional Secrets. I highly recommend
it to you.

Rehearse, Rehearse, Rehearse: This is my key advice for any magician -

not just one preparing to appear on television: Rehearse what you're
going to do in front of a video camera and watch it back with a close
magician friend. Tell them to be honest and critical. Write down your
comments and keep performing it for the camera again and again until
it's as good as you can get it. As Ken Weber writes in his great book
Maximum Entertainment: “You cannot reach your fullest potential until
you critically analyse yourself on video”.

Take a Magician Friend With You: Even if the producers claim to have a
magic consultant take a magician friend along to the taping (ideally the
one with whom you’ve rehearsed). If you get rehearsal time on camera
make sure that your friend watches your rehearsal on a monitor showing
the TX or transmission feed and lets you know if there’s anything you
can do differently in light of the rehearsal. If they have major issues with
the way the director is shooting it you should be clear what those issues
are and discuss them with the producer or director.

It’s also possible that you may get other feedback directly or indirectly
from the director or producer. If they ask you to do something which
you’re unwilling to do (as it may, for example, expose the method)
explain as politely as possible why you’re unwilling to do it.

Even if you know you’re not going to get rehearsal time on camera it’s
still worth taking a magician friend with you to be an extra pair of ears
and eyes and to stop you getting bored while you’re waiting around
(which you will be). Also make it clear to your friend that they are there
for you in a professional capacity, not to try and score their own
television gig! I’d pay them for their time to make it clear.

Be Charming and Professional: Throughout the day be charming,

friendly and professional with everybody who is involved in the
programme. Don’t bitch and bad-mouth about how little – if anything -
you’re getting paid or how early they got you there. Re-read your copy
of How To Win Friends and Influence People and apply it.

If You Get a Camera Rehearsal, Do Exactly What You Rehearsed In

Your Final Performance: If you do get a camera rehearsal do it exactly
the same way at the rehearsal and when you tape it or do it live. All the
crew and the director will be expecting that and are likely to miss
something if you do things differently. If you do decide to do anything
differently from your camera rehearsal, let the director or producer know
as soon as possible.

Rehearse Without the Spectator/Presenter: If you’re going to be

performing a trick on a spectator or a presenter ask – before the day – if
you could rehearse the trick(s) on camera with someone standing-in for
them. Explain that this means that the director and the crew will get a
chance to see the trick before you do it, but that the spectator will be
seeing it for the first time and will give genuine reactions.

If It’s Live and Unrehearsed, Direct the Director and Crew: If you are
performing without a rehearsal it is possible to actually direct the
director and the camera operator during your performance using pre-
emptive patter. For example, you can say things such as “In a moment
I’m going to reach into my pocket and remove…” or “I’m going to
spread through the cards in this box and show that one card is
reversed…”. This will tell them what you’re going to do and they’ll
prepare themselves accordingly. Say what you’re going to do, do it and
then say what you just did. Also, in this situation I recommend that you
work slower than you normally would to give everyone a chance to keep
up with you.

Hold Your Props Still: It’s amazing how much we magicians move our
props around. If you are displaying a prop, hold it still. Waving it around
to show it to all the cameras will only make it harder for the camera
operators to get a usable, in focus shot.

Watch, Watch, Watch, Read, Read, Read: You can learn a lot by
watching how experienced magicians handle similar television
programs. Check out YouTube for any footage of magicians performing
on the same or similar shows. This is not so that you can steal their
material but to see how they behave. There’s very little advice about
performing magic on television in print, but you should definitely check
out TV Magic and You by Jay Marshall, The Success Books volumes 1
and 2 by Frances Ireland Marshall and the previously mentioned
Professional Secrets by Geoffrey Durham.

And Finally: Much of this advice also applies if you’re posting footage of
your own performances on Youtube or similar sites. There’s much more
to say on this exciting new medium and I hope to get the opportunity to
share it with you on another occasion...
 Praise For Anthony Owen
“Anthony Owen is an unsung genius.”
Derren Brown, British television star.

“There are, maybe half a dozen people in the world who

understand how to give magic on television the impact it has
live. Anthony Owen is one of them. He has a mind of extreme
subtlety and immense experience. He understands and loves
both the TV medium and the art of magic with a joyful
enthusiasm that is inspiring to encounter. If you have the good
fortune to be able to work with him, do.”
Teller, one half of Penn and Teller.

“Anthony Owen has now officially become THE man behind

the scenes of British TV magic.”
Mac King, star of Las Vegas' Mac King Comedy Magic Show.

“Do you know what it takes to be a star in the world of magic?

Anthony Owen knows, and he can teach you the inner secrets of
creating successful media magic! Anthony has an incredible
track record of producing great television magic. The list of
magicians he's worked with reads like a who's who of modern
magic: everyone from Paul Daniels to Derren Brown and Juan
Tamariz to Penn and Teller - and I've been fortunate to work
with him on a couple of his projects too!"
Jeff McBride, international award winning magician.
 Anthony Owen Talks to Jay
Fortune
“I thought CDs were out as a way of learning about magic, but
this one by Anthony Owen proves I was wrong. You just have
to hear him speak to get the full inspirational effect of his
amazing story. This is someone who consciously turned himself
into a success, and I really enjoyed hearing him explain just how
he did it. When he gives advice, Anthony is stimulating,
exhilarating and motivating. But, above all, he is right!”
Geoffrey Durham, star of TV’s The Best of Magic and
Countdown.

Anthony Owen is widely acknowledged as one of the UK’s most prolific

and influential magical creators, producers and writers. As a performer
he has appeared on over 100 UK television programmes and on the
stages of theatres in London, New York, Las Vegas and around the
world. His original magical effects, routines and ideas have been
featured by magicians worldwide and he has acted as a magic consultant
for numerous performers and theatre, film and television productions.
He is also the BAFTA, Royal Television Society and Rose D’or award-
winning producer of more hours of television magic shows than anyone
else in history.

On this CD, Anthony discusses his magical career, offering his expertise
for the serious magician who aspires to raise their profile through the
medium of TV. It’s also a must listen for any magicians who are thinking
of filming themselves for promotional purposes, for a magic instructional
video or to share their performances on Youtube, Facebook or any other
similar sites.
Anthony also reveals a new trick which has never been published. He
explains the effect and gives ideas for a method, but urges YOU to create
a routine and let him know your results! An exercise in creativity.

Anthony Owen’s motivational talk with Jay Fortune captures the

passion, ambition and obsession of one of magic’s most influential
thinkers and creators. Can you afford to not own a copy?

Available from TVMagic.co.uk.

 Also available from Hey Presto
CARD TRICKS BY L. WIDDOP - A superb collection of classic card tricks which require little or
no practice. A Hey Presto remastered edition of the work first published in 1919.

IMPROMPTU CONJURING BY WILL BLYTH - A collection of tricks without apparatus,

preparation or sleight-of-hand. A Hey Presto remastered edition of the work first published in
1924.

MAGIC TRICKS WITH MARKED CARDS BY JUSTIN M. MONEHEN - Become a master

mind-reader with this superb, easy-to-follow book about the Marked Magic Cards. Include 125
Tricks and Tips plus ebook exclusive video demonstrations.

MAGIC TRICKS WITH SVENGALI CARDS BY JUSTIN M. MONEHEN - Become a master

magician with this superb, easy-to-follow book about the unique Svengali Magic Cards. Include
100 Tricks and Tips plus ebook exclusive video demonstrations.

MAGIC TRICKS WITH WIZARD CARDS BY JUSTIN M. MONEHEN - Become a master card
sharp with this superb, easy-to-follow book about the unique Wizard Tapered Magic Cards.
Include 125 Tricks and Tips plus ebook exclusive video demonstrations.

MIRCLE MONTE 2.0 BY NTHONY OWEN - A reworking of Andy Nyman and Anthony
Owen's Miracle Monte Effect. Note that to understand this publication you must be familiar with
the working of the original routine.

MYSTERIOUS STEEL BALL AND TUBE BY JUSTIN M. MONEHEN - A complete routine with
the classic Ball and Tube props. Includes never before published finale. A Hey Presto original
work first published in 2012.

OKAY, LET’S SHOOT THE MAGICIAN BY ANTHONY OWEN - Leading television producer,
Anthony Owen reveals a wealth of information for any magician wishing to create a successful
career on television.

PAPER MAGIC BY WILL BLYTH - Tricks and amusements with a sheet of paper. A Hey Presto
remastered edition of the work first published in 1920.

STICKY FINGERS: THE ANY TIME, ANYWHERE PICKPOCKET BY LEE THOMPSON -

Professional stage pickpocket, Lee Thompson, teaches a complete theatrical routine. A Hey Presto
original work first published in 2012.

THE ART OF JUGGLING OR LEGERDEMAIN BY SAMUEL RID - First published in 1692 as

The Art of Iugling or Legerdermaine. Wherein is deciphered, all the conueyances of
Legerdemaine and Iugling, how they are effected, and wherin they chiefly consist.
THE EXPERT AT THE CARD TABLE BY ERDNASE - "Perhaps no other book in all the list of
conjuring books has been so avidly read, so affectionately regarded." - Jean Hugard. A Hey Presto
remastered edition of the work first published in 1902.

WATER WIZARDRY BY ARTHUR AINSLEY - Magical experiments with liquids. A collection

of trick in which water is the chief agent. A Hey Presto remastered edition of the work first
published in 1922.

For a complete collection of the latest magic publications by Hey Presto Publishing visit our
website: www.heypresto.com.