The stupid thing is that Chloe is a much better magician than Jamie yet because of the semi final line-ups, the inferior magician has got through over the better one.

In this case, I have to agree with you on all counts there!

His routine wasn't very well thought out at all and the big reveal died a death as he put no drama into it. Just mumbling "ok, do it" for them to drop the cloth was almost criminal!

Getting a lighter out before she told him the word on her card was mistake 101 of magic: He is at least meant to pretend to be doing what he says, not making it obvious that he already knew what was on the card. That alone is a criminal basic mistake of amateurs. Stagecraft is knowing what you are trying to present to the viewers and getting it across, not killing all doubt stone dead.

The shoe bit was as limp as a week old lettuce and should have been replaced with another but far better production.

The last bit should have gone: (Straight of the top of my head)

Turn to Simon: "Now I hope your card says a bunch of flowers and not something utterly ridiculous" (This reinforces what he should at least be trying to get across, that he doesn't know what is on the cards.)

Turn and walk upstage and draw a "?" on the sheet. (Again he is not meant to know so that is why he is drawing a Question Mark - It makes sense) Raise cloth.

Walk downstage and address Simon with some bloody dramatic energy "NOW! Simon, FOR THE FIRST TIME... TELL US WHAT IS SAYS ON YOUR CARD...."

Simon: "HELICOPTER!"

Dramatic pause with look of horror as if to say ' A bloody helicopter? are you SERIOUS?!"

Turn and run like mad to the centre of the cloth, grab it and dramatically pull it off whilst telling "NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOW!!!!!!"

Drama, suspense, energy.

Now that's just very standard stagecraft off the top of my head yet he couldn't get it that good with weeks of thinking and working it. If he had started with my very basic ideas and added to that, he may have had something that made sense and worked.

And if he couldn't iron out or see what was seriously wrong with his act after working on it, then any hope that he will ever get it, is highly unlikely.

Jamie Raven ripped off Chloe Louise (kind off)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YyyM9a4qh0I

Even that finish wasn't that great and Jamie Raven was far worse.

I understand that on a talent show you have to work on a stage set up how they want it and the magician doesn't get any say so in the above video the cloth covered the sides and so the car could have been just driven on. So if they had spent time and money getting the car/helicopter there magically, then it was wasted.

Watch a Copperfield routine: You can see all around, underneath and the item is there in a matter of seconds. It is magical - not in the sense of it being real magic, but magical as in stunningly presented.

*mwah* *mwah* thanks.

You don't need to tell me how tonight's was done. Even I saw her step off at the end.

I know Copperfield has his detractors and you sort of know how he must have done the trick - but you can't actually see how he does it. That is showmanship & being a master of your craft.

Not a big fan of his but do have a (massive) grudging respect

Thanks

Haven't watched Chloe back yet (missed her act watching repeats of Law & Order ) got distracted by her back catalogue

But heard she was good - we'll see

Just watched Chloe and am very disappointed. She apparently wanted to be "more than"
just the assistant but... then had an act where she was indeed the assistant (albeit with
another assistant of sorts).

She also basically did one trick that was very unconvincing. You could even see a bit of
the platform she was standing on (and that's on first viewing).

I am not a "conspiracy theorist" but I am really wondering how much freedom she had with
her act because if she is actually very experienced in magic acts something does not
make sense about what she did on the show. Especially if she wants to move away from
being the sexy sidekick.



Also the ideas from Old Endeavour above are great. You should give him a call.

Absolutely...it's also a bit worrying when he's got from Thursday to Sunday to hone his next performance.

I like the guy but I think he's way out of his depth on stage...he needs a modern day Ali Bongo or his ilk giving him some good advice.

Chloe's back catalog is not safe for work!

She is also married to the magician she is the assistant for.

The forklift trick was the worst trick she could have performed, even the judges basically said they know how it was done.

Did she really think it was acceptable?

There are some tricks that Paul Daniels did that I still after all these years cannot work out how it was done.

Chloe's act in the semi's was really, really poor.

The tricks in Jamie's performance were far more impressive, he just doesn't have the showmanship to carry it off. Someone like Derren Brown for instance, would make you believe 100% in what he was doing.

Unfortunately, choosing to do a performance piece that included a levitation illusion was never going to get enough votes, no matter how well it was performed.

She appears to be a much better magician than him (certainly presentation wise) and it's a shame she didn't make the final as she could have surely produced goldfish and ice cubes far more convincingly if that's the route she had have chosen.

you could clearly see the fork lift lifting the platform, simon saying he did not know how it was done was so unconvincing and trying to presuade the audience it was a good act.
the first time she was on was the motorbike again easy to tell it was twins and one vaniashed and the other appeared.

ETA Wrong magician sorry my bad

Of course the other big issue on BGT will be budget.

Chloe's black art levitation was so naff and dated when you compare to Copperfield whizzing around like Superman. Just don't think they've got the resources to do anything other than tatty end of the pier crap.

Unless of course you've got a highly innovative magician, which unfortunately doesn't apply to Jamie or Chloe.

It was a good illusion i dont think it was dated or end of the pier at all,just badly presented and wrong trick it didnt have an "wow" ending.
Go to 3 mins in here https://youtu.be/KuSRAw3ckHw that is the version she should have done. But BGT isnt the place for overly dramatic emotional pieces. It needs wham bam wow.

Not dated? I saw a black art levitation at a Hastings Magic Convention back in the 70s and it's wasn't exactly the latest thing then by a long way.

The trouble with the Copperfield version (actually invented by someone else who themselves based it on an earlier magicians work) is that it's patented and copyrighted to the hilt. (Not to mention probably cost more than the entire BGT budget to develop)

But the point is that Copperfield is at the very least a showman: He sells the illusion like not many could. He doesn't just lay there like a dead corpse floating about the stage, he pushes against the air and flies. It's selling whatever you are meant to be doing and that is the one thing that sets some magicians against others. Some get it and some don't and never will. Some think that magic is just buying that new trick from the magic shop and after watching the dvd once, doing it badly to anyone who they can bore to death with it. Good magicians look like they are doing something completely new whilst still using the old methods maybe 100s of years old.

Some have inventive, creative imaginations and some people are not just built that way and just want fame from trying to look clever doing the latest shop-brought trick.

It shows with Jamie Raven that with literally 1000s of forces he decided to go with the Riffle Force. The Riffle Force is like the very first one any card magician learns and is like card magic 101. For TV work, you bring you A game and don't do a force that is covered on every basic kiddie's magic DVD and book. It clearly shows the mindset of Buy trick, do trick exactly copying with the magician does on the DVD even to the point of saying their exact words. Believe me I have seen some amateur magicians doing and exact copy of the DVD word of word and even the same background music. - It's painful to what as all it shows is that they have zero imagination.

There is nothing wrong with buying a trick but it is supposed to be the starting point where you take the basic idea and do it your way. There are way too many young magicians with the young mindset of the very latest thing is always the greatest thing and something they simply must have. This is magic, not an iphone launch.

Derren Brown uses some techniques and methods dating back many many decades or more and yet presents it as something that looks new, modern and never done before. As indeed does Copperfield - They can because first and foremost they are showmen. It's the one thing that many amateurs magicians don't get and never will - It's about the person first, not what they are doing. It's whether the person can sell you the trick using their own words and ideas, not just performing what they DVD told them to do and say.

Well the tricks are quite common ones but they still have more wow factor to them

More importantly he performed much better. I think he could have created more drama with
the card trick with Simon but that is being a bit picky.

He had much more control, much smoother patter, and built to the climax well.

I am really happy for him that he did a much better show in the final.

And yet that awful lemon trick was it?

His best trick was that?

Awful stuff

Ye but I don't really want to get up in the rating of the tricks too much.
It was all pretty typical and can be done much better but...

Without comparing him to anyone else he definitely was much better.
I think that is probably close to his best so he will be happy about that.

As has been said previously, we all look forward to your debut performance next year.


The rest of us appreciated that his presentation was much better than previously, and, he entertained not only the panel but the viewers, (or most of them anyway.)

And what about the trick he did not perform?

He messed up