Lights Camera Magic by Danny Orleans, Chris Michael and Zach Alexander

People everywhere are quarantining. Events and parties are going virtual. Everyone is Zooming. If you want to perform a magic show, you have to learn how to do it online. If you’ve tried it, or seen other magicians’ videos of their virtual shows, then you know there are challenges and barriers to overcome.

Enter Zach Alexander, professional magician with a degree in electrical engineering. To serve the magic community, he collaborated with Chris Michael and Danny Orleans to create a guide to performing a virtual magic show. Check out the video to learn more about Lights, Camera, Magic.

This 70-page e-book was written for performers of all levels. It covers the basics such as the best angle to point your iPhone when you’re FaceTiming as well as where to stand in your living room to catch the best light. But it also guides the full-time pro who now has to depend on their virtual magic show to make a living. There are chapters on 3-point lighting systems and how to install external wireless microphones to your laptop and how to add additional cameras to your show to enhance the audience’s experience.

And there’s advice on tricks. Zach includes trick ideas that actually work better online then they do in person. Plus, there’s a serious discussion on how to modify the tricks you know to wow your spectators. He teaches you simple exercises to improve your ability to make eye contact virtually with everyone. It’s the complete opposite from what you do when you’re on a stage and it takes just 15 minutes of practice. This technique alone is worth the price of the e-book and will immediately make you look a lot better when you appear on homebound viewers’ screens.

The e-book contains four sections. No matter what your level of technology or magic proficiency, you’ll find advice inside that will help you. Of the 25 chapters on specific topics, here are our favorites:

Section 1: Everyone has a Front Row Seat

• How are Virtual Magic Shows Different from Your Typical Magic Show?

• Movement and Positioning

• Selecting Tricks for Your Virtual Magic Show: What Works and What Doesn’t?

• Three Routines You Can Adapt to Digital Right Now!

• Top Ten Tricks You Need for Your Virtual Magic Shows

Section 2: Virtual Magic Shows for Beginners

• How to Look Good and Get Comfortable on Camera

• Five great Gags for Your Virtual Show

• Five Mistakes Everyone Makes in their First Virtual Show

Section 3: Make Your Show Look Like a Pro

• And the Magician said, “Let there be Light”

• Keeping Eye Contact

• Virtual Applause, if they Clap and You Can’t Hear it, Does it Count?

• Scripting Strategies: How to Rework any Routine for an Online Audience

Section 4: Advanced Technology and Strategies

• Adding Multiple Camera Angles to the Show

• Adding Pre-Recorded Video to the Show

• Streamlining the Show with Designated Audience Members

• Taking your Show Above and Beyond with Even More Advanced Options

• Thinking About the Future: How to Convert your Virtual Shows into Live Shows

• How is a Virtual Platform Different from a Stage Platform?

Times have changed. And they’ve changed fast. We are all going to have to learn how to reposition our magic so we can keep doing what we love to do. Download Lights Camera Magic and you’ll be able to learn how to do, or improve your current virtual show right away.