Since most magic books are in English, speakers of other languages are at a disadvantage when it comes to studying the descriptions of often complicated techniques. Even when you read a magic book in your native language, it can still be difficult to understand the explanations of techniques. Even when the descriptions are clear, they may only be illustrated by a few images or drawings.

Thus, the technique a beginner acquires from a book may vary somewhat from the technique an author intended to transmit. However , this doesn’t necessarily mean that the resulting technique is bad or poorly executed. On the contrary, it may just be a personal adaptation of a standard technique, and such adaptations can stimulate the imagination, leading magicians to create new ideas. Often poor explanations, a lack of illustration or simply a reader’s misunderstanding leads to the creation of new techniques. With the precision of video, this kind of “interesting” interpretation can’t happen.

You can generally separate magic videos into two categories: videos of beginners and specialty videos. The basic formula always remains the same: the magician performs a magic trick and then explains it, describing the techniques involved. Close-ups provide a better understanding of intricate details. Video also gives you a sense of the rhythm, timing, and body language involved in a trick—things that even the best book would be hard pressed to convey in such detail.

Videos offer the final advantage of “reading themselves.” By contrast, a book requires you too hold the pages, hold your cards, and, of course... turn the page right in the middle of the description of a technique involving both hands!

In recent years, the DVD has proved a real boon to magicians, giving them direct access to individual chapters and thereby making the tricks, techniques, and especially the explanations, easier to view. With a DVD, it doesn’t matter if the explanations come at the end of the trick or the end of the film—views can skip around at will.

As with books, the vast majority of VHS cassettes and DVDs are in English and are produced in the United States. Unlike books, though, video breaks down language barriers easily: even if you can’t understand what the magician is saying, you immediately grasp what he’s talking about.

You should know that English is an indispensable tool for advancing in magic. Sooner or later, the beginner will turn to notes, books, or tricks that can only be found in the language of Shakespeare. Might as well start sooner rather than later.