What Is A Magic Consultant?

There’s one thing all of the most famous magicians have in common; they all begin their names with the letter D… and they also all work with consultants.

David Copperfield: with consultants like Chris Kenner & Homer Liwag.

David Blaine: with consultants like Daniel Garcia, Marc Kerstein, & Asi Wind.

Dynamo: with consultants like Harry De Cruz, Bob Pound & Doug McKenzie.

Derren Brown: with consultants like Andy Nyman, Paul Kieve, & Hector Chadwick.

Dustin Willman: with consultants like Stuart MacLeod, Kyle Marlett & Davey Rockit.

Famous magicians work with magic consultants, so why are all magicians not doing the same?

Chris Cox recently discussed working with Andy Nyman for a few days on his act a while back. Nyman is the co-writer and co-director of Derren’s stage shows and consultant for many of his television specials. Imagine having Derren Brown’s director, writer and consultant work on your mentalism act for a few days.

Chris did more than just imagine it; he made it happen.

Chris said some magicians don’t think twice about spending a few hundred dollars on a prop they’ll maybe never use, so it’s amazing so many magicians choose not spend the same on a world-class consultant who can improve their act forever.

Chris Cox just opened his west end show here in London, btw.

Before Dynamo had his TV show and became the megastar we know him as today, he was making YouTube videos. And y’know what, they were brilliant YouTube videos. Dynamo was the first person to take “coin through a handkerchief” and perform it through someone’s t-shirt. He took a trick in which a coin wrapped in flash paper burned through the deck and swapped out the flash paper for a flash playing card on the top of the deck. He performed coin unique with equivoke, and he performed the time machine watch with the spectator’s watch, visually, too!

Behind the scenes, Dynamo worked with consultants like Daniel Garcia, Doug McKenzie and Bob Pound on these videos. They were all paid for their time, and Dynamo made a loss on the videos — he was playing the long game.

Dynamo’s TV show aired in over 80 territories, ending in a global arena tour, btw.

There you go then — two examples of everyday magicians (at the time) hiring magic consultants and then both of them going on to find massive success. That’s science, no arguing with that.

I’d love to unpack why professional magician’s spend more money every year at magic shops than on directors, writers and consultants. But I can’t even begin to do that.

I think the Cox and Dynamo examples prove that you could find greater success with consultants, but perhaps they don’t do much to prove that you’re suffering without consultants.

A few months ago, I was asked to rewrite a format put together by a magician and sent to a production company. Here’s the thing — it wasn’t the magician who asked me to rewrite it… it was the production company. The production company were not too pleased by the pitch deck. But they liked the magician, and before giving up on the show, one of the producers decided to reach out to a consultant they’d worked with seven years ago and ask for help… the consultant was me.

I actually knew the magician. As I reworked the document to create an actionable format, I wondered how many magicians were losing out on work because they were not seeking help from consultants. The format deck needed far less text and more images. Some of it needed to be translated for laypeople. TV terminology was missing. They didn’t introduce the magician within the deck, and they didn’t relate it to existing shows. Simple notes as someone who’s spent most of his career writing on shows in development and pitches (four, this year).

If you’re sending out a pitch deck, taster tape, auditioning for America’s Got Talent or performing close-up magic for an important client. There are so many talented and experienced consultants who it would be silly not to call.

Anyways, what even is a magic consultant?

In short, they’re someone who provides advice usually based on knowledge, experience or skillset. But in magic, there are different types of people who get referred to as magic consultants. Most consultants do a bit of everything, but every consultant has their speciality.

I cannot overstate the value that magic consultants bring to the industry, though I’m a bit bias. What amazes me is how few magic consultants are responsible for almost all of the magic you see on stage, TV and film all around the world. This small group of consultants define magic globally, working for all kinds of projects and magicians.

Why do people become magic consultants? Well, I think it’s similar to how people who love theatre might become directors instead of actors and how people who love music might become songwriters instead of singers. Consulting opens the door to a more varied and immediate career. One magician might be lucky to work on one television show, whereas consultants get to work on countless television shows.

Here are a bunch of different magic specialists who are not necessarily magician performers:

Magic Writers

That’s me. We’re writers with magical knowledge who help develop and write projects. Be it a new format, pitch deck, taster tape, interactive experience, TV special, live show, board game. You name it; we’ve done it. We tend to write on other shows, too, besides magic. Some of us write video games, others write comedy, but we all blooming love writing magic.

Magicians often underestimate writing. It’s the gift wrap and the glue that binds a TV show together. Whereas you might hear a magician consultant saying things like “Wouldn’t it be cool if…?” — the magic writers will be asking far more thorough questions — soz, but it’s true.

P.s. buy BoxOne, presented by NPH, so that we can make a BoxTwo soon.

Magic Builders

Every show needs some good magic builders. Some shows have magic builders on from start to finish, and others get called in as and when required. We usually split builders into four categories:

• Small Builds

• Medium Builds

• Big Builds

• Special Builds

Small builds are playing card-sized gimmicks (Davey Rockit, ftw), and big builds are large illusion props. When Davey isn’t building small props for your favourite magic shows, he’s handcrafting gimmicks for all the biggest magic product companies like theory11, Murphy’s & Ellusionist (You’ve definitely handled something he built). Special builds involve tech, prosthetics or anything that needs a stunt coordinator.

Magic Coordinators

These humans are badasses. My mind goes straight to Lisa De La Vega while I was at Netflix. Magic coordinators get it done. Sometimes called Heads of Magic or Lead Magic Consultant, these magic specialists are great at bringing things together, making difficult production decisions and keeping everything on schedule. With their unique magic knowledge and ability to manage time and teams, the best are very impressive.

Illusion Designers

Paul Kieve has produced illusions for the worlds best illusionists and theatre shows. There are illusion designers who specialise in drawing the plans, which then get built by big builders. There’s a true art to illusion design, and unlike other forms of magic consultancy, experience always wins.

A seventeen-year-old can be a brilliant creative consultant. But, when it comes to illusion design, experience is vital. An illusion designer who has worked on hundreds of stage illusions will always always be worth your while.

Magic Producers

Whether it's a television special or a broadway run, you tend to find there’s only a handful of producers who know what they’re doing. Sure, they likely produce other shows, too — but their specialist knowledge and commitment to magic keep them coming back to produce magic.

Magic producers know how to fund, pitch, secure, deliver and carry the weight of a magic project. They’re the first to arrive and the last to leave. They’re dealing with the channel and signing off on the big bucks. And they’re usually pretty goddam intimidating and well accomplished.

I’ll never forget nervously telling the executive producer of a tour I worked on just how much one of the most crucial tricks was going to cost, only to see them shrug it off and add a matinee to the run to cover it.

Magic Directors

Much like magic producers, magic directors tend to direct all kinds of genres… but once you direct one magic project, you get booked for many magical projects.

There are a handful of TV directors I trust to direct television magic projects in the UK and US, and even fewer stage directors I trust with magic experience.

Shooting magic is a unique and challenging challenge that I’ve written about before. If you’re interested in reading a post by a magic director, let me know, and I’ll ask a friend to step in one week.

Creative Consultants

These are the people most magicians think about when they hear the word consultant. They’re creative thinkers who can reinvent the impossible and devise brand-new methods. They’re hands-on, inspired and out of the box with their thinking.

Creative consultants are often found staring at objects for minutes on end or randomly waving things in weird gestures mid-air. They are consistently overspending their savings on weird new tech and strange chemicals and inks.

Suppose you’re a magician who cares about performing totally new magic; these magic consultants are your best bet. But you should know, I can count the number of consultants who make a living doing just this on my left hand.

There really are five or so creative consultants who specialise in creating magic for all of the best magicians on the planet.