The work that goes into creating magic for television
When you watch a magic effect on television, you might see something that lasts just a couple of minutes. What you don’t see is the work that goes into making those few minutes possible.
Having worked as a magic consultant on numerous television productions, I thought it might be interesting to share what a day behind the scenes can involve.
Although, as you’ll discover, there isn’t really such a thing as a typical day.
This particular story involves Dynamo, Cara Delevingne, a very late night, and a FaceTime call that made the whole experience rather special.
Creating the impossible
We were working on a television series with Dynamo, and one of the upcoming shoots involved Cara Delevingne.
The day before filming, the rest of the team had gone out on location while I remained at the office, working on an effect that Dynamo would be performing with Cara the following day.
Because Dynamo was filming throughout the day, I couldn’t discuss everything directly with him. Instead, I was communicating with the other magic consultants, discussing the method we intended to use and making sure everyone was happy with the approach.
By the end of the day, I’d made what we needed, and everything was ready.
Or at least, that’s what I thought.
At around eight o’clock that evening, the team returned to the office.
I was just about to leave when I showed Dynamo what we’d been working on.
Unfortunately, he wasn’t happy with the method.
Now, this is something that can happen when you’re creating magic for another performer. Just because a method works doesn’t necessarily mean it’s right for the person performing it.
We discussed what he didn’t like and the changes he wanted.
Afterwards, I spoke with the other consultants. Their feeling was that we already had three different ways of achieving the effect. If Dynamo didn’t want to use the method I’d created, he could choose one of the alternatives.
And that would have been a perfectly reasonable approach.
But I wasn’t happy leaving it there.
I’d listened to what Dynamo wanted, and I thought I could create something that would satisfy those requirements.
More importantly, I didn’t want to let him down.
A rather long night
I packed everything up and drove home.
By the time I arrived, it was around midnight.
I remember walking into the house and finding my wife, Tracey, sitting on the stairs.
I told her what had happened and explained that I wasn’t sure I was going to get to sleep that night.
I had to remake the method, and we were filming the following day.
So, rather than going straight to bed, I started working.
I knew what Dynamo wasn’t happy with, and having discussed the changes with him, I had a reasonably clear idea of what I needed to achieve.
Of course, having an idea and making it work are two very different things.
I spent the next few hours making and adjusting everything until I finally had something I believed would meet his requirements.
Eventually, I went to bed.
The following morning, it was time to head back into London.
Anyone who regularly drives into London during rush hour will appreciate that even getting to the location can feel like an achievement in itself.
The following day’s filming
The crew had been filming something else earlier in the day, while I made my way to the location where our effect would take place.
Production had hired a private park surrounded by houses. It was an unusual location, but exactly the sort of place where you might find yourself working on a television magic show.
I arrived and got everything ready.
Once the crew had finished filming at their previous location, they joined us, followed later by Dynamo.
He came over, and I showed him what I’d been working on during the night.
This time, he was happy.
That was a rather nice moment.
After the previous evening’s discussions, the late drive home and the hours spent remaking everything, it was good to know that I’d managed to create something that met his requirements.
The crew then got on with filming.
One of the things people might find surprising about working as a magic consultant is that you don’t necessarily get to watch the effects being filmed.
There are already enough people around the cameras, and the last thing you want to do is get in the way.
So, while filming was taking place, I spent some time chatting with Cara’s partner, Minke.
A rather lovely surprise
Once filming had finished, everyone gathered together.
At one point, while Cara was talking, she suddenly realised who I was and mentioned that Dynamo had been talking about me.
It’s always lovely to hear something like that, particularly when you’ve been working hard behind the scenes.
Before everyone went their separate ways, we decided to take a group photograph.
It’s still one of my favourite photographs from all the television shoots I’ve worked on.
In fact, of all the celebrities I’ve met and worked with during filming, Cara remains my favourite.
But something happened just before that photograph which made the day even more memorable.
One of my colleagues asked Cara if he could have a selfie with her.
She happily agreed.
After they’d taken the photograph, she turned to me and suggested that I’d probably like one too.
I had a slightly different idea.
I asked whether, instead of having a photograph together, she’d mind FaceTiming my daughter.
Without hesitation, she agreed.
As the FaceTime call was ringing, Cara laughed and said, “Wouldn’t it be funny if she didn’t answer?”
Fortunately, she did!
It was one of those lovely moments that I’ll always remember.
How becoming a father changes your priorities
Looking back, I think that little moment says quite a lot about how your priorities change when you become a parent.
Before having children, I might have jumped at the opportunity to have a photograph taken with someone famous.
And there’s absolutely nothing wrong with that.
But becoming a father changes the way you think. You don’t always put yourself first, and sometimes you find yourself thinking about what would make your children happy rather than what you’d like for yourself.
When Cara offered to have a photograph with me, my immediate thought was of my daughter.
I knew how much more that FaceTime call would mean to her than another photograph would mean to me.
I suppose that’s one of the lovely things about being a parent. Sometimes you get far more enjoyment from giving your children an experience than you ever would from having it yourself.
And thanks to Cara being so generous with her time, I was able to do exactly that.
Afterwards, we took our group photograph, said our goodbyes, and everyone went their separate ways.
Not everything makes the final edit
There’s one final part of this story that I haven’t mentioned.
Despite all the work that went into developing the effect, changing the method, staying up late, and eventually filming it, the routine never made it into the finished television programme.
And that’s something else you learn when working in television.
Not everything you create or film will make the final edit.
Sometimes an idea can take an enormous amount of work, involve a large crew and a considerable amount of planning, only to be left out of the finished show.
There can be all sorts of reasons for that, and it doesn’t necessarily mean there was anything wrong with what you created.
It’s simply part of the process.
Over the years, I’ve worked on many effects that audiences have enjoyed watching, but I’ve also worked on plenty that have never been seen.
The work and commitment involved can be exactly the same.
And perhaps that’s something worth remembering.
When you watch a magician perform something extraordinary on television, you’re seeing the finished result. You don’t see the discussions, the experiments, the ideas that didn’t work, or the people who stayed up half the night trying to solve a problem.
For me, that’s one of the most fascinating parts of being a magic consultant.
You have to be creative, you have to be willing to listen, and sometimes you have to accept that something you’ve spent hours creating simply won’t be used.
But that doesn’t mean the work was wasted.
Every experience teaches you something, and every problem you solve adds to your knowledge.
And although this particular effect never made it onto television, I wouldn’t change the experience.
I got to solve an interesting problem, work with some wonderful people, and give my daughter an experience that I hope she’ll always remember.
And perhaps that’s the nicest thing about this particular story.
After all the work, the sleepless night and the effort that went into creating something for television, the moment I remember most fondly had nothing to do with the magic trick itself.
It was watching Cara Delevingne FaceTime my daughter.
And unlike the television footage, that’s a memory that will never end up on the cutting-room floor.
Bob Pound
Professional Magician and Television Magic Consultant
www.bobpound.com