The Importance Of Recording Your Performances
By Damian Jennings - Friday, July 11, 2025
This is painful to post. But, it proves a really good point. So I am posting it.
I do a family magic show with my daughter, Isis. We've been working on a new show. First "proper" show, with a through line, foreshadowing, call backs, the works.
The first time we tried it out was at her school Summer Fair.
It went great! People loved it. Laughter, gasps of amazement, everything we could want. We got booked for two private parties afterwards. Huzzah.
Then I watched back the video.
Oh dear.
There is one section at the end where someone has to multiple together two four digit numbers to get to a big number, which Isis had predicted from the start.
However, I'd not really thought about how long it takes for someone to take their phone out, type in the two four digit numbers, and read them out. This is the outcome. Be warned, this is hard to watch...
The dead time here is so horrible. I am cringing even watching it again. I am cringing thinking how many of you are going to see it. I am embarrassed I didn't think about this ahead of time.
But...
Because I filmed it, I can now—easily—fix this. We just need to create something to do while it happens. We will also being our own calculator which Isis can hand to the grown up, disappointed they cannot do the sum in their head, which will also get another laugh.
Why am I publicly shaming my kid and myself here? Because it demonstrates how important it is to record yourself performing. Even if it is just an audio recording. That way you can not only find the parts that hit hard, but also the parts that totally miss. Then you can fix them.
Every show is an opportunity to learn how to do one part of it better.
Record your performances!
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