Resources · Planning
How Much Tech Does a Magician Actually Need for Your Event?
The show is the film. The tech is just the screen size. A few honest notes from me on what your room actually needs.
Short answer: usually less than you think. For a small group up close you need almost nothing, the show carries itself. Once you pass a couple of hundred guests, a camera, a screen, light and sound earn their place so the back row gets the same show as the front. I bring my own mic and run my own sound cues. Your venue or AV team handles the rest.
Does the magic still work without big production?
Up close, every seat is the front row. Lord of the Rings is just as good on a cracked phone as it is in an IMAX. The film doesn’t change, you just get more of it on the big screen. My show works the same way. The forty minutes of material, the timing, the moment a signed card turns up where it has no business being, all of that travels. What changes is how much of it reaches the back row.
A few people in a living room, the lights still on, no stage, no sound. You don’t need anything. You’re close enough to watch the card bend in your own hand. Close enough to see I’m sweating. That closeness is the whole thing, and everyone in the room already has it. Lights and smoke on top of that would just get in the way of the view.
How much tech, by audience size?
It really just comes down to how far away the back row sits. Here is my rough guide:
| Audience | What you need | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Up to ~30, close up | Almost nothing, just a room and your guests. I can bring a small speaker if you’d like one, though up close I’d honestly rather keep it quiet and intimate. | Everyone’s in the front row already. The closeness is the production. |
| ~200, ballroom or marquee | A camera and a screen, plus proper light and sound. | The back half starts to lose the close-up work. Tech pulls them back in. |
| 1,000+, theatre or hall | Full production: camera, screen, stage light, PA, and an operator running it live. | Without a screen, half the room is watching a small figure wave his arms a long way away. |
What I bring myself
A mic. A proper headset mic, a DPA, the kind they use on West End stages, plugged into whatever system the venue already has. The whole show rides on being heard, so I bring my own rather than trust a borrowed lapel mic that cuts out in the quiet bit. For a small close-up group I can bring a compact speaker too if you want one, though that close, I’d rather let the room stay quiet.
And my own laptop. When there’s sound to run, I run it myself in QLab, the same cue software the big theatres use. The music under a moment, the silence right before a reveal. That silence is timing, and timing is the act, so I run the cues myself.
What you or your venue provide
For a small group, nothing. For a bigger room, your venue’s tech team handles the stage, the lights, the PA and the big console, and from a couple of hundred guests up, a camera and a screen. I work with that crew, not around them. They run the room. I run the show.
Can I work with your AV or production company?
Yes, gladly. I’ve performed on television in a dozen countries, on cruise-ship stages, and in corporate rooms a couple of thousand deep, with a camera on me and a tech crew running the picture. For a large event I’ll tell you straight when the production is worth it and when it’s a must.
Nine times out of ten the honest answer is “less than you’d think.” Tell me the room and I’ll tell you the rest.
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Good to know
A few more questions
Do I need to provide sound equipment for the magician?
For a small group, no. For a larger room, yes, a PA your venue or AV team runs. I bring my own mic and run my own sound cues either way, and for a small close-up group I can bring a compact speaker if you want one.
Does Hans bring his own microphone?
Yes. A DPA headset mic that plugs into the house system. I bring it whenever the room needs one.
Do you need a stage?
Not for a small or close-up show. From a few hundred guests up, a stage and a screen help the back row see the close-up work.
At what size do I need a camera and a screen?
Around a couple of hundred guests. Past that it stops being optional, or the back half cannot see what is happening in my hands.
Does Hans set up the lights and run the big production?
No. Your venue’s tech team runs the room and the console. I run the performance, and tell you what the room needs.
Will the show still impress without all the production?
Yes. Up close, every seat is the front row, and that is the version that lands hardest.
Let’s make your event unforgettable.
Fill out the form or email me directly. I’ll reply within 24 hours, often the moment I put the cards down.
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