Aspiring filmmaker brings visual tricks to Gazans
With basic equipment, aspiring filmmaker Mahmoud Alzaq takes his YouTube followers on a journey of visual tricks and illusions.
GAZA CITY, Gaza Strip — Mahmoud Alzaq’s videos of visual tricks and illusions offer Palestinians in Gaza a way to escape from the hardships they face in daily life. Alzaq, known as “Mahmoud Magic,” receives thousands of hits on his videos that show him folding himself into a box suspended in the air or flying on a broomstick.
“I take the time to plan these visual tricks, then carefully think how to film the right images,” said Alzaq, who uses his cellphone to shoot the clips, some with the help of an assistant. He told Al-Monitor, “You have to be quick with the hand tricks — you have to watch the light and shadows of the images. Then you have to edit the entire video by applying merging techniques in the clips filmed.”
Alzaq uses editing programs such as Adobe After Effects to combine clips and add effects.
Alzaq established his YouTube channel, called Mahmoud Magic, in January 2016, and it now has just over 1,700 followers. The video where he flies on a broomstick has been watched more than 3,500 times.
