REVIEW: Worlds Greatest Magic - The Ambitious Card (DVD)

The full title of this DVD is a mouthful:

World's Greatest Magic By The World' Greatest Magicians:
The Secrets of The Ambitious Card

Say that fast, five times!

World's Greatest Magic By The World's Greatest Magicians is a series of DVDs by L&L Publishing that each focus on a famous trick or routine such as linking rings, McDonalds Aces, Stand-up magic, Coins Across, Cards Across, Zombie Ball, Coin Matrix, Chop Cup, and on and on. It's a really great idea - take new and classic footage of the best magicians all showing their own unique bend on a particular school of magic.

I recently purchased two in the series and I will cut to the chase; these are incredible DVDs and the price of each is stupid cheap (I paid $15 each). If you are interested in improving in a very specific form of magic these are the DVDs to own.

If you don't know what "taking a double" means or you don't know an Ambitious Card Routine (ACR) then you're probably not ready for this DVD. I would suggest purchasing Born to Perform Card Magic with Oz Pearlman which will provide you with a foundation in card magic and also teach you a basic ACR. Then buy this DVD! Even if you are a beginner the performances on this DVD will inspire you to learn.

For the newbie magician, an ACR consists of a very simple plot; place a signed card in the middle of the deck and it magically rises to the top of the deck. Each sequence in the ACR seems more impossible than the one before. Like the famous Cups and Balls routine, magicians have created many variations and climaxes over the years.

Degree of Difficulty
Moderate to Impossible. This DVD is targeted to someone with intermediate card handling skills. I would still recommend this to a beginner because there is so much to learn including the psychology of magic. The DVD does teach the basic routine so you can learn the ACR from this DVD. However, this is squarely aimed at the magician who is looking to interject some new life into their ACR.

One note on Tommy Wonder's climax sequence with the ring box. His sleight for bending a card into eighths in about 1.5 seconds will blow you away - he warns you that it will take a minimum of 50 decks of cards to achieve and perhaps as many as 200 decks to perfect the move!

Teaching
The teaching is outstanding. My favorites are Regal, Ammar and Tommy Wonder. Wonder's ACR is brilliant and he goes through the routine in detail. The real jewel here is Wonder's focus on the psychology. I just can't say enough good things about Wonder. Sadly, Tommy Wonder died in 2006.

Wonder's routine has a very slow, deliberate pace and he really does a great job of teaching why. Clearly he has perfected the timing, humor and subtle narrative that delights the spectators. Thirty plus years of perfecting the ACR and he reveals it in wonderful detail. It's a good contrast to Lorayne's lightening fast routine.

Quantity of Effects
The run time for this DVD is over 2 hours. There are nine magicians performing and teaching. With the exception of Dai Vernon, each magician performs and then teaches.

Tenacious Climber - David Regal
Ambitious Card - Harry Lorayne
Ambitious Card - Frank Garcia
Ambitious Card - Michael Ammar
Ambitious Card to Wallet - Paul Wilson
Ambitious Card - Doc Eason
Ambitious Card and Card to Card Case - Al Schneider
Ambitious Card Plus Ring Box - Tommy Wonder
Ambitious Card Story - Dai Vernon

Dai Vernon's section is more of a reminiscing of the past while showing segments & psychology of the ACR.

Quality of Effects

Top-shelf magic. All ACRs are very good but some are better than others.

Regal's Puppy Dog routine is really sharp and comedic. The spectator draws a puppy on the card and it always responds to it's master's call. This is a super fun ACR!

Lorayne ACR starts by forcing the ambitious card from behind his back. Then he goes through a dizzying sequence of moves. He is obviously a master but I tend to agree with Wonder that the slower pace has more impact. I could not keep up with what he was doing so I'm sure the spectator is overwhelmed. His teaching is solid.

Frank Garcia doesn't teach a routine but a couple moves that you can use to enhance your routine. Good stuff indeed!

Micheal Ammar's ACR is what I consider the classic routine that ends by crimping the card, placing the crimped card in the middle and having it "pop up" on top. If you are new to the ACR, this is probably the one to learn the basic routine. The performance and teaching is paced nicely.

Paul Wilson's ACR climaxes with a card to wallet sequence. The performance is okay but a little low key. However it is a really nice routine with some new twists including a gaffed card that is sure to produce some laughs. Now if I can just figure out where to buy his gaffed card!

Doc Eason is good at entertaining a crowd. I learned a lot just from watching him get the audience shouting, clapping and having a great time. He's full of great one-liners. His "card under glass" ending is classic misdirection - you'll leap for the rewind button on your DVD remote control.

Al Schneider's mechanics are a little different. It's a good routine but a little unnatural for me. He ends with a "card to card case" that might be a good alternative to your ending.

Tommy Wonder's ACR is the pinnacle of ACRs! Blew me away. His sleights and timing are impeccable. His one-liners are just brilliant. Wonder quips in his quirky Dutch accent "I'll do it this way so that you can see that all cheating is absolutely honest."

Wonder starts by setting a ring box on the table in plain view of the audience. He ends by making the card appear in the ring box in clear view of the audience. It is a mind boggling effect and causes a spontaneous standing ovation.

Card tricks do not get better than this.

Production Quality

Solid production values. There is some old video footage that is limited by the age of the taping technology. The newer footage is top notch. The DVD menuing is excellent.

Overall: 10/10

Ok, I've already gushed enough over this DVD. The performances and teaching are simply superb.

REVIEW: Pip-Thru by Tank (DVD)

After Greed and Spun, I made a solemn vow to avoid single trick DVDs. Not because thoses DVDs were not worth the money but because there are so many good DVDs that offer a smörgåsbord of tasty effects on a single DVD. If you've read my other DVD reviews, you'll see that I value a healthy mix of quality and quantity.

So why would I buy I single trick DVD such as Tank's Pip-Thru DVD? This purchase was the result of attending an excellent lecture by renowned mentalist/magician Kenton Knepper of Wonder Wizards.

Although Knepper luggage didn't make the flight into Iowa, some of his merchandise did. DVDs available for purchase quickly sold out. I was stuck choosing from a few remaining products. I choose the Pip-Thru DVD because I thought it might be similar to an effect I once saw where the pips melted off a card.

Alas, I would be disappointed. But stick with me for a just a minute as my opinion eventually improved. Pip-Thru is fun to perform and I learned a hand full of moves that were new to me.

The Marketing Fluff
"Tank brings you all of the tools you need to manipulate the perception of reality for your audience. Not only does the card visually change in front of their eyes, they see PROOF of physical transformation."

Degree of Difficulty
Easy to moderate. An intermediate card magician won't have any problem with Pip-Thru. If you are a beginner it will be challenging but not overwhelming.

Teaching
J. Tank is an adequate teacher but he could have made this so much better. The pace of the DVD seems rushed. Frequently Tank looks over to his notes to see what he is supposed to talk about next. The explanations are quick with very little attention to the supporting details and nuances that might help a beginner master the moves.

Quantity of Effects
I have to admit that I was very disappointed in the short run time of the DVD and the shortness of the trick itself. The demo of the trick clocked in at about 65 seconds. I guess that I'm spoiled by some great DVDs that are fully loaded with great moves, effects and routines.

Upon further ruminations (a second look), I'm a little more excited about the material. Here's what you get:

* gaffed card - Wonder Wizards generously gives you 4 gaffs in both blue and red backed Bicycles.
* the roll-over force
* handling of the gaffed card
* bonus section teaches two color changes and a really nice false cut
* Kenton Knepper teaches two more color changes

Kenton also shows an psychological effect for showing the same card to two spectators; yet each person sees a different card. He doesn't give you a routine using this effect but he plants the seeds for you to build your own.

For a beginner to intermediate card handler you're going to pick up a few new moves that you can reuse in other situations.

Quality of Effects
Pip-Thru is a fun, easy miracle to perform. It has a visually striking transformation that will have spectators doing a double and triple take. My biggest compliant is the shortness of the trick that is supplied. This a utility effect that would best be applied as the climax to a larger routine.

I really enjoy the rollover force and Tank's false cut is awesome. I follow the false cut with a Trinary cut and it makes for a showy effect that look more complex than it really is.

The quality of the gaff is very good.

Production Quality
Poor. This bare bones production appears to have been hastily assembled. The menu system has no flair or style. The performance appeared to have been video taped in someone's living room. Apparently it was laundry day at Tank's house as he was sporting a plain white tee shirt. This whole thing just looked rather thrown together.

Overall: 6/10
In the end, I'm happy with my Pip-Thru purchase because I'm going to get some great mileage out of the trick and gaff. Hopefully, I will think up some creative way to incorporate Pip-Thru as a climax to a full routine. If you are a beginner to cards, you're going to get a lot of use out of the force, color changes and you'll learn an impressive false cut.

Pip-Thru did lose points in my rating scale because of lackluster teaching, poor production quality and brevity of material on the DVD. The strength of the DVD is the strength of the gaff card and the effect it creates. With a standard color change, there is no evidence that the card physically changed; because it didn't really change. With Pip-Thru, your spectator will see evidence that the card underwent some kind of physical metamorphosis. And that evidence is going to leaving your specs laughing and amazed.

A Kenton Knepper Christmas

Living is a small, mid-western city means that the magic scene is rather limited. So when a well known name in magic like Kenton Knepper comes to town, two days before Christmas, you just know you've gotten an early present. As I understand it, Knepper is an Iowa native who returns to his home state for the holidays. The local IBM Ring 327 hosts this annual event and Knepper is kind enough to be the honored lecturer.

The weather was bad as Kenton's flight into Cedar Rapids got diverted back to Chicago. Kenton and a few fellow passengers rented a car and finally made it into Cedar Rapids sans his luggage. Kenton did a great job of working without his personal effects. Thankfully, some Wonder Wizard merchandise that was preshipped did make it on time. So I ignored warnings of the imminent snow storm and prepared myself for a blizzard of mental magic. Knepper did not disappoint.

Kenton opened with some quick-hitting, yet softly applied hypnosis. I was the first to undergo the soothing gaze of Kenton. I followed Kenton's suggestions like Pavlov's dog. One of the key knuggets of knowledge that Knepper passed on was that you can weave hypnosis into your magic act without the dramatics that are often hallmark of traditional hypnosis acts. Many of the techniques that he worked are detailed in his new book Ultimately Under.

Although Knepper appears to be notable for his mentalism, he proved to be an expert card handler. Kenton demonstrated a few tricks from his Cards of Influence book that were impressive feats of mentalism through cards. He also demonstrated some really cool tricks with double faced and double backed cards.

Lastly, Knepper presented some floating cane manipulations using an ungimmicked walking cane and golf clubs. Once magnetized, the cane clinged his open palm for a very convincing illusion.

It was a great afternoon of magic and learning. This was my first ever magic lecture and what a great one to attend. I'm all juiced up to join the local IBM magic guild and perhaps this will be the first of many great magic lectures that I will be privileged to attend.

FREE MAGIC TRICK - The Best Card Trick Ever

Since this is a blog about amateur, hobbyist or beginning magic, I thought it would be fun to start a series of free tricks to get your feet wet.

Before you start read this early blog entitled So you want to be a magician - START HERE.

This series of free tricks are good first tricks. However, I encourage you to learn the really cool stuff that takes practice and skill. While hard to learn, these routines are the most eye-popping, jaw-dropping illusions and are thrilling to perform. So start with my blog entitled So you want to be a magician - START HERE. Then come back and learn this trick.

Here is a great, self-working magic trick that every beginner should know. I learned it as the "Best Card Trick Ever." I've also heard it referred to as the "21 Card Trick." While it's not the best trick ever, it is probably one of the best self-working tricks.

Even though it is self-working you will need to practice this 4-5 times or more to get comfortable with the presentation.

The "Best Card Trick Ever"

Set-up:

An ordinary deck of cards

Effect:

The spectator mentally selects a card from a stack of 21 cards (called a packet). The spectator shuffles the cards and hands the packet of 21 cards to the magician. The magician lays the cards into 3 columns of 7 cards and asks the spectator to point to the column with his selected card. The magician collects the cards and deals out the cards again and repeats this process two more times.

Note, the trick is done - the rest of the trick is pure acting on your part.

Now the magician deals out little piles of cards in a "star" shape. Here is where the fun begins. The spectator selects piles of cards to remove or keep. This process of removing card piles is continued until one pile is left. The magician separates the four remaining cards as asks the spectator to continue selecting cards that are removed until one card is left. Amazing, the magician flips over the last remaining card and the spectator gasps because it is their selected card. It appears that the spectator has randomly removed 20 cards and the last card remaining is their selected card.

Instructions:

Count out 21 cards and hand to the spectator. Tell them to shuffle the packet and mentally select a card. For kids and larger audiences, it may be a good idea to have the spectator write their select on a piece of paper so that the can reveal their choice at the end. That makes it a little more exciting to the rest of the audience. Take back the packet.

This is important, you must deal these 21 cards out the 3 rows of cards exactly as described here or the trick will not work. You must also pick up the cards in the order described.

Deal the cards face up into 3 columns, one row at a time, until you end up with 7 cards in each column. When dealing into a column, overlap the cards in each column. This will make it easy to keep the cards in the correct order as up pick them up. Ask the spectator to point to the column that contains his/her card.

Square up each card column into three piles - if you overlapped them they will be in the order dealt. Place one of the piles that the spectator did NOT select on top of the pile the spectator DID select. Then place that stack onto the remaining pile that the spectator did not select. In order words, the column of cards that the spectator selected should be in the MIDDLE. Therefore, the selected card is somewhere between the 7th and 15th card. You are going to repeat this process two more times.

Once again, deal the cards face up into 3 columns of 7 cards and repeat the process.

Once more time, deal the cards face up into 3 columns of 7 cards and repeat the process. Now their selected card has worked it's way to the middle of the packet. Stack up the cards as before and their card is the 11th card in the packet. At this point the trick is done - their card is the 11th card.

Some versions of this trick will have you turn over the 11th card and the trick is over. However add these next steps really misleads the spectator and makes this a true miracle.

Remember this one fact, do not forget where the 11th card is! If you forget the location, the trick will fail.

Create card stars by dealing four cards, face down in a little star-shaped pile. Create another star. Count the cards (quietly inside your head) and keep track of where the 11th card is located. You'll end up with 4 piles of 4 cards and the last pile will have 5.

Now you are going to give the illusion that you are turning the trick over to the spectator to control.

Ask the spectator to select two of the card stars.

IF one of the two card stars contains the 11th card then remove the other three card stars from the table. ELSE if one of the three remaining card stars contain the 11th card then remove the two card stars the the spectator pointed at.

Ask the spectator to select one of the remaining card stars.

IF the selected card star contains the 11th card then remove the other card stars from the table leaving just the one card star. ELSE if one of the other remaining card stars contain the 11th card then remove the card star the the spectator pointed at.

Continue this pattern until only one card star is remaining. Separate the 4 cards into a row keeping track of which one is the 11th card. Ask the spectator to select any two cards. Again, repeat the pattern of either keeping the two cards that contain the 11th card or removing the selected two if the 11th card is not one.

Now you are down to two cards. Ask the spectator to select one card. If they pick the 11th card, turn it over to reveal their card. If they pick the card that is not the 11th card, simply remove it from the table leaving just the 11th card and then reveal their card. This trick will fry their brain! Try it.

Magic Under the Christmas Tree

Christmas, that magical time of year. Magical, as in I finally get to order a bunch of magic stuff! My wife gave me a budget for Christmas this year and told me to figure out what I wanted. Upon informing my wife that I had placed an order for $155 worth of magic stuff she quickly chastised my reckless purchase.

"What's the big deal," I exclaimed. The order was well under my $200 gift budget. Come to find out, she really didn't mean to go and actually purchase what I wanted. Apparently, some of that budget was already allocated for things I "really" wanted like underwear and a new belt.

I foolishly thought that the remaining $45 would go towards other magical essentials; like a couple dozen Bicycles or some silks. After getting the "voice" (you long time married guys know the "voice," a tonal quality somewhere between disgust and fury) and the evil eye (you don't even have to be married to know that look), my wife told me that the remaining $45 had been already spent. Probably on socks, steak knives and an Old Spice gift pack.

But my woeful tale of Christmas' magic gifts doesn't end here. Oh no, it doesn't end. Yesterday, a little box from labeled Penguin Magic showed up at my door. My wife, in all of her Christmas wisdom, decided that she must immediately wrap my gifts and place them under the tree with a joyous little sticker that says "Don't open until x-mas!"

I doth protest this Christmas injustice! It's not like I don't know what's in that box. I argued that at least I should be able to keep the free promotional items that I received.

My next argument was simple and logical. I must inspect the shipping manifest to determine whether all magical items and apparatus were accounted for. Only one who truly knows magic, can account for all of the mysteries held within that little cardboard box. She bit on that subtle misdirection as I palmed a DVD into my breast pocket. Well, something like that happened.

My wife had acquiesced to my infallible logic. She said, "Okay, but just the free DVD." Now I had to make a quick decision. Think, think. I only get one so which one shall I tell her is the free DVD. Of course, I knew well that the free DVD was "Brian Tudor's Extreme Generation," a highly rated DVD treatise on extreme card manipulation.

Now Extreme Generation is the "Lemony Snicket's Series of Unfortunate Events" of magic DVDs. You don't really want it, don't order it, it's too hard, you can't do it, remove from cart now. Did I want that as my only source of new magic until Christmas morn? Hell no! Think, think.

After a few hasty milliseconds of indecision, I lunged for the "Double Take by Gregory Wilson" DVD. My DL needed some attention and this DVD had some routines I could actually show-off at Christmas dinner with the in-laws. "Yep, here's the free DVD!" I proudly exclaimed as I snagged the treasured DVD.

So far I am happy with my split second decision. My basic DL is so much better and I've learned a couple other DLs that will be an awesome addition to my arsenal of finger trickery. Although my appetite for magic is temporarily sated, I yearn for Christmas morning when my nimble fingers tear into a cornucopia of new magical knowledge and wisdom.

There is a lesson to be learned here - don't wait for your magical Christmas gifts to come to you - spend early and often before well meaning spouses or parents buy you that cool Scooby-Doo Chia Pet.

In case you are interested, that gaily wrapped shoebox under my tree contains the following magical bling:

On The Spot with Gregory Wilson (DVD)

Pyrotechnic Pasteboards with Gregory Wilson (DVD)

World Class Manipulations #1 with Gregory...just kidding...with Jeff McBride (DVD)

Worlds Greatest Magic - The Ambitious Card (DVD)

Worlds Greatest Magic - Stand Up Magic (DVD)

Two books, a silk and a set of Vernet Multiplying Balls

Merry Christmas, Happy Hanukkah and a Festive Festivus!

Konjurer

REVIEW: Visu-Antics DVD by Jim Pace

The Marketing Fluff

"Jim Pace is one of magic's most visual close-up artists. Working 4 restaurants per week for over 20 years has taught him to create flashy, attention-getting magic that makes audiences scream. It's magic that's low on set-up and high on pay-off. The video is jammed packed with some of the best gags, stunts, and magic routines you're ever going to see. Best of all, this stuff is easy and you'll wind up doing most of it!"

Since this blog is oriented towards beginning to intermediate magicians, I would say this DVD is going to be an average addition to your DVD library. If you are a working, walk around/restaurant magician, I think this DVD will be more valuable to you. Overall, your going to get some good, quick tricks with high impact.

Degree of Difficulty
Moderate. Some very easy tricks and some are going to require moderate practice depending on you skill level with coins and cards.

Teaching
Jim's style is easy-going with some dry wit. Overall he is easy to understand and explains the tricks in adequate detail. There is one uncomfortable moment in the video where Pace pulls a pocket watch out of his fly. It is out of place and a little creepy. In the end, Jim Pace is a likable guy who's seems to have been performing magic for a long, long time.

Quantity of Effects
You get reasonable value for your money as there are 20 effects. There is a real odd mix of stuff; coins, cards, sight gags, pen tricks and mentalism. I see this material as supplemental tricks; attention getters or quick hit tricks between your bread and butter routines. If you only find one or two usable tricks then you probably won't be happy with the DVD. However, I think anyone should be able to take away 5 or 6 really good tricks from this DVD.

Quality of Effects
You'll find some really good tricks and some ho-hum ones. Some of the tricks are not 100% guaranteed to work as they rely on certain principles that your spectator might not follow. Here are my favorites.

I have read other short reviews where the favorite seems to be Crushed. This involves the appearance and disappearance of a 20oz. soda or water bottle. This illusion is quick and eye-popping. Pace gives you a variation with a silk that looks pretty magical. Plus it makes a cool noise that gives you an audio component to the illusion.

The Impossible Color Change was almost worth the price of the DVD and has become my default color change. A wave of the hand and the card changes. I like this because of the economy of motion - unlike the Erdnase which requires a longer motion to achieve the change. Plus you can be much more dramatic with the magic wave than with an Erdnase.

Quick-o-Chink is a super fast coin matrix effect. Four coins are arranged in a typical coin matrix (square) pattern. A quick wave of your hands and all four coins jump under one hand - very cool indeed.

I don't remember seeing this vanish in Bobo's Modern Coin Magic. The TV Coin Vanish starts with a coin resting on a couple fingers, the coin is taken into the other hand. The first hand is opened to show that it is no longer in that hand. Then the other hand is opened to show that it is clean as well (sort of anyways :) Then the coin is plucked from mid-air. No sleeves or gimmicks are necessary.

The Bet involves a free selection of 3 cards by the spectator. The magi inserts the cards into the deck and the deck is squared. The magi pulls an valuable object from his pocket as a motivator for winning a bet. In one swift motion, the deck vanishes and the magi snaps the specators 3 cards from thin air.

If you're a seasoned pro (ie, someone who earns money doing magic) then you've seen most or all of the sleights on this DVD. For an amateur, you'll probably pick up a handful of new skills.

Production Quality
Poor. There is a single hand-held camera for most of the DVD. The camera is shaky but not overly annoying like in some other DVDs I own. Is owning a tripod too much to expect for a video producer these days? To show an alternate angle, the camera man simply walks to the new angle and Jim repeats the move. The menus have no style and no frills.

Overall: 6/10
As the name of the DVD implies, these are visual gags and effects. No five minute routines here - just smash 'em upside the head tricks. The material is probably most useful as supplemental material for a close up magician. Jim loses points for mediocre production quality and the overall usefulness of the material is not as good for amateurs as would be DVDs that specialize in a particular form of magic like just cups, just cards or just coins.

Watching some of the tricks your going to think "duh, that's kinda stupid." However these are Pace's time tested tricks that should impress an audience of lay people. As Jim frequently says "just give it a try."

REVIEW: In The Beginning There Were Coins DVD

The Marketing Fluff
"In the Beginning There Were Coins contains THE moves and sleights you NEED to know, taught in the most clear, direct, and simple way possible. If you're looking for every single variation and every move imaginable, you're in the wrong place. If you want to get the BIGGEST return on your investment of time and hard work, you've found the training DVD for you. But, before you start, know this: Noblezada isn't on this earth to put together a beginner course that's gonna leave you looking like a beginner.

This course will take you from beginner to pro in coin magic."

"Take you from a beginner to pro" might be a little strong but it will give you a great foundation in coin magic. This is a high quality DVD is all ways. This is a building block DVD - you're given a bunch of basic magic "Legos" that you will use to build a lot of different tricks and routines. So let's take an in depth look at Jay Noblezada's treatise on introductory coin magic!

Konjurer's Tip:
While you are waiting for your DVD to arrive, visit your bank and pick up a 6-8 50 cent coins (aka Kennedy Half Dollar). If your bank doesn't have them (they are probably too lazy to get a roll from the vault) then call around to other banks. These are easy to find with a few phone calls. Also stop by a coin shop and pick up a couple English Pennies. These are relatively easy to find and inexpensive. The English Penny is the same size as the Kennedy half dollar and it has a nice brown copper color that will work well when performing a color change effect or transposition.

Degree of Difficulty
Moderate. There are no self working tricks here. This is pure sleight of hand magic with the simplest of props. You'll need to spend weeks or months practicing this material.

Teaching
Jay Noblezada is one of the best young teachers on DVD on the planet. He is an accomplished sleight of hand magician who demos his routines for real people, on the street, for jaw dropping reactions.

Jay goes over each sleight in glorious detail. He shows you how not to do the move. You won't have to pause and rewind as much as some other instructors.

For the most part, Jay chooses outdoor settings to teach; a California beach, a city park and a boat on Lake Mead. I have seen some people disparage his choice of locations but I think it is refreshing. You feel like Jay is just a friend, sitting bare feet in the grass, in a city park, teaching you one-on-one.

Quantity of Effects
This is a packed DVD full of a lot of material. Of course, the gold standard in teaching coin magic is Modern Coin Magic by J. B. Bobo. It covers only a small portion of the material in the Bobo book. However, it covers the meat and potatos of coin magic including the basic palms, concealments, passes and vanishes.

The DVD is broken up into:

Essentials
Tricks
Routines
Pro Tips
Extras


The Pro Tips have some stuff from Bobo like what to do if you drop a coin. Jay teaches a lot of subtle tips for selling you sleights like "breaking the wrist." He also gives you the Slide Vanish which is a very convincing vanish.

Quality of Effects
Tricks are fast effects that can be incorporated into a multiple phase routine; Coin thru Pants, Coin Thru Pocket, Coin from Thin Air, Cranium Vanish, Tenkai Pennies, Coin from Pencap. The Tenkai Pennies and Coins thru Table are really mini routines and the best of the Trick section.

The Routines are a nice Coins Across using two spectators, a PK Coin Bend, a One Coin Routine and a Three Coin Routine. I really like the One Coin Routine and have developed my own version called the Stinky Coin (see my video below). Lastly, there is a routine called You and Me that is really powerful. These are all great close routines that you'll likely use if you are doing walk around or bar magic.

Production Quality
Top notch production. The menus are hip and fun. The variety of locations and sets alleviate any chance of boredom. The video and sound quality are superb. It is filmed with at least 2 cameras and Jay shows you the key angle shots. The on-the-street demos are a joy to watch.

Overall: 9/10
This is just a fun DVD. It is a great selection for beginning coin magic. It is also a great supplement to Bobo's Modern Coin Magic (MCM) for beginning and intermediate coin magicians. Most of this material is covered in MCM but you'll get so much more out of Jay's solid instruction, expert demonstrations and his subtle maneuvers that really sell and polish the presentation. Everyone's learning style is different but I would personally recommend this as a first introduction to coin magic and follow up with MCM.

So you want to be a magician? START HERE!

Where do you start when you want to become a magician? Well, first I think you must decide why it is you want to learn magic:

a) I want to impress chicks/dudes at school
b) I want to be the next Criss Angel or David Blaine
c) Because I love magic

If you answered a) then you picked a great answer! Too bad you're not cut out for magic though. If you picked b) then you have lofty goals but I doubt you'll get there because you didn't pick c).

c) is the best answer and THE place to start.

Note that a) and b) are the results of c).

To be a good magician you'll need to develop a love and respect for the art of magic. Plus you'll need patience and a strong work ethic in order to put in the hours of practice necessary to get to the point where you can perform in front of another person.

If you think you are ready for the next step, repeat after me...

As a magician I promise never to reveal the secret of any illusion to a non-magician, unless that one swears to uphold the Magician's Oath in turn. I promise never to perform any illusion for any non-magician without first practicing the effect until I can perform it well enough to maintain the illusion of magic.

This oath is sacred and must be followed. As in all things we must live by principles and morals and that set us apart from all other living creatures. There are some key ideals in this oath that merit your attention.

Never reveal. People will ask you for the secret, perhaps beg you. But they don't really want to know. Once you tell the secret a couple things will happen:

1. You will no longer be respected as a magician by the spectator.
2. The illusion is shattered and the entertainment value is gone.
3. Every trick you do after that will not be as impressive to the spectator.
   
4. You've let down you brothers and sisters in the fraternity of magic.
   

The secret is never as impressive as the illusion so don't ruin it for the audience.

Next, find two or three good tricks and practice them until your fingers are raw.

1. Practice in front of the mirror
2. Practice without the mirror
3. Use a camcorder to record your practice sessions, record from different angles, review the video and fix the mistakes
4. Work on the patter (your narration of the trick) make it interesting and rehearse it dozens of times until it flows from you without thought
5. Make the trick your own. Come up with your own patter, your own slant and add your own character.
   
6. When you think that you are ready to perform the trick, go to step one and repeat.

A good trick will take weeks or months to perform. I read comments from young mages on forums that speak of a trick like this.

This is the best trick ever, I was performing it flawlessly in 5 minutes after I got it!

First, it probably isn't the "best trick ever." No best-trick-ever takes 5 minutes to perfect. And you did not perform it flawlessly. If you watched it in front of a mirror or camcorder, you would have known that you were not as flawless as you thought.

Next step. By now you probably really enjoyed one of the tricks more than the others. Focus on that style of magic; be it cards, coins or reading minds. Go out and buy the "bible" for that form of magic. They are usually inexpensive and you get dozens of magic tricks for your money as well as the bread and butter training. Or if you are more of a visual learner, like me, get a DVD that covers the same material as in the books. Here are some examples:

Books:
Modern Coin Magic - J.B. Bobo
The Royal Road To Card Magic - Hugard & Braue
Practical Mental Magic - Ted Annemann

DVDs:
Born to Perform Card Magic - Oz Perleman
In the Beginning There Were Coins - Jay Noblezada

Lastly step before performing a trick; watch the masters. We live in the Internet age. Go out to youtube.com and watch other magicians perform the same effect - especially the masters of the craft!

If you study one form of magic for 1-2 months and you are willing to put in an hour or two each day, you'll be ready to begin impressing your friends and co-workers. Don't try to learn 20 tricks - just 2-3 killer tricks to get your feet wet and you'll fry people's brains with the simplest of illusions.

Note: In The Linking Rings section to the right is a link to the Theory 11 Beginning Magician's video. This is highly recommended as a place to start.

REVIEW: Mind Stunts and Mind Stunts 2 by Patrick Kuffs

Patrick Kuffs' Mind Stunts and Mind Stunts 2 are a collection of original mentalism routines presented in Kuffs quirky style. Let me preface my review by saying I'm never been all that wild about most mentalism routines. So if you are thirsty for new mentalism, this may be the ticket.

Degree of Difficulty
Easy. There are no tricky sleights to learn. 90% of the routines are timing and acting. However easy these may be, I don't think this would be a good introduction to mental magic.

Teaching
Kuffs plays both magician and spectator and uses editing to portray both roles. I prefer seeing trick performed for a real audience to gauge the reaction to the presentation. Combining a thick accent and goof-ball style, this teaching style was really hard for me to watch. Perhaps his style works in front of a real audience but we don't get to see that, now do we?

Quantity of Effects
There are a total of 7 effects and Kuffs blatantly tells you that he is not going to show you the last trick, Nostradakuffs and to figure it out for yourself. So 6 tricks for your hard-earned clams.

Quality of Effects
These tricks don't do much for me but I think that some of the material is usable. The Book Test 4 Dummies was my favorite. The name is appropriate because someone who is not a dummy might be suspicious of the method. If you are not familiar with book tests, it goes like this; some picks a random page from an seemingly normal book. The mentalist then reads the mind of the spectator and predicts the word. In this trick the spec selects the first word from a random page out of a truly random book and writes the word on a business card. Then the magi does the same. Viola, the words match!

Blindfoil uses aluminum foil and duck tape to cover the mage's eyes. The mage then is then spun around to a random heading and sketches the scene in front of his face. Wow, it matches! Kuffs does this outside so he can accurately draw some trees and a park bench. Yawn.

Watchism is a watch prediction with the spectator's watch. Perhaps this would work on a blonde - but it seems too obvious for a brunette. (Just kidding, you blondes!) Again, I might be more convinced if he used real spectators for the demo.

Dangerous Monte is a three bag elimination were the last bag contains a broken bottle. Don't worry, you're never really in danger - even if you make a wrong guess. The spectator mixes up three cards number 1, 2 and 3 and lays them in front of the paper bags. The cards determine the order in which the magician crushed the bag. I feel danger in the air!

Production Quality
Kuffs using little vignettes in a variety of settings to frame each trick. At times there is clever editing and the video quality is good. However the hand held camera work is all over the place. Zoom in, zoom out, jerk the camera this way and that way. Kuffs was trying to be overly clever and comedic with the presentation. It just wasn't my style of humor and I'm not a fan of hand-held videography.

Overall: 4/10
I think if your a fan of mentalism, you're going to find a way to use some of this material - especially if you are mixing humor with your mentalism act. I have to be critical of any DVD that shows you a trick and then doesn't provide the secret. Isn't that what we're paying for? Mind Stunts 2 is more of the same so if you think you might like this DVD, I would suggest getting both. Personally, this wasn't my cup of tea.

REVIEW: Complete Course in Magic with Cups & Balls

I hadn't seen a review of this DVD set so I thought I would post my first review. I received this DVD set as a promo about 6 months ago and just got around to really spending some quality time with the material. I wanted a Balls and Cups DVD and Penguin had it as a promo so I went against the conventional wisdom (Michael Ammar Cups and Balls DVD #1 and #2) and got Eddy Ray set instead. This is a two DVD set and currently sells for 37.95.

I can't really compare the quality of this set to the Michael Ammar Cups and Balls DVDs because I never seen them. However, I did a move by move comparison and they are very comparable from a content standpoint. The Ammar set appears to have a little material that is not on the Eddy Ray set however the reverse is also true (more on that in just a sec).

The Eddy Ray has about 80 sections broke into the following categories.

DVD 1
Introduction (props, terms and the professional routine)
Essentials moves and Sleights
Holding Out
Essential Secret Loads
Steal Balls from The Tabled Cups
Faking the Load
Cup Manipulations

DVD 2
Wand Manipulations & Moves
Starting Your Routine
Starting Sequences
Middle Sequences
Final Loads
Final Sequences
Final Load Revelations (Rhythms)
Roy Benson Bowl Routine

There are also 2 performances clips

The DVD is well produced. It has a classical music sound track which I like (I can imagine some people might not). The teaching is a tad dry but very good. Ray occasionally flashes but overall he seems to be a very capable Cups and Balls performer.

Being a noob to the Balls and Cups, I didn't understand the organization of the material at first. Once I got midway through the 2nd DVD it all became clear and I got excited about the possibilities. You really are given the building blocks to creating your own routine. The building blocks are roughly presented as a series of beginnings, middles, and endings.

There are a few things that are on this DVD that I gather may not be on the Ammar DVD. These are:

The Eddy Ray Advanced Stack Move - loading two balls into the same nested cup.
The Eddy Ray Cheat Move - a better version of the Click Move - this is one of the best moves on the DVD.
Francis Carlyle's Proposition Bet - not really a trick - more of an optical illusion
Four wand spins
Wand Appearance with a silk
Wand Disappearance with a silk
Eddy Ray Wand vanish
Roy Benson Bowl Routine

The Roy Benson Bowl Routine is a bonus. Basically a single cup (bowl) routine with sponge balls. His final load is a deck of cards so it is a really great transition routine.

My only complaint was that I wish Ray provided a little more instruction on misdirection, acting, patter and presentation.

I have 12 instructional magic DVDs and this is one of the best I have so far. I give this DVD set a 8/10 rating. He lost points for some lazy editing on the second disk and a dry presentation.

Editor's Note 10/6/08: I have 33 DVDs now and it's still one of my favorite DVDs simply for the sheer wealth of material.

Improvising From The Classics

Teleportation, mentalism, restoration, productions, vanishes, transpositions, levitations, penetrations and escapes; the classic forms of magic. Then there are the classic routines; Cups and Balls, Multiplying Balls, Cut and Restored Rope, Coins Across, Linking Rings and other timeless classics. And the best classics are the ones with numerous sleights, variations, tricks, sequences and endings.

I've sworn off purchasing "tricks" or one trick DVDs such as Greed and Spun. These are great tricks and well made DVDs but I've found that I just didn't learn much from them and I rarely perform them. It seems so obvious now that a beginning to intermediate magician should avoid these one-trick ponies and throw their efforts into a really worthwhile discipline.

Therefore, the best magic DVDs and books are the ones that are an encyclopedia for one of these classical schools of magic; the true reference materials like Bobo's Modern Coin Magic, Practical Mental Magic and Royal Road to Card Magic. The best DVDs are the ones where the teacher is imparting nuance and experience; ideas that can be applied to all areas of your magical apprenticeship. From these tomes you can pick effects, choose transitions, arrange the sleights and flourishes to invent something uniquely your own. I find that the sweet spot in magic is when you master enough effects in a particular school that they flow from you hands without thought or effort.

When a guitar player improvises, he takes the little bits of scales and progressions, techniques and tonal qualities and lets them flow freely from his soul. The more practiced and accomplished the guitar player, the better he is at improvising. The more pieces of material within his (or her) deep well of licks and riffs, the more interesting and moving the music.

The same applies to the conjuring arts. As we build depth within these schools of magic, the results are more rich, colorful and entertaining and ultimately more satisfying to perform.

REVIEW: Ring Leader with Gregory Wilson (DVD)

The Effect
"Picture this - A spectator's ring is magically plucked off the center of a rope and just as effortlessly thrown back on - without letting go of the ends! In a flurry of non-stop action, the ring takes on a life of its own - it hops and pops, slips and slides, jumps and bumps, moves and grooves. In other words, you can't stop it!"

The DVD comes with a ribbon and a ring so you can get right to it. There are no gimmicks involved so you can literally use your shoe string and a borrowed ring and you've got material for a killer routine - although Wilson doesn't like using shoe strings.

Degree of Difficulty
Moderate. These are pretty easy sleights to master and perform. It will take you a few weeks of practice to perfect a good routine.

Teaching
Greg Wilson has to be one to the best teachers in magic and a very funny guy. He moves slowly, provides patter ideas and suggests alternative presentations. He has a jewelry store story line which provides the motivation for the tricks. He goes over the source books (where he learned from) and credits the inventors of the effects. He provides a lot of subtilities and misdirections that help to sell the tricks.

Quantity of Effects
There are a lot of tricks. Once you get good at these you can start with the Jewelry store patter and improvise a five minute routine with ease. You are given the Ring Leader routine that Greg demos - it is an okay routine but there are so many great effects that I suggest weaving in 3 or 4 other effects for a full routine.

Quality of Effects
It may not seem like a ring and string could produce jaw dropping effects but they do. These little illusions are visually striking. There are a lot of good closing effects so you can build up to some great climaxes such as the Gold Medal Insertion. Some of these effects have audience participation elements. My favorite effects are:

* You thread the ring on the string, then unthread the ring. Then you throw the ring at the string and it pops right into the middle the string.

* With the ring on the middle of the string, you hand one end of the string to a spectator and the other end to another spec - then pluck the ring from the middle of the string - mind blowing!

Production Quality
Not a flashy production but video and sound quality are good. You are often given multiple angles.

Overall: 10/10
This is the DVD reference encyclopedia for ring and string effects. I now carry a string and ring with me so I can practice or perform anywhere. There is enormous value and all of the routines are very usable in any number of settings; kids and adults, parlor and close up. You just can't go wrong with Gregory Wilson's Ring Leader.

What's a Magic Yeti?

"Magic Yeti" was the result of a randomly fired neuron within a friend's fertile gray matter as I stared blankly at the Create Blog screen saying nothing.

Although the Yeti is considered a magical creature, he is not a magician. In fact, their big furry fingers are not suitable for a DL. And while they do have an opposable thumb, the largest TT is still too small and the flesh tone does match the pale, gray skin of the Yeti.

Yet the Yeti can vanish a coin into their thick furry coat without any complicated muscle pass sleight. Bobo considered adding the Yeti Utility vanish for extra hairy men but it was taken out by the editor for the first edition of Modern Coin Magic.

Basement Secrets

I recently found the remnants of my boyhood magic secrets in my parents basement; an old tin breadbox containing a handful of broken magical apparatus, mail order catalogs and illusion plans. The old illusion plans revealed some really cool stuff like a Transylvania substitution truck and plans for the famous Doll House illusion. There was even a 12 page Mark Wilson Course in Magic!

The real gem was an old Marshall Brodien Magic Catalog. This catalog was the 1975 paper equivalent of penguinmagic.com and was the object of all my heart's desires. One hundred and twenty six pages of the cheesiest looking tricks you've ever seen. Here are some of the jewels of magic that I purchased as a lad (I think a lot of these are still available):

• The Imp Vase - a little plastic vase that won't fall down. Remember the Weebles (they wobble but they don't fall down), same principle but with a secret that makes the Weeble fall.
  
• Multiplying Billiard Balls - I like the crocheted red balls better but this is really a good trick. My son got a set at some retail store and I had instant flashbacks.
  
• Mystic Smoke - goo in a tube. Made little wispy things that looked a little like smoke when you tapped it between your fingers. Just like playing with a booger.
• Money Maker - Yes! Encourage your kid to become a counterfeiter - change a one dollar bill into a five! Of course I was a poor child so I only changed white page into a dollar bill.
• Coin Penetration - the magicians dental dam! Also doubles as a birth control device in a pinch.
• Chinese Sticks - Two wand-like sticks with strings attached to one end of the wand. Although not connected on the physical plane, there seems to be a supernatural connection between the strings. So what do the Chinese really use these wands for? I think to get the lint from between your toes.
  

The crown jewel of my magical purchases was the White Zombie. The Zombie Ball is a classic routine were the magician levitates a ball from under a large silk. There were a few other Zombie Balls in the catalog but I went for the $5.75 economy model. Still popular today, it was an amazing effect for a 13 year old boy in 1975. Unfortunately, the brittle styrofoam ball could not hold up to the coat hanger gimmick and only lasted for a few glorious performances.

Magic, it's like a bad penny

It's been a year since I renewed my interest in the art on conjuring. Magic is one of those hobbies of mine that, once ignited, turns me into an obsessive compulsive sponge. One year and over 20 DVDs later and I'm hooked; line and sinker included.

As I may have implied, this is not the first time I've gotten carried away with a new hobby. My first major obsession was with magic, oh, back around 1975. Then along the way I got sucked into music, guitar, home brewing, game programming, fishing, song writing, recording and then full circle, back to art of magic in December of 2006. Things always have a way of coming full-circle now don't they.

The second phase of my obsession started when my 8 year old son needed a magic trick for his cub scout magic show. There was no Internet when I was a 13 year old magician. I gleaned all of my knowledge of the art by checking every magic book and magician biography from my school and city libraries.

Looking for a magic trick for my son's show, I found a web site called Penguin Magic and a whole new, magical world, previously unknown to me, was opened. After a couple instant trick downloads, my hunger for magic grew out of control.

My first DVD was Oz Perleman's Born To Perform Card Magic. Wow, did this material blow any any card tricks I had previously known. It wasn't so much the tricks but the techniques. These basic building blocks that so many routines were built upon; time tested, digital maneuvers that require muscle memory and repetition to acquire. It became clear that learning these sleights would take a great deal of practice and patience to perfect.

This blog is the story of my journey and hopefully, other aspiring, amateur magicians may follow along and we can all learn from the wisdom of the collective.