I learned about thimble magic quite by accident. In my quest to attain the secret knowledge of billiard ball manipulation I purchased a DVD by Jeff McBride called World Class Manipulations Volume 1. This review isn't about the McBride DVD but that DVD had a section on thimble magic. I had no plans to watch the thimble teaching sections - who even knows what a thimble is anyway? But during an accidental viewing of Mc Bride's thimble routine I was struck by how magical the thimble routines really were.
After mastering many of the McBride thimble moves, I constructed a short routine based upon my limited knowledge. To really make the routine my own, I needed some more material from which to draw sequences and ideas. Logically, I should have purchased the second in the McBride series called World Class Manipulations Volume 2.
By this time I had heard the name Joe Mogar mentioned any time thimbles were discussed. As Jeff McBride and Cardini are synonomous with ball and card manipulations, Mogar is synonomous with thimbles and color changing knives. His DVD entitled Thimble Dexterity was generating some good words from thimble workers.
One note before we go any further. If you buy the Thimble Dextrity DVD you will need to purchase thimbles directly from Joe Mogar at his Magic Stars web site. Any set of thimbles that nest or have a big lip (such as the Vernet thimbles) will not work with Joe's moves unless you have gigantic hands. They are very inexpensive and Joe is a great guy to talk to on the phone!
Marketing Fluff
From the DVD jacket:
"Considered by many to be the world's leading authority on thimble magic, Joe Mogar has finally tipped 50 years of moves and routines on this near-encyclopedic DVD. You'll learn techniques never before taught on video, such as the Explosion and Implosion moves, as well as three full routines for stage and close-up.
Thimble Dexterity is a landmark work on magic with regular thimbles, and a must-have for any serious student of sleight-of-hand."
Degree of Difficulty
Advanced. Certainly a beginner can tackle this material. Joe starts with the basics so there is no prerequisite experience with thimbles required. Some of the moves are relatively easy if you've been doing other forms of manipulative magic while other moves are going to take weeks of repetitions for your fingers to acquire the dexterity to execute flawlessly.
Teaching
Mr. Mogar is a very good teacher. Like most of my instructional DVDs, he moves a little fast but the are several sequences that are replayed in slow motion for several repetitions.
One nice touch that I really appreciate is that Joe provides guidance on how to practice. He gives you warm-up exercises for to develop dexterity and how to avoid injury. He talks about not performing until you're are rock solid to protect the magic from exposure and a lot more than I can cover. Joe also has some pretty strong opinions on thimble magic - what you should and should not do and criticizms of certain thimble moves and performance styles - it's really great stuff.
The bonus teaching section is probably the best of any DVD I've ever watched. He covers a lot of stuff in detail. Like what thimbles work best and what to do with cracked thimbles and maintaining nice looking fingers!
One very minor compliant; I would have liked to see more performance video footage. Most of the material is presented in what I would call a lecture format. Even the presentations feel like a lecture and not a real performance. This is a credit to Joe's phenomenal abilities; he leaves you wanting to see his whole routines just as the audience would see them.
Quantity of Effects
Encyclopedic. If you've read my other DVD reviews you know that I value DVDs that are complete references to a particular form of magic. The reason is that you get an arsenal of moves and sequences from which to construct your own routine. This DVD fits that mold.
Moves
- About Thimbles
- Thimble Drill
- Thumb Palm Drill
- Two Hand Drill
- Finger Clip Drill plus Front and Back Palming
- Mulitple Palm
- Thimble Stack
- Explosion Move
- Implosion Move
Vanishes
- Basic Vanish and Reproduction
- Natural Pickup Vanish
- Natural Pickup Vanish Variation
- Finger Switch Vanish
- Pinky Steal Vanish
- Wrist Held Vanish
- One Way Vanish
- The Belcher Vanish
- Declining Balance
- The Four by Four Vanish
- Pinch Vanish
- Sucker Punch
- Protologist Vanish
- Tubular Steal
- Buckingham Vanish
- Macho Vanish
- Silk One Thimble Vanish
- Tuck, Tuck & Away
Productions
- Basic Reproduction
- The Gabber
- Super Star
- Thimble Monster
- Twelve Thimble Production
- Power Thimble Production
- Rag Production
Color Changes
- The Wave
- The Big Dipper
- Isolation Change
- Tubular Steal and Color Change
- Finger Painting
Flourishes
- The Chorus Line
- The Flip Transfer
- Leapfrog
- Quick Transfer and Jumping
- Pocket Penetration
- Pocket Steal
- Stack transfer and Prodution
- The Drill Penetration
- The Traveler
- Up the Arm
Routines
- Power House Routine
- Presidential Opener
- Twelve Thimble
Bonus
- Nuggets of wisdom from Mr Mogar
Quality of Effects
Thimble effects are very magical. This is not a single trick DVD so you have a wealth of material to construct a killer routine. I would guess that a good thimble routine derived from this DVD would make great addition to a kids act or stage routine. Joe told me on during our phone conversation that he has performed thimbles for a couple hundred people and that the colorful thimbles are very visible to a sizable audience.
I could see thimbles as a part of a larger manipulation routine, set to music, that might transition to cards or billiards.
Production Quality
The production quality is good. Nothing flashy but the video and audio quality are good. The menuing was a little confusing at first because you have to drill down into sections but that is a credit to the amount of material covered on the DVD. A little background music would have made the production a lot more enjoyable. The slow-mo sections are completely silent and that is unnerving to somelike me who needs some ambient noise or music to feel at ease.
Overall: 8/10
If you're a serious student of manipulation this is a must have for your collection. Joe Mogar is a true thimble master and his contributions have had an enormous impact on the art.
Don't forget to order the thimbles from Joe or you'll have a tough time doing any of the stuff on this DVD.
One final note - I'm going to compare in a follow up blog the Mogar and McBride DVDs because their approach to thimbles is quite different. Also the Shoot Ogawa thimble routines I've witnessed on youtube.com are worth talking about - Shoot is scary good with his thimbles. Both approaches have merits and it will be fun to contrast the two styles.
No comments:
Post a Comment