Reviews written by ExoMagic
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Title: Spirit Theater
Author: Eugene Burger
Publicist: Kaufman & Company
Illistrated, Photographed, and Edited by: Richard Kaufman
Link: http://www.exomagic.net/index.php/spirit-theater-by-eugene-burger-book.html
Retail Price: $50.00
Reading Difficulty: Easy
Notes: Not only a great introductory to Spirit Theater as a performance art, but also a good primer into the rich history of the spirit medium from the boom of spirit theater in the late 1800's to it's presentation today.
Features:
Hard Cover
Over 180 pages of material
Illustrated & Photographed
Eugene Burger tackles the spooky subject of conjuring ghosts for fun, profit, and entertainment with a well thought out, well written book that is a no holds bar on Spirit Theater. Everything you need to know from character, presentation, tricks, and even history is included in this well written primer into the art of Necromancy.
I got an email from someone asking me a question about what Bizarre magic was after they had read one of my reviews. Sure the genre has been talked about before, but it's a type of magic that just doesn't get let out of the basement all that often. However, I must say that when dealing with things that are strange, supernatural, or unusual you will not find a source more dedicated to arming you with the knowledge you need to develop your act and your character, than what you will find with Eugene Burgers book “Spirit Theater”.
First off I have to get this off my chest. I have a lot of respect for Mr. Burger, both as an artist and as an instructor. It's probably not really fair of me to be doing a review on his work, because his standards for instructional material is high enough that I believe anything he would produce would surpass even the most stern of critics expectations. With that regard, choosing to do a review on one of his works is like going after low hanging fruit. However, I do want to get the word out there that I really found this material useful, hence forth the review. With that being said, I hope you enjoy the rest of this review while I enjoy this nice freshly picked juicy red apple.
Spiritual seances have been going on for centuries. People have always had a morbid facination with death, and what happens afterwords. As well they should, simply because even with all of our modern science we are unable to answer the question of if there is life that proceeds death. As with anyone who will ask a question, there will always be someone there ready to provide an answer and that's just what the spirit mediums of the 19th century did. They provided contact with the decieced. “proof” that there was life after death, and like today there were just as many skeptics back then as well. Some of those skeptics were even able to expose some of these fake mediums as frauds, by proving they were accomplishing their effects with the aid of more natural means than they would like you to believe. However, anyway you look at it, people today are just as curious about the supernatural as they were at the turn of the century, and providing them an up close and personal experience with a ghost can be a fun and exciting way to entertain people. Spirit Theater is just the right book to get you started doing just that!
The book is set up to walk you through the subject of Spirit conjuring from the outside looking in on the subject. This is an element that I love. The book doesn't assume you already know everything about the subject, but it doesn't treat you like your stupid either. It starts you out with what spirit theater is, then gives you a solid history lesson on the subject, before it starts getting into the meat and potatoes of character, presentation, performance, and then leaves you with some final thoughts on investigations, history, and manifestations. One thing I loved about the book is the interviews with Tony Andruzzi, and Max Mavin.
This book isn't chalked full of effects and tricks, but it does have some in it. I'm not going to go into details but I will say it's got some great ideas on impromptu spirit messages, haunted keys, Eugene's Gypsy Thread, a spirit writing effect, and even more exciting than that, a conversation with Eugene on his own séance show “Hauntings”, which provides a nice insight into the professional séance show. All the material Eugene presents is well thought through, scripted, and structured well to fit the theme of the book.
My overall impression of this book was a very good one. I strongly recommend this book to anyone interested in spirit conjuring. In fact Eugene makes a point in the book about magicians being able to conjure spirits. He says “Don't you think any magician worth his salt ought to be able to conjure up a respectable spirit?” I think armed with the material presented in this book conjuring up a respectable spirit is the least you'll be able to do once you've mastered the concepts and applied them to your show. This has been a GREAT read!
When I give my product scores below I am measuring them on a scale of 1 to 10. 1 Being absolute the worst score possible, and 10 being the absolute best, making a score of five average. The four points that I grade upon is Product Quality, Teaching Quality, Readability and Over all Quality.
Product Quality: 8
I think the product is a solid one, and the price isn't too bad for what you get.
Teaching Quality: 9
Eugene doesn't water down any of the material for you, but he doesn't treat you like an idiot either. All the information is well presented, and well taught given the limitations of print and pictures.
Readability: 9
I thought the book was an easy read. There isn't any material in the book that is too complicated, or heady to understand. Even the history section was interesting to read through.
Over All Quality: 9
I wouldn't have expected the quality of this product to be any less, and I wasn't disappointed either! Whether you want this as a resource, or you plan to do some spirit work yourself, either way a copy of this belongs in your library.
Review
Effect: Alpha Cards
Artist: Jesse Feinberg
Retail Price: $20.00 USD
Learning Difficulty: Easy
Notes: This is a gimmick card trick. Some sleight of hand knowledge will be required.
Includes:
1 Alpha Card Instruction Sheet
2 Alpha Cards
The Effect:
The magician has a card selected from the deck, a Four of Hearts. The magician shuffles the deck and then proclaims that they predicted the card from the start. They reach into their pocket and produce a Four of Spades. It's the wrong card! The magician laughs and hands the card to the spectator to hold. He uses some magic, and the Four of Spades is transformed into the Four of Hearts while in the spectators hands!
Initial Reactions:
A visual color change while in the spectators hands would be an amazing thing if it weren't being done by this piece of crap gimmick! Trust me folks, the basic explanation I just gave of this effect above does more than flatter this steaming pile of magic dung, it out right romanticizes it, courts it, marries it, and then builds a monument to its beauty. I can not tell you in just words how much I can't stand this product. When I opened it, I was greeted by a single page 8.5x11” standard printer paper full of instructions and ideas for this product, and two gimmicked alpha cards. It didn't take the instructions to tell me the color change on the cards isn't mechanical, it's chemical. More specificily, it's heat induced, but that's splitting hairs.
Performance:
I'm not going to go into the details of forcing cards, or anything like that. You can use what ever method your most comfortable with when doing this trick. You can use a few different methods to cause the change to happen in the cards, I chose the most direct route; the in your hands method. The change takes about 5 seconds to happen, and depending on how warm your hands are, may happen faster if your fingers make contact with the pips. Whats worse is that the change isn't complete. You don't go from a Four of Spades to a Four of Hearts. You instead get this crappy looking Four of Hearts with the faint black outline of a spade interposed over it. Yeah, a real fooler there folks.
Instructions:
The instructions, including two grainy laser printed mass produced pictures, are just about a single page long on average printer paper. The first words on the instructions is “Thank you for Purchasing Alpha Cards!” What it should say is “Thank you for buying this piece of crap magic trick that you'll NEVER use and NEVER get your money back on!” If it were my crap-tacular magic effect I'd thrown in a complementary evil overlord maniacal laugh for good measure, but that's just me. The instructions give you some suggestions on how you could use the cards but it doesn't teach any method other than how to get the color change to take place. The instructions warn against the use of flash paper but honestly, you were screwed the minute you pulled out your wallet so I really don't see what the difference would be. If you ruin the cards or not, it's not likely that you'll want to perform this trick for anyone again. The instructions gives you two plot suggestions as well. A transposition, and a Prediction. I guess if you're hell bent on using this sad excuse for a magic trick, it's nice of Jesse to give you some plot suggestions to get you going.
Practicality:
The effect isn't practical at all. The color change isn't complete no mater what method you use to heat the cards up. A nuke could go off, and you'd still get the same crappy Four of Hearts with the spade outline around the heart. Spectators aren't stupid, especially in this day and age. They're not going to buy a color change of this quality. This screams gimmick and rightfully so. Whats worse is that you pay 20$ USD for this. That comes out to be close to $10 bucks a card, since the instructions obviously are mas produced on a laser printer they can't cost all that much. For $10 bucks I could buy a fancy custom deck of playing cards and perform 100 times more the effects, and with better quality than a single one of these Alpha Cards. Hell for the original $20 buck investment I could get a deck of cards, AND go get lunch. Then I could use those cards to entertain everyone at the restaurant after I was done eating.
Over All Opinion:
Horrible product, horrible idea, impractical to perform, a waste of money, and time. This is simply put the worst piece of magic I've ever encountered. Now, to be fair to Jesse, he does suggest a few methods to getting the cards to color change. So in the best interest of a fair review, I've tried several methods to get the cards to change. So far, nothing I've tried gets the cards to completely change to the point where you don't see the spade overlaying the heart. I've tried:
Fire
A hot stove
Hot Cup of Coffee
Leaving it sit under my laptop for an hour while it was running.
Letting my 20 lbs cat lay on it for a few hours
Holding it in my hands
Letting my wife hold it in her hands
A hot pad
Electric Blanket
Heat Lamp
Green Laser Pointer
When I give my product scores below I am measuring them on a scale of 1 to 10. 1 Being absolute the worst score possible, and 10 being the absolute best, making a score of five average. The four points that I grade upon is Product Quality, Teaching Quality, Performance Practicality and Over all Quality.
Product Quality: 1
I almost never give 1's or 10's on a review. Mostly because I honestly never think a product is that good or that bad that it warrants a 1 or a 10. This product though, is the worst product I have ever seen, and therefor may very well be the exception to my rule.
Teaching Quality: 3
I don't really think there was any “teaching” done for this effect. The instructions gives you plenty of ideas on how to get the color change to happen, as well as two plot suggestions. But that's not going to be enough to redeem this product in my eyes.
Performance Practicality: 1
The effect is not practical at all. Even when the color change has taken effect it's obvious what your using is a gaffed card. No spectator in their right mind would find this amazing, amusing, or even consider it good entertainment.
Over All Quality: 2
It's obvious that this effect is just a cheap and quick way to make a buck off people who don't know any better. Then again, I guess that's why we have reviews like this to warn us of bad products. Jesse I can't fault you for trying to make a buck, but I won't recommend this product to anyone. This product is a Draven Review FAILURE.
Review
Effect: Fuse
Artist: Visual Magic & David Evangelista
Retail Price: $25.00 USD
Learning Difficulty: Easy
Notes: This is a utility device. Although it comes with suggestions for use, ultimately the application is dependent on the magician to provide a creative purpose for its application.
Includes:
1 Bottle of Fuse
1 Paint Brush
1 Explanation Sheet
1 Stick of Incense
3 Sheets of Tissue Paper
The Effect:
The magician presents a blank sheet of tissue paper and a deck of cards. After the deck has been shuffled, a card is selected and returned to the deck. The magician then explains that they will reveal the card in a most unusual fashion. He lights a small stick of incense and touches it to the tissue paper. Immediately a trail of smoldering fire burns into the paper forming at first a shape matching the suit of the selected card. With another tap of the incense stick, a number burns into the paper revealing the suit. This is just one of many possible plots and applications for this utility device.
Initial Reactions:
I first saw this being used on another product that I've reviewed, and I have to say it really got my interest! I couldn't wait to get my product in the mail and for good reason. This product is a lot of fun. At first I was a little put off at the size of the bottle. I didn't expect it to be huge, but it was certainly smaller than what I was hoping for. The good news is that a little bit of this stuff goes a long long way so if you can learn to ration out your use, it should last you quite a bit. The product comes complete with everything you'll need to practice and perform the effect. They recommend using six inch squares of tissue paper, but from what I've seen the size doesn't really matter. You just need to be aware that the bigger the paper you use, the more solution you'll need to apply, and thus the faster you'll deplete your supply.
Performance:
To perform Fuse you'll need to apply the solution to the tissue paper in the form of the revelation in advance of the show. This will mean that some setup is required. While I was experimenting with Fuse I learned that you really don't want to apply too much of it, otherwise it doesn't dry clear. The solution also has a slow dry time. It can take as long as 20 minutes to get set up or as little as 5 minutes depending on humidity, and the conditions you are prepping in. Once it's dry though you're good to go. I performed this for a co-worker of mine, and forced upon her the five of hearts. I light an incense stick and touched it to my Fuse prepared tissue paper. The number five was the first to burn a pattern out, followed quickly by the shape of a heart. Her reaction was genuine. Pure shock, turned to joy and amazement. Of course my performance was only the most obvious of plots that could be used with this product. I can only begin to imagine how powerful this could be in the hands of someone with a well thought out plot, and well devised presentation.
Instructions:
The nice thing about this product is you really don't need any instructions per say to figure out how to use it. It's pretty self intuitive. However the instructions do give some great pointers for using the product to the fullest of its potential. As with any effect dealing with chemicals or fire, especially both, Fuse comes with a long list of Do's and Don'ts regarding it's safe use. Most of these seem common sense, but it's good that they are on there. Much to my chagrin though, there isn't any health warnings, or instructions should you accidentally ingest Fuse, or get it into your eyes. I understand it's a proprietary chemical mix, but this oversight just seems irresponsible on the part of Visual Magic. The instructions also has a nice list of ideas to the patterns you can have fuse burn into the tissue paper ranging from the religious symbols, to the traditional playing cards, and even ESP symbols.
Practicality:
The effect is portable, visual, packs light, plays big, and is ideal for closeup, street, parlor, stage, mentalism, or walk around. This is more a utility prop, than it is a stand alone effect and because of that it's very versatile. The only draw back to this is the need to use fire, and have a light stick of incense. According to the instructions, you can also use a match that is still smoldering hot from just being lit, but I've not had a lot of success with that myself. The product specifies that you need a wooden match, but again no real luck. When you're dealing with incense, some people don't like it. They don't like the smell, could be Asthmatic, there's a few reasons why you'd need to be sensitive to the needs of your audience. However I think your risks are small, compared to the possible payoff. This really can create powerful magic presentations, and is well worth your investment.
Over All Opinion:
I think fuse is a great product, and it should fit in well with any kind of performers material. Since it's called “Spirit Fire Writing” in the instruction manual it's clear the creators intend it to be more for the bizarre worker, or possibly the christian magician, but I think that's really trying a little too hard to categorize it. I've said it before, and I'll say it again. This is a utility prop, limited only by the imagination of the person using it. In the right hands, the effects this product can help create could be quite powerful indeed. This product is not only fun to play with, it's also fun to perform with. I highly recommend it!
When I give my product scores below I am measuring them on a scale of 1 to 10. 1 Being absolute the worst score possible, and 10 being the absolute best, making a score of five average. The four points that I grade upon is Product Quality, Teaching Quality, Performance Practicality and Over all Quality.
Product Quality: 7
I loved the product. The price is just about right for everything you get with it. However I wish they'd just sell a larger bottle of just the fluid by itself for a similar price. I don't want to have to keep stocking up on paint brushes and incense sticks every time I need to reorder this.
Teaching Quality: 4
I felt the quality of the instructional page was not in the teaching of the effect, but in the few ideas they give you to use it with. The instructions also do a good job of telling you how to handle your product safely, and get the best results. However the lack of what to do in case of accidental exposure to the chemical either by ingesting it or by getting it into your eyes will certainly cost it some big points in this category.
Performance Practicality: 6
The effect is mostly practical. You are dealing with fire, incense, and a chemical reaction. You need to be very responsible anytime you're messing around with fire. The reactions you'll get from the performance will off set and justify the lengthy preparation process you'll need to endure to get ready to do any effect using Fuse.
Over All Quality: 7
I think this is one of those products that you should keep in your magic case at all times. I had to bump the overall quality score just a little bit, because this really is an amazing product. I hate to see a good product suffer on the account of a few technicalities with the scoring system. One thing though that the reader must understand is that this product is reliant upon your own creativity when it comes to presentation! It will be your presentation that will make or break this effect for you. Having said that, waist not a moment more. Get Fuse, and add it to your kit today!
Review
Title: Gum
Artist: Jeff Prace
Producers: Kozmo Magic Productions
Link: http://www.exomagic.net/index.php/ca.../result/?q=Gum
Retail Price: $24.95
Learning Difficulty: Easy
Notes: Some assembly will be required to make all of the gimmicks. All the extra items needed can be purchased cheap at a local drug, office supply, or craft store.
Features:
Play All
Performance/ Explanations
1.Orbit
a. Gimmick
b. Handling
2.Re-Wrapped
a. Handling
3.Insta-Wrap
a. Gimmick
b. Handling
4.Back-In-Time
a. Gimmick
b. Handling
Extras
1.Inspiration
2.Credits
3.Bloopers
4.Trailers
Easter Egg
1.No More Card Tricks Performance
2.Explanation
Jeff Prace's Gum DVD teaches you four effects that involve chewing gum. Three of the effects deal with re-wrapping the gum once it's been chewed, even at the extent of using time travel to accomplish this means, and one effect deals with magically refilling a nearly empty pack of gum so a spectator can have a stick.
Magic that can be done with everyday objects, that are common, and easily recognized by everyone in the audience is often the most powerful types of magic we can perform, eliciting with their presentations the strongest of reactions from our spectators. What Jeff teaches you to do with ordinary gum is probably the closest thing to real magic you can come to, without actually possessing supernatural powers. I remember being in high school, and everyone always chewed gum. I can't recall the number of times I was asked to share a stick. If I would have had this DVD at my disposal then, I imagine I could have been a god. The thing that I love about this is how practical the effect is. It's so casual that it could fit into any situation, and the next thing you know BAM instant memory maker. This is perfect for walk around, street, or just because the situation calls for it.
Before I get into the actual content of the DVD I wanted to touch on a few thoughts I had about the product in general. The one thing I really do enjoy is when a DVD provides you chapter breaks between sections or effects. It makes learning and reviewing specific material so much easier. The DVD has a hip beat that plays all through it, which isn't that bad for a first time listen, but I found it annoying having to listen to that same beat over and over while I navigated the menus, and re-watched the DVD a few times writing this review. The DVD also starts with a really cheesy opening sequence where some guy steps into a wad of gum only to have Jeff come by and save the day by scraping it off his shoe, and then performing “Re-Wrap” (an effect you learn on the DVD). The DVD then cuts into a sizzle reel of Jeff performing his effects for spectators on the streets before dissolving into a title screen, and then to the main menu.
The DVD is broken down into three sections. Performance & Explanation, Extra's, and the Easter Egg. The Extra's section covers all your basic credits, inspirations, and trailers for other products that Kozmo Magic makes. It also includes a short blooper reel of Jeff during the making of this DVD. The Easter Egg, which isn't hard to find, has bonus material of Jeff performing a card trick that was originally published in MAGIC magazine. Jeff then teaches this trick. Now I don't know if it's just because I'm reviewing the product or if it's actually a part of the DVD normally, but my DVD came with a small slip of paper that detailed how to access the Easter Egg. At any rate I thought the bonus effect was good, all-be-it totally unrelated to the material being discussed on the DVD.
The Performance & Explanation section of the DVD is where Jeff teaches you his four effects, their handling, and construction. If you're going to want to perform the effects on the DVD you're going to need to run out to a drug, or craft store and pick up a few things first if you don't already have them. Jeff does a great job outlining everything you'll need to make the gimmick for each effect. Don't worry, all the extra stuff isn't that expensive, and for the most part should be in your magic kit anyways.
Jeff teaches you four effects in this DVD. They are Orbit, Re-Wrapped, Insta-Wrap, and Back In Time. He wastes no time with needless performance filler when it comes to these. You get to see a quick presentation, and then it's right down to the how-to's. Which I liked. Give me the information, don't dilute it, and give it to me strait. Here's what I thought of each effect:
Orbit: Jeff offers a stick of gum to someone, but only has one stick left. Since this won't do, he then magically refills the box right in front of the spectator, and then hands out the stick for them to enjoy! Well the effect is called Orbit, for starters, because it uses the Orbits gum product. This is important to the method. I love the cleanness of the moves, and the gimmick. This is the kind of effect that you can just put in your jacket pocket, and have an instant miracle anytime you want it.
Re-Wrapped: The magician takes a chewed piece of gum, and causes it to become a brand new piece of gum again, even re-wrapped. This can be given to the spectator to enjoy. This effect is practical, but does suffer from some slight angle issues.
Insta-Wrap: Another version of the chewed to wrapped piece of gum plot. This is very visual, and like Re-Wrapped, suffers from some minor angle issues. I had only one complaint here, and that is Jeff talks about specific items needed to create the gimmick, but he doesn't give you specific names to the brand he used.
Back In Time: The magician presents a time travel experiment that involves altering a picture, and a chewed piece of gum. I've always been a fan of time travel plots, and if they don't require me to accelerate faster than 88 miles an hour while driving a nuclear powered sports car, or cram into a tiny phone booth all the better. You show off a photo of you blowing a bubble with gum, you take the gum out of your mouth, and then using a film can cause the gum to travel back in time to become new again, which alters the photo of you completely! The patter for this effect is clearly created by, and intended for a younger performer. After all you need a high school yearbook photo. However, with some minor alterations, it could apply to anyone. A fact that Mr. Prace doesn't overlook. The set up is a bit complicated, but it is a solid effect.
I think one of the most attractive aspects of this product is the pure practicality of each of the effects taught. It doesn't matter where you are, you've got something that you can pull out and perform with. The effects are easy to get into and out of, and they leave the spectator with something to enjoy the memory by. Jeff's teaching style is direct. He covers all the necessary information you'll need to perform his effects in such a way that is easy to follow and understand. I'd say the difficulty level of this DVD is Easy. Some of the gimmicks will require the use of sharp objects like scissors and hobby knives. Adult supervision should be required for any younger magician who has this DVD. I'm genuinely shocked that Jeff doesn't offer this cautionary advice on the instructional portion of his DVD. Overall I loved the effect, and highly recommend it to anyone no matter what type of magic you perform. Whether it's a center piece in your act, or something you keep handy “just in case”, it's a strong few effects that travels light and plays big.
When I give my product scores below I am measuring them on a scale of 1 to 10. 1 Being absolute the worst score possible, and 10 being the absolute best, making a score of five average. The four points that I grade upon is Product Quality, Teaching Quality, Sound & Video Quality and Over all Quality.
Product Quality: 8
I think the product is practical, and the price is fair.
Teaching Quality: 7
Jeff is strait to the point, and teaches you what you need to know to perform his effects.
Video & Sound Quality: 7
The sound and video quality are both good. I didn't like the music beat that plays in the background throughout the DVD though. At first it's okay, but after watching the DVD a few times it really got annoying.
Over All Quality: 7
The Gum earns a strong 7 from me for a good, well rounded product. I would certainly recommend this product to my friends and fellow magicians.
Review
Effect: Antoninus Pius's Box 2.0
Artist: Anton Corrandin
Retail Price: $60.00 USD
Learning Difficulty: Easy
Notes: This is a self contained effect. You receive paper instructions detailing how the effect is to be performed, and the necessary items in order to do so with.
Includes:
1 Bag of Sand
1 Wood Carved Box
1 Reset Tool
1 Wooden Sand Scrying Tool
1 Page of Instructions (duel sided)
6 Wood Carved Tiles With Etched in Symbols
The Effect:
The magician presents a beautiful wood carved box and six wooden tiles each with a symble etched into it on one side. He explains the mystery of the legend of Antoninus and his unique way of communicating with his beloved. He then recreates the wonder by having a spectator select a tile, and amazingly enough, scratched in the sand held within the box is the symbol the spectator has chosen! The magician then offers the spectator a free selection and scry into the sand a symbol of their choice, Once done, the spectator erases the mark, but the magician still is able to know what the symbol drawn was.
Initial Reactions:
When I first got the box the effect came in I was a bit shocked at how tiny it was. For 60$ bucks I expected quite frankly a larger product. In the first picture you'll see I've placed a deck of cards up next to the box so you can get a good understanding of it's size in relation to the card box. However I was blown away with the detail and quality of the pieces contained inside. The box and tiles are antiqued to make them look older, and they are very well assembled. The hidden gimmick is also cleverly placed. The detail and images on the box and tiles are engraved, instead of being simply printed or painted on. A nice touch if you ask me. The gimmick, while well hidden, is very simple to use, and reset is fast, but not instant.
Performance:
This piece of magic is story telling magic, and will rely on your power of presentation over mastery of sleight of hand. The unique appearance of the props involved will certainly help captivate the imagination of your spectators as you spin a wild story of a legendary event from long ago. This is the kind of effect that you can spend only minutes to learn how to do, and hours researching stories and brainstorming your own applications. As usual with most magic that I buy I wasn't thrilled with the patter that comes stock with the effect. For starters it's called “Antoninus Pius's Box”. By itself that isn't a big deal for me, but when the creator of the box is named Anton I really begin to doubt that the Roman emperor referenced in the legend really existed. The legend that is supplied with the props suggests that Antoninus communicated with his beloved by scratching words into sand, and then by some magical force she'd be able to pick up special stones with words written on them to match what was written in the sand. Well if that's the case, then the tiles selected should have words written on them, not ESP symbols. Also, the legend never mentions a box of any kind, so it's a bit hard to justify the prop you're now using to perform the miracle with. I may sound like I'm knit picking at this point but when you're performing story or bizarre magic your presentation is EVERYTHING. If it's not believable then you'll disconnect with your audience, and you don't want that. Given the simplicity of the effect though, you really shouldn't have any trouble creating your own presentations, and given the poor one provided I highly recommend that you plan to do so.
On a side note the sand I received in my product likes to clump up easily making it difficult to erase the marks made in it by just shaking the box. I don't know if this is a consistent thing for all the sand in all the products purchased, or if I just happened to get the one odd one in the bunch. While I haven't tried experimenting with other types of sand for this effect as of yet, I think that if I continue using it in my act that it is something that I should explore.
Instructions:
The effect comes with a single page of instructions, with material printed on both sides. The front side details the materials you've received, discusses the legend you'll need to memorize and tell, and walks you through the necessary set up to make the effect work. The other side explains the handling and execution of the effect. After reading through the instructions I have to admit, they felt rushed. It's very obvious (judging from certain grammatical errors) that the instructions weren't originally written in English. They've been translated, and some sloppy mistakes have been made here and there. Not that it matters, you should be able to figure out how the effect is done without even touching the instructions in the first place. The instructions include two grainy black and white photos to help illustrate the important parts of the handling and presentation. I wouldn't say the instructions are a difficult read, just an annoying one at parts.
Practicality:
This effect is quite practical to be used in the working world. It does present some challenges that you need to over come though, for example the props that you'll need to use. This isn't a walk around effect, because the box would be kind of awkward to shove in a pocket, but if you are working at a table for a small audience, then it's perfect. I would be careful about presenting this on a stage unless you had some kind of video projection going for you, since the important details may be a bit hard to see from the third row on back. Whether you chose to present the effect with the patter that comes stock with the purchase, or invent your own you will need to memorize a script, but the amount of material you'll need to memorize is small so it shouldn't take long at all.
Over All Opinion:
This product is marketed as a mentalism effect by its creator, but I think it fits better into the bizarre genre of magic. I like the story aspect that this effect offers, and the props that you get are beautiful. Overall I really liked this effect, and I would recommend it to anyone who wants to add a little story time to their act!
When I give my product scores below I am measuring them on a scale of 1 to 10. 1 Being absolute the worst score possible, and 10 being the absolute best, making a score of five average. The four points that I grade upon is Product Quality, Teaching Quality, Performance Practicality and Over all Quality.
Product Quality: 7
I loved the product. I think the wooden box, carved images, tiles supplied are well constructed, and the gimmick is well hidden. The price is also fair for what you receive.
Teaching Quality: 4
I felt the quality of the instructional pamphlet was rushed. It's obvious that it was a translation so that affords it some sympathy, but then again this is a product I'm spending money on. So I have to be critical of that. I think the difference in quality between the instructions and the actual product are noticeable.
Performance Practicality: 8
The effect is very practical. It cleans up quickly (but not instantly), and can be repeated. The outcome of the predictions aren't preset, so it can be done for the same audience twice. The gimmick is very clever. This is ideal for small stationary audiences, parlor, or small stage.
Over All Quality: 8
I think the over all quality of the product is well worth the investment. This is a piece that has the potential to stay with you for years. While it's no reputation maker, it is a fun bit to perform. Usually this score is an average of the first three, but I had to give this one a little bump. I don't feel the low quality of the instructions really should take away from the overall quality of the effect. This certainly has earned the Draven's Seal status of: Approved!
Review
Title: Karnival of Magick
Artist: Tony Chris
Producers: Dream Park Magic Production
Link: http://www.exomagic.net/index.php/karnival-of-magick-2-dvd-set-by-tony-chris-dvd.html
Retail Price: $49.95 USD
Learning Difficulty: Easy
Notes: This DVD teaches simple to learn and perform magic tricks, but you will need to make the props for yourself, and in some cases purchase additional materials or items for your props.
Disk 1: Performances and Explanations
Features:
• Magick Routines
1. Ceremony of the Elements
2. Atonement of the Seven Sins
3. The Path Taken
4. Ghost Writer
5. Cards of the Aura
6. A Tale of Two Lovers
7. The Fairmont Hotel
• Magick Explanations
1. Ceremony of the Elements
2. Atonement of the Seven Sins
3. The Path taken
4. Ghost Writer
5. Cards of the Aura
6. A Tale of Two Lovers
7. The Fairmont Hotel
• Credits
• Magick Credits
Disk 1: The Real Secrets of Bizarre Magick
Features:
• The Real Work
1. Intro
2. Developing Your Character
3. Your Wardrobe
4. Choosing Your Genre
5. Developing Your Act
6. Your Magick Tools
7. Venues & Where to Perform
8. Final Words
• Tony's Tools
• Final Words
• Credits
• Magick Credits
Tony Chris's two disk DVD set is a great look into the world of the Bizarre magic performer. In disk one Tony demonstrates seven different effects, and then teaches you everything you need to know to perform them. In disk 2 Tony takes you behind the curtain to show you the real secrets to performing bizarre magic, and discusses everything from creating your character to where you can perform.
Bizarre magic isn't a field of magic that is too well known, or by any means considered mainstream. Bizarre magic is magic told with a story, set to themes that usually involve the arcane, the occult, the religious, or other similar strange and dark themes. Bizarre magic is in short, a presentation of theater, done so by a character whose job it is to narrate the audience through a journey of strange occurrences and mysterious happenstances. Tony does a great job of introducing you to what Bizarre magic is, but if you don't know what your getting yourself into, buyer beware! One of the draws to bizarre magic is most certainly the props the magician uses to tell the story and demonstrate the magic, and Tony isn't short for a list of cool looking props and toys. The draw back to this DVD set is that you'll have to make all of the props you see in the DVD for yourself. While some will look at this as a creative challenge, and a pleasurable task they will need to undertake, others with a more developed sense of instant gratification may be put off by the fact that they won't be able to run out and preform any of the presented effects within minutes of learning them. I myself, enjoyed the creative challenge presented by this two disk set.
Disk one deals only with the presentation and explanation of Tony's act. Opening with the Ceremony of the Elements and closing with his mystery of the Fairmont Hotel. Tony performs for only a small handful of people during the video, numbering in at six participants. Tony's performance can be a bit of a bear to get through at times only because he can sound a little too monotonic. I don't know if the patter he presents us in the DVD's is the actual patter he uses in his shows, but if it is then I'd make a few alterations before I would perform some of his effects myself. For example in the Fairmont Hotel bit he says that he's “not sure if this will work, but it's a strange occurrence that always ends the same way.” Statements like that just cause my logical and magician mind to slip gears as it tries to process that information. Frankly I don't like the magician line of “I don't know if this is going to work” anyways. Your a magician OF COURSE you know it's going to work, otherwise you wouldn't be risking yourself doing it. Then to follow that with some line about how things always happen the same way every time you do it just invalidates the opening statement. If you've been in possession of these items and it always ends with the same results, then it only stands to reason after so many trials you'd come to expect that the end results will work each time you go to present it. Again, it's just a personal thing with me, but it's the little things like that I'd end up re-writing for my own performance purposes.
If you have never had any experience with the bizarre magic genre before, then take a look at the different types of effects you'll see Tony perform in disk one. It will give you a idea of what to expect. You're telling stories that deal with the arcane, the supernatural, the spiritual, the religious, the Gothic, the occult, witchcraft, new age, and I would be so bold as to incorporate strange science into this field as well. I make this note because not everyone is going to be okay with these subjects, especially so if you come from a particularly sensitive religious background. Tony even goes as far as spelling magic M-A-G-I-C-K which is a spelling used by people involved in the occult to differentiate between stage illusions and their craft, which I was okay with on the cover art for the DVD, but I thought it was over kill when I got into the sub-menus and the spelling was consistent even there. As Tony will explain in the second disk, your presentation of bizarre magic really does depend on your character, the story your telling, and the props your using. Just because you may have reservations against using things like pentagrams, or suggesting to your audience that a spell needs to be cast before the revelation can be made, doesn't mean you have to use those elements in your act. Just develop your act and character to be in accordance with what you personally believe in and you'll be fine.
The explanation portion of the DVD really left me with a feeling of “that's it?” I paid close to $50 bucks for this DVD set, and that's all the magic I get? If you're looking for a product that is heavy on sleights, strong on magical moves, or loaded with a lot of practical walk around magic you can take with you out onto the streets, then you're going to be pissed off if you buy this product, because you're not going to find any of that here. Tony uses a lot of really simple magic principles, and forces to accomplish his effects. What you're buying with this DVD set really isn't the magic how-to on individual tricks, more so than the magic how-to when it comes to developing the props, building the character, putting together the act, and taking it out on the road. If you take the knowledge of the mechanics out of context with the effects, and combine it with your imagination and a few ideas Tony gives along the way, you are armed with the means to create your own effects, and presentations to your own brand of bizarre magic. I think that's a selling point that is highly understated in the marketing, and will probably be missed by the masses. This DVD set is a gold mine, not a bar of gold. The tools aren't included, and you're on your own to go dig out the gold for your own use. But believe me, the gold is there.
Nothing aggravates me more than when I purchase a product, get it home, review the contents and learn that I've got to go back out to the store, and purchase a bunch of other crap that I would have done on the way home, had I known in advance that I needed it. This product is one of those kinds. Everything that you'll need to perform the effects taught within the first disk is something that you'll either have to make from scratch, or go out and find. The good news is your not left out in the cold to fend for yourself on this subject. Tony goes overboard to explain to you how to make the props for yourself, where you can find the needed items, even down to where to find the types of font he uses on his cards. Sure, some assembly will be required, but I feel the knowledge of where to look for the things needed is given well. Tony's already done most of the leg work for you, the only thing really left for you to provide is a little bit of creativity.
As an additional note on the aforementioned need to purchase other things in order to perform the effects taught in a product, Tony does mention in two separate effects specific products that are available on the market that you'll need to purchase at your local magic shop. I agree with Tony that both products are things that should be in your collection if you are going to be performing bizarre magic, and one of them is an interesting spin on the traditional handling. Also both items are fairly inexpensive which is an added plus. He also gives an alternative handling to one of the effects if you don't want to purchase the recommended extra item. Anything else that you'll need you can make at home, or Tony gives you some great ideas as to where to get them.
The DVD menu setup on the disks are nice. There are chapter breaks for each effect during the presentation and explanation, which makes things real easy when you just want to go back and review a single effect. You don't have to fast forward or chapter skip through a bunch of crap to watch what you want to. The credits part of the disk is fairly standard, citing the talent, producers and music. I really liked the music that was included on these DVD's. I think they really helped set the mood for the material being presented. The Magick Credits cites all the source material Tony used for inspiration during the creation of his seven effects as seen on disk one, as well as gives you some background on his thought process when he developed them. Anytime you're dealing with using someone else material as a backbone to build off of, I always think it's a good idea to give credit. So kudos there.
Disk two The Real Secrets of Bizarre Magick is where I thought the value of the product really was brought out. I realized that I'm not only purchasing a DVD with seven examples of bizarre effects on them, but also the fifteen some odd years this man has had entertaining professionally in this genre of magic. And let me tell you, he holds nothing back in this second disk.
Like the first disk, the second is broken down into individual chapters which makes review of the DVD easy. Tony breaks it all down for you step by step. He discusses what bizarre magic is, what it means to perform as a character, how to develop your character, how to pick and choose a wardrobe, what you can expect to spend on a wardrobe, where to find your wardrobe, what kind of materials he uses in all of his shows, where to find your own materials for bizarre magic inspirations, what kind of venues will book a bizarre magician, how to book these venues, who to talk to, and how to develop your act. If you are interested in pursuing this genre of magic or adding elements of bizarre magic to your current act then the second DVD alone is worth the price of both disks. My only complaint about this section is Tony teases with inclusion of items like a “book of shadows”, and a gimmicked crystal ball, and then doesn't go into what they are used for or why they are cool. He only alludes that they may possibly be subjects for a future DVD. I understand the marketing value of building hype and anticipation, but don't tease me like this! Don't grab my attention with a cool looking prop only to tell me that you're not going to include it in this DVD set. That's just bad theater! If you're going to mention it, explain it, if not then leave it out!
Some of the subjects he talks about, like the types of bizarre magic, I felt was either rushed or incomplete. I know there's only so much time and space on this DVD to work with, but I would have liked to have seen some subjects fleshed out a little more. Perhaps even better represented. For an example: Tony includes Geek magic as a type of bizarre magic, and he defines geek magic as things that involve your body, blood letting, etc. That's not necessarily the most accurate description one could give. Having performed geek magic, I know there's a lot more to it than just body piercing. If the object was simply to inform the student of the different types of bizarre magic that exists within this genre, provide a basic summery of those types, and leave the student on their own to do more research, then I guess Tony did okay.
Some closing thoughts on this product would certainly be about the creativity Karnival of Magick inspires. It really does put the tools in your hands, and lets your imagination run free with them. As for practicality, this DVD isn't going to give you something that you can run right out and amaze your friends with. If you want that look elsewhere. There is some assembly required with regards to the props you'll use. This one thing this DVD set is going to do, and that is to get you thinking about your act. It's going to show you how simple magic principles can be reworked to allow you to perform some cool bizarre effects, and it's going to give you a no holds bar backstage look at the bizarre world from someone who has been doing it for a long time not to mention it's full of some great advice! This is a great introductory DVD into the bizarre magic genre for anyone whose considering branching out into that kind of thing. If you've already enjoyed some success performing bizarre magic then this DVD may give you some cool ideas, but you may not feel that the price tag was worth your effort.
When I give my product scores below I am measuring them on a scale of 1 to 10. 1 Being absolute the worst score possible, and 10 being the absolute best, making a score of five average. The four points that I grade upon is Product Quality, Teaching Quality, Sound & Video Quality and Over all Quality.
Product Quality: 7
I think the price of the product is a bit high for what you get at face value. I really had to look at it from the aspect of knowledge and creative ideas more so than a small handful of tricks before I could justify the expense. This is a wonderful introductory DVD for someone who has an interest in trying out the bizarre magic genre. The seasoned vet may not find as much value in this DVD set.
Teaching Quality: 8
I think Tony does a wonderful job teaching the effects, as well as the ins and outs of bizarre magic based off his many years of experience.
Video & Sound Quality: 8
The sound and video quality were good for the most part. I observed a couple of instances where the camera would go out of focus for a second or two, but other than that no real problems. I really liked the sound track that was selected to accompany this DVD.
Over All Quality: 7
I enjoyed this product, and I would recommend it to anyone interested in learning or performing bizarre magic. The only thing I didn't like is how Tony would tease with cool looking props or effect ideas with specific props only to say that details are for another DVD.
Review
Title: Morgan's Liquid Metal
Artist: Morgan Strebler
Producers: Penquin Magic
Link: http://www.exomagic.net/index.php/liquid-metal-by-morgan-strebler-dvd.html
Retail Price: $29.95 USD
Learning Difficulty: Moderate
Notes: Additional material will be required for performance & practice, but does not come with DVD. (forks)
Features:
Introduction
Performance
Explanations
1.Method
2.Teaching Session
3.Recap
Credits
Bonus Material
1.Corkscrew Tine Bend
2.Fork U Fork
3.Key Bending
Morgan Strebler's Liquid Metal DVD takes you on a full in-depth tour-de-force of metal bending, and not only shows you how it looks in a real world setting, it goes above and beyond to teach you the skills you'll need to go out and perform Strebler's Liquid Metal routine for live audience members yourself! Morgan breaks down each part of his six phase routine, and takes you through the bends slowly so you learn the ins and outs of the effect. He also provides some great additional material in the Bonus section that you can incorporate into your act to add that extra “punch” to your show.
Lets face it there's a lot of material out there on metal bending. Everything from gimmick products to instructional DVD's and books. As soon as I put the DVD in and saw the first bend something ran through my mind. I was thinking to myself; “I've seen this some where before. Oh great, it's another Banachek rip off.” I almost pulled the DVD out of the player and canned the review right then and there. Boy am I glad I didn't. The quality of the educational portion of this video is great! Also, had I done that I would have missed something very important. The inclusion of Banachek's Tine bend and Corkscrew Bend were used with permission, as cited in the Credits section of the disk, and Morgan went as far as citing Banachek verbally twice during the explanation portion of the DVD.
The Introduction was kind of weak in my opinion. It really wasn't an introduction, it was more of a sizzle reel that was intended to be used for marketing and promotion. While I haven't watched any online trailers for this product I'm willing to bet that they consist of 100% footage made up from this section.
The performance section of the DVD is over 25 minutes long, and includes nine full performances for nine different audiences, and in different locations. Sure each performance is only a little over three minutes long, but it gets a bit tedious to watch this over and over again. After you see the same thing for the third time, it becomes a marathon to just finish the section, and avoid the urge to press chapter skip forward on the remote control. Now, don't get me wrong. There's nothing wrong with having multiple live performances to reference while you are learning this effect. Everything about Liquid Metal (and metal bending for that matter) depends on misdirection, timing, and the subtleties that you do on the off beat to make the magic work. It's a good thing to have multiple references in the real world to go back on and watch so you learn better. Obviously this was the idea Morgan was going for when he created the product, I just feel the impact was lessened in post production. I would have liked to have a chapter select option so I can go to individual performances as opposed to marathoning the entire thing strait through without breaks.
One of the things that I did enjoy was the diversity of real world settings you will encounter in the performance section of the DVD. You get to see Morgan work several crowds on the street, in nightclubs with very loud music, and even have to perform for a drunken heckler. Morgan even goes as far as to make reference to the drunk post performance in his address to the camera, my only regret is that he doesn't follow through with more detail. I understand that dealing with hecklers is a subject worthy of its own DVD product, but I felt that if you're going to put in a comment like that on a product then you should expand upon it a little better.
The Explanations portion of the DVD is where the real meat and potato's are of this product. This section gets further broken down into Method, Teaching Session, and Recap. The Method section takes you through his entire Liquid Metal routine, and teaches you all six phases one at a time. The nice thing about Morgan's product is the souvenir the spectator is left with at the end. Usually when a magician does metal bending they just put a bend or two into a fork or spoon, and move onto the next utensil. However with Morgan's Liquid Metal you use the same fork over, and over putting into it six different bends leaving behind a physical memory that the spectator can hold and take with them. In all my years of magic, I have to say anytime you can let a spectator walk away with the thing you did magic for them with, it creates a very powerful and lasting memory.
The Teaching Session part of this DVD is really unique. Morgan actually teaches someone in the studio how to do his entire routine, step by step. You get to watch someone learn it for the first time on camera, and watch as they ask the questions, and struggle with the obstacles that are typical of new comers to metal bending. Morgan's feedback to the neophyte is encouraging, and exposes some of the more intricate difficulties and how to over come them that may otherwise not surface on a more traditional approach to teaching on a DVD. Sometimes the key to learning something new is watching others learn with you, and this part of the DVD does a good job of accomplishing that.
If the Explanation, and Teaching Session taught you the routine, then the Recap section over teaches it- A selling point advertised on the product. Morgan goes through each phase quickly, and suggestive of the section title, gives you the quick and simple recap of what each phase is, and what you are going to do to make that phase work.
The Bonus material has some great little nuggets in it that could really add an extra punch to your metal bending show. I love the idea of putting a corkscrew bend into a tine on the fork. You want to talk about melting somebody's mind, if you can learn to pull that off during your show I think you'd leave the spectator with a piece that they won't forget, or explain. In Fork U Fork Morgan starts to get a little more into heckler control, which honestly is something I wish he would have done way sooner. He talks about a specific tine bend that he does for hecklers that is suggestive of a hand flipping someone off. I laughed to myself while watching this, because it's just the kind of thing I would do myself. However, I would advise caution when using this on a heckler. I can see the magician getting punched in the face if done for the wrong person. The last bonus material is on key bending, which I think does add that final touch to anyone's metal bending routine. Morgan does a good job showing you a clean bare hands bend, the only problem I have with it is I don't see it practical. Morgan advocates the use of a borrowed key, a key that you will end up destroying in the process. The issue I have is that no one just walks around with keys they don't want or use on them. I can imagine asking to borrow someones key, bending it, and then they get mad because it's their only house key. In this situation I think it's quite possible that the key isn't the only thing that will get bent out of shape.
Overall I liked the product. Since metal bending really is a physological performance as much as it is a physical one I enjoyed Morgans attention to Audience control and management, which he does discuss in the teaching section of the DVD. Morgan's teaching method is so in-depth that he does over teach the subject so watching the DVD can at times be a bit dry and boring. However the end product is a full three to four minute routine that is powerful, well thought out, if executed correctly, will be a bit of magic that your audience will never forget. Also, Morgan doesn't just teach you how to bend, he also goes over where to buy your forks, and what kind of forks you want to look for. Which is great, since different forks bend differently depending on the manufacturer. I think this product is a very practical one, in that it can be used anywhere. The setup is minimal, and you are left clean at the end. It's well worth the time spent to learn how to do this routine. The only draw back I'd say is that this product focuses only on teaching you fork bending. You won't find any information on spoon bending here.
As some final thoughts, obviously metal bending isn't a new subject. There's a lot of material out there for the serious student of metal bending to consider. If you think that this is something that you want to add to your mentalist act, or maybe have as a standby in case you're out with friends or family at a restaurant then this DVD is a great introduction into the subject. It will certainly teach you everything you need to know about getting a working metal bending routine up and running. I would have no problems recommending this DVD to a friend or new student to the art of metal bending.
When I give my product scores below I am measuring them on a scale of 1 to 10. 1 Being absolute the worst score possible, and 10 being the absolute best, making a score of five average. The four points that I grade upon is Product Quality, Teaching Quality, Sound & Video Quality and Over all Quality.
Product Quality: 8
I think the price of the product is quite fair to the amount of information you receive.
Teaching Quality: 8
Morgan goes overboard on the teaching aspect in this DVD. Between the multiple camera angles, close up shots, and explanations there is no reason why anyone couldn't pick up this DVD and learn how to perform Morgan's Liquid Metal routine.
Video & Sound Quality: 6
The sound and video quality was good. The liquid sloshing sound effect that is heard each time a new phase subtitle appears on the screen during the Explanation portion of the DVD, as well as between menus, got annoying after a while. I found them to be quite distracting.
Over All Quality: 8
I really did enjoy this product, despite what I was originally expecting.
Review
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