Intro: Thanks for all the great feedback last week guys! It helps me feel like I'm writing to some one out there! I can't think of too much else to say so I'll just shut up and let you read on to the really good stuff!
Effects:
The Armchair Bowler (Max Maven)
A spectator plays an imaginary game of bowling in a chair you have up on stage. You ask them how many pins they knocked out. They name any number of pins, in this example, six pins. You ask them to reach under the chair and pull off the envelope that has been under them the whole time. They open it and on it is printed, "Six!" You can perform this in somebody's house, all the way to a full size stage show. It's a good piece of mentalism! It's not a closer, but it is something that I think people will remember if you present it right. You need to form a picture of a bowling alley inside people's minds. Bring them TO that bowling alley. Use some of those descriptive writing techniques that we all learn about in school, and you'll create a strong impression.
Quarters (Bob Hyans)
A card is fairly torn into four quarters and then from under those pieces of card, you produce four quarters (pun intended)! This doesn't appeal to me very much just because you have to rip up a card every time. It's certainly a good idea, and the whole "quarters" pun is cute, but most of the time I would probably use another four coin production, because of the practicality factor. It is non-gimmicked, so that's a plus. It also looks quite natural. If you don't mind tearing up the card, you'll like this.
Kenomental (Looy Simonoff)
This is a principle that can be used to create many effects. In one of them, a spectator marks a card and then REALLY shuffles it back into the deck. No crimps, palms, cops or anything. You immediately snap your fingers, and spread the card to show their card has vanished! You can even have the spectator count the cards; there are only 51! This principle is a situational effect because of one thing that is involved in the method (not a gimmick) that you most likely don't see everywhere you go. Restaurant workers could get some mileage out of this though. I can't say anymore about it because it would totally give away the method. I like it, but I couldn't use it a lot of times. P.S. No DST, can be a borrowed deck, no gimmicks, impromptu.
Marionette Coin Vanish (Ken Krenzel)
Essentially, four coins vanish from your hand. You'll see why it's called the "Marionette" Coin Vanish when you read the method. The entire vanish seems fair and motivated. This could take some time to work on the timing aspect of it and some of the movement, but it shouldn't be too terribly bad for you. I was able to get the feel for it pretty quickly. I wouldn't perform this as a standalone piece, but rather as part of a larger routine. I like it!
Hole Card (Trevor Lewis)
You show a playing card with a nickel size hole in it. You fold it and place a quarter inside, saying it won't go through the hole. You do the old puzzle where you bend the nickel and cause it to go through the hole. Then you do it again but this time you don't bend the card, and they see the quarter go right through the too-small hole. I haven't had time to this one out yet (even for myself!), but it does seem to have a good presentational line, which you'll see when you read it. I'm afraid this may come off more as a puzzle though. Also the card is not examinable, which I don't like because the card does happen to have a hole that the audience may be intrigued by. This didn't do much for me.
Gene Maze Predicts (Gene Maze)
A red deck and a blue deck are given to two spectators. They both shuffle their decks and take any five cards from their decks without looking at them. The decks are non-gimmicked and there are no stooges. The person with the red cards lays their cards in a row on the table, then the other person lays their blue cards on top of the red card row. You ask the spectator's to decide on which pair they would like. They choose a pair and the other pairs are shown. They contain indifferent cards, but the pair they selected turn out to be the same cards! This is a stunner! It really is a strong card trick/mentalism effect. The presentation is great and it's really fun to do for couples, saying how "connected they are", etc. Check this out, don't pass go!
Columns:
Unlabeled Columns
These weren't really columns, but more of asides within the magazine. We won't see this type of thing throughout the whole series. Ken Krenzel makes two good suggestions on the Two Card Trick by J.K. Hartman. Also, Harry shares a card cutting principle.
Editorial
A thought-provoking article on exposure that you should definitely read.
Tidings
Here's a funny/heart-breaking story about a magician exposing magic (and himself!) in an adult magazine. Also, a story about a man who took advantage of exposure and made his audience think he was one of the best magicians in the world.
Closing Thoughts
Gene Maze Predicts and Armchair Bowler were my absolute favorites in this issue, with Kenomental close behind. This was a good issue, but a lot of the material in this issue was a bit more situational, which is certainly not always a bad thing. All in all, another good issue.
And, as always, if you have anything to say, make sure to post it below.
Here is the link for Apocalypse.
Buy Apocalypse!
Past Review Directory:
Apocalypse Vol.1 No.1
Apocalypse Vol.1 No.2
Apocalypse Vol.1 No.3
Showing posts with label close-up. Show all posts
Showing posts with label close-up. Show all posts
November 19, 2009
November 10, 2009
Apocalypse Vol.1 No.3
Intro: This is the third in my weekly series of the Apocalypse project! One thing I wanted to say is that only about two people (Miniserb and Matthew) have been commenting about it. I know more people than that are reading them, so make sure to post some comments! What do you want to see in the future? Is the format good? Does this help you at all if you are already an owner of Apocalypse? Does it help the people who don't have Apocalypse? These are the things I want to know and more! That said, on with the review!
Effects:
Slydini Kills Time (Slydini)
You borrow a spectator's fancy watch and say you are going to pass it through the table. You slam it onto the table but instead of going through the table it smashes against the cold, hard wood with a horrifying crash. Your hand is lifted to reveal to the trouble spectator that his watch has somehow turned into your keys! You then stand up and cleanly reach into your pocket and remove his unscathed watch. This is such a fun trick to do after dinner and if you ever want to REALLY scare your spectator, this is great! No gimmicks and impromptu too.
Decking-Hofzinzer Deluxe (Jon Racherbaumer)
A card is selected and the aces are removed. As per the original Hofzinzer ace plot, the ace that matches the selection' suit turns face-up. You then cut the face-down ace packet into the center of the deck. You spread the deck on the table and all three aces that don't match the suit are face-up. The one ace that is face-down is turned over to reveal that it is the spectator's selected card. The missing ace is found in your pocket. I can see myself doing this quite a lot. I think with some good presentation you will have a winner of a card effect. There's also a good variation using two cards at the end of the description.
Grand Slam (Frank Garcia)
A magician shuffles and cuts the deck and then shows that he has controlled and found the thirteen spades to the top of the deck. He then hands the deck to the spectator who gives the deck a riffle shuffle. He has still maintained the thirteen spades on top. This requires a set deck that you can't really use for many other tricks. It's not gimmicked but requires some special things. To me if you're going to let a spectator shuffle a deck, why not let him do it however he wants and however long he wants. To me the effect is so short that I think it needs something else after it. I haven't tried this out yet so I don't know how it plays, but it's just not my cup o' tea. Harry and Richard really seem to like it though so you may like it.
The Strung Coin (Sol Stone)
A string which has been tied into a loop, as well as a chinese coin are displayed. The coin is then visibly linked onto the string, and then off again. This is a great, quick effect that you could easily add some other moves into, like Jay Sankey's "Leaving Home." Liam Montier also has a take on this plot, which you may want to check out. The switch in this is unique and a fooler. The whole routine is something that I think people will remember.
The Two Card Trick (Bro. John Hammon)
Two blue-backed cards are shown; the ace of spades and the queen of diamonds. You ask the spectator to name one of them. They name the queen of diamonds which you then cause to be the only card of the two that has a blue back. The ace has a red back. You explain that you lie a lot and actually the queen is the one with the red back, which you show. Then you show that they couldn’t have even picked the ace because both of the cards in your hand are queen of diamonds! This is a simple trick that, to be honest, I overlooked for a while. I still haven’t tried it out, but I do think it would have a good effect through a laymen’s eyes. It’s an easy routine that is pretty easy to follow, as well. Try it out (I’ll join you!)
Invisible Salt Extraction (Eric Meredith)
A half-full salt shaker is shown and then placed under a handkerchief on the table. You cup your hands over the handkerchief, and a steady small stream of salt starts to flow from them. This goes on until a big pile of salt is on the table and your hands are empty. You lift the handkerchief to show that now there is no salt inside. I love this effect! I think it’s something that will stick in your spectator’s heads for a long time! Obviously, this is an after-dinner type trick, so this may not work in some venues, but in the right circumstances, it’s a killer!
Columns:
Lorayne Storm
Harry tells a funny story about a thumbtip breaking during a performance!
Out To Lunch
This is the first in a series of columns about doing close-up magic for a living. It starts off with a story about the first table-side magician Harry Lorayne saw, and how he became himself.
Razzle Dazzle
Funny little story about a magician who had a lion devour an audience member in his act.
Tidings
An interesting way of doing J.K. Hartman’s “Goody Two Choose” from a reader, Harry tells about a session with Slydini, an article about Paul Curry’s book Special Effects, an update on The Card Classics of Ken Krenzel, and finally a funny card in balloon dog routine!
Closing Thoughts:
I really liked this issue and I got a lot out of it! The columns were great, the tricks are high quality, it’s just a very good issue overall! I will use a bunch of the material in this one and I think you’ll like a lot of it too.
And once again, I’d like you to post your comments below! Seriously, I want feedback! Tell me if these suck, or if you like them, I don’t really care, just say something.
If you want to purchase Apocalypse, here is the link.
Buy Apocalypse for everything you saw in this review and TONS of other awesome effects!
Directory:
Apocalypse Vol.1 No.1
Apocalypse Vol.1 No.2
Effects:
Slydini Kills Time (Slydini)
You borrow a spectator's fancy watch and say you are going to pass it through the table. You slam it onto the table but instead of going through the table it smashes against the cold, hard wood with a horrifying crash. Your hand is lifted to reveal to the trouble spectator that his watch has somehow turned into your keys! You then stand up and cleanly reach into your pocket and remove his unscathed watch. This is such a fun trick to do after dinner and if you ever want to REALLY scare your spectator, this is great! No gimmicks and impromptu too.
Decking-Hofzinzer Deluxe (Jon Racherbaumer)
A card is selected and the aces are removed. As per the original Hofzinzer ace plot, the ace that matches the selection' suit turns face-up. You then cut the face-down ace packet into the center of the deck. You spread the deck on the table and all three aces that don't match the suit are face-up. The one ace that is face-down is turned over to reveal that it is the spectator's selected card. The missing ace is found in your pocket. I can see myself doing this quite a lot. I think with some good presentation you will have a winner of a card effect. There's also a good variation using two cards at the end of the description.
Grand Slam (Frank Garcia)
A magician shuffles and cuts the deck and then shows that he has controlled and found the thirteen spades to the top of the deck. He then hands the deck to the spectator who gives the deck a riffle shuffle. He has still maintained the thirteen spades on top. This requires a set deck that you can't really use for many other tricks. It's not gimmicked but requires some special things. To me if you're going to let a spectator shuffle a deck, why not let him do it however he wants and however long he wants. To me the effect is so short that I think it needs something else after it. I haven't tried this out yet so I don't know how it plays, but it's just not my cup o' tea. Harry and Richard really seem to like it though so you may like it.
The Strung Coin (Sol Stone)
A string which has been tied into a loop, as well as a chinese coin are displayed. The coin is then visibly linked onto the string, and then off again. This is a great, quick effect that you could easily add some other moves into, like Jay Sankey's "Leaving Home." Liam Montier also has a take on this plot, which you may want to check out. The switch in this is unique and a fooler. The whole routine is something that I think people will remember.
The Two Card Trick (Bro. John Hammon)
Two blue-backed cards are shown; the ace of spades and the queen of diamonds. You ask the spectator to name one of them. They name the queen of diamonds which you then cause to be the only card of the two that has a blue back. The ace has a red back. You explain that you lie a lot and actually the queen is the one with the red back, which you show. Then you show that they couldn’t have even picked the ace because both of the cards in your hand are queen of diamonds! This is a simple trick that, to be honest, I overlooked for a while. I still haven’t tried it out, but I do think it would have a good effect through a laymen’s eyes. It’s an easy routine that is pretty easy to follow, as well. Try it out (I’ll join you!)
Invisible Salt Extraction (Eric Meredith)
A half-full salt shaker is shown and then placed under a handkerchief on the table. You cup your hands over the handkerchief, and a steady small stream of salt starts to flow from them. This goes on until a big pile of salt is on the table and your hands are empty. You lift the handkerchief to show that now there is no salt inside. I love this effect! I think it’s something that will stick in your spectator’s heads for a long time! Obviously, this is an after-dinner type trick, so this may not work in some venues, but in the right circumstances, it’s a killer!
Columns:
Lorayne Storm
Harry tells a funny story about a thumbtip breaking during a performance!
Out To Lunch
This is the first in a series of columns about doing close-up magic for a living. It starts off with a story about the first table-side magician Harry Lorayne saw, and how he became himself.
Razzle Dazzle
Funny little story about a magician who had a lion devour an audience member in his act.
Tidings
An interesting way of doing J.K. Hartman’s “Goody Two Choose” from a reader, Harry tells about a session with Slydini, an article about Paul Curry’s book Special Effects, an update on The Card Classics of Ken Krenzel, and finally a funny card in balloon dog routine!
Closing Thoughts:
I really liked this issue and I got a lot out of it! The columns were great, the tricks are high quality, it’s just a very good issue overall! I will use a bunch of the material in this one and I think you’ll like a lot of it too.
And once again, I’d like you to post your comments below! Seriously, I want feedback! Tell me if these suck, or if you like them, I don’t really care, just say something.
If you want to purchase Apocalypse, here is the link.
Buy Apocalypse for everything you saw in this review and TONS of other awesome effects!
Directory:
Apocalypse Vol.1 No.1
Apocalypse Vol.1 No.2
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