Craig Petty's Chop

Sorry that it's been a few days since my last review so here we go with Craig's Chop.

The Effect: A note, such as a £10 note or $1 note for example, is borrowed and the magician hands his pen (which may be brought in play in a magical way) over so that the spectators note is signed and screwed into a ball. A perfectly ordinary paper cup is brought into play that you may get from your local cafe and a whole amazing routine takes place where the note vanishes from under the cup and appears in front of the spectator in an obvious location. At one point the spectator has the cup laid on his hand as the magician makes the note vanish from his hand and at that very same moment the spectator holding the cup will feel the note drop into his hand from inside the cup as if teleportation magic has just taken place.
Taking the note into his hand again, the magician takes a lemon and the spectator can see what appears to be magician rubbing his fingers of the hand he picked up the note with being rubbed against the lemon and eventually, the hand opens to show the note has vanished. Upon cutting the lemon open, a note can be seen within and pulled out to be found that it is the very note signed by the spectator.

Personal Thoughts: Okayyyy opinion time. The package comes in the form of a DVD and items required to make this happen, and please note, not all the items in my photo above is included.
The routine is very well presented throughout the DVD and each of the several phases throughout is described in a very detailed way although I couldn't help feel that this was rushed a little to get this out as fast as possible. There is a part of this that I felt looked very much like the note was being tipped out of the cup very clearly into the hand which looks this way to a lay person too, where in actual fact, that isn't what happens at all and even the outcome of this particular part ended with the note in the hand which took away the spark a little because of suiting the already assumed method. This isn't to put you off though as this particular part can actually be improved not to look the way I described so there is no problem with that at all.

I feel that the DVD was missing something, even though it was very descriptive, but again, please do not be put off because on the whole, there is sooooo much you can do with this and really the DVD is just there just as a little push and guidance in the right direction to nudge you into super amazing killer effects of your own. With a little practise, this can also be done surrounded too and although it is called Chop, please don't think it's just another Chop Cup routine as this effect goes way beyond the boundaries of an ordinary Chop Cup and takes it to a whole new level. There is a nice bonus at the end that shows the routine on how to produce your Sharpie Pen from thin air and teleport it around with hilarious consequences.

This effect can be seen in action here: http://youtu.be/kRw0Sswc-QI
You can also get this product from here if you wish: http://www.worldmagicstore.com/chop-craig-petty-p-6523.html?osCsid=s6r63ibhf15sk5i3tvjnuuib64
Craig also has a Wizard FX site which may possibly have new information added at some point regarding Chop. I believe he has mentioned making additional information of various routines and uses for this.

The DVD - 6 out of 10 as it is great to help push you into the right direction. I feel if a little more time was put into it, cut down in some areas and edited in others the DVD could have been better.
Extra Bits Supplied: 9 out of 10 because there is so much you can do with this, in so many various ways and it will not take long for you to come up with your own routine. I don't want to give anything away but what would give this 10 out of 10 is an added storage feature so something wouldn't be lost so easy lol. Sorry about the riddle but you'll understand if you have it or get it (and I'm sure this gives nothing away too as it is irrelevant to the effect itself) ;)
Overall with all that's said and the fact that you can be creative with this in so many ways, I would probably give this between 8 and 9 out of 10, I'm indecisive but I do think that it is definitely worth it's current value which at the time of posting, is around £25.00

Please enjoy and let me know any opinions you may have as all is welcome :)

Thanks for reading and I'll be back soon.

Andy Nyman Presents - Mind Reader

Today I have decided to step in a new direction for my review in the form of an app for your IPhone or IPad.

The Effect: There is a choice of two effects in one app which involves randomly choosing any object, or randomly choosing any playing card.

The spectator browses through the items or cards until they are satisfied with a selected choice and exits from the app to the main screen so the selection is hidden. The magician puts the phone/ pad away so that there is no possible way they can know what was chosen.

With deep concentration and a few statements, the magician spectacularly names the selected object or card.

Thoughts: Absolutely outstanding and I would certainly put it up there with the top must have magic apps currently on the market. The cost at the time of my review is £0.59 or $0.99 dependent on the country, and is only available at the moment for the apple IPad or IPhone as a universal app. Andy assures me that there are updates still in progress at this moment to help advance the already awesome effect further and whether this will become available on Android phones is yet to be advised.

Obviously the deck of cards below my IPad photo is not included but the beautifully olde style cards on the IPad screen are included with the app :)

I have to give this 9 out of 10 as a must have and for the value for money I’d give 100%. I believe that with the update in the future, I’d give this a 10.

Bristol Day Of Magic 2011

Just in addition to my review today, if anyone is interested and is in the South West area or would like to come and see it, the Bristol Day of Magic takes place on 8th May in Weston Supermare with a fantastic line up and great magic store displays, lectures and so forth.

If you would like further information or would like a booking form then please check out this web address:
http://www.bristolmagic.co.uk/dom.php

Thanks everyone, it'll be an amazing day :)

Tom Stones Vortex Book

Time to vary my review product so I have decided to go with Tom Stone and his incredible book named Vortex.

Quoted from the front cover of this book alone 'A whirlwind of routines, tricks, ideas and opinions - inspired and inspiring.'

This quote sums up exactly what this book is. I don't believe I have ever seen a book like it when it comes to magic as from the moment you open the book and read Tom's introduction by Peter Rosengren, you are spellbound by the passion within. Already from the introduction, you feel the want to delve deeper into what Tom Stone is all about and it doesn't disappoint as every page is so descriptive, interesting, concise, inspiring and thought provoking.

Again another quote before you start to get to the main section is by Tom Stone which says 'Since this is my book, I thought this might be a good opportunity to explain the purpose of this volume. But on second thought.... Nah, you'll discover it on your own. Enjoy!'

This book is so packed full of details, it took me a good half hour to actually locate a page to photograph for you that doesn't give too much away. As you read, you can't help but feel that Tom has given everything into this book as he goes into how he was inspired to perform certain effects along with credits where due and references to where he found information in reference to his credits. He diagrams the effect in such an understandable and detailed way, sharing his opinions and thoughts throughout. Tom then writes an occasional 'Thought Kicker' which is basically a scenario and asks what you would do in this situation. This method of writing assists in pushing the mind a little further out of the box into deeper self creative thoughts.

The book is around 255 pages crammed full of information that is extremely useful in one way or another from the world of close-up to stage magic. There are so many magic effects explained in detail  and alternative ideas within the pages and so much inspiration and suggestions that you may return to the book again and again.

I don't want to go deeper into this as every person that reads this will see it in different ways because of the way it is written in such a diverse way. But feel free to ask any questions or comment below and I'll answer any questions you have without revealing too much.

The score I personally think this book should have is a tremendous 9 out of 10 and I believe is a must in the magicians book collection.

Thanks for reading my blog :)

Before I Forget DVD by Mark Elsdon

Going back a little in time to the early half of 2007, Alakazam Magic presented us with a fantastic DVD by Mark Elsdon called 'Before I Forget'.

On the DVD, Mark shows live performances of his routines and then it goes into his very descriptive and detailed instructions on how the effects are created. There is also a couple of Bonus routines not to be missed at the end along with deserved credits.

You get around eight routines in the main section with two extra bonus routines in the later section. These routines are;

Balance:
The magician takes a deck from it's box and shows the cards are perfectly normal. He holds the deck with both hands, fingers either end, and gives the audience the choice of which hand to remove. On removing one hand, the deck stays mysteriously balanced in the most impossible way and spectators are encouraged to look under the deck. The magician even slides a card out from the bottom of the deck whilst still balanced and circles it around the deck to prove there are no strings involved. It doesn't stop there as the magician then gives the audience member a choice of any finger at all and he then proceeds to balance the deck in the most impossible way on the finger of choice. When I say balance, basically his finger is at the very end of the deck below the shortest end, thus the cards appear to look as though they are almost floating. The cards can then be used for the next card routine.

Chaos and Order:
A card is produced from a deck of cards and has a green and red button visibly marked Order and Chaos. To prove the point of the Order and Chaos card, the magician shows a deck of cards and the spectator takes a card. The spectator keeps hold of the card as the magician clearly cuts half the deck and turns one half face up and the other half face down, puts them together visibly this way and places the Chaos machine card on top. On pressing Chaos, the card is taken off and the deck fanned out to show that chaos has now totally mixed face up and face down randomly throughout the whole deck. The spectator slides their card into the mixed up deck, the Chaos and Order card is placed on top and Order button is pressed. On removing the top Chaos Order card, the deck is now shown and all the cards are now face down with one card turned, this card is the selected card.

No Moves:
Spectator picks a card which is put into the deck and on spreading the deck, the selected card has turned over. The magician shows them again by sliding the selected card back into the deck, seemingly lost in the middle but a click of the fingers has the card appear back on the top of the deck. Finally the magician advises he will try something completely different by sliding the selected card into the deck, which he does, then places the deck on the table explaining that he will try something without touching the deck and backing away so that he is not near them. With this, he fans the deck across the table then steps away. A card now appears spookily pulling itself out of the fanned cards. Everyone can see the magician is nowhere near the cards as the selected card comes out from the deck itself in a very spooky and mysterious way.

Swindlesque:
A 52 card number deck is given out to be shuffled, a card is chosen by the spectator and then it is lost within the deck. Now the magician asks random questions and drops a card onto the table to spell out the answer from the spectator, i.e. he asks what colour hat you are likely to wear in the rain, spectator answers blue, then the magician spells B-L-U-E dropping one card per letter to the table. He continues this way with a few more questions. Spectators at any point can say whether they want more questions or not. When the questions have ended, the spelt deck is picked up as the magician proves a mathematical principle by out jogging every other card and eliminating these. Out jogging every other card again and eliminating these until one or two cards remain. The spectators have the choice which to eliminate and the final card is shown to be the very number that was chosen at the start.

Climber:
A rubber band is used and can be borrowed, and a ring is borrowed. The magician snaps one end of the band and asks the spectator to hold one end up in the air as the magician slides the ring onto the band and holds the other end. Deep concentration ensues as the ring starts to move eerily up the band toward the spectators fingers.

Celebrities:
A card is placed on the table face down and a deck of cards produced, showing that the back of each card shows the name of a well known and famous celebrity such as Brad Pitt, Michel Cain and so on. The spectator says out loud any card they like and this card is visibly taken out of the deck and placed face up next to the prediction card that was resting on the table in view at all times. The card that was chosen by the spectator is turned to reveal a name of a well known personality and the prediction card is turned and has the very name of that famous personality. The prediction card can be given as a souvenir.

Memorisation:
The deck is visibly shuffled and the magician then as fast as he can slides through each card face up to remember the deck in a very unique way as he describes this method of memorising to the audience. A spectator takes out a card from the deck and places this somewhere else in the deck, obviously remembering what his chosen card is. The magicians back is turned at this point to show he can not know where the card was taken from or where it is going. Once complete, the deck is pulled together and the magician starts to look through the deck, in no time, the magician says the position the card was taken from and the position it has been moved to along with the exact name of the card. The magician again shows this, but this time has two or three people remove the card from the deck and placed in their pockets. Again the magician will look through the cards, say roughly where the cards were taken from and what the cards are that is in the spectators pockets. The cards can be given out to prove they are perfectly normal.

My Grandfathers Book:
The magician takes out an old looking brown envelope and places this on the table and removes a deck of cards with each card containing a picture of an old classic book, each one different. This deck is cut and the magician describes about his Grandfather being an avid reader and so forth and his particular favorite book is contained in the envelope. Pure chance or co-incidence occurs as the spectator checks the book to which they freely cut to in the cards and the book is slid from the envelope to match exactly where the spectator had cut. It doesn't end there as theres an old bookmark within the book with his grandfathers name on. The bookmark is given to the spectator to slide anywhere within the deck and after being given the opportunity to move the bookmarks position, ends with one card either side of the bookmark. The spectator freely chooses whether they would like the card above or below the bookmark. After the spectator has chosen the card they wish to use, the magician explains how his Grandfather would write a message of which book he would like to read next, this message is revealed and again matches the very card the spectator chose. It doesn't end there as a finale, the other card that is next to the bookmark is picked up and the two numbers the spectator has is chosen as a page number, so as an example, if the cards they have is a 5 and a 3, they could turn to page 53 or 35. The magician will write a prediction word on the bookmark and when the spectator is asked to reveal the first word on the page, the magician reveals it to be the word he wrote.

Two Bonus Items called Prefigurisation and Card in Mouth:

I don't want to keep rambling on about what is packed into this DVD so I will not describe the bonuses and leave them as a mystery, but believe me, I think the bonuses themselves are worth the value of the whole DVD alone.

Personal Opinion:

I personally believe this DVD is absolutely fantastic value and almost every effect on this DVD is worth the price paid, even if you only know two of the effects. I say two because there may be one or two that you may think you are unsure of. Some of the effects do require to purchase extra items and in some cases can be very difficult to get hold of, but there are alternatives that can be used.

You can take in allot from this DVD towards something you may wish to use or take inspiration for some idea towards in the future. The rapport between Peter Nardi and Mark Elsdon is fantastic with great public performances and hillarious patter throughout this extremely descriptive DVD. It is a few years old now, but I felt the passion to revisit this to share with you as it is worthy of being in your collection if it is the kind of magic you perform.

You can have a look at a snippet of this DVD here: http://youtu.be/avXlJr5MzkM

And Alakazam, whom presented this DVD, have this on their site so please take a look on:  http://alakazam.co.uk/

Overall I think I would give this 8/10 and I believe it is a great addition to any DVD collection.

Thanks for reading and see you soon ;)

Mark Mason presents Behaviour Patterns by Alan Chitty Review

      The Effect: The spectator is shown a book and each page is turned and clearly every page has a different number and pattern on it. At any point, the spectator can say stop at any page they like. They're even given the choice of whether they wish to change their mind. When the spectator is satisfied with their decision, the magician diverts their attention to the single envelope that has been in full view on the table at all times. On the envelope, it shows a nice prediction of the number that the spectator had freely stopped at, and as a final kicker, a single card that is contained within the envelope is slid out to reveal the exact pattern the spectator had stopped at. Boom!

Spectator point of view: Great impact dependent on the spectator audience. If in a personal or close up environment, there is potential that certain things might be reached to varify what they see and also possible correction statements during performance that may be awkward.

My personal view: I think it is an absolute incredible idea and although personally I am not keen on this particular design of the effect, there is an excellent alternative you can perform with this, requiring just a couple of alterations that is affordable and an additional item which will give you a great effect that is completely examinable.

As it is at the moment, it is an effect where there are just too many questions and awkward routes, even during performance. It is very easy to do and can be performed in no time with practise on your patter and wording. The equipment is beautiful, brightly coloured and sturdy with a DVD and this is probably a mid-performance effect as, despite the impact, is best to move to the next effect fairly quickly. As I said, with a few tweaks this effect does have the potential to be a nice finale or a great starting kicker.

As it is, I think around 6/10 but definitely has a potential 9/10

Category: Mentalism