Here’s a very short impression of this DVD. I am not doing as detailed a review as normal since this one is slightly out of my comfort zone!
A few general observations up front. Ollie comes across as a very nice guy and has a straightforward and unassuming presenting/explaining style – which makes this very easy to watch. I love the wonderful cheesy plugs for Karnival Decks on the way through! And Cameron Francis adds his own blend of oddness to some of the explanations.
The Moves…
SeeSaw peek – very doable double peek which leaves you in a nice position for a range of effects.
Pit Control – a clever move where a freely selected card is controlled to second from top whilst apparently being pivoted round into the middle of the deck.
Barrier Shift – for me this looks a little contrived, but it is a new take on the pass.
Station Double – a technique for making a double lift from the middle of the pack. A good idea and not too tricky.
Clay Switch – a very sneaky way of switching a card, right in front of them, but looks perfectly fair. Very versatile.
The Tricks…
Constructing the Deck – a double backed pack becomes a blank faced deck becomes a normally printed deck.
Four Sugars – a chosen card disappears from the pack and reappears in your pocket. Then the rest of the pack turns into the chosen card’s three mates. Strong!
Triple Coincidence – spectator cuts to three cards which in turn reveal the suit and value of the chosen card – the third is the chosen card.
The Sandwich Meal – a sandwich trick on steroids! Two selected cards are individually ‘caught’ by the black aces. Each time the black aces change into the three mates of the selected card. In a final kicker the black aces themselves appear reversed in the deck, trapped by the red aces. Lots of magic!
King of Clues – (one of only 2 performed ‘live’ on the DVD) – I must confess that I got rather confused in the live performance about what the effect actually was. However, it was clearer in the ‘studio’ version. Essentially 2 black kings swap places with 2 red kings and with 2 selections in turn – each time appearing in the card box.
Impromptu Stunner – after a deck is freely shuffled, 3 chosen cards are revealed in increasingly surprising ways.
Flat Pack – (live performance) – 2 freely chosen cards (from a shuffled pack) are used to create a new card which appears within the box. The effect is immediately repeated with the other card which is possible from combining the suit/value. Then the whole pack disappears and reappears in the box.
Graffiti Sandwich – the jokers find a freely chosen card,which is openly placed into the middle of the pack – very quickly! A more straightforward plot than some on the disc and very visual if you can master the move required.
Conclusion
I have to admit that this is one of my least favourite BBM DVDs. I feel a little bad about reaching this conclusion since it probably says more about me than the DVD – because I am a very lazy magician, and I do not have the patience to learn the moves properly.
However, I would add to that that for me, some of the effects are too convoluted for my performance taste. Were the effects more straightforward (what the dear departed Arthur Setterington used to call ‘Straight Line Mysteries’) I might be more inclined to put in the effort.
All that being said, I think the See Saw Peek, the Station Double and the Clay Switch are versatile moves which would certainly be worth a little investment of time to master. There will be lots of people who will love this, but it didn’t do it for me!
It’s £19.99 from BBM.
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