talkmagic.co.uk

The Cullfather

Review by Gareth Witty

From www.bigblindmedia.com



Effect:

A brand new DVD from the creators of "The Trickery" & "2wo Faced", "The Cullfather" teaches you this amazing technique that'll transform your card magic. And when we say teach, we mean TEACH. 13 in-depth lessons. Beginner to Expert. An hour’s worth of tutorials that will show you every facet of this incredible move (Taught by acclaimed UK magician Iain Moran whose preference is for the Hofzinser Spread Cull – Marlo Prayer Cull).

And you can use CULLING to switch cards… force cards… control cards… set-up tricks… as an out… and HUNDREDS of other applications!

In fact, if you can CULL you can dispense with HUNDREDS of moves!!

Just for starters, ALL of this lot:

Vernon Strip-Out Addition, Braue Addition, Double Undercut, Classic Pass, Turnover Pass Riffle Pass, Cutting, Classic Force, Riffle Force, Cross Cut Force, Slip Force, Dribble Force Secret Subtraction, Dribble Pass, Balducci Force, Double Turnover, Top Change, Bluff Pass, Multiple Shift, Side Steal, Spread Pass, Cover Pass...

TRAINING
1)Cull one Card.
2)Mistakes.
3)Culling to Specific Locations.
4)Culling from Awkward Positions.
5)Culling Multiple Cards.
6)Mistakes - Part 2.
7)Controlling via Culling.
Forcing via Culling.
9)Setting Up via Culling.
10)Culling 2 Cards Next to Each Other.
11)Switching via Culling.
12)Culling as an Out.
13)Culling Face Down Cards.

EFFECTS
1.Aces on High
2.Dream Card
3.Funny Business
4.Quantum Sandwich
5.Ace Orgy
6.Concrete Sandwich


The Review


1.Cull one Card. - This is the root of the effect and is taught very well
2.Mistakes. - how to avoid them well worth watching
3.Culling to Specific Locations. - super useful move!
4.Culling from Awkward Positions. - This really helps
5.Culling Multiple Cards. - Now we are cooking with gas!
6.Mistakes - Part 2. - Very important! That's why they talk about this again!
7.Controlling via Culling. - Has more uses then Batman's utility belt!
8.Forcing via Culling. - Now this freaks out Owen! And me as well!
9.Setting Up via Culling. - Some great info here!
10.Culling 2 Cards Next to Each Other. - Now this is good!
11.Switching via Culling. - Wow! Very useful and some great point raised
12.Culling as an Out. - Now you can save the effect in some instances
13.Culling Face Down Cards. - This is well worth leaning!

Each use of the Cull is explained in great detail, The lessons start with the basic move and build up to the harder and more powerful stuff on the DVD. Everything is taught well and Iain really shows the power of this underused move.

The use of the multi view is great and really helps with learning the move. Iain points out everything and of course Owen asks the questions and gives some great ideas.

With the forcing cull this really hits poor Owen! His language is very colourful but it is bleeped out. To me this really shows some of the clever stuff that can be done.

By the time you follow the lessons and learn this useful move, the next bit is even better!

EFFECTS

1.Aces on High – A super quick, in the hands 4 Ace effect
2.Dream Card – Signed card to Pocket with kicker ending
3.Funny Business – A version of the Business card finds their selection
4.Quantum Sandwich – A nice version of the Sandwich Effect
5.Ace Orgy – A “I dream of Aces” but even more impossible looking
6.Concrete Sandwich – Now this is worth the price of the DVD! Looks great, gets the spectator involved and they “do” everything!


All the effects are pure workers, super easy once you master the culling from the lessons and the Dream Card effect is one that I REALLY want to do!

Great teaching by Iain yet again and well worth the time and effort to learn. I think these will find many new homes in your routines!

Overview

Now in general the complete DVD is brilliant! The lessons and the effects are well taught and everything is explained in detail. Now multi view idea is great as this helps with seeing the finger positions. I would like to have seen the angle to have been user selected, but we might see this soon in future realises. The one bad thing I could find was having that painting in background with the lights on! It distracted me quite a few times and also showed the split in the screen from the multi angle display! So guys, just use a plain background.

So my marks for this

10/10

Just go and buy it! This is destined to be the “Bible” on Culling. I highly recommend this to ALL card workers in the wacky world of magic.

Audio Review at www.garethwitty.co.uk/reviews/thecullfather.mp3

Gareth Witty © 2007

Thanks for a highly-comprehensive review Gareth; very well-written and concise.

In all fairness, when I got the email from magictricks.co.uk, I was less than enthused.

Having read your thoughts on it though, I may well be adding this to my 'Must-have' list very soon indeed.

Much appreciated

Had it nearly a week now, and i can say this dvd works.
Great stuff; spot on review.
Would highly recommend

Glad to see you liked it, I have to say I didn't think the DVD would be that good, but I was very wrong!

The Cull has a lot of possibilities for card magic and I am glad we have a DVD that can teach the RIGHT way to cull.

Is it me or is BBM just doing the right thing everytime? So far all the DVDs have been great!

I got this DVD the day it came out and shoved it straight into the DVD player. I think it's fantastic - so much potential!! It does one thing very well -that's what I like. However, that one thing has hundreds if not thousands of uses!

Yep, this is a nice product all right. The whole thing says, 'Professional,' rather than - as is sadly the case with some magic DVDs - 'Looks like it was knocked up in someone's back bedroom.'

Sexton Blake wrote:Yep, this is a nice product all right. The whole thing says, 'Professional,' rather than - as is sadly the case with some magic DVDs - 'Looks like it was knocked up in someone's back bedroom.'

I don't think that's a bad thing, as long as what is being taught is taught well, for example Mucking hard moves made easy which I purchased recenly.

there was a post about the advertising blurb a little while back...the person (i think it was mr. calthrop) was worried that this was being advertised a little too harshly as to it insinuating that learning the cull was a short-cut of sorts, or rather to forgo other sleights...

just to say, after watching this dvd, they absolutely do not say that during the teach-in...just to clarify (not having a pop at charles in anyway) ...so not to worry!

very thorough explanations i thought...i was doing mistake number 1 rather a lot! it helped me immensely seeing it being done "live"...an 8.5/10 for me...

I'm glad to hear it's a decent disk. Culling material always piques my interest and I might pick this up. ('Might'? Who am I trying to kid?)

It's purely the advertising I have a problem with.

yeah i know charles...thats why i wanted to say it in the review...

its all fair and square on the dvd

i can now safely cull four cards without fear of one suddenly dissapearing out of sight...the actual effects arent to be sniffed at either...

and the forcing is very clever too...

Btw, sad as I am this has been making me laugh a lot.

Sexton Blake wrote:The whole thing says, 'Professional,' rather than - as is sadly the case with some magic DVDs - 'Looks like it was knocked up in someone's back bedroom.'

abraxus wrote:i can now safely cull four cards without fear of one suddenly dissapearing out of sight...the actual effects arent to be sniffed at either...

Whereas, my not-yet-even-complete look at it so far has hammered home to me how poor my cull was and reduced me to a stoop of melancholy and self-loathing. The Cullfather gives with one hand, and takes away with the other.

Im going to be honest, I'm not exactly sure what culling the cards involves as I have never had a book explain. Is this going to take a long time to get down? If I'm right in thinking what the cull is (the same used the The Spread Cull Force?) then Im looking to cull half the deck But I dont think that is possible or is it?

It's very possible. See Cull-igula Triumph by Kostya Kimlat.

Ok so I have a slight idea of what the cull is. Im going to by this DVD. The possibities in my imagination really are absolutely endless. Im going to have a lot of fun!