Trilogy by Dan and Dave Buck
Ok, this is going to be long so get comfortable, go get a drink, go to the toilet or whatever. You could be here for a while!
What they say:
The moves are one-of-a-kind masterpieces that you will be able to apply in nearly every situation.
Master these moves and you are on your way to becoming a verifiable superstar.
The Trilogy is a 3 DVD box set containing 6 hours of rare card tricks, flourishes, and moves. The cost is less than $30 per packed DVD disc.
It is a body of work that spans ten years by two of the youngest and most influential card manipulators and magicians of this century: Dan and Dave. You gain the benefit of their ingenuity right now.
Get inside the incredible thinking of the underground and elusive Dan and Dave Buck.
Is it taught like Dan and Dave's The System?
No, it is not taught exactly like the System. There IS talking, and the DVD contains multiple angles to choose from when watching... the teaching is slow, deliberate and easy to follow. There is exceptional clarity. People have said the teaching is highly effective.
You'll find everything from a simple one-hand shuffle to an eight packet flourish display along with never before seen tricks so visual you won't believe it's all done with a normal deck. Plus you'll discover over 100 unique sleights that can be adapted and finessed to your own repertoire.
Who are Dan and Dave?
Dan and Dave have been at the forefront of their craft since they were only fourteen years old. They have helped mould a new genre of card magic, a style visually rich and direct.
Their style and originality has received acclaim from such megastars as David Blaine and David Copperfield.
When they were only 17 years old they performed alongside Guy Hollingworh, Paul Gertner, Chad Long and Bill Malone at the first MAGIC Live convention in Las Vegas, and were the only performers to receive a standing ovation.
Cost
$85 + p&p from
here
Difficulty
(1=easy to do, 2=No sleights, but not so easy, 3=Some sleights used,
4=Advanced sleights used, 5=Suitable for experienced magicians only)
Everything on the DVD is pretty difficult. I would say that the stuff on here that I’ve seen so far is between a 3 and a 5. You will need to know some about cards before even thinking about trying to do most of the stuff.
What you get
The Booklet
The booklet that comes with the DVD is simply a short 12 page information book with an introduction from Chris Kenner, Homer Anthony Liwag, and Dave Buck. It also contains the credits for all the material found on the DVDs and the instructions for navigating the DVD menus. Contains no magic or instructional material.
DVD 1 - Tricks
All the tricks on this DVD are taught in thorough detail, with talking as they teach, as opposed to the silent teaching that appeared on ‘The System’ and the Flourishes DVD of this set. They go through everything at a reasonable pace that is quite good to learn from. Each effect also features an over the shoulder view to show how things should look from your perspective.
Tivo Transpo – A transposition of 2 cards. One is chosen and placed face down in the middle of the deck. Another is chosen and placed face up on top of the deck. A quick flick and they switch in an instant. Very visual. Nice.
Tivo 2.0 – An adaptation of Tivo Transpo. Looks smoother than the original, both cards are left face up and you don’t cover either card. You also will learn how to do a DL from the centre of the deck.
Subway – A card is selected and left protruding from the deck. Another two cards are chosen at random and left protruding from the deck face up. The deck is split in two with your selection sticking out of one half, and the other two card sticking out of the other. They are both pushed in flush with the rest of the deck, only a card is seen to be coming out of the packet with the two random cards. Yes, it’s your selection, and yes, it’s sandwiched between the two random cards.
Card Across – A selected card is left protruding from half the deck in your left hand, while the rest of the deck is held in your right. As you push in the selection, it starts to appear face up from the middle of the other packet. Oh, and the card can be signed.
Hand to Mouth – At first I thought this might be a fist swallowing effect. But no. A card is selected and placed protruding from a one handed fan. As they push it in and you gather the cards, they slowly realise that the card is hanging from your mouth. A must have for ACR enthusiasts!
Deja Vu – A card is selected and sandwiched between the two red aces. They are then openly placed on the table. Another card is selected and placed face up on top of the deck. With a snap, the card visually transforms into the first selection sandwiched between the red aces. The cards on the table are spread to reveal the second selection sandwiched between the black aces.
Twinsplit Remix – The Three of Clubs is shown. You take it and in a tearing motion, rip it into the Ace and 2 of Clubs. You then throw then back onto the deck to visually put them back together again into the 3 of Clubs.
Fission for the Aces – Much like Twinsplit Remix. You show the 8 of Clubs and tear it into the 2 black 4’s. You discard one of them and tear the other into the 2 black 2’s. Discard one of those and there’s nothing else to do but tear it into the 2 black Aces.
Hofzzy Osbourne – A card is seen (say the 7 of Hearts), and you also remove the 4 Aces. You wave the Aces over the deck and one turns face down. “This tells me the suit of your card” says the performer, as it is the Ace of Hearts that has turned face down. You go on to explain that just like one of the Aces, a card in the deck has also turned face down, and this card tells you the value of the selected card. You spread through and find the 7 of Clubs face down. A little snap and it turns into the….. Ace of Hearts. “Well if that’s there, then what’s over here?” says the performer, gesturing towards the Aces on the table. You spread through them and find that the face down card in the middle of the Aces is none other than the selected 7 of Hearts.
The Queens – One by one, the 4 face up Queens disappear from the top of the deck with each disappearance getting more and more visual. In an instant (and very flashy instant at that) they reappear.
Swiss Made – A card is selected and replaced into the middle of the deck. The top card is turned over (not the selection) and placed face up into the middle of the deck and left protruding. The card is then spun 180 degrees and very visually changes into the selected card.
Collectors – Two cards are selected and lost in the deck. The 4 Aces are then magically produced and sandwiched between each pair is one of the selections. Very visual. Very nice.
Hedbergs Peak – The top two cards are shown. One is placed on the bottom, the other on top. In an instant they switch places. You turn the deck over too show the card on the bottom, to reveal that it was all just an illusion and that the cards are now both in the original places. This is one of those effects that you have to see to believe, and my explanation of it doesn’t do it justice.
Sixty Nine – The 4 6’s are shown and he spectator jokes that if you look at the bottom corner pip on a 6, it looks like a 9 (from the spectator’s point of view). The cards are turned around once and this time they really do turn into the 4 9’s, and they can be handed out for inspection.
DVD 2 - Flourishes
Everything on this DVD is taught with onscreen notes and no talking. Most of the DVD is about multiple packet cuts with anywhere between 3 and 9 packets. While they look nice. There’s not much I can say about them to be honest. If you want to know anything in particular about them, please feel free to ask, but for the moment I will just list them. The other stuff on here is worth a mention though because it’s different!
Carnahan Fan – A one handed fan that extends round you first finger and almost onto the back of your hand.
Vertigo – A packet of cards spins out of the deck and either a) back onto the deck, or b) off the side of your foot and back onto the deck! Looks insane but will require a lot of practice!
Erdnase Go Round – The bottom half of the packet flips out of the deck and lands on top. Think ‘The Pass’, but not invisible and with lots of showing off!
The cuts that are explained on the DVD are:
Molecule Four
Pandora
Jackson Five
Eko
Mecka
Akira
Tectonic Verb
DVD 3 - Everything Else
Most of the things on this DVD are taught with talking and over the shoulder views.
T.G. Deck Flip – A one handed, in-the-air flip of the deck. Can’t see much purpose for this, but it’s a bit of a flashy thing to do when in the middle of a routine or poker game.
Hugh Scott Shuffle – This is an in-the-air riffle shuffle with bridge. The difference from a normal in-the-air riffle shuffle being that the cards are riffled together from underneath instead of on top. Looks quite good and is useful if you do a lot of walk around performances.
The LePaul S Spread – A normal LePaul Spread but with an added curve to it to form an ‘S’ shape. Again, it looks good and a lot of pointers about performing the basic LePaul Spread are given.
360 Deck Spin – A nice little flourish that spins the deck 360 degrees in your hand in preparation for other tricks or flourishes.
Under Pressure by Michael Vile – Just like a Pressure Fan, but when you get halfway into it, the cards start to flow back to your left hand. Looks very nice but I can’t see much use for it in a ‘magical’ sense. It’s like you’re fanning the cards for the spectator to take one, but at the last second saying “Just kidding!”
Heap Snatch – A very cool false cut done on the table.
Blackjack Production – The deck is shuffled and with a snap, the 4 Aces are produced. Another snap and the 4 Jacks are produced and displayed on the table with their matching Ace, creating 4 sets of Blackjack. A nice little production that is fairly easy to do.
Shuffled Aces – Personally, I think this should have been on the DVD before ‘Blackjack Production’. It is simply the production of the 4 Aces as seen in that routine but not going any further.
The Forte Flourish – A card is selected and lost in the middle of the deck. The cards are spread back and forth on the table and stood on their ends. Your finger comes across and looks them all over onto their sides, except for one card, the selection, which is left upright in the middle of the other cards.
The Click Change – A variation of the ‘Snap Change’ that happens all in your left hand, and you’re left clean at the end. Very visual….but I cant do it!
The Jones Change – You display a card and in the action of re-gripping it in your hand, it changes into a different card. Looks nice, but I don’t particularly like it because it looks a bit shifty.
Centre Double – A nice little DL and display where the cards are taken from the top of the deck, displayed out jogged in the middle of the deck, and then placed back on top. Its something that I believe will help you’re double lifts go a little more un-noticed because of how you handle the cards.
Queens Transition – This is a utility move that you can use to go from ‘The Queens’ to ‘Collectors’. Not much to it really, but useful if you perform those tricks regularly.
Real Time – A 4 Ace production that happens devastatingly quick! In an instant you go from a face down deck to having a face up Ace on top, one protruding from the centre of the deck, one spinning on your right finger tips, and one poking out from your sleeve!
Molecule 2 – Revisited
3 productions and a DL using the Molecule 2 technique. It helps if you know how to do the Molecule 2 beforehand, but they do go over it a bit here as well.
Four Card Production – Using the Molecule 2 cut, you end with a display of the 4 Aces on top of the deck.
One Card Production – A card is selected, and following the Molecule 2 cut, the card is face up and out jogged from the centre of the face down deck.
DL – A DL with the flashiness of the Molecule 2 cut.
Spring Production, One Card – A card is selected, and halfway through the Molecule 2 cut, the cards in you right hand are sprung into the left, leaving the selected cards face up in the middle of the deck.
Finger Exercises - Four exercises to build hand strength and coordination.
Flourishes 101 - 20 classic playing card flourishes. They are taught with no talking in true Dan and Dave style. The flourishes that you will learn are:
-Thumb Fan
-Pressure Fan
-LePaul Spread
-Charlie Cuts
-Hot Shot Cut – The cards are cut in a very showy off way, and the spectator’s card shoots through the air into your waiting right hand.
-One Handed shuffle
-One Handed Table Shuffle – Like the one handed shuffle…..but done on the table!
-Ribbon Spread
-Card Spring
-Dribbles
-Revolution Cut – A nice one handed cut where the top packet is revolved 180 degrees and onto the bottom of the pack.
-TG Deck Flip
-Sybil – A multiple packet cut.
-The Ripper
-Faro Shuffle + Forte Bridge
-Simple Switch
-Pirouette
-Back Palm
-Waterfall
-Under Pressure
Extras
Along with everything I have already mentioned, you will also learn a huge amount of Sleights and Flourishes over the course of the 3 DVDs. Here is a list of them.
Sleights:
-Super flip by Ben Harris
-Cardini Change variation
-DMB Spread Control
-Floop by Simon Lovell
-For4For Switch by Chris Kenner
-Duck Change by Hiro Sakai
-Flippant by Looy Simonoff
-Marlo Clip Steal
-Tamariz Perpendicular Control
-Spin Double
-Spin Doctor Double
-Jay Bluff Shift
-Twin Split
-Paintbrush Change by Roy Walton
-Elmsley Count
-Grave Turnover by Lee Asher
-Shape Shifter by Marc Desouza
-Top Shot by Lennart Green
-Popover production by Aaron Fisher
-Vernon Double Replacement
-V Switch
-Dracula Count
Flourishes:
-Genesis
-Skater Cut by Joey Burton
-Sybil variations
-Five Faces of Sybil by Chris Kenner
-TCTCSA
-Tornado by Ashford Kneitel
-Leno (eight packets)
-Erdnase shift
-Madonna 3
What I say
I am extremely pleased with this purchase. While my flourishing skills are still somewhat to be desired, and think it will be a long time before I start to use DVD 2, I think that I will be able to use much of the material from the other two DVDs.
As I have said before, the material on here is not easy. You will need to have some experience with cards before you start on the tricks, and an even greater experience of flourishes. That said, while the tricks are difficult, they are taught in a way that makes it easier to understand. Personally, I believe that the no talking thing that they have done on the flourishing sections only makes it harder to learn, but that’s just me.
The teaching is superb. The Bucks go over everything that you need to know at a reasonable pace. They give background to the moves and credits where they are needed, which I thought was a good thing. The addition of different teaching angles is also very useful so that you are not always trying to learn from the spectator’s point of view.
The quality of the DVDs is also excellent. The menus are easy to navigate and the picture quality is also very good.
Overall, I would give this DVD set an 8.5/10. I wish it could have been higher but a few things let it down. The non-talking is a main downfall for me. I just don’t see the point in it. One other point that is not that important, but may be to some is that the effects on the Tricks DVD are very short. While that shouldn’t be the point, I sometimes think that tricks should last longer than a few seconds, which none of the tricks actually do.
Well, that’s about it for now! If you need to ask anything about this, please feel free to ask and I’ll do my best to answer. But not until tomorrow! I've been writing this thing for so long that I really need to sleep now!
I was born with Multiple Personality Disorder. Luckily, they are all me, they just dont always get along...