talkmagic.co.uk

I just recieved one of my weekly 'Sell me stuff' emails and this really caught my eye:

For the first time ever David Penn reveals his signature effect REFRACTION. Whilst holding a wine glass in both hands your spectator gets to witness the impossible as the stem bends visibly before their eyes. The glass is then given to the spectator to keep as a souvenir that freezes the moment of magic perfectly.

there is a demo of this
http://www.worldmagicshop.co.uk/refract ... -4317.html

and I must say I'm very impressed. With effects of this nature I am always put off by how workable or how much prep is needed. Would be a great finisher to my fork bending routine though

If you're a fan of any 'bending' effects, and know the mechanics, you can pretty much guess the 'prep' required.

Definately be interested to hear a 'real world' review of this.

is it a "borrowing" from ted lesley though?

Caught my eye too and I thought "ooh, clever adaptation" but what really made me start to pay attention was the demo vid says "a borrowed wine glass". I'm wondering just how borrow-able this really is?

I don't for a second expect it to be impromptu but it does look pretty cool and I must admit I'm tempted!

I saw this as well and agree in it's impressiveness. I noticed the 'not to be sold to anyone under 18' notice at the bottom of the ad.

Can't wait for someone to buy and review, just to see how impromptu this really is

TheWickedWitchOfTheWeb wrote:Caught my eye too and I thought "ooh, clever adaptation" but what really made me start to pay attention was the demo vid says "a borrowed wine glass". I'm wondering just how borrow-able this really is?
!

'' Hi can I borrow your wine glass for the next 30 mins before the show? Thanks.. ''

It cant be impromptu..

abraxus wrote:is it a "borrowing" from ted lesley though?

Just what I was wondering. The handling is a bit different.

If I recall correctly, Ted says you can 'borrow' glasses from banquets and receptions too.

On the other hand, how many different metal bending routines are out there? The premise is essentially the same in almost every case.

If you could really use a "borrowed" glass, then why isn't it mentioned in the product blurb, and only mentioned once in the video. Surely if you could use a borrowed glass, then it would be all over the write up.
And if you can't use a borrowed glass, then it's a shameful way of selling your product.

Hi beeno. My mistake. The product description now says Borrowed Glass.

Thanks for pointing it out.

OK - I'm gonna order so I'll post a review as soon as and let you know what I think

Available from:
http://www.worldmagicshop.co.uk
http://www.kernowmagic.co.uk

Price: £29.99

Category: Close up Mentalism effect

Difficulty: 2 out of 5

Back Of Box:

For the first time ever David Penn reveals his signature effect REFRACTION. Whilst holding a borrowed wine glass in both hands your spectator gets to witness the impossible as the stem bends visibly before their eyes. The glass is then given to the spectator to keep as a souvenir that freezes the moment of magic perfectly.

Bonus Material: David’s Cabaret handling presented by Rodney James Piper and a method to bend the spectator’s own key which can be used to enhance the REFRACTION effect.

Features three live performances and a two camera, studio style explanation filmed at ‘The House of Illusion’ in Spain.

The Review:

It's been a while since I felt inclined to write a review on anything but this is one product that I just had to air an opinion on after receiving a batch in my latest stock.

Anyone familiar with Germany's master mentalist, Ted Lesley, will know that he developed a wonderful "Bending Glass" illusion for stage and cabaret, which he described in his Para-miracles book and Cabaret Mind Reading DVD. As I'm a mentalist Ted's effect has featured in my act on occasions, but I can only perform it in certain venues and situations.

Well, REFRACTION takes the bending glass illusion to a higher level, once you've been through the DVD you will never go back to the Ted Lesley version again. No unreliable electronics, no elaborate setting up and the miracle takes place in the spectators hands not far away at the back of a stage. I got all excited skipping through the chapters as I could see a potential marketing tool since you can sign the glass and give it away. Imagine, you could give a "numbered" business card to the person who gets the glass, so not only will they have the glass as a souvenir but also a certificate of authenticity along with your contact details, a collectable item they will keep forever.

I love the fact that this effect can be done close up, in the spectators hand and only involves your interaction with the spectator and the wine glass, nothing else.

The DVD is split into easy to navigate sections so once you have mastered the basics you don't have to keep skipping through them to get to the bits you need, also it makes learning the trick intuitive, taking you through the preparation, set up and handling in separate sections. Once you have the basics out of the way the last few sections takes you over psychological nuances and convincers that will ensure that the spectator is in no doubt that a true miracle has happened. It also includes the handling and prformance for cabaret situations.

The Summary:

This is a well thought out DVD that has taken an existing but scarcely used mentalism effect and breathed new life into it. What was once a cabaret effect for a darkened room or stage can now be done in broad daylight and up close. I love the fact that you can give the bent wine glass away, this makes it great to use as a special presentation for the main table at the event you are doing or a little something extra for the blushing bride at a wedding reception. Magic is all about leaving a magical moment for your spectators, empowering them if you can and giving them something to remember you by at the end..... this effect ticks all three boxes. I can't wait to add this to my act.

The effect is exactly as it says on the packaging, however remember there will be some preshow preparation to carry out so you can use a borrowed glass, but you can't borrow a glass and bend it there and then. Any working magician will know there is always some preparation, after all you haven't purchased a miracle that has just been discovered and handed to David Penn by the Deli Lama....... just something very close.


Overall: 9/10
A strong magical effect that isn't too difficult to perform, a killer in the hands of a competent, confident magician or mentalist. It isn't a trick you would want to table hop with but rather save as something special for any VIPs at your events.

kernowmagic wrote:The effect is exactly as it says on the packaging, however remember there will be some preshow preparation to carry out so you can use a borrowed glass, but you can't borrow a glass and bend it there and then.

Thank you for your review.

may I ask, how long will it take me to "prepare"?

will I need to aquire anything "special" to perform my preparation?

I did note when ordering that the WMS site says that it's not to be sold to under 18's and it had a pdf product datasheet which unfortunately wouldn't open. This does seem to hint at some form of hazardous process.

dat8962 wrote:I did note when ordering that the WMS site says that it's not to be sold to under 18's and it had a pdf product datasheet which unfortunately wouldn't open. This does seem to hint at some form of hazardous process.

good point dat, I know what you mean. sincerely I dont want to "guess" at the method. I am keen to establish if it's "for me" or not. I guess my point is, if the prep involves me "slipping into the bathroom" for a couple of minutes then I guess I can work with that. If on the other hand, I need to arrive 45 minutes early and make my prep in the kitchen then that's a different story. That's not to say it isn't fantastic either way, seems really good. it's just about suitability.

Hi guys,

To help you along a bit, without giving away the method I can tell you that preparation takes very little time at all and yes you can spend 15 minutes in the bathroom or your hotel room doing it

For those of you interested the method of preperation only is similar to that described in Ted Lesley's Para-Miracles book in the trick "mind bender".

Even if you know or could work out the method of preparation its only a small part of this great DVD. This is very much a mentalist effect and always has been so the focus is really on the method of making the spectators believe they have witnessed a true miracle.

Out of interest the original concept for a bending glass effect was first described by Lee Earle in his ground breaking "Manifestations Seance"

I'm both upset and pleased that this effect has been released. Upset because I really wouldn't want too many magicians/mentalists knowing the secret but pleased because it one of those pieces of strong magic which really touches the lay audience.

Kenny