I should start off by saying that I was very VERY reluctant to review this DVD - and wanted to keep it all for myself. But, considering that TM is the best forum on the Internet hands down, I thought I should review this one.
I purchased this after listening to Peter Cassford's interview on the Go Magic Go podcast ( which aired quite a while ago, but I'm only a recent ardent fan ), and was immediately intrigued as I had never used a short card in my performances before ( Yeah, I know !! ).. Anyway let's get down to it..
The Hype
On this DVD Peter Cassford will teach you to control, force, and glimpse selected cards with little or no sleight of hand.
You will also learn how to control a card under incredibly fair conditions, card effects that will look like they take incredible amounts of skill, and mind-blowing mental effects that will leave your audience astounded.
"I know from experience that Peter's effects using a short card astound people. I have seen the public's jaws drop, and quite literate performers be spun on their heels, fooled by Peter's use of the short card. Most of what Peter does is very easy and simple to do, but it will fool you badly if you do not know his work." -Kenton Knepper
Price
29.95 USD off Penguin
Difficulty
2-3
Review
Before delving into the review, I should probably state that I am not a sleight-crazy guy and rely mostly on my performance skills and plots to get audience reactions. I couldn't care less if I used gaffs in my performance ( like a short card ) if it makes my magic more direct - and that is exactly what Peter set out to do on this DVD. The routines here are extremely effective, hard-hitting, sleight free for the most part of them and yet not the self-working types that someone could figure out. In fact, most of these effects COULD be done with a borrowed deck ( with an obvious limitation ) and Peter has unknowingly provided a method for doing so on this DVD
( Those who own this will definitely know what I'm talking about )..
As you all may have already guessed, I'm extremely happy with this product and is easily one of the best card magic DVDs I have. The production quality is itself excellent and Peter is a great teacher.
Peter first goes into painstaking detail about how to make a short card, and even has a great tip if you're using Bicycle backed cards ( which could be applied to others too ). A great kick-off to the DVD..
Peter then shows how to control the short card itself, and then illustrates various controls which assist you to control other cards using the short card ( some might call it the key-card effect ) . Some of these moves are : Spread Cull Control, Double Undercut control and Prophecy Move. Various other utility moves like glimpses ( Speed Glimpse and Shuffle Glimpse ) and some 4-5 forces which are extremely deceptive.
Frankly, I would have been happy enough if the DVD ended here, because he leaves you with extremely powerful controls that are just waiting to be explored. Anyone even with a minimum of creativity potential can come up with miracles using a short card.
Next come seven well thought out effects that work extremely well with laymen and magicians alike, and all can be used in walk-around situations. DISCLAIMER : Please bear with the effect descriptions if they are not too clear ( I wrote them myself so don't go around blaming Peter if you didn't get what you expected
) Also, a dying trend - there are live street performances for each effect which actually SHOW THE PERFORMANCE and not just the spectators' reactions.
1. Ace Production : Spectators cut the deck however they want to and you can still discover two aces. Then, a spectator stabs one of the aces into the deck and it is shown that he placed it exactly in between the other two aces.
This is a great ace production. I'm not a great fan of four ace productions as the gambling theme doesn't really appeal to me but the kicker ending of the spectator locating the final two aces has made me go out and perform this little gem. Spectacular thinking to say the least.
2. Spelling Made Easy : A spectator selects and returns a card into the middle of the deck. You return the deck and ask the spectator to deal out one card for each letter in their name, and the card corresponding to the last alphabet is their selected card.
I've had a lot of fun with this. It is very direct, mathematics-free and the handling is exceptionally clean like all the other effects.
3. Coincidence ? : One spectator selects any card from the deck, and another spectator reads his/her mind.
Whenever I perform this both the spectators get equally astounded and have no rational explanation to what just happened. It uses one of Cassford's forces ( and yet the card is not forced
) and is very hard-hitting.
4. Impossible Mindreading : (READ THIS CAREFULLY) With you holding out the deck in one hand and facing away, a spectator takes away one half ( portion) of the deck and remembers the card cut to. He/she then gives their portion of the deck a complete cut so as to bury the card. Then you dribble your half of the deck and they jut their half of the deck anywhere in between. And yet, instantly, you reveal the card they are thinking of.
I must say that when I started performing Dead Reckoning ( John Bannon ) , I swore by it and maintained that there would be never such a fair and clean handling of a revelation type effect. But this one matches Dead Reckoning on all fronts, and is much more impromptu-er than DR. In fact I have performed this with a borrowed deck of cards as well to a fellow magician, and it totally fried him. I think this is one of my favorite effects on the DVD and I so wish I had come up with this one
.
5. The Difficult Spectator : You turn your back, the spectator selects a card - takes the deck from you , shuffles it and you turn back and either name out the card or produce it.
A great effect for the Mr. Know-It-All. It's another effect that you can incorporate if you use cards for mindreading ( sorry Iain and Craig
)
6. Triple Threat Mindreading : This is Difficult Spectator times three. Three spectators select cards in very fair ways and yet you name them one after the other..
This one incorporates many of the techniques taught earlier on the DVD and it's a really astounding demonstration of mindreading. It will pass by many knowledgeable magicians ( and mentalists ) as well..
7. Red Hot Momma : I guess most of you will know this effect courtesy Michael Ammar. But for the sake of completeness I will describe it here. Spectator selects any card and it is buried in the middle of the deck ( say Blue-Backed). You go through the cards and there is one odd-backed card ( Red-Backed ) which is shown to be the spectator's selected card. The card is dropped on the ground and you offer to re-do the effect. Spectator selects another card and it is returned into the deck. You go through the cards and there is no red card. Then you ask the spectator to pick up the red card on the ground which proves to be the second selected card.
This is one of my favorite opening effects ( I think it is known as the Chicago Opener too ) and Peter has given his Cassford-ian touch to it. There isn't much of a change in the overall effect, but a few improvements ensue, the main one being this is perfect for walkaround ! It has an instant re-set which only takes a couple of seconds. This is a dream come true for a die-hard fan of CO. I perform this way too much nowadays
, and yes I have done this one with a borrowed deck of cards as well..
Final Verdict
There is a lot of room for creativity using the techniques explained, and I have added the short card to many marketed effects and made the handling more direct. This is something invaluable you'll always be left with after watching this DVD. A quick note ( something I just remembered ) : Peter doesn't teach the spread cull control but rightly points you to Card College 1 ..
I know of some people who swear by sleight-of-hand and despise any gaffs of any sort. So, I will just paraphrase what Peter said on the interview on Go Magic Go ( which I just noticed Kenton also echoed on his kind words for the DVD ) : If you don't use the short card in your performances, Someone Somewhere is going to fool you with it Sometime or the other.