talkmagic.co.uk

Whats sad is that he used to actually come out with some great effects that were actually audience tested and well thought out.

But it seems that over the years he's lost creativity and decided to just come out with things that MIGHT be good, but are usually c*** (not the best). I think he also knows this DVD was c*** (not the best) because you can see on his DVD youtube page that he already explains how to do most of them.

Like most have already said, this isn't a DVD that he should have ever released. It's just a bunch of bar gags and pranks, which most people on this planet have known about since the dawn of time.

Everyone here knows the hype on this product was huge and I will agree this product failed to live up to its hype. I was one of the unlucky pre order buyers. This is going to be a bit long, so bear with me.

For the most part, you're paying $35 (I'm from the states) for pranks, rehashed Sankey material, and glorified bar stunts. If you're thinking about this product, like the original poster said go look up pranks on the internet. You just saved yourself money and became a "bender" (sorry that is the last time I use that term because I consider it a marketing ploy).

Why couldnt Jay have expanded his philosophy any more? Why was it 4 pages of a tiny booklet? If it was so revolutionary, why couldn't it have been 80 plus pages? Marketing is the answer. The descendent trick didnt even contain the hard to make part, just the nibs. False marketing at its finest.

The annoying techno music and the weird filming style was just the icing on the cake. The actor/actress were spewing nonsensical catchphrases. Seriously? You could have spent the time to work on subtleties to make the effects better. And please don't say simple is better, concentrate on the effect, blah blah blah. This may be the first Sankey product I owned, but his previous work supposedly covered subtleties to maximize the trick's effect to the spectator. In other words, Jay could have put in some more work onto this DVD but chose not to. So far, production values and teaching were subpar.

BTR has been bashed on the magic cafe. To the best of my memory, only 1 person could say he liked it and personally speaking, I dont know what he's thinking. The hype couldn't live up to what it promised, there were rehashed effects, a lot of the effects could be looked up off the internet, most of the philosophy Jay gives out is on his Youtube page. Really? How can you justify spending $35 on a product when most of the material you paid with your hard earned money can be found for free? It completely confounds me....

Before I conclude, I think you should look at Jay's youtube channel. First off, pause the annoying video designed to lure curious BTR buyers. Then look down in the comments. You'll find Jay has yet to address someone who won a free BTR video in the giveaway. You might as well screen the comment before Jay deletes it. Supposedly the guy bought a BTR DVD even though he was supposedly going to receive a "free" DVD?

And at the original poster, go ahead and put this item into a blender, film it, and post it on Youtube. Aweful, aweful product. If I need to hammer this in one more time, this is my rating: Fail/Ten

Is it fair to say that you weren't overly impressed?

Blending the Real, it is... I have some organising to do.


Also, this thought just came to me, maybe we should all chip in and get a copy of 'Jay Sankey's Create Your Own Magic' and send it to him. Maybe then he might come up with some good stuff. I use those principles to make my own original effect and to add my own personality to the classics.

A friend of mine purchased it and chucked it in the bin!

I forgot to mention...at least on the site where I got it from (Penguinmagic), the advertising is you receive a book. More like a booklet. I never knew a book could be less than 10 pages. This was such a hack product with hack marketing. And yes, I agree with you Jing, especially since this product was marketed toward magicians, that made it all the more unethical. Nothing revolutionary about this product.

Might as well add, funny how the penguinmagic staff are trying to downplay this fiasco and shift the topic. "I'm going to create a best of Jay Sankey...xyz" As cynical as I may sound, I think all this negative press is hurting magic dealers like PM (the unsold BTR copies in their warehouses)

Jing wrote:Blending the Real, it is... I have some organising to do.


Also, this thought just came to me, maybe we should all chip in and get a copy of 'Jay Sankey's Create Your Own Magic' and send it to him. Maybe then he might come up with some good stuff. I use those principles to make my own original effect and to add my own personality to the classics.

If you're serious about this, paypal is the route to go. Regardless, I'm undecided if you are serious though. Should I support someone who would release subpar DVDs at whim? Or should I make a statement to the same person that he needs to get his act straight? Hmm.

It seems to me that Jay Sankey actually needs to develop a filter or actually just test his stuff out. Like the guys on WPR have said, Sankey does put out good stuff, the problem is that in order to find his good stuff you need to dig through his mediocre and bad stuff to find it. Though with this, it seems like he just gave up.

Ok one last thing (before I start acting like Jay Sankey on Twitter---Zing!), Jing, if you do blend the bending the real and post it on youtube, I would be careful to not encourage other people to want to buy their own copy of BTR so they can blend it as well. It would be better off to do something like direct them to review sites like this one and magic cafe so they know BTR is c*** (not the best).

In the grand scheme of things, it's all basic economics. When you buy a product, you are registering your dollar vote in support of a product. It's better off if you dont support BTR so Jay can make better products.

Alec Kobain wrote:I've had to stop following Sankey (ooer) on twitter because he is using the site to constantly advertise and push his products on people. My word, did it get annoying!

Alec

You should see the newsletter. If he mentions the "slyder" gimmick once more I may explode.