talkmagic.co.uk

Oh yea, i forgot to mention, the icarus is stage only, you cannot do it anywhere like it says and it is very angle sensative. its garbage, dont throw your money away.

I take it, you won't be purchasing one then!!

As a "Magic shop owner" believe you me I have "pi**ed more money away" on "Trash" stock in the last four years, than you have in a lifetime!!

IF you have EVER dealt with me, you will know that I OFTEN tell people NOT to purchase an item, BECAUSE of it being trash!! (I hope some of my valued customers will come to my defense here!)

I purchase practically one of everything that comes out, to check it over for my customers. If it's (in my opinion) GOOD then I'll sell it & most probably dem it (if have the time to practice it!), if it's bad then when people come in & ask about it, or phone/email I will tell them that IN MY OPINION it's c*** (not the best) & NOT to buy it. I have MANY MANY run ins with SOME of my suppliers, over the standard of effects that are constantly being "Churned out", that don't live up to expectations.

I (having been a PROFESSIONAL magician myself for many years) have spent MORE years on the "BUYING" side of the counter, than I have on the "SELLING" side of the counter, so I totally UNDERSTAND the customers feelings MORE than the dealers. (to MY detriment!)

I WILL NOT rip my customers off. Your comments are totally MISGUIDED to say the least!!

When you make comments in a forum like this, try to be FACTUAL, have a full knowledge of what you are talking about, because it makes you look foolish if you don't!

We DO NOT make tons of cash from "Amateur magicians" (spelt E.U.R by the way!)

You also can't have a "CHEAP" trick that is "OVERPRICED!"

Anyway back to Icarus! I had to order a DOZEN of these from the supplier, because that was his minimum order, I then had to get them from Canada to the U.K so we had to pay for the shipping & the VAT & DUTY on top of the actual purchasing price. I only ordered AFTER I had read EVERYTHING on the Magic Cafe forum, I based my decision to purchase on the basis of reviews from the PURCHASERS of the effect, & NOT from the people who were just guessing as to how it was done!!

I took NO NOTICE at all from people who posted reviews, that were NOT in a position to REVIEW!! (what did they know?) after all they were only guessing!! they didn't have the effect!

I was impressed with ALL of the positive reviews, & if ENTITY was merely trying to boost sales (as a friend to Aaron Patterson, the creator of Icarus)
then WHY would he have mentioned that he was a friend? He could have kept his mouth shut & NOT mentioned it!! He was honest enough to state himself that he was a friend, & was in on Icarus from the start, & that he purchased the effect.

I ordered the doz, & I can assure you WITH GREAT TREPIDATION, I opened one up. NO you don't get a "Piece of paper" telling you how it's done, (as I said before, TRY to get your facts right!) you do however get a wonderful DVD , with instructions on how to construct the gimmick, how to perform it, various presentation ideas, including how to perform it surrounded etc etc. You also get all the items you need to construct the gimmick, including the tooling!

I watched it all the way through, & yes IT IS WONDERFUL! I am basing MY opinion on FACTS, not "Hearsay".

As with ANY effect, what you pay for & what you get does not equate. The cost of the items included is way way BELOW, the price you pay. If you buy a GREAT card trick & it costs you (say) £10.00, you open it up & all you get is a couple of double face cards & a sheet of instructions, would it be worth £10.00? NO! of course not, a couple of cards & a sheet of paper may only be worth a few pence, BUT the EFFECT of the trick (especially to a "WORKING PERFORMER" could be worth £100's. This is the only way to value the Icarus effect.

Also if someone like yourself is only too keen to blab the secret, (when you have not even any real idea as to how it works!) it's probably a good job, that the item is priced high, because if I'd paid good money for the effect, I would be keeping it a secret, especially from the likes of YOU!

If you don't wish to purchase, then that's fine, but ranting & raving in a public forum, about something you obviously know little about, as I said before just makes you look foolish (to say the least!).

If you wish to learn more about myself, then please go to my website www.mikedanatasmagicstudio.co.uk & go to the ABOUT US page.

I would likewise be interested to learn more about YOU (age etc) how long you've been interested in magic, are you a performer? or do you just post on magic forums etc........?

Mike Danata

danata wrote:When you make comments in a forum like this, try to be FACTUAL, have a full knowledge of what you are talking about, because it makes you look foolish if you don't!

Well said Mike. Actually I took that one quote out of the entire text - but well said for the entire post.

I know Mike is a dealer and so consequently he could be biased, but I would much rather read facts about any product from someone that owns it rather from people making assumptions having just seen video clips.

If you own one and don't like it then for sure let's hear about it, with some actual reasons.

Rydinhi wrote:sorry to bust this out but im sick of people making tons of cash off of amatuer magicians trying to make a living.

Probably why this one has been priced so that it is available for professional magicians, who by putting it in their act can make the money back.

I haven't seen icarus apart from some of the video clips going around, so I can't really comment on this particular product, but I do seriously believe that it is all too easy to slag off products in magic formus like this, by people that are at the very best just speculating and it is a trend I am very much against. Having said that, I have to admit that TalkMagic is normally one of the better ones for avoiding this sort of behaviour.

So again I say, well done Mike Danata.

Greetings

I have seen the Icarus effect performed live and in my opinion it is the strongest levitation effect I have seen.

I do know how the effect is done but this does not matter as it is a fabulous effect and one that will make you stand out and be remembered.

Regards

Dean

OK. let me tell you a few things about Mike Danata from a customers perspective.

If you've never visited Mike's studio then you're missing a real treat. Mike is an extremely skilled magician and its' a joy to browse or if you're fortunate, to watch and listening to Mike demo to you or to another customer. His studio is a real Aladdin's cave and i've not visited such a well stocked magic supplier anywhere else.

People travel from absolute miles away to visit Mike and I know, as I've met and talked to many a customer and they do this because Mike's a nice guy and yes, he will tell you if something's c*** (not the best) (he's saved me from more than a few bum purchases I can tell you). Many of Mikes visitors are performing professionals and I have no doubt they they too appreciate his honesty.

Mike is also an innovator and can take something apart and re-construct it better than it was, with a new or improved routine so if Mike has something to say then I can vouch that it's worth listening to.

Don’t take too much notice of Rydinhi folks, he’s only made 2 posts and both of them are aggressive, misinformed and, not to put to fine a point on it, rather insulting in tone and content. Any future posts from him will be very carefully studied – before being deleted if necessary!

Sorry to upset anyone, after purchasing a number of levitations i believe i have been ripped off quite a bit... to name one... the elevator... which is simply garbage.... My recent posts were just me venting from spending hundreds of dollars and receiving stuff that is not worth half of what i paid. I will keep my tone down a bit for now on.... sorry, just venting.

Rydinhi said:

sorry to bust this out but im sick of people making tons of cash off of amatuer magicians trying to make a living.

How can you be an "Amateur magician" yet be trying to make a living at it? Doesn't that make you a professional!!!!!!!!!!



Hey Rydinhi.......

I feel you are being overly aggressive in this case.......I mean it is about business to the owner, creator, etc.........do you really think that the paper a card routine is printed on is worth the money ($10-$30) you pay for it.......of course it isn't!!!!!!! The idea is that you are paying time for the research and development of the product!! In the pharmacy business, the cost to produce a pill is 1/10 of a cent, but the cost of researching and develping the first of that pill type was likely in the millions of dollars........this R&D money must be recovered!

Not to sound mean, but if you feel it is not worth it, then simply don't buy one! If you feel YOU could put something together for resale, then all the power to you, and hope you make a fortune!!!!!!!!!

Rip off. That is all I have to say. Copy of Criss Angel's levitation in his Mindfreak episode on levitations. The only difference is the direction you are facing.

[edited by mods]
Why waste $400 dollars when Criss Angel, in his next Masterminds DVD, is teaching his method of that very same levitation for half the price?

Anyone who owns Pocket Sawing In Half and Bisection, by Andrew Mayne, should be able to put two and two together for an answer. Those are basically the only things you need to know in order to preform DC's laser illusion. Or take that idea and apply it to one leg for a levitation. And some people think Andrew Mayne's ideas suck... When they are the root of a pretty good levitations and DC's amazing looking Laser Ilusion.

And I have a friend who owns a magic shop. I am not just babbling here. I know what I am talking about. He owns the Icarus Effect. And I can say he was pretty pi**ed when he found out about Angel's mastermind DVD on levitations that is in the works.

How hard is it to step up onto a chair or ledge...

Hi!
This is Mike from Mike Danata's magic Studio in the U.K. Here we go again, someone who hasn't purchased the effect slagging it off! I wonder what your reasons are for this? It does seem VERY STRANGE to me. Perhaps YOU are promoting the Chris Angel Dvd?

Anyone reading the thread on Icarus will quickly realise that EVERYONE who has PURCHASED Icarus & posted a review (not just in this forum, go also to www.themagiccafe.com to see the longest thread ever!!) have been more than well pleased with it. The ONLY people who are not pleased with the effect are the NON PURCHASERS! I realise that "forces" are at work to "Belittle" Icarus, prior to the release of the Chris Angel Dvd (readers of this forum beware!). I don't think this will work however, because too many people are very very happy with Icarus!!!
www.mikedanatasmagicstudio.co.uk

Notably he's a one post merchant, no intro, no contribution, just conflict. It's safe to ignore such people as they don't intend to be part of TM, just to cause trouble. This sort we don't need!

Joey Stalin is talking through his hat. He doesn't own Icarus Effect or the levitation Angel will be selling, so his pronouncements are virtually worthless.

Icarus Effect is the original invention of Aaron Paterson from Canada. I first saw it in early 1994, when Aaron showed it to me with regard to a television project that I was involved in.

The thing Chris Angel is putting out on DVD is a levitation concept more recently discovered by Jacob Spinney, which Angel bought the rights to and performed on his television program.

There appear to be major differences in the look, practicality and useage of the two levitations, and there certainly is a difference in the product being sold. Icarus effect comes with everything you need (apart from your own clothing) to assemble and perform this wonderful self-levitation.

Those who have purchased it are overwhelmingly clear in their praise for this effect. As can easily be seen in the promotional video, this is a levitation for street or casual use, close up to a spectator, but the DVD included with the kit gives multiple uses and ideas for performance, including some very innovative and unusual uses for stage.

While I AM a friend of the inventor of Icarus Effect, I have no financial interest in it, and I am considered by most people who know me to be a man of honour and integrity. I would not endorse something unless I believed that it was an excellent product.

- entity

Sorry if this sounds like a dumb question -
(I have spent 4 hrs reading 25 pages of thread on MagicCafe - so at least this should be an original question!)
Icarus is desribed as primarily intended for close-up perfermance, possibly one-on-one. Holding the spectator's hands draws them in very close to control their angle of vision. BUT if they are too close, could they actually miss the effect??? If they are looking at your face, won't it just look like you stepped backwards up onto a step?
Any comments? (From people who have actually performed it please!)

You stand about a foot from them. They can look down between the two of you and easily see both of your feet.

this is just one presentation. You can also do it completely alone, without the spectator participating, and the DVD includes methods for stage use in front of an entire audience.

- entity

I was looking at ordering this. How long does it take to construct the 'something' and is it easy to make?