talkmagic.co.uk

The Trick
No strings, threads or wires. The lifting motion is slow; the force is under your control.

Someone chooses a card, then you take the card from them and float it off the deck. You can hand the card out to your audience.

The trick is more powerful than you realize.

The Gimmick
Has been difficult to obtain anywhere. Now manufactured by Ellusionist, you can count on perfection and smoothness of operation every time. Take care of it and it will last a long time. Available in Ghost, Viper, Tiger and Red/Blue Bicycle.

Training DVD Included
Get trained in the art of making a card rise and float in this MTV-style, no-holds-barred, 50 minute DVD with acclaimed teacher Brad Christian. Even a beginner will understand what to do with ease. Receive rare tips and techniques direct from Brad as he tells you about...

Why there are only two types of spectators and how one of them is almost certain to ruin your presentation... and what to do about it!

Showmanship when levitating... how to make the crowd sshhhhhhh with ease

How to get better angles using distance as a control

How to make people stay in one place with authority when demonstrating

Note: I just got this DVD so I haven't tried out the trick to an audience yet, so I'm just going to comment on the gimmick and the DVD, rather than the trick itself.

First off, the DVD. I've watched the DVD once so far and was very happy with it. Brad Christian goes into great detail on every aspect of the trick; from two different ways to get into the trick, using the gimmick, getting out of the trick, audience management, what patter to use and more. I've never been disappointed in a Brad Christian taught DVD and this was no exception.

The gimmick itself is very well made in my opinion. It's sturdy and with good care I'm sure will last a long time.

One more thing to note is that while I find most Ellusionist products to be overpriced, you can get the gimmick and the DVD for just $19.95 which isn't that bad.

Since I haven't performed the effect yet I'm hesitant to give an overall rating for it, but so far I'm really liking what I see and would give it a rating in the 7 to 9 out of 10 range. Whether it be closer to 7 or 9 depends on what kind of reactions I get when I start performing this. I'll add some more to this thread once I've performed it a few times and get a better feel for the trick out there in the real world.

and what about the trick... do you find it hard to do? is it angle sensitive? any more details would be greatly appreciated. I'm sure im not the only one interested.

The trick isn't very hard to do, though it does take some practice (but then again what doesn't). Taking the time to get used to the gimmick and to learn how to really control the movement is definitely worth it. Brad Christian covers all of this on the DVD.

As for angle sensitivity, the angles are a concern but they really aren't that hard to manage and the DVD goes through some good ideas on how to manage your audience and how to control the angles.

One thing I've noticed after performing it a few times is that you really have to emphasise the performance and showmanship for this trick to carry any weight. The few times I've performed this I did it for a few friends who are usually pretty sceptical about my tricks, so compound that with the fact that my performance skills definitely need a lot of work and the responses I got were pretty lukewarm. That said given the right audience, enough practice and a good routine to make your audience believe you are capable of actually making a card hover and this trick will be a great addition to your arsenal.