talkmagic.co.uk

http://www.thebluecrown.com/store/tricks/the-brick-pass-by-alex-pandrea.html

The Effect: Pass subtleties
Cost: $9.95
Difficulty: 4

Alex Pandrea is known for his amazing passes so I had to have it, and got it. Hereby my review for it.

Trailer
The trailer is all great. Alex Pandrea + Classic Pass = Gold. Two things from the trailer however bothered me. First thing being that it was cut in a way that Alex says “Hopefully in this video we gonna improve your Classic Pass and make it as invisible as possible” right after he performed it from a flashing angle and the second thing being that in the end of the trailer there is quite some exposure which seems to be normal for the trailers of The Blue Crown but I see it as a bad thing because it publically gives away secrets.

Introduction
In the introduction Alex explains that the Brick Pass is his take on the Classic Pass and that he has been noticing a lot of problems with the ways people perform it. He also tells you to get On The Pass by Richard Kaufman which made clear that the Brick Pass tutorial would only cover the Brick Pass and nothing else.

Avoid mistakes
Although it says mistakes, Alex basically goes over a single mistake but the rest of the video will make up for this. The mistake he brings to the attention is a very important one nonetheless.

Overview
In this section it becomes clear that the Brick Pass is nothing but a Jiggle Pass which disappointed me. I have been doing the Jiggle Pass with as little motion as Alex does and I am sure that I’m not the only one so I looked forward for the details to see if I could actually learn anything from this. In this section it also becomes clear that the main focus of this video is improving the pass and not learning it from this video.

Obtaining the break
For most beginner magicians this will be the most helpful part of the video. The only problem may be that this section is only useful if you spread the cards. It’s close to worthless if you want a spectator to say stop instead like in longer distance performances.

Finger positions/‘Grip’/‘Pinky’/‘Wrist’
In these sections Alex goes over the Pass technique nicely and clearly. He often recaps it so you won’t miss a thing. All great!

Ways of covering
A big con of this section I think is that Alex doesn’t cover the audiences or distances from them. This section is mainly about finishing the pass action and putting a nice final touch to it which I wouldn’t call covering.

Extra tips
In here Alex gives two tips. The very first one is extremely important but the second one actually makes it look like you’re doing a move which is a contradiction to everything Alex said in the previous sections. The first tip is supposed to keep everything steady and the second tip is supposed to make things easier.

Putting it all together
A nice little overview from the front instead of from an exposing angle like in the rest of the tutorial.

Control vs. color change
Alex explains how there is a slight difference between the ways of doing the pass as a control or as a color change and that he usually doesn’t do it as a control which may explain the contradiction in the Extra tips. There is a neat subtlety he put to the pass as a control.

Final thoughts
The closer to the tutorial in which the main message is to go over the tutorial video many times, see the subtleties and add them to your own pass and to practice, practice and practice.

Teaser
I can only guess that the teaser was supposed to be funny but I really don’t get it. According to what Alex said in the Introduction section, the Brick Pass was actually named after this teaser.


Pros of the tutorial in general
- It’s an in depth tutorial which goes over truly every part of the “Brick Pass” as done by Alex.
- Covers the most important tips.
- Great video quality.
- Technical pros: Nice, relaxing music during the transitions.

Cons of the tutorial
- It doesn’t cover the angles.
- It was advertised as if it was something original. I think it should’ve just been called the Jiggle Pass.
- Technical cons: Jump cuts during rather short sections and rushed fades before the transitions.


Recommended?
Not unless you have learnt the Classic Pass from a different source before and think it can use some improvement.