The Effects:
They Say:
Michael Paul is a rising star in the world of magic. A veteran close up magician and Monday Night Magic performer, he’ll teach you his style of magic: magic that concentrates on audience reaction over knucklebusting. Magic with impact. Michael will teach his fresh take on classics of close up such as:
Spectator Cuts the Aces:
The spectator really makes a fair cut into the center of the pack, and actually finds an ace. No gaffs, duplicates, crimps, or strange cutting proceedures... and it's easy. This is how spectator cuts the aces should look. Impromptu.
Four Ace Production:
Easy to set up and remember, here is an ace production that actually works well in the real world. Produce three aces from the pack visibly, the fourth mysteriously appears in the most surprising way... on the table, and in full view.
Card to Shoe:
A signed playing card vanishes from in between the spectator's hands and re-appears wedged into the toe of your shoe. No set up or switches... the card that comes out of the shoe is actually the signed card. Do this with any card, any shoe!
Coins Across:
A coin routine with maximum spectator involvemnet and maximum magic, including a very visual vanish and a coin to spectator's hand that will bring you powerful reactions.
Reality Displacement:
A signed playing card instantly jumps from the center of the pack to your hand. Less like a card trick and more like a camera effect, Reality Displacement will have you and your audience doing a double take. This one has to be seen to be believed.
Initial Burn:
A total stranger selects a card, signs it, and loses it back in the pack. Now, a small piece of paper is marked with her first initial and placed on top of the pack. You set fire to it, and it vanishes... when the cards are spread, one card is burned... and the burn is in the shape of her first initial. It is her signed card. Do this for anybody, and leave them with a souvenier they will keep forever! Meet your new closer.
Totally Triumphant:
A complete three phase card act that leaves the deck in new pack order! Get ready to take your triumph routine to a new level... without adding difficult moves or fancy set ups.
Michael Paul’s clear and easy teaching style is supplemented with this state of the art DVD. Each effect has multiple viewing angles so you can choose what you want to see. A second, complete audio track for each effect also gives you Michael’s additional commentary and information for the advanced performer. It’s almost like an extra lecture on the material!
I Say:
Spectator Cuts the Aces:
The spectator really makes a fair cut into the center of the pack, and actually finds an ace. No gaffs, duplicates, crimps, or strange cutting proceedures... and it's easy. This is how spectator cuts the aces should look. Impromptu.
This is awesome. Everything they say is true. Heres what it looks like. You take the four aces and put them in the pack. You weave the pack together. You take off half the pack, and spec. cuts into that pack, to find an ace. You do this again. Then you look through the pack and say, "Id say an ace is between say 10th card down and 20th. They name a number in between, and that card is an ace. The final card can be revealed in multiple ways. This can be used for so much more than a spec cuts to the aces, its up to you to decide, as Michael makes clear in the second audio track. What the description of it means is that it looks impromptu. THIS IS NOT IMPROMPTU!
okay.
Four Ace Production:
Easy to set up and remember, here is an ace production that actually works well in the real world. Produce three aces from the pack visibly, the fourth mysteriously appears in the most surprising way... on the table, and in full view.
what more can I say... okay here goes, you cut into the deck and an ace shoots out. You do it again. You lift up the pack and an ace shoots out of the deck into your left hand. The fourth one has magically appeared on the table
Card to Shoe:
A signed playing card vanishes from in between the spectator's hands and re-appears wedged into the toe of your shoe. No set up or switches... the card that comes out of the shoe is actually the signed card. Do this with any card, any shoe!
they pick a card, you put it into their hands, they look at the card, and its not their card anymore, their card is folded in the toe of your shoe, which you havent goe near during the whole trick. this is really impromptu,
Coins Across:
A coin routine with maximum spectator involvemnet and maximum magic, including a very visual vanish and a coin to spectator's hand that will bring you powerful reactions.
this uses a special something that you probably already have if youre a coin worker. I didnt love it, but who am I to not love it?
Reality Displacement:
A signed playing card instantly jumps from the center of the pack to your hand. Less like a card trick and more like a camera effect, Reality Displacement will have you and your audience doing a double take. This one has to be seen to be believed.
Initial Burn:
A total stranger selects a card, signs it, and loses it back in the pack. Now, a small piece of paper is marked with her first initial and placed on top of the pack. You set fire to it, and it vanishes... when the cards are spread, one card is burned... and the burn is in the shape of her first initial. It is her signed card. Do this for anybody, and leave them with a souvenier they will keep forever! Meet your new closer.
I put these two together because they seem similar. They seem impossible.... trust me they ARE impossible. the first is really difficult to pull off, the second involves something that I dont know how to do. but if you like f**** p****, you might kinda like it.
Totally Triumphant:
A complete three phase card act that leaves the deck in new pack order! Get ready to take your triumph routine to a new level... without adding difficult moves or fancy set ups.
this teaches the z***** shuffle well, but not the triumph bit. In fact, you have to look at it in another angle than the general one to learn the zarrow shuffle. I do like the routine though
Michael Paul’s clear and easy teaching style is supplemented with this state of the art DVD. Each effect has multiple viewing angles so you can choose what you want to see. A second, complete audio track for each effect also gives you Michael’s additional commentary and information for the advanced performer. It’s almost like an extra lecture on the material!
clear and easy teaching style: I had to look at a lot of it at a different angle and listen to the second audio track for the complete understanding I eventually got, but, I eventually got it!
Multiple viewing angles: check!
Second audio track: check! It is almost like an extra lecture! thats really what it seemed like! good stuff, good stuff.
Cost:
I got this from penguin for about 26 bucks but I think its supposed to be 35.
Difficulty
(1=easy to do, 2=No sleights, but not so easy, 3=Some sleights used,
4=Advanced sleights used, 5=Suitable for experienced magicians only)
this goes from 3 to 4. probably about 2 are 4. but that all depends on how experienced you are!!!
Review
This was a pretty good DVD. If you get it I would look at everything before you try to work the routines. The second audio track, the angles, everything. Id say that you need some prior knowledge in magic. But it has some great material.
Overall
If you want to learn 7 great routines, get something else... like RRTCM or something. If you want to learn a couple really great routines that you will use and will get great reactions from, GET THIS! I use the Four ace production and the spec cuts the aces in one of my routines, and they really get great reactions. Especially the spec cuts the aces. Its almost selfworking. you dont even really need to handle the cards. but that would make it slightly harder.
overall, Id give it an 8 out of 10. Some great stuff, but some really pointless unnecessary stuff, so, Id say get it. unless you dont do any card stuff and dont want to.
My opinions may be biased a bit in that Michael lives just down the road from me and I've seen the guy work... he's incredible and all the rumors are correct, he is someone we will be hearing a lot about in the years ahead.
