Outline
Dan at YouDoMagic has, for a while now, been producing top quality instructional media for primarily single effects. This 2 DVD set is an amalgamation of those effects to give the purchaser almost a full. working, strolling magic act.
Cost
This cost me slightly less as I had a discount for reviewing it but the price at the moment is $75.
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)
I would say a solid 3...there is nothing too advanced but quite honestly if you could master all of the slieghts on this set then it would be enough to perform in front of any lay-audience (...unless they had come to see Lennart Green!!!!!!!)
Review
OK....down to the nitty gritty. First of all..I lied. Well that's not entirely true (look..I lied again). This isn't a 2 DVD set. It is a 2 DVD and a single CD set. This CD contains copies of the ebooks and bonus movies. - 3 discs in all.
Probably the first thing I am going to say is that personally I do not consider this qualifies as an instructional DVD and that is simply because you cannot learn the effects/routines solely from it. You may find that odd but the media that are the true diamonds of this set are the ebooks.
I have not seen anything so comprehensive as each of Dans' e-books. With one for each effect, they give an extensive outlline, advice on patter and routining and full descriptions on the sleights and techniques involved (through full colour photographs). The DVDs do not cover the effects in anything like the level of detail...they do however flesh out and show the effects working in real-life situations, which to a magician who knows his sleights but doesn't really know how to put them into practice, this could be invaluable.
The first DVD covers card magic and is split into two parts - "Close up magic" (performance) and "Sleight of hand". The performance elements show Dan at work running with 7 routines. These are obviously proven and strong routines for Dan and although they are not particularly demanding they are invaluable to the novice to show how an effect should be delivered to an audience. My personal favourite is "Card to Pocket" - a classic containing onlya few sleights yet its a definate crowd pleaser and a great routine for strolling magic. The performance section also gives a breakdown of the invisible and svengali decks. The "sleights" section, in extensive collaboration with the ebooks, work through all of the sleights used inthe routines. I would definately not advise to just use the DVD on its own...all of the sleights breakdowns are designed to be used in conjunction with ebook and as long as the purchaser bears that in mind then they will have absolutely no cause for complaint about the information contained.
The second DVD contains non card magic but is broken down into "Sleight of hand, which consists of TT, ring/string, sponge ball and cups/balls. "Rubber band magic" and "coins and currency".
Again the format is very much the same as the first DVD, with the emphasis, from a learning point of view, being placed on the ebook. This section contains some absolute classics - primarily "Ring on String" and "crazy mans handcuffs", both of which would not be out of place in anyones table hopping act. Again I cannot really fault the information given...there is nothing groundbreaking but thats not the point of set.
So is it perfect?...no
...and this is my personal gripe. I like instructional DVD's as a medium but Dan has not constructed this in the "usual" way for an instructional DVD and I honestly dont know if this is going to be to everyones taste plus it means that you really have to play this on a computer OR print out the ebooks for the full benefit. That aside, as a total package, I think it is an excellent foundation for any novice magician.
Also I almost forgot to mention that the DVD interface is the nicest I have seen yet on DVD....very professional!
Overall
A very strong 9 out of 10...only dropping a point for its ebook reliance.
