talkmagic.co.uk

Hi all,

If you've read my intro, you'll realise that I've had a fair break from magic. I learnt most of what I know from books and the only video on the market back in the early 80's in Australia - Barry Govan's Close up Magic. (awesome - in a mullet haircut, bad pastel shirt, shot in a garage kind of way). So I was thinking of having a look around. The only one I have seen since is Sankey-tized Vol 2 (the one with airtight on it), which I quite liked.

So...what is essential viewing??

I was looking at Darwin's Encyclopedia of TT Magic Tricks - I looked at the reviews on this website which seem to indicate it's a goer - can you still confirm that?

Cheers

Tony

What sort of close up are you interested in? It's a massive field! Cards, coins, magic with everyday objects?

Also, I would recommend a search - this type of question comes up frequently.

Don't forget books also!

Yeah there's loads of topics on this sort of thing and there's loads of DVDs as well. First off it's always good to get a good grounding in the area of magic you want to work in, so if you're a card guy then any DVDs which teach you the basic sleights, forces and more advanced moves are good, then you can learn some basic effects and progress up the 'ranks'; that's my suggestion - get a good understanding in the basics (so DVDs which teach those sorts of things) and then work your way up from there. Most magic stores have DVDs such as these, and all you have to do is run a search.

I don't own the TT DVD but Penguin has it so maybe watching a demo vid might give you some idea of whether it has what you need? It certainly seems VERY encyclopedic and contains some of the 'classics' and, by the looks of it, some new ideas.

I can't recommend many DVDs I'm afraid as I prefer me books. Still, Michael Ammar's Easy to Master Card Miracles series looks good, and his Introduction to Coin Magic has gotten good reviews; the Complete Card Magic series starts at beginner level and builds up to 'Expert Extreme' and covers sleights and flourishes, so that may be of use.

OK -

I probably should have narrowed the field - but I like all sorts of magic (close up or otherwise). The Barry Govan (an excellent Australian close up card macigian) video I mentioned is actually fantastic (in its limited early 80s front shot only way) - it covered many sleights, counts and florishes in mainly cards, but also some coin and cup and balls. Which is why I probably liked the idea of the TT DVD - it's something I haven't really explored.

Anyway, I'll take your advice and check out other entries.

Cheers

Tony

Sorry, ignore my last post and all those beginner DVDs - just noticed the 'SH' in your profile.



Still, they do look good and seem to have some material a professional could benefit from so maybe worth a look...?

(The Daniel Garcia Project looks quite interesting and covers cards and coins and the like; Jay Sankey's good for commerical and impressive material as wel; I'd imagine any DVDs from 'the masters' of our art would be useful, again I'm not really a DVD guy but I can't imagine you going wrong with things from Greg Wilson, Michael Ammar, Daryl, Jay Sankey etc. but check 'em out first to make sure they're what you want)

You mentionned the TT DVD in an earlier post (see upwards) and I have this particular one. Darwin's encyclopedia of TT Magic. There's a review somehwere although I can't find it at the moment but it's a superb set of DVD's with enough material on them to keep you going for some time.

This is extremely good value for money and I can't help but to recommend it.

If you're interested in metal bending then again, there has been some debate about which is the best from the Banacheck and Liquid Metal DVD's with the majority favouring the former. I have the LM title and can recommend this.