Top Card Cover Pass, Jason England

Reviewed by Sam Fitton

Jason’s teaching of the ‘Top Card Cover Pass’ was near perfect and within a short while I had the pleasure of performing such a beautiful card sleight.

My love affair with ‘The Pass’ is no stranger to my friends and I am always keen to show off what I thought was a pretty good example. After watching Jason I now realise how wrong I was. The pass Jason teaches is like liquid metal that flows under complete cover, allowing the performer to control the desired card to second, third, even to the fourth or fifth position in the deck.

The mechanics of this pass of course rely on, as Jason puts it, ‘basic familiarity of the classic pass.’ I’d argue that the better your classic the pass, the better your TCCP and I imagine whoever picks up this product is already an intermediate card worker. However, it was nice to see that Jason goes over the basics of the classic pass as well as a few other variations of the TCCP before explaining his own method. But I know what you’re thinking. Why would I want yet another variation of my perfectly good pass? The answer is simple. Because this one is better than the pass you already do. To execute this variation you don’t have to spin the cards, half pass or wrap the deck in 30 meters of bungee cable. You simply do what you already do, except ‘invisibly.’

Personally, I can see myself putting this straight into my repertoire without any second thoughts and for the performer that prides themselves on their card work I’d imagine they’d do the same. With regards to the video itself the camera work is what we have come to expect from the conscientious developer and up to the excellent Theory 11 standards. There are multiple angles and both standing and sitting performances explained in a 30 minute, very high quality instant download. 

Down to business: Simply put, this is a must for any intermediate card worker looking to improve both their skills and performance. Jason’s subtle but significant alterations to the mechanics of the TCCP make this well worth the investment and the practice.

Price: $9.95 (£6.10)

Available from: http://www.theory11.com/tricks/top-card-cover-pass-jason-england.php

Format: Instant download (.mov)

Window Pain, Blake Vogt & Dan Hauss

Reviewed by Sam Fitton

Presenting a different twist on the classic T&R routine Window Pain adds voodoo patter, audience participation and a make shift window frame.

The idea is nice and very appealing to the modern card magician. A selected card is signed and then ripped into four pieces. These are placed in the spectator’s hand and then one piece at a time they ‘jump’ on top of the deck until ¾ of the card is restored. For the last piece you have the spectator open their hand to find they are holding just one piece of card and it is the matching piece to their signed, restored card.

There are a couple of bits and pieces going on here which you have pre-set on the deck before you begin. The construction of the gimmick, it’s mechanics during performance and the set up are explained well however the gimmicks operation is limited by your proximity to the spectator. The only other concern I had when performing this was that to create the best illusion for the appearance / restoration of the signed card you have to hand out a slightly dirty signed card at the end. This isn’t a big deal but for sharp minded spectators this may set some alarm bells ringing.

Blake’s teaching style is efficient and he covers every aspect of the routine, including making a variation of the gimmick for those who may not have the desired materials to hand. The video itself is well filmed in a very swanky apartment overlooking a cool cityscape (which kept distracting me from Blake’s explanation) with good use of angles to demonstrate how the gimmick works.  

Down to business: I can imagine this becoming a nice addition to the street performers or hobbyists repertoire however for professional table hopping magicians it might not feature as highly. Blake’s teaching is good and the effect definitely has appeal but for visual impact check out Blake’s ‘REF4M.’

Price: $9.95 (£6.10)

Available from: http://www.papercranemagic.com/wave.htm (Description at the bottom)

Format: Instant download (.wmv)

Double Feature, Patrick Redford

Reviewed by Sam Fitton

These two effects have the potential to become classics in the modern mind readers repertoire.

‘Voice Prophecy’ strikes a bewildering prediction effect straight into the stomach of your audience whilst ‘CellularOracle’ follows a gentle and all together more traditional ‘Mind Reading’ plot. Both effects utilise mobile phones or ‘cell phones’ and these act, as Patrick explains in the method, as the gimmick you always have on you. So bearing this in mind you need not have a swami gimmick or fancy sharpie marker. Nor do you need a special wallet or ‘out to lunch’ in your back pocket. You are ready, ‘any time, any place’ to perform these well constructed pieces of mentalism.

‘Cellular Oracle’ is the first effect to be explained and I must say I thought this method was rather cheeky. It

requires a little preshow work and some knowledge of mobile devices but this is explained thoroughly using

multiple devices as examples. The effect (in a nut shell) enables the performer to physically describe the last

person that called your spectator. You then name that person. Finally you have your spectator ring that person and ask them to name any number between 0-9. The performer then rings his/her own friend (on speaker phone) and the same question is posed. The performer’s friend names the same number.

The method albeit cheeky is very clever and I was really impressed with Patricks ability to explain not only the effect but alternative ideas, notions and psychological subtleties. As mentioned previously some pre-show work has to be done to get the most out of this effect and prior knowledge of multiple ‘cell phone’ devices is advantageous if not essential. Taking this into account it is not by any means a ‘self working’ miracle that you can whip out at a moments notice however with much practice and rehearsal I imagine it could become much easier to perform.

'Cellular Oracle' makes the link between magic and technology, blending the idea that we are some

how ‘all connected.’ I like this thought and it is a great premise to construct an effect around. The patter for the

effect follows this idea and I’d say it’s a nice routine for those that are looking to combine a number of basic

principles of ‘mind reading.’ However I can’t help but think this effect will take 2nd place to…

‘Voice Prophecy’ is wonderful. From the minute I saw the demo I wanted to have a go and the method doesn’t

disappoint. The effect is simple: You have your spectator name any 3 digit number or playing card and you then

navigate to the memo recorder on your ‘cell phone’ and show the spectator a file dated 2 days ago. You ask them

to hit play and the recording is heard out loud, “It’s early in the morning, I will meet someone called (it then names your spectator) and I will make (it names your spectator again) think of the number X.” And every time you are 100% correct.

Again Patrick’s explanation of the method is excellent and he provides a number of tips and alternative scripts that you can use. I was pleased to see that after the main body of explanation Patrick provides solutions to a number of concerns that some people may have regarding the method. I for one had a couple of questions which were answered conclusively in this section. If anything this shows how much thought Patrick has put into this release. The method itself is devilish and yet surprisingly straight forward. It’s the type of method where you have to hold back a big grin whilst you’re performing. Unlike Cellular Oracle the only demand is knowing how to use your own memo recorder. The best way to sum up this effect is by using Patricks own words, ‘Bold but effective.’

Down to Business, if you are not afraid (please excuse the expression) to put your balls on the line for the chance of creating an exceptional piece of mind reading then Cellular Oracle is for you. However, if like me you prefer solid outcomes then Voice Prophecy is more likely to be your thing. Both are well taught and certainly worth the price tag for skilled mentalists.

Price: $24.95 (approx £15)

Available from: http://www.papercranemagic.com/doublefeature.htm

Format: Instant Download (.wmv)