The Satellite Change, Ben Prime

I had the pleasure of hanging with Ben at the recent Blackpool Convention, during which time many folk asked to see his change in action & geez were they impressed! Hell, even by the gazillionth time so was I!

For anyone who doesn't know my taste in magic, I'm a huge fan of fresh, boundary pushing card sleights/moves & especially those with a touch of flair; this move boasts all those qualities, check out the trailer here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mgYBFYC3RWc

So now that you've seen the visuals, lets discuss the challenging mechanics, is it worth it..? In my opinion, yes, but do bear in mind I revel in the journey endured with perfecting card sleights - what I'm trying to say is that Ben's move will require work & patience, but surely this makes achieving a goal all the more worth while right; if you didn't have to work for something would it be worth having..

I philosophically digress, Ben's move is a 'Prime' example of advanced & intelligent card magic, I think this is among the flavour of things to come. Recommended.

Available at http://www.ellusionist.com/satellite-change-by-ben-prime.html

The Treachery of Tricks, Francis Menotti

Stand and applaud.

Now for something a little different from Papercrane, I say little, this project is a monster! 

First of all, total kudos to the production team as they really had their work cut out here, but with patent vigour they really have captured this masterfully - in bog standard English, the shots are perfect! Every visual detail is captured, the editing is slick & the whole spirit of Menotti's work shines through, huge thumbs up to Papercrane, this is possibly their best release to date.

So what exactly are we dealing with here? Well, the pinnacle teachings (or should I say treachings, b dum) are focused around the psychology of performance, in particular the various techniques that can be employed to specifically create memory recall, or as Menotti describes 'hooks' in the spectators mind - thus leaving your audience with the ability to remember many multiple moments throughout the show, a sort of family tree but for memories. This alone is hugely powerful & will be sure to inspire your own approach to routining.

To experience these 'foreshadowing' techniques, the viewer is delightfully subjected to Menotti's parlour show where the true value of creating hooks is evident. The show I could talk about all night, it's freakin awesome! The audience management, scripting, effects, choreography, it's all super smart and very inspiring.

To capitalise on the performance tape, their is also commentary version where Menotti talks you through his reasons for certain actions, lines, provides insight into the history of the effects, includes stories of past performances & points out small details which your likely to miss first time round. This really goes to show how a class act is constructed and the commentary concept is something that I've never encountered with a magic product before, I do hope to see it again! 

A few of the effects from the parlour show are explained in great depth, I have to say Menotti is the finest teacher I've ever come across. Incredibly clear, perfectly paced, every point is justified, credits are extremely well researched, the list goes on.. you can't fail to miss a thing. There are also a couple other effects taught, suitable for close-up or parlour and again these aren't throwaway items, each aspect has been thoroughly considered.

Also included is a section called 'Essays' which gives us a chance to peek into Menotti's mind and see how he thinks. Some excellent advice here and content which we rarely see with magic products, the fact that Menotti shares this with us shows his immense attention to detail.

Overall I think this release is worthy of a standing ovation. Highly Recommended.

Available at http://www.papercranemagic.com/treachery.htm