Official Review |
|
June 29th, 2010 9:23am
Rating: |
| Reviewed by
Joe Diamond |
I had heard some good things about Cameron Francis and Big Blind Media, so I was really hoping I would enjoy this DVD. I didn’t.
I believe if you are going to use a gaffed card, it should be to eliminate moves, or create an effect not possible with normal cards. I have nothing against moves or gaffs on their own, but the whole point of using either is to convey the impossibility of a great magic effect.
This project does not deliver any great magic effects. What it does deliver is 2 hours of material that feels unfinished. Don’t get me wrong, there are some good ideas in the midst of all the crap, but not good enough for the thirty-five dollar price tag. These are just random packet tricks and goofy card tricks to perform for magicians. One effect called The Flying Four is loaded with moves, looks fishy, and uses five, yes FIVE gaffed cards. None of this material should ever cross the eyes of a layperson. This is magician’s magic, and it should stay that way.
The product itself is well produced. This is a very slick DVD with high production values, that end up being wasted. Why try to present material that is not entertaining in an entertaining way? It doesn’t work. Cameron is also trying way too hard to be funny, and not trying hard enough to have top notch material to share on this DVD. He spaces at several points during the explanations of several effects. I got the feeling that he was trying to be like Jay Sankey, not just because he was trying to be funny, but in the style of his material as well.
The Sleight School section of the DVD is where all the particular moves are taught. This is a good idea because he doesn’t have to stop mid routine to explain a move. However, the moves are barely deceptive enough in Cameron’s hands to fool a layperson. He’s not bad, he’s just not a technically proficient magician, and thus not a very good teacher. He’s no Aaron Fisher, we’ll put it that way. He covers each move just enough so that people who may not know the move will be able to pull it off for their magic buddies.
The other good point is that fourteen gaffed cards are included with the DVD so you don’t have to go out and buy them. For the thirty-five dollar price tag, I’d hope they’d include all the gimmicks necessary. However, if you want to perform all the effects listed, you are going to have to buy some extra gaffs. For certain effects, you have to alter gaffs by writing on them or tearing them, thus making them unusable for other routines. This isn’t a major problem because no one in their right mind should want to perform ALL of these effects.
I’m not going to go over all the effects, because many of them are too confusing to explain in a sentence or two. However, I’ll list couple of effects that have some kind of potential in them. This is for people who are forced to watch the entire disk, so they can have some kind of silver lining in this very dark cloud.
Boxy is an interesting, no palm, signed card to card case effect. The moves aren’t very natural, but someone who knows how to make moves like these look natural would be able to fix this with very little effort. Best of all, the effect is clear enough to describe in one sentence: A joker in the card box changes places with a freely selected signed card in the deck.
PAAN is a little confusing in effect, but simple in method. No layperson could EVER describe this, but it’s a neat method to toss out during a session while you and your magic buddies are going over card at any number effects.
Side by Side is the only other effect on here that a layperson would understand. A blank card changes into a signed card. It’s another effect where it seemed like the kind of thing Jay Sankey would come up with. Except when Jay creates an effect like this it’s better, and when Jay performs an effect like this, it actually IS funny.
If you are between the ages of thirteen and seventeen, love card tricks, have read Royal Road to Card Magic, and have thirty-five bucks to spend, you are going to LOVE this. You may even find Cameron funny. Just please keep this material to yourself and your session buddies.
Unless you want to make a layperson hate card tricks forever. In that case, you have a very wide selection to choose from on this DVD.
One Star
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Product info for Killer Gaft Magic Author: Cameron Francis
Publisher: Big Blind Media
Average Rating:
Retail Price: $35.00
Manufacturer's Description: "Cameron - you are nuts! You could have sold the effects one by one separately! Very good my friend... The material is excellent!"
- Aldo Colombini
Cameron Francis (star of The Omega Mutation, Rehab, Red Hot Prediction, Twists & Turns, Fresh Mint etc) is BACK! And this time he is armed with GAFF CARDS!
You want easy magic that will make your spectators eyes pop out... well, Killer Gaft HAS IT IN SPADES! (And Clubs, Hearts and Diamonds too!).
Eleven routines, SIXTEEN Gaff cards (printed by the USPCC), over TWO HOURS of content.
Pipeline - 'Oil and Water' meets 'Travellers' meets EASY in this stunning three-way cardboard orgy!
Tele-print - Send a spectators selection through two 'teleporters' ala 'The Fly', and then see what visual madness happens on the way back!
Boxy - Want a dynamite 'card to box' that's high on impact but low on sleight of hand. WE GOT IT RIGHT HERE! If that's not enough, you will also learn the plural for 'shenanigans'!
Side by Side - A great twist and commercial presentation on a classic effect where a double blank card prints to match a signed selection - one side at a time!
Switch Jack - Perform a devastating routine with two selections that takes in sandwiches, transpositions and kickers aplenty!
What the Blank - Slowly print duplicates of three selections in a clean and visual manner, and then shock them with the kicker, which is more shocking than a shocking thing with extra spicy shockers!
The Following - Sure to be a favourite from the set, this awesome effect sees three Jacks visually vanishing to appear with the leader not one but TWICE!
Washout - Use a small packet triumph to reveal a selected card, which is just odd, considering that the other cards never even existed...
Paan - So called because it hits with the impact of a frying pan! An EASY, clean and novel take on the legendary Card At Any Number, you will love this! With tongues!
Do the Wave! - A fresh and exciting new twist on B'Wave that can sit in your wallet, ready anytime. This one is a KEEPER!
Halfusion - This is a rare and exotic blend of card plots, mixing torn and restored card, some kind of card-warp awesomeness, and then an Anniversary Waltz piece of lovely for an ending NOBODY saw coming!
The Flying Four - What starts as a transposition between four signed Queens and four blank cards ends as an ASTONISHINGLY clean 'cards to pocket' routine with no palming related shenanigans!
But there's more - included free on Killer Gaft is 'Sleight School'. Cameron takes you through EIGHTEEN different magical sleights. This is like ninja school (if magic was martial arts and Cameron was a ninja, which it isn't and he isn't - but you know what we mean).
Learn -
Double Lift
Elmsley Count
Touch Force
Tilt
Jordan Count
Hammon Count
Vernon Substitute Transfer
Flushtration Count
Mercury Card Fold
Diminishing Lift
Diminishing Count
Braue Reversal
Thru The Fist Flourish
Erdnase Colour Change
Atfus
Twirl Change
Paddle Move
Alignment Move |
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