|
June 15th, 2012 11:56am
Rating:   |
| Reviewed by
Scott Starkey |
Craig Petty's Chop has a lot going for it, and I give it high marks. Petty has put together a chop-cup style routine without a chop cup, using a signed borrowed bill as the ball. The bill disappears and reappears under the cup in unusual ways, and finally vanishes to inside the lemon, and then the signature is revealed. My experience: Audiences are totally gobsmacked.
Often, while watching the DVD, I laughed out loud at how clever some of the phases are. There's much cleverness going on here. It's a bit tricky to get some of the moves down; don't expect to be able to do this overnight. However, in practice there's quite a bit of cover for the tricky moves, and often the magician is way ahead of the action, which takes the heat off, and makes the sleights easier.
Personally, I feel like the whole 7-phase routine was a bit long. Fortunately, the phases are fairly modular, so that one or two of the middle phases can be deleted without detriment to the whole.
The extra is a completely separate routine with a pen, which seemed like a very close cousin to Greg Wilson's Recapped. (Petty attributes some of the phases to Wilson.) It's nice and snappy, and would work as an opener for Chop.
Now, there were a couple of downsides I found in real-world situations. One, and this could be said of any bill-to-lemon effect, the trick is a bit messy. Fact is, whenever you cut open fruit, you're going to drip sticky juice, and you'll need to plan ahead on how to clean up and get rid of the leftover fruit pieces.
The trick is not quite quick-reset. You'll need about 30 seconds of privacy to shuffle some stuff around your pockets and get a new piece of fruit. (After all, you're destroying a fruit every time you perform the effect.) And there's the minor problem of logistics: How many pieces of fruit do you bring to perform the effect? Are you allowed to whip out a knife at your performance venue to open the fruit?
Also, the ad copy makes this sound like it would be good for a walkaround situation. Well... no. Some of the phases do work in the hands, but all but one require a table. That being said, the gimmick is pretty versatile, and an in-the-hands version is probably doable, but would take some creativity and work to make that happen.
Finally, I should mention Petty and Wizard FX has published an extension video on their website with a few additional ideas for the gimmick, which I would rate ranging from "lame" to "brilliant". After seeing this, I would say there's a lot more that could be done with the gimmick, with a little creativity.
My rating 8/10 - solid effect, nice gimmick, some great ideas, with a lot more going for it than your standard "one-trick DVD". |
| |
 Product info for Chop (Gimmicks and DVD)
Author: Petty, CraigPublisher: Wizard FX Productions Average Rating: (1)Retail Price: $35.00
Manufacturer's Description: Craig Petty has finally released a routine which has been his closer for over 2 years. A signed bill and a regular cup are used to perform the most stunning 7 phase Chop Cup style routine you will ever see. To finish, a real lemon appears and the bill is visibly pushed into the lemon, leaving your hands empty. At this point the lemon can be examined before it is cut open to reveal the spectators signed bill inside - KILLER! - Only one balled up note used throughout the entire Chop Cup routine
- Regular cup that can be examined at any time by the audience
- Perform moves you couldn't dream of doing with a regular Chop Cup
- Use any table surface or even the spectator's hand - perfect for real world conditions
Includes a special bonus routine 'Sharp' using a Sharpie Marker which is the perfect lead in to CHOP or a great stand alone effect. "Holy cow.. I just got a my DVD of CHOP.. wow.. what a routine.. so well thought out.. a tour de force if there ever was one....Huzzah Mr Petty.. This is a gem." - Doc Eason "Petty does it again! A killer gimmick and a killer routine! This is a truly ingenious concept that opens up so many possibilities." - David Forest "Creative, Real World, Amazing, Inventive, and Great, But Hey, that is just Craig!!" - Ben Williams "This little baby is now in my pocket 24/7" - Alan RorrisonRunning Time Approximately: 1hr 40min
|
Become a fan
Get our tweets
Subscribe