Magic Tricks

Dunno what happened... it looks like my review was never posted here. Guess I have to do it again... sigh.

4.375 stars. That's what I give this one. A 5 for the trick and a 4 for the actual training product, for an average of 4.375.

Do I recommend you get this? Yes absolutely! It's the only way you'll learn it! But as for the training itself, it could definitely use some improvement.

Ok so let's first talk quickly about the trick. Great, great, great! I love visual tricks and this one will definitely melt some grey matter. 5 stars. Get it. You'll use it. You will.

For those of you who gripe about having to construct your own gimmick... well gripe away. You have to construct your own gimmick... but it's a quick and easy... you'll be ready to use it within just a couple minutes. But yeah, you have to build it yourself. Personally, I think that the arts and crafts aspect is part of what makes a real magician. Again, the construction for this gimmick is no big deal at all... so don't let that be too much of a negative for you. The trick is worth the effort.

That said, to be a fair review, I need to be candid and honest in my opinions. Let me first start by saying that Leon Andersen genuinely seems to be a nice guy. He obviously knows his trick well... so my following observations is not a matter of competence. The problem is that this felt like (and in his defense, perhaps it is) this is his very first attempt at teaching a trick for video. I didn't feel that he taught it real well. There were key points, including the key move, where he seems to buzz through it real quick. But perhaps it's not his fault. Perhaps it's the director's... because it didn't seem like anyone had him back up a bit and retract it slowly or from a different angle. And speaking of angles... the camera work was not the best. The setting was nice and, from an aesthetic point of view, it was fine. However, the camera was always too far, at a poor angle (during the over shoulder POV - his hand was at times covering up the actions... it would have been better to watch over the left instead of right shoulder. Watch the video, you'll see what I mean), and no closeups for critical parts.

Now the trick itself... it's not rocket science. But still I had to initially try to figure out how to use the gimmick... because after he explained the gimmick, he showed the trick and buzzed through the part where he used the gimmick and basically didn't explain how to use it. (Later it becomes more apparent and obvious... but it would have been nice for him to explain this more clearly from the beginning.)

How can I put it? Well, I remember thinking this: if I was learning from Leon in person this very trick with this very style of teaching... I'd get it! But on video, it just doesn't seem to translate. So please, if you read this Leon, it is not a knock on your or your teaching style... it's just that it needs to be adapted for video... in real life, the student can shift positions to adjust his angle or can move in closer to see the trick better. None of that was happening on the video.

Another issue I had is that he taught this trick with the assumption that you were a worker or at least an intermediate level. I really think that it's best to assume (unless it's known as a crazy hard trick) that the user is a beginner and wants to know all the elements of the trick. Saying things like "use your favorite force" is kinda alienating to the newbies. I say go ahead and at least show one method of forcing a card and THEN you could say "or use any other kind of force you'd like".

The Dee Christopher supplement was a welcome addition. I appreciated his tips and alternate routine.

All in all, I say get it. It's a good trick and worth the hassle of backing it up or filling in the blanks. Just know that you might be in for a little frustration, especially if you're new to magic.