 |
|
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
 |
|||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
|||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
|
|
|
|
|
 |
|||||
 |
|||||
|
Thick Card Project – Liam Montier and Big Blind Media Thick Card - a double thick playing card used as a locator card, a peek device, an automatic double lift facilitator, a break-less control gaff and a sleight free forcing machine!
It has been widely said that the best way to keep a magical secret is to publish it. How often have you been completely fooled by a trick only to learn that you have the complete instructions in a book on your shelf? Big Blind Media has built up an entire DVD line taking advantage of this. While almost all of the older guys insist that the best way to learn magic is from a book (and I agree), we have increasingly become a visually oriented society. On this DVD, Liam brings the age-old gimmick, the thick card, out in the open. .I have seen numerous ads proclaiming that their expensive gimmick will not only perform miracles but hide unnoticed in the deck like a secret assassin. Why pay the big bucks when you already have everything you need already in your possession. The DVD comes with a thick card. Mine happened to be unusable as the cards were glued together just a little off register but the sample was included strictly as a courtesy. It will take all of five seconds to create your own using whatever you have already lying around your work space. After a short demonstration on construction of the gimmick, Liam walks you through a course in techniques, controls, forces, double (and multiple) lifts and peeks. Then he teaches nine routines including his own Multiple selection routine. I particularly liked both his version of Dai Vernon’s Emotional Reaction and Elmer Biddle’s, Biddle Trick. The thick card makes them almost self working. A number of routines by Rovi are taught. I was unfamiliar with Rovi before but a little research revealed that Ivor Parry was a Welsh magician. He was a Gold Star Medalist of the Inner Magic Circle, was known amongst magicians as The Welsh Wizard and was called 'a British legend' by Opus Magazine. Specialising in card magic, his original creations were published in 'Rovi Reveals' as part of the Supreme Magic Teach-in Series by Lewis Ganson. The Rovi Trophy is presented annually for the best card trick at the International Brotherhood of Magicians' British Ring Convention. So thank you Liam for introducing the American audience to a performer we most likely woud have missed otherwise. There is a little accidental comedy on the DVD. On one of the teaching sections while Liam is demonstrating, keep your eye on the background. One of the crew walks into the scene then realizes wheat he has done. He bends over and walks off thinking that he is hidden by a low wall but you can see his back while he walks right across the screen. One of the more amusing moments that I have seen on a magic video. Positives: The DVD is well produced and the thick card is both well taught and thoroughly covered. I hadn’t been using one before but I am having fun playing with this and learning some new routines. The deck can be handed out for shuffling with the gimmick in place with almost no chance of discovery. Negatives: Might have been a little better if more magicians than just Liam had been used for teaching. He is becoming one of the more prolific video teachers around and might eventually suffer from over exposure. This DVD is definitely aimed at the younger more edgy crowd. His female volunteers feature both multi-colored hair and numerous tattoos. This might be a put off to the older more conservative viewers but don’t let it be. The material is what is important. Conclusion: A fine addition to Big Blind library giving you a gimmick that is quick and easy to make and techniques you can use right away. This is one I will watch more than once. |
|||||