Separating the Gems from the Rubble

Solitary

Publisher: Paper Crane Productions - Amanda Hartley

Creator: Cameron Francis

Murphy Code: DVDSOLITARY

MSRP: $20.00

At a Glance

For $20 you get a well produced DVD, three coin collector coin holders and a effect that is not without a few weakness, but still solid overall.

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Official Ad Copy

From the mind of Cameron Francis comes solitary: A signed coin to impossible location that takes up almost no pocket space, is gimmick free and completely examinable. Imagine this, you produce a sealed cardboard coin holder and have it examined. A quarter is then borrowed and signed by the spectator on both sides. Suddenly, the coin visually appears inside the sealed coin holder. The coin holder is held at the finger tips, clearly displaying that the coin is suspended inside. The coin holder is then ripped open and the spectator can remove the coin. Everything is examinable.

On this DVD, Cameron teaches several routines with coin holders involving appearances, penetrations and transpositions. The effects are all easy to do, highly visual and completely examinable.

Running Time Approximately: 45min

The Truth . . . By Jeff Stone

Random I-Tunes Song of The Moment: Layla By Eric Clapton

For $20 you get a well produced DVD, three coin collector coin holders and an effect that is not without a few weakness, but still solid overall.

In the DVD teaser, Cameron makes a statement that there are two things he loves about magic . . . one is object to impossible location, and the other is being able to leave the spectator with a unique object to remember him by. While I agree that those are both excellent concepts, beware that in the case of this effect, they are 2 separate things.

In other words, when the signed coin appears inside the coin holder, you cannot give it to the spectator. You must rip open the coin holder to "prove" that it was in the coin holder. That is a weakness in the signed coin version. One of the strengths of the signed version is the visually stunning appearance of the coin in the coin holder. It's beautiful.

With the non-signed version, you can hand out the coin holder with the coin in it for complete examination or even as a give-away (if you don't mind ordering more coin holders from a coin shop - they're very inexpensive). Cameron teaches - very well I might add - multiple handling ideas, effects and routines.

Some of the handling is a bit not-my-style in that things are being put into and out of pockets a lot, and some of the handling lacks economy of motion.

If you've watched the teaser and read the ad copy and liked what you saw/read, then you'll likely be happy with your purchase, as long as you keep in mind the above commentary about what can be examined and what cannot. The DVD is well made. The coin holders are standard that can be purchased at any coin shop (you get three with the DVD). Though there are some "fidgety" moments, this is an effect I'd likely perform (using different handling). For the low cost of $20 bucks if you're on the fence, it's probably worth the risk.

Final Verdict:
3.5 stars with a Stone Status of Gem