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Bring It Review

Three DVDs, 3 PDFs, $50 bucks and one Bring It Review. Is it gem or is it rubble? Stay tuned to find out.

Bring It Review: Effect

This being a compilation set, it's hard to narrow down effect. Take a peek at the ad copy. It outlines the effects pretty well. When reading it, however, you may feel that it sounds like a bunch of "standard" effects. However, Will Fern brings a little something to each of these effects that makes them (probably) different from what you're used to.

For example — this is the only one (of many) that I'll give — take the effect, World's Toughest Card Trick. The spectator shuffles the deck as much as she wants while your back is turned. She hands you the deck behind your back. You never see the cards. See selects one, puts it back and shuffles it again. Yet even after all that, you find her card. The entire trick is done with your back turned. There are many effects with this kind of impossible feeling plot and presentation.

You'll find mostly card effects, however, there are a few coin routines, a bill in fruit effect and sponge bunnies as well. The majority of the material is meant for close up or small groups (20 ish).

Bring It Review: Method

The methods employed are standard, classic, test of time approved methods that simply work. Nothing here is a pipe dream. It will take some practice, and one routine relies on a memorized deck, but the rest of it stuff that can be learned relatively quickly. I'd say that the effects and methods here are for intermediate level magicians, and possibly for beginners who are ready to move on to becoming an intermediate magician.

There are many little subtleties and nuances and "things" that Will Fern brings to the methods that make them much more deceptive. For example, the Full Cut Palm was used in many routines. Before he taught it, I really expected that it was going to be super difficult to pull off. However within seconds of seeing the method taught I was able to do it. It's totally invisible, easy to do, and an extremely deceptive way to get a card out of the deck right under their noses. Over and over again, he had little touches that really added to the level of deception.

Bring It Review: Ad Copy Integrity

The ad copy is totally accurate. Watch the video trailer. It gives a fair, accurate and honest representation of the material on the DVD set. The only thing that bugs me a little bit is the DVD photo cover. It shows a picture of Will Fern with a card stabbed on the end of a large knife. It would appear that maybe there's a card stab routine on the DVD, but there is not.

Granted, Black Rabbit has a reputation for quality and integrity, so I'm willing to mark this up to just using a bad promo picture. By "bad" I don't mean "unflattering" I just mean that it's a little misleading. However, it's the kind of picture that I imagine Will Fern has used on some of his marketing material etc., so, likely it was just a poor choice of images rather than an intentional deception.

Bring It Review: Product Quality

Let's get the only real negative out of the way first. Will Fern will be the first to admit that he talks waaaaaaaaaaay too fast. That being the case, some of the instructions were a little rushed through and a little hard to follow. It's nothing a little rewinding won't cure. During the commentary of the second Castle show, often times, the volume of the show was too loud and/or the volume of the voice over was too low making it a bit difficult to hear him at times.

The DVD is relatively well produced. The lighting, however, was a bit off on a fair bit of the shots. Also, no play all button . . . ARGH! The teaching segments were overall very solid.

Within this set you'll find 2 Magic Castle shows and four strolling set performances. Each of those 6 performances can be watched with or without commentary. You also get three PDFs. One is a print-able prop for one of the effects. One is a detail treatise on his sponge bunny routine, and the last one is a detailed write up of one of the effects on the DVD (his superhero multiple revelations effect).

Additionally, you get a 30 minute interview and a whole bunch of real world tips from a real world working pro. This set is loaded with excellent ideas and tips and pointers and games and thoughts and experience on how to handle gigs with mixed audiences (i.e., kids, teens and adults mixed together). He has some extremely clever ideas that anyone who works in family parties will, likely, find worth the price of the set. Further, he had several anecdotes that were very moving and emotional and powerful stories of how some of these tips and ideas paid off for his audiences in huge ways. There's a great little simple idea on how to turn "a bunch of tricks" into a "show" that is extremely clever and very easy to implement.

There are a ton of great pointers on doing mem-deck work. This set, though it could have been only 2 DVDs, is loaded with real world tips from a pro who is in the trenches. You'll learn just about everything you need to know about working your venue/environment. For those looking for tips on professional gigin', this is a very powerful resource.

Bring It Review: Final Thoughts

As with all of the Black Rabbit series products, this is a solid product through and through. The only real disappointment I had was that his opening effect was a routine that he did not teach because it's not his. It's a routine from Ponta The Smith. It was a very visual and beautiful 3 coin production, change and vanish. So if you can overlook that, and you're a close up worker looking to take things to that all too coveted proverbial next level, I'm positive that you'll find this very much worth the asking price.

Final Verdict:
4.5 Stars with a Stone Status of Gem.

Available at your Favorite Magic Dealer. Dealer's see Murphy's Magic for details.