Random I-Tunes Song of The Moment: Bring Me To Life by Evanescence

Jason Yu & SandsMinds: Impression Review

One DVD, some gimmicks and $35 bucks. Is it gem or is it rubble? Stay tuned to find out.

Effect

A spectator signs a blank playing card. She holds it while you take a picture of her holding the card with her phone. The spectator can see the picture. The phone is placed face down on her palm while a playing card is selected. Magically the face of the playing card vanishes (i.e., it becomes a blank facer). Then the phone is turned over (by the spectator) to see that the image in the phone is now an image of her selected card with her signature on it. The spectator only signed one card.

Method

Overview

The method is actually pretty smart, but there is one issue. I'll get to that in a moment. First, you are supplied with two special gimmicks. The gimmicks determine what card will magically appear in the photo. In other words, in my set, I have the choice of the spectator "choosing" either the Nine of Hearts or the Two of Spades. You pick which gimmick you are going to use for the effect and bring that one with you. You could have the other one with you if you wanted to switch to a different "selection" for a second performance (with a different group).

The Photo

The general handling and method is very good, and the illusion of their signature on a card that they never signed is perfect. Jason Yu suggests that those you perform this for can/should post the images on their social media accounts. That being the case, I have no problem whatsoever posting the photos below. What you're looking at below are photographs of a blank faced card that I signed. I did NOT sign the Nine of Hearts. You are seeing a photograph that creates the illusion of my signature on the Nine of Hearts using the gimmick.

If you like the way the photo looks then you'll be happy with this part of the method. Thanks to my son Andrew and my daughter Oliveah for posing for us.

The one problem, however, is their deleted photos folder. If they look in their deleted photos folder later, they'll discover part of the secret. Jason Yu mentions that he prefers to do this effect with a borrowed iPhone because he's most familiar with it. The effect can be done with any smart phone as long as you're familiar with how to use it. I tested this on the iPhone 5 (first generation). That's when I discovered the dirty little secret hidden in my deleted folder. To me, this is the biggest risk.

Keep in mind, however, that the deleted folder empties itself every 30 days — at least, on the iPhone it does. I didn't even know I had a deleted folder on my phone until about a week ago. So this may not be a problem either.

Handling & Other Considerations

That covers the photo portion of the method. The rest is basic sleight of hand, and a little bit of audience management and choreography. Nothing too daunting. It does, however, impact where and when you can do this effect.

When taking the photograph, everyone MUST be behind the person holding the playing card. The set up in the deck is minor, and could be done multiple times in a strolling setting. Just keep in mind that everyone that night will have picked either (in my case) a Nine of Hearts or a Two of Spades. If people start comparing photos, you might have a problem (i.e., it'll be weird that everyone chose the same card). To me, this would be a perfect closer at the end of a set show to give someone a photo (on their phone) as a souvenir/reminder of the show.

Lastly, each time you perform this, you use up a blank card. You are supplied eight double blank playing cards. Once you've performed this eight times, you'll have to buy more blank cards. You don't have to use double blank. You could just use blank facers if you wanted. Just keep in mind that you'll use one blank card per performance.

Ad Copy Integrity

Written

The written ad copy gives a very clear and honest representation of what happens. No outrageous or misleading claims are made. The effect really is as described.

Video Trailer

The video trailer, I would say, is accurate, but it's tricky. It wasn't misleading, but in order to protect the method, some cuts had to be made. I really feel that they were, however, legitimately to protect the method and not meant to be dishonest.

I know that's vague, so I'm going to give you a bullet point walk through of everything that happens . . . exactly how it looks in performance.

1. Spectators handles/examines/signs a blank card
2. You take the card back and ask them to set their phone to camera mode
3. [Something secret happens while they're getting their phone out]
4. You hand them back the card and have them pose for the picture
5. You take the card back for a split second and reposition yourself in "better lighting"
6. You immediately give the card back to them (they can still examine it if they'd like)
7. You take the picture and immediately show it to them
8. [Something secret happens]
9. You place the phone face down on their palm
10. You have a card "selected"
11. You place this card face down on the iPhone on their hand
12. Put the deck away
13. Make a magical gesture
14. Have the spectator turn over the card on the phone (it's now a blank card)
15. Have them turn over their phone and look at the image (it's now a photo of them holding a signed Nine of Hearts - or whatever card)
16. You hope they don't look in their deleted folder for 30 days

The above bullet point list is a very fair and accurate representation of what happens. I feel the ad trailer did a fair and honest representation of this allowing for a few "cuts" to protect the method.

Product Quality

DVD

The DVD was well produced, well lit, well mic'd, etc. The menu was easy to navigate, and thankfully the end of the video didn't launch you into infinite SansMinds commercials. Instead, it ends with a menu of commercials.

Teaching

The explanation and teaching segment was very good and covered everything in pretty good detail. The only complaint I have is that once we know the secret, they should show a full performance from beginning to end without any cuts. But instead, they showed us a performance segment that was like the trailer. It had several cuts between multiple different performances and never showed a complete one all the way through.

I understand this for the trailer, but for those who own the DVD, if you're going to show a performance, then it should be a complete one. There are a few places in the handling and method that would be very helpful to see in the context of a real performance. Hearing and seeing it walked through in the studio is one thing, but since they already filmed real performances, why not show it all to us?

Final Thoughts

If you're not afraid of the spectator looking in the deleted folder, then this is probably worth it for you (assuming you like the effect). The method is legitimate and accurately represented in the ad copy. It takes some practice, guts, and choreographing (i.e., audience management) to do this properly, but it's nothing too difficult nor is it too scary.

If you're planning on "strolling" with this, then there is the small consideration already mentioned. If you're not strolling, then there really is no other issue. This is a solid product.

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