Random I-Tunes Song of The Moment: Careless Whisper by George Michael
Over that past year or so, I've become familiar with Cameron and his work. I have a handful of his products (Snapped, Omega Mutation, Attack of the Copper Silver Coin, What it isn't, Fresh Mint, and Rehab). I've really come to like his work and thinking on magic. This month's Gem, Snapped, is no exception.
Here's the short version of the effect: a photograph of a fan of cards (four aces) is shown and examined. One of the cards is visually plucked from and taken out of the photograph. There's more, and there are multiple versions and handlings, but that's the nutshell version' it's extremely visual.
Although this is a Gem, and in my opinion is a valuable effect for close up workers, there are a couple of 'could do better next time' items. Let's get those out of the way first; then we'll move on to the meat of the review.
Last April, I reviewed Cameron's Omega Mutation DVD set produced by Big Blind Media. The production quality was top notch, the sound, music, lighting, editing, everything, so I was sort of expecting a similar production quality with Snapped. However, Snapped was not produced by Big Blind Media; it was produced by Full 52.
I don't have any other DVDs by Full 52, so I don't know if this is standard, but the lighting was pretty rough in quite a few spots on Snapped . There were a few sound issues as well. Cameron did not appear to be mic-ed, but rather they were using the mic on the camera itself. Some of the shots should have been more close up as well. However, having pointed out all of that, in my opinion, this is still a extremely valuable purchase and well worth the money.
Here's what you get:
- 'Special' cards needed
- 'Photo Stickers'
- PDF of the photo sticker images
- PDF of a template for a 'switch envelope'
- DVD:
- Multiple handling ideas
- 3 Bonus tricks
- An Easter Egg hidden menu with 3 additional variations by 3 other 'mystery' magicians
All that for $30.00 bucks is a darn good deal. The DVD is very entertaining, and in between each section, there are funny gag-reel clips and Cameron being' well' Cameron' very funny stuff. The full effect is as follows: Spectator signs a card which is lost in the deck. The photo of the Aces is examined.
Magically, one of the Aces in the photograph turns face down' the Ace that matches the suit of the selection. The magi then claims that the face down card magically turned into the signed selection. To prove it, the spectator's signed card is then visually pulled out of the photograph and handed to the spectator leaving a photograph with one of the cards now missing.
There are various methods of accomplishing this taught on the DVD. Some leave you clean at the end, some don't. Some allow you to be clean in the beginning; some don't. For the most part, you'll have to be 'dirty' either at the end or at the beginning. In the Easter Egg section, you'll find some killer ideas on ending clean. My favorite handling came from this section.
I have not yet tested this with real spectators, however, this is the type of magic that working pros immediately will recognize as something that will get a great reaction. Some of the handling ideas use a switch envelope which can easily be made, and the DVD includes a download-able template for creating the switch envelope. Other methods do not require the switch envelope.
Regarding the bonus effects, 'Reds' is awesome. I love it. It's basically a four Ace production. However, the premise is that your deck is defective and it came with four black Aces instead of two red and two black. You then show the four black Aces to the audience. You then turn two of the Aces red, one at a time' very convincing handling. The best part is that you don't need any extra cards' it can be done with a borrowed deck.
Final Verdict:
4 Stars with a Stone Status of GEM!