Yup,
you guys are picky!



no.

Yes, the trick Short Stack was contributed by me.




Thanks for the kind words David. Yes Short Stack was originally printed in a limited set of notes called "A Few for 76" and then later reprinted in the Spring Cleaning Issue (#7) of Channel One Magazine.




Where do his "good concepts" belong then? On his site as an instant downloadable???

I just got the dvd as well. I disagree about the spectator reaction. There were reactions to all the stuff he did, and they were all positive (only two or three times did spectators really freak out, his ambitious card being one of those times). I do agree that is he is an amateur magician, he doesn't do a great job teaching things, but most are simple enough that you can easily follow. I bought it for the ace and card productions, flourishy false cuts, and his torn and restored card, which I think rocks. It is a very fair, flash, COMPLETE restoration. Yes, that means the creases too. In the dvd he doesn't sign the card, but it can be very easily altered so you can.

The effect descriptions already mentioned are pretty accurate. I will say that copperfeild thing sucks, the coin penetrates their fingers, which are in a "ok" sign. Trifect starts as a sybil cut, the cards form a triangle, and the selection appears in the hole - kind of weird, but I like it. The flipback is not on the dvd at all, I don't know why it is in the demo. Overall I was satisfied, but this dvd doesn't have a whole lot to offer for an intermediate/advanced magician. It was nice to see some magic being performed with real people on the street by someone besides Blaine, but I would not recomend everyone go out and buy this.

Michael

levitate the flipback is on the dvd, i think he is doing it different then the way de'vo does it tho.

Nope. They belong in a talented magicians hands who can turn those concepts into great pieces of magic.

-Eric James

Ok, from what I saw in the preview, the DVD will be really bad. He screwed some really easy things, well, things that would be easy for a normal magi, like placing a face up card on a deck from a palm. When he did it , it wasnt even squared! C'mon, that's like the most important part! And then his shapeshifter was really bad! LOL, this guy is the beginner of a beginner! lol
Anyways, after that I read what Eric said, and then I KNEW that this DVD is not worth a penny!

So ewokforhire, the flipback is taught on the DVD or not! Some say yes, some say no.

phantomace, he does do a trick that is similar to the flipback , but he doesn't teach it.

So.... technically a "talented" magician can purchase the DVD and turn his "good concepts" into "great pieces of magic".



First off, passing judgement from watching a Preview is wrong. At least watch the DVD before slamming it. Also, I just watched the preview and thought the shapeshifter was fine. Yes the camera angle wasn't the best nor did the change from black nine to black nine stun me but the overall motion looked good. Also, the replacement of the Ace didn't flash at all. Unless you have some super clear monitor with magnifying capabilities, you are wrong there too.... Simply my opinion

I did not base myself to the preview only. But to what other people said. Which just confirmed what I thought.

So your basing your opinion on the preview and... second hand information ?

I haven't seen this DVD, and I'm not biased one way or the other, but I'm inclined to agree that you should watch the DVD before passing judgement.

I purchased this DVD and here is my two cents on this subject.

While I must say Reyes is a great card handeler his street magic preformances lack a passionate connection with his viewers. He is a flourish style magician, and seems to put his efforts into flashy flourishes rather than impact of effects. But you must also keep in mind you can't blame the magician for a persons reaction ( if the trick was pulled off sucessfully.) People react different to tricks as I'm sure we all know. But if you ask me Reyes' problem boils down to two things.

First, Reyes states that he tends to make up his character based on how he reads he current spectator. I think this is a MAJOR flaw. Magic is like chess. You are always at least one step ahead. And it doesn't hurt to be perhaps two or three. If you can master the art of spectator control, you will get reactions you never dreamed of. I think a character is one of the most important aspects to a magician. And is one that is easily overlooked. I find that if you look to any of the great magicians of the past, they knew who they where when they preformed. They knew their strengths and flaws and where able to use them both to their advantage. Take a look at Theo Anneman. He had terrible stage fright and actually use to sweat perfusely while preforming. He actually used this to his advantage when doing mentalism and people thought it "proved" he was doing pychic works. I was shocked that Reyes would lack the 'umph' when in the start of the DVD he talked about focusing on handeling and performing. I think Robert Houdin's words are filled with wisdom when he stated "The magician is mearly an actor protraying to be a magician."

Reyes' Patter. It was full of hollow complements to himself. It was weak in it's approach and it appeared that he was insecure to a degree. Hard to say on what level because his skills are top notch with card controls. His commentray is a bit dry for me simply because I don't connect with his personal passions for magic. All in all I think Reyes comments and patter is all off the cuff based and that really effects him and his preformances.

But I must say some of these effects I really like. For instance Shead a Tear. It's the torn and restored card effect on the DVD. ( also on the demo.) I own many torn and restored card effects and I think this has become one of my most favorites. It's simple, quick, and very very visual. The handeling is natural, and Reyes seems to try and stress this with many of his tricks.

Also I think there are many fresh ideas on this DVD. Some of the tricks are sub-par at best. But then again some of the others are very original and can leave a great impact.

The DVD itself is great in it's presentation. Great set up with good ideas such as the repeat loops for tricks, which basically are set up so you don't have to keep pushing the back button. The whole scene will repeat automatically after a trick. It comes in handy. But keep in mind, never judge a book by it's cover. Some of the best magic tapes/DVD are very bland in presentation but their contents pack a punch. And vice versa is possible too. I think buying a magic DVD for it's music, or presentation style isn't the best thing to do, infact I say it's unwise. Look at the context of it. Buy it for the Magic, not the pretty package the magic comes in.

Also the camera angels at times are poor. Both in presentations ( on the street ) and durring the explinations. Sometimes the camera man will be moving to try and get a better shot, and the trick is already done. Case in point when he finishes his I.C.U. ambitious card routine, you miss his final pass. While on the subject I would like to touch on his teaching. Reyes isn't the best teacher. He seems to have some trouble transitioning to this. Some times it is hard to follow what he is exactly teaching or showing at the moment. Both because of his dialogue and the camera angels.

Overall I give it a 3.5 out of 5. There are some good fresh concepts, but sadly some are poorly taught. I think Reyes has a lot of potential if he hones his patter style and develops a character. I also think with the right tweaking of camera positioning and teaching, along with more of some of his fresh concepts, he could really crank out some fabulous material. I have to stress like anything this will be loved or hated based on the magicians personal style.

-Brandon.

Excellent review! I really gained alot from your review Brandon. Thanks! I would really like to read more of your review in the future.

Thanks Artofmanipulation! I'm glad I could be of any help at all. I hope to be able to write reviews on other and future products that can be equally and or if not better. - brandon

Yes, I second that! An Excellent review from Brandon that did what a review is supposed to do: help the reader decide for him/herself. (I also found Eric James’ review helpful.)

Thanks to all the information available at The Café I spend more money on magic than ever before. Thanks to the time people put in to help one another I have not bought a single book, DVD or trick that I have regretted buying.

Brandon
Thanks for clearing up a few points and creating a good well rounded review. It is funny when the topic states review requested for H K then we get a load of posts from people who have not watched it giving some sort of psychic review of a product. The guy is good but unfortunately a few traits in his character let him down (as brandon stated). The comment about reactions is not true we all know some people connect more with what your doing than others.

Not only you will spend more, but the money is well spent. This really helps especially if you are consumer like me who have to pay 4 times for every product that is quoted in USD. Maybe i should channel some of the savings from lousy purchases to Brandon's bank account!

Well I'm glad to see that I've been able to help you out Artofmanipulation! I will do my best to help out any way I can in the future! Hey I wouldn't mind getting free products to review... who wouldn't?!

Brandon, thanks for the opinions you gave about the role of the performers' characters. Insightful. I agree with you.

To me, Reyes does not adapt his character at all. If he did try, he failed. I see an arrogant show-off in every reincarnation.

The good stuff vs really really really bad stuff ration is too drasticly low to recommend this video.