Akross
By
Sean Fields

**Please Note: I am reviewing the downloadable video of the explanation. However, it is to my understanding that Akross will be released on DVD sometime in the near future.**


The idea of card transposition has been played around with many times throughout the years, many performers have made it a solid part of their routines. With Akross Sean has revolutionized the card transposition, by allowing everything to happen in the spectators hands while in a very open and fair manner

Akross is definitely a reputation maker. I received a rough draft/preview copy from Sean a while back for me to look over and mess around with and I was amazed. Just recently Sean sent me the final copy of Akross which is a very detailed 38 minute long video which covers everything that you need to know about Akross.

Not only will you learn Akross, but you will also learn:

-Krossed up – cause 2 selections, 1 red and 1 blue, to transpose under the same test conditions as Akross.

-Singularity – cause a THOUGHT of card to travel from 1 half of the deck to the other. This is a reputation maker!

-Duality – Cause 2 cards to change places... VISIBLY! This is incredible to witness!.


Let me start by giving you a quick break down of the effect


Effect: The magician displays two decks of cards, a red deck, and a blue deck. Two completely random spectators are invited to participate in the effect. Let’s call our spectator’s Bob and Marry. Mary is asked to select a deck, let’s say that she chooses the red deck. Marry is instructed to select a card and sign it; once she has done this, she is told to place the card back into the deck and then place the cards back in to the box. Marry is then instructed to keep the deck in a safe and secure place, such as a pocket.

Bob is then handed the Blue deck, he is told to inspect the deck. Once Bob is satisfied that the deck is completely normal, he is asked to place the cards back in to the box and secure the deck in a safe place, like a pocket.

Everything is done.

The magician makes a few magical gestures. Then Mary is told to remove the deck from the box and look for her card, but she can’t find it; her card is GONE!

Bob is then instructed to take the blue deck of cards out of the box; he then spreads through the cards finding one single red card amongst the collection of blue cards!

The card is then removed… Slowly turned over to reveal Mary’s freely selected and signed card.

A demo of the effects can be seen here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=06ytcGScr......gic.com/

Method: The method is absolutely amazing. I have been doing magic for quite some time now and I have not seen anything like this before. It’s truly ingenious.

Here are some key points to remember:

-No palming
-The decks are held by the spectators
-The decks are examinable at the conclusion of the routine
-Six second reset
-Good for any sized crowd
-Easy to learn

Teaching: The teaching is very clear and concise. Sean goes over every single little detail. No stones are left unturned. The video file is around 38 minutes long and clovers everything that there is to know regarding the effects. Along with some bonus hints and tips.

Reactions: This effect is truly amazing; I have received my biggest reactions with this effect. People love it. They just can’t comprehend what they just took part in.
Akross takes card across effects to a whole new level!

In conclusion this effect is really a great reputation maker. People love it; it receives amazing reactions, truly ingenious. I highly recommend this effect; it is good for a new magician or a highly skilled magician. It really gets the creativity rolling!

Be sure to keep checking http://www.seanfieldsmagic.com/ for the latest updates on new releases!

Sean is a great guy and a most creative thinker.

Something in the water up there?

Eric, looks like you REALLY enjoy playing MISSISSIPPI QUEEN!

Any one check this out yet ?

I love Sean's stuff, but not the 'demo' video above. You have to assume that it was not done with camera trickery....because, of all the flashes where the picture itself disappeared for brief moments! Even if nothing happened and the video was not cut it looks as if it was. It's too bad as the basic effect looks to be awesome. Best,

I never buy magic with these horrible demos.

O.K. So I bought this just a few min. ago. Can anyone who got this please tell me how to open the file? It has a .rar extension and I can't play it. Why it isn't in WMP or Divx I don't know.

Any help would be appreciated!

Thanks,

Tim

You need WinRar. Bit of a pain, isn't it?

Try this site for a free download.

http://www.download.com/WinRAR/3000-2250_4-10007677.html

Hi Tim. I use "The Extractor 1.4" (see http://www.download.com/The-Extractor/30.......4)...it is free and easy to use. Hope that helps.

Matthew

Just a note, "WinRar" is free for the test period but after that it will cost you to continue using it.

Matthew

You're right. I just downloaded Extractor. Believe I'll give it a try.

Thanks so much Everyone!!! I downloaded Extractor and it worked great.

Why the heck this thing is in .rar in the first place I'll never know. The file size was not that big.

Thanks for all the help!!


Tim

Tim, what did you think of this effect?

Give me another day or so and I'll give my thoughts. I got this and colour burn by Dave Forrest at the same time and I've been playing around with colour burn.

Colour Burn is awesome BTW!!

Tim

Better late than never I guess...So here goes.

Well... I got this a few weeks ago and just now started to play around with it. Heres the thing, You need a red and blue deck, (Which have to be set up before hand) and a couple of gaff cards that I'll wager not many have laying around. I DID by chance happen to have them so it was not a big deal for me. You can probably get the gaffs in a magic shop if you have one close, But if not that means ordering them and buying a whole deck for 7 or so bucks. (Online stores won't often sell single cards like a brick and mortar will). Sorry to go on about the gaffs, But I'm really tired of buying effects only to find out I need ten other items to make the effect work. Its not a big deal if you purchase the effect knowing what the gaffs / materials that you need will be. Or at least that they are needed. But a lot of times, No indication what-so-ever is given that you will need something extra that you may not have.

OK.. Enough of that. On to the effect itself.

Yes.. It requires a set up. that's a no brainer. But the re-set is going to be something that can't be done in the open. In other words.. It a duck into the bathroom between performances kind of effect. Couple that with the fact that I already carry enough crap on me to fill a small suitcase, I don't really think I'll be using this for walk around.

The handling is fairly straight forward and simple. Two spectators are needed and each "Choose" a deck. At the end your left with one deck clean and the other dirty. It does require a bit of misdirection at a few key points. (Can't really go into detail on this). But it should be fairly easy to do what is required with no problems. A table is needed. So forget 'In the hands'.

It is a fairly clean transposition. The red card is in the blue pack or the blue is in the red. (Whatever way you decide) If done correctly and you try to keep as much of it as you can happening in the spectators hands, (Such as the final transpo) It will register great reactions.

Overall, I'm glad I got it. I was not disappointed (Except for the gaff thing) and it is some great thinking on Sean's part.

Unfortunately, I just don't think I'll be adding this to my list of effects. But that's just me of course. Maybe you will think its well worth it to put into your act.

Sorry. I know I'm really crappy at reviews as I don't tend to think about what questions others might have. So if you have any questions, Of course please feel free to PM me and I'll do my best to answer them.

Tim

Your review is just fine, Tim. Thanks for taking the time. And I agree that while I like the effect it won't go on my A list. Understand that the effect is great, well worth the money. But I can't see myself doing it on any kind of regular basis. And if I don't do it on a regular basis, I usually wind up not doing it at all.

Thanks for the review. Although I am disappointed by the misleading spam accompanying the effect. "No palming. No gaffed decks. No joke."

But according to the review above, there are gaffs involved. Is this a lame semantic exercise, no gaffed deck but there are gaffed cards? Couple that with the very bad demo video and I will be passing on this one

Well.. There is no palming!!!

I'd like to post a slight correction to my above "Review". I called this a Transposition effect (Transpo) in my above post, And that's not correct. This is more of a....Teleportation? Vanish and reappearance? Something like that. Not a transposition.

Sorry about the flub.

Tim

I agree with you.
some dvd demo really horrible....

I really tried to give this DVD and its author a chance, but after several attempts, I just couldn't do it. I watched the Akross DVD, and after several minutes of listening Sean explain the effect and talk about it and explain it and talk about it and explain it and talk about it I just got sick of it.

On top of that, he pitches this like it's the most amazing breakthrough since splitting the atom. Using his best Don Lapre voice he goes on and on about how amazing this effect is. Of course the basic method is old as the hills.

Finally after he stops going on and on about the effect, we see a clip of him performing the effect for a table, even though in his earlier ramblings he made it clear that you MUST see it performed live for real people. Then of course during the performance, key pieces are edited out. I understand editing for the sake of a preview to help prevent the secret from being exposed, but once you've purchased, you should get an actual performance of the effect, unedited.

On the back of the DVD cover you will find these words: "No Palming. No gaffed decks. No Joke." Well there is a joke and it's on everyone who spent $25.00 bucks to get this DVD. First of all, the deck is gaffed. Unless red/blue double backers and short cards don't count as gaffs.

The explanations are shot with him sitting backwards on a chair with his hands in an awkward position so you can't see the cards. The whole thing was poorly filmed. Overall, I really can't find any redeeming qualities for this.

Because I really try hard to give a fair and honest review, I want to make sure that I'm not just being a jerk, and because I felt there were no redeeming qualities to the DVD, I felt a bit like I was being a jerk, so I went to his website to check out what other products he may have, and right off the bat on the home page I see a product called "X-Rated" and another called "Explicit Content."

I don't know what those tricks are, and I have no interest in finding out. It would just appear that the more I try to find interest in Sean or his work, the more "turned off" I am. Sorry for the harshness. Also remember, I'm just one man, and this is just one man's opinion.

For those of you who appreciate the Don Lapre reference, here's a spoof of Don Lapre. Before you click that link, realize that the one at the top of this review is real. Watching it, you may think it's a joke, but it is actually a real infomercial. The one in this paragraph, however, is a joke.