For those who have seen both Richard Kaufman's "On the Pass" and Pete Cassford's "Pass With Care": of the two videos, which would you recommend more highly for learning the (basic) pass? I have a student interested in getting into it in depth, and I'm leery of teaching him any of *my* bad habits.

Many thanks,
Josh

My vote goes to Kaufmans "On the pass"

Another vote for "On the pass"

Vote for On The Pass on the overall depth of the subject covered

There are some working pros who feel strongly that the Kaufman DVD teaches improper technique on a fundamental level. Since I have not seen this DVD, nor am I a pass master, I can not comment personally.

An excelent VHS is Krenzel's "The Pass". It offers a glimpse at a true master and some great tips.

Kaufman is good and he explains more variations. There are close-up/slow motion versions of each pass which makes it easier to see the finer points.
You don't need to know them all, but being able to see all the different variations will help you to choose one that works well for you.

Pass with Care is OK too. Pete explains it well enough, but doesn't show you the same variety of different passes. Pete uses the close-up/slow motion shots too. From memory his are more akin to Ammar's Super Practice Sessions. (Its been a while since I've watched it so I may be wrong on this point). He ends up with performing a few cards tricks (using the pass) at a shopping centre. He does this to show you real world use of the pass.


There is also a Ken Krenzel Video on the Pass. I didn't feel Ken Krenzel's Pass Video was as good as the other two. Ken does a great pass but his teachings on this video aren't as good as the others, especially in the key area of camera angles when showing the finer points of the pass. The video is basically shot head on with him explaining/talking about the pass with Gary Ouellet. Gary, on various occassions has to get Ken to twist his hands/move his body, etc so that the moves can be clearly seen as he doesn't appear to realise that the move he is describing cannot be seen by the viewer. (As this is an old video the production standards werent up to what we are used to taday, so I guess it's understandable. However, Ken shares some really good points regarding the Pass).

Ken's video covers the following;
Classic Pass, Common Mistakes, The Pass as a Color Change, Ken's Preferred Method, Jiggle Pass, Top Card Cover Pass, Top and Bottom Card Pass, How to Practice the Pass, Single Card Pass, Reversing a Card with the Single Card Pass, Sendax Top Pass, Hermann Turnover Pass, Expert Card Technique Pass, Jack Miller Pass, KE Pass, Dribble Pass, Marlo Dribble Pass, Louis Histed Packet Pass (with Cliff Green Subtlety), Poltergeist, LePaul Spread Pass, and the Leipzig Pass.

Hope this helps.

Although it was rather maligned in reviews, I actually liked "Pass with Care." It gave a lot of tips that I couldn't find in one source. I think for people who want to do a slow pass, this could be a good start.

For the more "classic" classic pass, I would definitely stick with the Kaufman tape. It certainly provides a good reference for what one should strive for. Some of the tips in Pass with Care could be used with the fast pass technique, so having both tapes may be worthwhile.

-- Frank

On The Pass is an excellent video on the subject. this one gets my vote.

Excellent...many thanks for all the feedback. If I'm lucky, perhaps one or two pros will weigh in on what they feel Kaufman teaches improperly. Otherwise, the scales seem to tip heavily in his direction. I hadn't known about the Krenzel tape. Given what tapes are going for these days, this might make a decent adjunct to the Kaufman video.

Again, thanks to one and all for taking the time to respond.

Josh

I have both and while Kaufmann certainly teaches a lot of different methods for the pass I feel that they are all to an extent skimmed. In general they are shown from very restricted angles and there is little depth to the teaching.
I am someone who just wants to learn a pass for performance. I don't need endless variations of the move to try and impress magician friends with I just want a working pass that is taught thoroughly, shown from multiple angles (preferable over and over again) with tips on cover and possible problems. For me Pass With Care is much the better product. Pete Cassford teaches each step of the pass, slowly building up to the finished article, discusses angles and misdirection. If you want to learn the pass from a standing start I would recommend this one without hesitation.
If you are already a 'pass-master' and want to add new passes to your repertoire for whatever reason then On the Pass may be useful. I found it more of an encyclopedia of passes than a good learning aid.
My thoughts, for what they're worth.

I would have to say "On the pass" as well.

You also have an Ellusionist's video (Ninja 1) wich teach you 4-5 differents pass.

Ok read these old Café threads. Read Paul Chosse's comments very carefully.

http://www.themagiccafe.com/forums/viewt......;forum=2


This is another thread that talks about the Kaufamn DVD and the Krenzel VHS.

http://www.themagiccafe.com/forums/viewt......;forum=2

I didn't mind looking these up with the good old search engine!

LeConte, thanks for taking the time to search for us!!! I wonder if there is footage of the Miller Pass done by the master himself?

LeConte,

Many thanks for finding those threads and linking to them. I had browsed (the "old-fashioned" way) through the entire DVD/Audio/etc. section looking for this information, but hadn't found it...and when I use the search engine, I generally give up after a few minutes of no response.

Very helpful, and I've printed off Charlie Miller's instructions. Thank you again.

--Josh

I hope those links helped. I can give you more links to a couple of other pass threads that are worth reading. Here is the link to the "Pass With Care" thread from a while back.

http://www.themagiccafe.com/forums/viewt......orum=111

Please read this past link as well on Kaufman's pass DVD.

http://www.themagiccafe.com/forums/viewt......orum=111