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Guardian452 Loyal user Los Angeles 235 Posts |
Ultimate Workers Volume 1 with Michael Close
http://www.penguinmagic.com/specialorderproduct.php?ID=4330 First off let me say that this has a lot of really great tricks. Ill go into more detail later but you need to know how to use a memorized deck (Michael does NOT teach the stack for a memorized deck) and 1-2 effects require origami knowledge Some effects I don’t remember what they are because I'm going off of memory because I don’t have the dvd with me so ill leave those blank or write that I don’t remember them, ill fill in the information later Here's 2 links to learn the Faro Shuffle and Memorized Deck Faro Shuffle CD- http://www.penguinmagic.com/specialorderproduct.php?ID=4975 Memorized Deck- http://www.penguinmagic.com/specialorderproduct.php?ID=7537 NOW WITH THE BASICS Teaching 9/10 Appearance 10/10 Difficulty or tricks 6/10 (one being the easiest 10 being the hardest) TRICK REVIEWS Invisible Deck Any card is named and it is reversed in the deck Great trick, visual and the deck can be kept by the spectator NO GIMMICK Requires a memorized deck stack and one other move Pretty easy, Michael explains the moves Smiling Mule Don’t remember this one so cant say anything (ill update this review later with information) The Ooh-Ah Bird GREAT Kids trick as well for adults+ You show a piece of paper and fold it into a bird while explaining some information about the bird. While your talking you tell your helper to cut the deck and you mark where she cuts. Then after you show the bird, it lays an egg (very funny) and inside the egg is a small card, which matches the card the helper cut to. The hardest is making the bird. He goes into detail about how to make the bird. (This is one effect with Origami) All you need is brightly colored paper to make the bird more appealing and your set. Requires buying a miniature deck and small plastic egg. The Pothole Trick GREAT way to hand out your business card The best moving hole trick out there, this effect is worth the dvd. You show your business card and on the back is a sketch of where you live. You punch a whole in it and then grab another one of your business cards and ask questions to the spectator on where they live as you sketch a drawing of their house. You are seen to cover the "pothole" and not only move it down the street on the card, but in front of a different house around the corner on the business card. (Each house is initialed to prove they are different on the card. May have one letter to identify it) then, you are seen to remove the hole off of your business card and onto the other business card with the spectators house on it. Then they can keep it as a souvenir. This was hard to explain so click on the link above and that gives a better description of the trick. I love this effect. BUT this requires a special type of hole puncher that you can buy and then gaff it up (takes about 2 minutes but do it once and your set.) CONS The first business card with your house on it can NOT be examined. Both cards need to be "gaffed" but do it once with the one with your house and your set, then just repeat it with other business cards and your set This was hard to explain so ask questions if you don’t understand Dr. Strangetrick A card warp integrated with money You show a card, wrap in it a 2 dollar bill, push it through to the other side and it inverts it self, repeat again, then you rip it in half and then if you want you can restore it This is a great trick but he only teaches the folds and such with a 2-dollar bill. To restore the card you need to make a gimmicked 2-dollar bill and then switch it out for the other one. EVERYTHING can be examined after you rip the card, the bill and everything. The Judah Shoelace Routine This is a packs small plays big trick. You show a straw in the wrapper, you take the straw out of the wrapper ask the spectator to hold both in-between the first and second finger to squeeze it. You show a shoelace that could be borrowed but it’s a solid shoelace. You move the wrapper out of the way and tie up the straw, and then you place the wrapper on top and ask the spectator to hold the other side. You then tie the wrapper, and then wrap the shoelace around the straw and wrapper TWICE. You tell the spectator to hold tight and you give the shoelace a sharp tug on both sides and the shoelace goes THROUGH the straw and breaks the wrapper. The straw is unharmed but the wrapper is ripped in half. I LOVE THIS TRICK. EVERYTHING CAN BE BORROWED AND EXAMINED CLOSELY. After is legitimate, no switches or anything. And everything can be examined after. A Trick for O'Brian Don’t remember this one, will fill in later The Imagination Tester This is heavy Origami. This is hard and he doesn’t show you how to make it but if you buy an origami book that teaches what Michael tells you then you’ll be fine You show a paper stake through a frame, when you unfold it, its not solid or in the paper at all. You place it into the spectators hand and ask them to repeat this is real over and over again, nothing happens, you do it again and the stake comes out of the frame and isn’t part of the frame at all, everything can be examined. This is a pretty good trick, will get reactions BUT you need to know how to make the origami piece Tut Tut VERY GREAT BUT very hard A spectator selects a card and returns it to the deck, you shuffle the cards (pharaoh shuffle) and then you spread out the cards and turn the aces over wherever they may lie. After 3 pharaoh shuffles, the aces surround the selected card. This requires a stack for a memorized deck and you need to be able to perform (I think) 5 PERFECT pharroah shuffles. It’s going to take some practice but it’s worth it Myopia Very good but requires a memorized deck. The spectator tell you when to stop when riffling the cards between the hands and you ask the spectators to remember the cards you show them, the card the spec stopped you at and the next card. You guess the cards after asking 1 question VERY HARD, not only requires you to know your memorized deck but you need to be good at estimating how many cards you have in your hand. The Birthday Book Very easy, once again, needs a memorized deck A spectator selects a playing card. A date book is shown; next to each date is a playing card. The card written next to the spectator's birthday is shown. He has selected the exact same card EXTRA There is also a section where he goes over the tricks called "superpractice" which goes through the mechanics of each trick. Also in the DVD, he is joined by Michael Ammar and a guy (don’t know the name) and they interview him on the tricks and also Michael gives VERY GOOD information on landing a restraunt job and other things like that. OVERALL I give this DVD a 10/10
Been a busker since I was 14 from San Diego; Don Driver was my mentor along with many others like Jimmy Talksalot, Sleeveless (Stephen Sloan), Bob Elliott.
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MagicSanta Inner circle Northern Nevada 5841 Posts |
Great material by a great magician and a great guy. I was very happy to run into Michael this week and watched as he entertained with magic and w/out magic seemingly all day and night (as I was leaving early in the morning Mike was holding court). The material here is excellent.
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Guardian452 Loyal user Los Angeles 235 Posts |
I agreee, its well worth the price
Been a busker since I was 14 from San Diego; Don Driver was my mentor along with many others like Jimmy Talksalot, Sleeveless (Stephen Sloan), Bob Elliott.
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korttihai_82 Inner circle Finland 1880 Posts |
I consider Michael Closes DVDs, or VHS tapes as they were orginally put out, still to be one of the best sets ever made for working magicians. In the times of homemade internet marketed tapes it is refreshing allways to return to watch such polished material that Closes tapes contains. Even if you don't find anything to use from this set, you would still learn A LOT about routining and presenting material. I use at least around 15 items from this serie and I have tested pretty much everything at some point in my career for real people. I wish Close would release more soon. I just cant get enough of his material. Highly recommended.
J-M |
Review King Eternal Order 14446 Posts |
The other fellow with Mike Ammar is Eric Mead. Eric is one of the most brilliant Magicians in the world.
"Of all words of tongue and pen,
the saddest are, "It might have been" ..........John Greenleaf Whittier |
milesart Loyal user Switzerland 215 Posts |
High quality material on this DVD, I like the punch hole routine the most
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