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FlippingWonderful Regular user 122 Posts |
Name: Still Fancy a Pot of Jam?
Author: James Brown Price: £24.99 Publisher: Alakazam Date: 4th September 2006 Length: An hour and forty minutes Difficulty: Upto 6/10 Out of 10: Read the review... Contents Taken from the Alakazam website.... "Brainless Travellers - The routine James wanted to keep to himself! Two piles of ten cards…the spectator merely THINKS of a card from one of the piles…it immediately vanishes from this pile…only nine remain…the second pile is counted…there are eleven…the thought of card is shown to have travelled across…But Wait… another spectator thought of a different card…NO PROBLEM! With just a click of the fingers and without even touching the piles… the piles are counted (by the spectators) and one pile now contains only eight cards and the other twelve! The second card has now travelled across! Now get this no gimmicked cards, no setup and the best part it can all be done with a borrowed deck! Signed Card to Sealed Envelope - This is not your standard Signed Card to Sealed Envelope; it's all done by the spectator! A signed card vanishes from your spectator's possession and impossibly reappears in a sealed envelope held by the very same spectator! Psychological Deck Vanish - The ultimate solution to the "Show me a trick!" request that will blow them away! The deck vanishes from between yours and the spectator's hands, leaving nothing but their previously thought of card! Card Under Box - The classic effect with some great new twists! See James perform this in all the "wrong" situations and successfully blow people away! Repeat card under box, deck under box & optional vanish! This is a great lesson in misdirection as James proves that with the right thinking, you CAN do this anywhere! Card Under Watch - This one gets people talking! When a spectator finds their signed card folded & wedged snugly under their watch, they literally freak out! James has routined this in such a way that the spectator's will NEVER be able to backtrack the load. A fantastic lesson in time misdirection! Fancy a Pot of Jam? - Pitching & loading for the real world! This effect takes a simple coin trick and gives it an ending that is so surreal that it will be remembered for a very long time! James begins with "The World Famous 11p Trick" & ends it with a mind blowing production of a pot of jam. Cards Opener - A brilliant routine combining the best elements of card Magic, to create an action packed showpiece that is ideal to begin your set with. Cards to pocket, card changes and a deck vanish make this something to really show you mean business when you have a deck of cards! Cards to Spectator's Pocket - Sounds impossible! You have to see, learn it, then go out and try it! This really works and takes the popular cards to pocket plot, but amplifies the impact! Especially as the spectator actually removes the card from their own pocket and the WHOLE DECK when the effect climaxes with it vanishing & appearing in their pocket! A reputation maker for those who are willing to go out there & do it! Diminishing Switch - A fantastic transposition effect that is not the norm! A SINGLE card on a spectator's hand changes places with FOUR cards from your hands! This routine takes a well known sequence, builds a trick around it, then delivers a knock out transposition ending that is just impossible! Band Up! - Visual card Magic at its best! A selected card literally appears from nowhere on the back of a spectator's hand. The deck is wrapped in a rubber band; the spectator's hand goes on top, then BANG, the selection jumps onto the BACK of their hand! It looks like trick photography on film! " "James's sensational audience management will make you shake your head in disbelief. I have seen James in action for real people and trust me when I say he is a master of misdirection. He is consistently excellent with his magic. This DVD is a must for anyone who wants to learn from a real worker. GREAT! GREAT! GREAT! You can only mess with the classic principles of magic when you fully understand why they work; James fully understands why they work, period!" Martin Sanderson; "Corporate Close up Magic Legend" "James Brown does the material we all wish we had the nerve to do. Misdirection and spectator management are the real secrets to his work and he is an expert at both." Peter Wardell; "A street performer to be reckoned with" Comments So there I was in Alakazam today and another opportunity for Peter Nardi to take more cash of me... in fact I had paid for this in advance and so got a fiver off, and this time my money went on the highly anticipated "Still Fancy a Pot of Jam?". I'd been waiting for this since I attended the lecture at the Downtown Magic Club where most of this was filmed, so would I be dissapointed... The DVD starts with James' Card Opener - A lot of moves combined, and a lot practise will be required - Card to pocket, deck to pocket - a fantastic piece, beats a standard ACR presentation hands down. Next the Phsycological Deck Vanish comes along and is shown to be a very flexible deck vanish,which can be done in almost any situation, where a spectators card is left in you hand whilst the deck has disappeared. The title piece, a combination of 11p with a Pot of Jam. I perform this today from his lecture notes, but I'm glad I watched the DVD as there are some good handling tips. This is a very good routine where coins are removed from your hand, but when the spectator is asked to guess what is left you still have 11p in it. Then it miraculously turns into a pot of jam, which then dissapears, before ending up on the spectators shoulder. Very nice, in fact beautiful if used with a coin to shoulder routine earlier in your own performance. Unfortunately such a routine was removed from the original cut of the DVD for various reasons which we shall not discuss here. Card Under Watch - (signed and unsigned routines are shown) and this is a very strong routine. Card under box - Antoher very good routine, the off beat moves are fantastic, and end up with the pack under the box, before the pack dissapears or the card ends up in the card box Diminishing Switch - Nice card routine for two spectators, where a spectator takes one card, but when they check it they have four - in fact the four cards the other spectator was holding. Coin Under Watch and Watch Steal - Good information on misdirection/off beat moves as well as talk about the physical handling of a spectator. Leather strapped watches are only discussed. Band Up! - Nice little move allowing a card to appear on the back of the spectators hand through the use of elastic band. Spectators Card to Envelope - A nice performance where it looks as thought the spectator is doing the magic, you select a card from them and they make it magically appear in an envelope. Very nice, almost unbelievable in the spectator's eyes. Brainless Travellers - A similar looking routine to an trick designed by some bloke called David someone or other, except this is gimmick free. Requires confidence (don't they all?) but works well, and good for most situations. The effect can work a number of times in the same routine... and it looks soooo good. Oh yes. Extras on the DVD include showing how to do a Mercury Card Fold, Convincing Control Palm, a nice routine in a bar, and a show of card and deck into spectators pocket. So what else can I say. You will need a chunk of confidence and the knowledge and technique to Side Steal, Cull a card to the top, Mercury Fold, Shape Shifter, palm and peek. But if you can't do those now you will want to once you see this... I brought the Paul Cummins Side steal DVD the day after I saw the lecture. James explains a few of these things, but not in great detail, his explanations are left for how to perform the routines, and very good explainations they are too, with subtleties explained where necessary. This DVD will give some incredible ammunition to any magician who does table and mix'n'mingle work. There are real life performances of tricks shown, none of the familiar faces in the audience that L&L lectures have, real members of the British public. And it is class. This cannot be over stated, I learnt a lot from this, routines, misdirection, a true master of the off-beat. This is really inspirational stuff, and I urge you all to get a copy now. If I could give this 11/10 for value I would... in fact I can.... so I will.... 11/10 Buy it now it is worth every single penny and more... but don't tell Peter Nardi that |
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deputy Inner circle USA 1041 Posts |
Great review thxs!
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Ustaad Inner circle Iindia - States 6157 Posts |
Thanks! Great rivew!
This is on my want list just for a lone effect - Brainless Travellers.
MAGIC is a SECRET, without the SECRET there is no MAGIC.
"Any sufficiently advanced technology is indistinguishable from magic." - Arthur C. Clarke. |
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D.WAYNE FOR FUN New user 3 Posts |
I bought this product beacause of the advert claiming I would be able to make a pot of jam appear at the culmination of my presentation. The pot of jam is VERY SMALL and not a regualar size jam pot as it would seem. Why is this product being mis sold?
D.WAYNE |
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Christopher Williams Inner circle Portsmouth, UK 4464 Posts |
Quote:
On 2006-09-06 13:04, D.WAYNE FOR FUN wrote: This is a great effect. I saw James perform this in February in front of a room full of magicians, and it killed!!! It's not a false advert. Do you produce a pot of Jam? Yes. Does it say it's a big pot of Jam in the advert? No. It's a startling production, and excellent when it appears on the shoulder. Do you really think a full size 500g pot of jam would go un-noticed on the spectators shoulder? Of course not, it wouldn't even balance there by itself. |
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Daren Inner circle 2051 Posts |
Awesome is all I can say about this dvd, I have already added now 4-5 routines out of this dvd set to my strolling/restaurant act, there are some great items here, those of my favourites are card under box, brainless travellers, pot of jam, cards opener, if you guys don't purchase this dvd you will be missing out big time! get yours from http://www.alakazam.co.uk for an excellent service.
cheers Daren |
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matt.magicman Inner circle Mars 1524 Posts |
I liked it too,
but as for the sleights, side steal, to change, side steal, top change, side steal with top card cover, side steal............ nice, but I cant do it yet! still a great dvd, although I thought that a few of the explanation were a little rushed through, and maybe could also have done with a close up camera shot when james was explaining some of the moves (side steal with top card cover??) but, do buy it! you are bound to use atleast 3-4 routines almost immeadiatly! nice one james! when are you coming to the sussex magic circle? |
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Daren Inner circle 2051 Posts |
I have changed some of the moves he uses for card opener such as the top change for the illogical change by lorrayne I think, also in card opener when he does the side steal with top card cover with the top card face up I just ask the spectator to say stop when I riffle down and then I tilt the card under the top card, it reaches the same position without the side steals and top changes etc.
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FlippingWonderful Regular user 122 Posts |
I do say in the review that the sleights aren't discussed in detail, and I have seriously worked on mineand brought a DVD by Paul Cummins to help (which it has - especially with side steal with top cover), but have alternatives for getting the selected card where I want it, such as using a pass.
As for the claim by D.Wayne, I do this routine with the Jam and it works fine, no one ever questions the size of the pot of jam so why are you on your first post here? |
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Paul Wingham Veteran user Rustington, South Coast, UK 365 Posts |
I'm going to order this but in a way I think it's quite nice for a dvd to assume the watcher either knows the sleights or is willing to learn them, that way more time can be spent discussing the finer points of the routine. I guess that's easy to say if you know how to do them but it gives the purchaser a direction for future purchases.
I'm really looking forward to this. |
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warren Inner circle uk 4138 Posts |
Having seen james lecture I prepaid for the dvd and finally got it yesterday,it was well worth the wait a big thumbs up.
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theboss Regular user 134 Posts |
Thanks Warren
If anyone has a review I would be interested in reading it. I realise that some of the sleights have not been fully explained, but as has been said, this was not designed as a DVD for beginners. Again, thanks for the comments. Would love to see more (even negative!) Yours James Brown |
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Christopher Williams Inner circle Portsmouth, UK 4464 Posts |
Ok, I've been working on this review for a couple days now, so here we go:
This DVD gets my vote for DVD of 2006. It is shot in the real world, at James's gigs. This is how all DVDs need to be shot in future! Rather than in front of an audience like on the L & L DVDs where it is the same people all the time, who have seen more magic than most will in 10 lifetimes!!! You get several performances at different gigs that show how different people react, and ALL get great reactions. So what if it wasn't shot at a big fancy studio with a HUGE production crew. You get to see the routines clearly, and several times, and they are all taught reasonably. To a worker and informed Magicians, this DVD is perfect in teaching. The teaching is covered well so you understand what you need to do and when, but they aren't incredibly detailed so that a beginner will all of a sudden become an incredible Magician. An informed Magician will get the tools to some fantastic magic that give the 'Wow' factor to your audience. Signed card to Sealed Envelope- This is a great trick done all by the spectator. This is a VERY powerful effect, and you can see in the performance that the person performed to is just in disbelief. He cant believe what has just happened. It reminds me a little of Wayne Dobsons 'Teach a card trick', and this is a routine that I hope people wont over look. So a couple cards are folded in a demonstration of what the spectator has to do, but the effect is one that is worthy to do so. If you perform Torn or a similar effect, you can use the folded card from the signed card in envelope as your set up for your T & R routine. Psychological Deck vanish- This is GREAT. When you see the performance, you see exactly what is going on, but the spectator doesn't, and you learn James great misdirection to make this work. The reason I like this effect, and actually all James effects, is that they are bold, and I LOVE bold magic! This is a definite for one of those show me a trick effects, as you are left with nothing but the card they chose in between your hands, and there are no more cards to perform with as the deck has vanished. Card under box- Another great trick. I love card under box effects. Kostya Kimlats and Guy Hollingworth have two of the best I have seen, and I havent seen many to compete with these, but now I have a real contender. This is a fantastically constructed routine, and again is increible bold and I WILL use this for sure! Card under watch- The effect that floored a room full of Magicians at the Session convention. I was eagerly awaiting seeing this trick again, and then learing it. It is a great utility to add to the end of any card routine, and I just hope many overlook this so I will be one of a few people using this. Fancy a pot of Jam- Another effect that floored a room full of Magicians at the Session convention. A SUPERB effect that has gone straight into my routine, and I am sure anyone who sees this will automatically, no questions asked, add this to their routine. A MUST see, and a MUST use! Band Up!- This is a great routine, to which I had seen similar before and been baffled, and I am glad to now know how to do the effect. If you have a deck of cards and a rubber band, I guarantee you will use this. The shock on the spectators face at the end shows how powerful this is. Diminishing switch- I hoped this wouldn't get shown around too much. Gary Jones I believe was the person who created this effect, though James performs this completely different. Its the ending that I think is Gary's. Gary floored me when he first showed me this, and I have since created my own version which with Gary's permission has been included in my new book that is to be released in a couple months time. That being said, James has done an excellent job of this and it is packed full of magic and surprise. Another effect I hope many will overlook. Cards opener- THE perfect opener to any card routine. Watching this I was amazed at how much magic is involved, and must say that for those that love to do card routines, this IS the trick to do to start of your routine. Incredible magic that just leaves the spectator amazed and clueless. Brainless Travellers- I had heard great things about this effect from some top magicians. I couldn't wait to see it and wasn't disappointed. An incredible routine that makes the spectators jaw hit the floor, and the method is simple. Many Magicians will use this from now on as a cards across, and arguable is worth the price of the DVD alone. David Blaine had a similar EFFECT, but the method involved gimmicked cards that couldn't be examined. This version uses borrowed cards and can be done any time, any where. All in all, though its impossible 12/10. This DVD is sooo good and I am so releaved all the mess was sorted out and it has been finally released. It was well worth the wait and more, and as said before, the price is a steal. If you ever meet James, carry a chair, because you will need one to fall back on!!! |
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Shikina Loyal user Los Angeles 260 Posts |
Allright, let me be that annoying fellow who throws in the obvious question: how many of these effects can be done impromptu? Judging by the description of the sleights required, it seems like much of this material is of the flicking finger variety, as opposed to gimmicks + set-ups. Can anybody confirm or deny?
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Christopher Williams Inner circle Portsmouth, UK 4464 Posts |
Ok, I'll try and help.
Signed card to Sealed Envelope- A small amount of work. A Paper clip and an envelope and a tiny bit of set up are needed Psychological Deck vanish- Completely impromptu, just a deck needed Card under box- If you perform like James does, then a marketed item is needed to finish, though if you don't want this finish, and just a simpler finish, then it can be done completely impromptu, just a deck needed Card under watch-Completely impromptu, just a deck needed Fancy a pot of Jam- A VERY small amount of set up, and a pot of jam or suprise load to finish. Set up can basically be done in front of spectator almost Band Up!- Just a deck and a rubber band needed Diminishing switch- Completely impromptu, just a deck needed Cards opener- Completely impromptu, just a deck needed Brainless Travellers- Completely impromptu, just a deck needed |
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Daren Inner circle 2051 Posts |
I have used brainless travellers and card opener in a gig I was working yesterday and they both got killer reactions, I never really had an opener for a card routine but james is killer, there is bam, bam, bam powerful magic happens very quickly but very good routine, I love this dvd.
will be trying out card to envelope tomorrow afternoon (yep at another gig), I'm sure this will get great reactions, if you guys only carry one deck of cards around you wil only be able to really perform this 4 times (guys who have this dvd will know what I mean) |
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Christopher Williams Inner circle Portsmouth, UK 4464 Posts |
Anyone else have this care to share their thoughts and experiences? D.WAYNE FOR FUN, have you solved your Jam problem? What are your thoughts on the rest of this?
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Peter Nardi Inner circle 2238 Posts |
Thanks for the good reviews guys. The DVD was a long time coming but I really thing it was worth the wait!
Peter |
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matt.magicman Inner circle Mars 1524 Posts |
Like I said, its a great dvd!
just some help with the pot of jam routine please.......... what size pots are you all using, including james, if your there? I've picked up a six pack from tesco, each pot being 50g I am finding this hard to load etc... is there a smaller size that james/anyone is using? or is it just a case of more practising and watching the angles more....? thanks for your time and help in advance! matt |
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Christopher Williams Inner circle Portsmouth, UK 4464 Posts |
Hi Matt, I had this problem at first, but you need to look around. I got mine from a Café. I got 2 for 50p!!! So if anyone really can't find them, let me know and I will see if I can help you. The pot I use is 28g, and is just bigger than two fingers!!!
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