Title: Mix N’ Mingle w/ Shaun McCree
Medium: DVD 2 disc set
Arena: close up, restaurant, strolling
Available: Any shop, distributed by Murphys Magic Supplies


Shaun McCree is a pro out of the UK who works the strolling, corporate, and table side fields of magic. In Mix N’ Mingle Shaun is releasing his favorite routines that he’s come to use over the last 20 years. As a performer Shaun is a funny and personable fellow and as you watch him perform (the routines are performed by Shaun in a ‘real world’ situation prior to his explanations) you’ll see he has certain lines and performance bits that he is comfortable with and that the audience responds to. Shaun has a very pleasant accent, I’m not sure if that counts in the UK, that is easily understood and adds to his character. I think if he came to the US he would be a huge hit because people just love it when guys talk like that.

I found the production level on this dvd set (one package, two DVDs, three hours worth of material) to be pretty high. I liked the live scenes, they were well lit and easy to see how Shaun interacts with the spectators and also how those watching from outside the circle were reacting. The explanations are done in a well lit area (I’m so tired of the black on black used by magicians) and the sound is fine. The only thing in the production that bothers me was the long “commercial” that ran prior to the start of the actual show/instruction part of the DVD. I have the DVD in hand, I don’t need to be sold on it any longer so enough with the commercial. I will say it wasn’t as long or dragged on as the intro to Between Two Minds which was agonizing. Hats off to the production crew though, nice job over all on the project and a product enjoyable to watch.

Shaun is very thorough in his explanations (I won’t say much about his performing skills, those are clearly advanced and as a 20 year pro there is no question he knows what he is doing). Many times people doing dvds will brush past components of the explanations, not so here. Shaun goes over everything very clearly and also goes into the nuances found in presentations. There are natural teachers and Shaun is one. If you just want to see the trick then hear how it is done and move on you won’t find it here, you get a lot of detail, which is good. Shauns accent is very pleasant and not at all hard to understand.

The material is card heavy but is all pretty darn good and will work in restaurants, strolling jobs, or trade shows. Some of the material will take a bit of practice but most are within the skill range of most experienced magicians. The routines are more advanced than your average street commando usually would like but for the working guy I have no doubt you’ll find some work you’ll want to use. Let’s take a look at some of the routines (not all of them, just those that pop into my mind as I’m doing this).


Razor Sharp
I liked this routine. A card is selected and put into the pack and the pack into its box. A razor blade is selected and put into the box which is then shook. The contents of the box is poured out and you find all the cards are cut up except for the selection. A very smooth deck switch is used here.

Cold Cut Transpo

A fancy non spin out spin out (yup). This will take some practice and at first I was going to pass this by then I saw how Shaun uses it for a quick performance. Now I have to practice the darn thing.

Dead Letter Card:

I liked the concept and how it was presented. A card to wallet with a lot more added to it. This is the kind of routine you’ll do if you work restaurants or parties.

Second Ink Stain

A fused card that is done just with the deck you have in hand. I like the fused card concept and typically do Forgery as it doesn”t expose a gimmicked card (I also like Anniversary Waltz and do use it on occasion) but you do need an additional card. I liked Second Inkstain because if you run into a situation where you want to do this type of effect you are already set up. Nicely done.

Watched Ambitious:

Ambitious Card routine with a nice ending that plays very strong. I liked the ending, a problem area for many.

Multichange:

He should have called this Cobra because it is quick and a killer. The presentation is nicely thought out and it is an eye catching series of moves that makes a card seem to change in unusual ways. I like it.

Blendo Split

A card is selected and a couple errors add up to a funny routine. This is interesting because it has multiple ending points so you can cut it off or keep going a little further. I liked it.

Cracker

More of a mental effect this type of thing plays huge with people. A card is selected and put on the table and you then have three cards chosen and you do a reading based on those cards leading to the revelation of the selection.

Hypnosis
Another fun routine using sandwich card techniques.

The Even More Portable Hole

A coin routine! I liked this and the premise of using a portable hole is a worker and I liked the entire handling. Nice handling inspired by Roth.

Myopia

One of the funniest card routines I’ve seen. This would kill at a party or in a bar scene. A selected card is changed in a very visible and funny manner. Easy to do.


The other routines are winners as well.

This DVD set is an example of what you can do if you prepare for the production, have good cameras, sound, editing, and pointing the camera where it needs to be, and a guy who has strong material and not only knows how to perform them but teach them. I really liked these and though I would have liked to have seen more non card items all the stuff was just great, obviously from a real performing set.

Hi MagicSanta,

Many thanks for the review. As the guy that shot, lit and edited this project, it’s really nice to see that you appreciated all of the technical stuff too.

This is a really great set running at over three and half hours, which doesn’t seem to have been talked about much on these boards. If you haven’t got tthese DVDs and you do stand-up strolling work, then I think that you’re missing out on some great routines here. I know that everything on these discs is the material that Shaun uses in all of his paid gigs and it took me some time to convince him to do this project. I can honestly say that there is no "filler" here, just strong killer magic.

For those interested a couple of other reviews can be found at:

http://magic.about.com/od/magicreview/fr/031907mccree.htm
http://littleegyptmagic.com/magic_march2007.html

A clip can also be seen at http://rsvpmagic.com/mix_mingle.html

Best,
Russ

Hey! I saw your name on the credits! I really think they are a good set of dvds and the magic is really good. I forgot to mention that I thought, and I don't know why id didn't cross my mind before, the way Shaun tucks his cards in his jacket since he didn't have a table was pretty neat. I actually looked for something I could be ticked about and the only thing was the fused card not being credited to Wesley James then at the end of tape two Shaun mentions that he tried his best to credit everyone and apologized if he missed anyone.

I've one question, there is a bonus page or whatever it is called on a DVD that has the 12 aspects of a cold reading, how do I access that? Great job on the dvd

This is one of the very best DVD sets I've seen in a long time. Commercial, practical effects designed for real-world use!

I'm delighted with my purchase.

Iain.

Have folks in the US just not heard of Shaun and are they ignoring this DVD because of it? I heard his name at a convention so that is why I recognized it but if you were to make a list of very solid and well made DVDs this would be on it. I hate to say it but the Euro types are coming on strong this past year.

I still need instructions on finding the bonus section. Wait, may be on disk one, I'll check.

I too have this dvd, and this is one of the best magic purchases ever.......
There is so much material on this, you would be mad to miss.
Well done Shaun and Russ, to be producing the most informative and freshest dvds to hit the market for a long time.

The peoples of the US of states need to wake up and smell the McCree. He's going to be kick off big time there just like the Beatles, Benny Hill and good old British democracy.

Hi Everyone,

The Cold Reading section is on the main page, then the bonus section of the DVD disc 2.

I'm glad that those who have seen the DVD's have liked them, I know that Shaun put a tremendous amount of work and effort into them.

Best,
Russ

Blendo split and myopia are 2 of the most commercial routines I perform.

I bought this direct from Shaun at the 3rd annual close up convention (why were there so few of us there). I was a little sceptical about buying at first as I saw some of the tricks in action and I was nervous that the level of sleights would be beyond me.

Having bought it I'm delighted to say that this is one cracker of a DVD, packed full of really commercial card routines and a coin routine, many with comedy thrown in and best of all the sleights employed are pretty straight forward and so well explained that they should be accessible to just about anyone prepared to do a little practise.

Just my thoughts...

I have this DVD and it's one of my top FIVE dvd's ( I have 150 magic dvd's in my collection!!)

The production & teaching is top notch.

The effects (handling & plots) are very strong and are true workers. I have already added a few effects from this collection into my close-up act.

Thanks a million Shaun & Russ for releasing this sadly overlooked gem

Hello Everyone,

I'm glad that those that have purchased this set have enjoyed it and are using Shaun's working material. I do think that many are missing out on this wonderful set as the reviews have been very good. About magic said "This is one of the finest instructional magic DVDs that I have yet to review. Bravo, Shaun McCree - Wayne N. Kawamoto".

The link is here:
http://magic.about.com/od/magicreview/fr/031907mccree.htm

Best,
Russ

In my thinking this is likely the best set of DVDs to be under the radar and I'm not sure why. I look at the list of top DVDs in sales and there are some really bad, and useless, DVDs on there but this set, which is very well shot, has top notch material, and can add value to someones performance goes ignored. Makes no sense to me.

Repackage the things with Shaun in a black tshirt snarling and do a promo video for youtube of Shaun performing but do real quick cuts and show reaction not effect then close with some teen saying "Whoa! That was like way too much for my brain man! Ya know? Mystifisyfical, whoa!" and you'll sell more.