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Mumblemore Inner circle 1429 Posts |
Wanting to do an appearance illusion at birthday shows, I sold a bunch of tricks on the Café, and bought the square circle, and "the packs flat, plays big" crowd is gonna love it. This thing is not cheap (around $500), but gives you a lot of options and offers a scope and grandeur which it would probably cost more to get otherwise (not to mention the wear on your back as you lug person-sized illusions around).
Besides the fact that it adds a whole new scale to parlour shows without adding excess weight and setup, I think the best aspect of this Square Circle will be the options it offers. I am looking forward to using it to appear my assistant at beginning of birthday shows, and also to turn a wood frog cutout into a prince/princess. There will be many other uses evident as I go, I am sure. This is a very versatile prop. The fertile and practical minds at Creative Magic have not sent out the DVD with performance tips and routine ideas yet, but I bought one of the "previews" and am supposed to contribute ideas to that DVD. Creative Magic promises a good set of tips. They say they already have seen some very good routines performed. While I don't have the Victory Cubes, it seems to be of a similar material and design (from what I can tell from videos). It seems sturdy for an item so light, and has already withstood some rough-housing by my daughers (they both fit into the load compartment - they are the appearing assistants). The load area is huge; at least 3'x3'x3.' And it packs into a tote bag. I haven't used it in a show yet (tomorrow), but expect it will go over very well, as my rehearsal spectator could only see my daughters when she stood up high (and when the kids moved, my wife perceived "something fishy."). The inserts were very well constructed; flexible and springy but durable (I hope and believe). My only technical problem is that there is a "bottom" to the load area which the person needs to "fall" through quickly as I pull the tubes up. When I pull them through the "floor" (a velcroed base cloth) can sometimes show through the bottom of the tubes. In other words, the person having the tubes quickly raised can push the material out of the bottom which leaves a less than clean conclusion to the show. I think this mostly a handling issue and that I can find a way to have the girl appear without loosening all the velcro (just part of it), and this will hopefully prevent the material from dragging out the bottom. This small issue aside (and hopefully Creative Magic will address this in the DVD), the prop works very well. If this Square Circle was a tad cheaper, it would rate a 10. The cost is slightly prohibitive, and it doesn't look all that expensive to build (although indeed, we are paying for its very clever design). As it is, I rate the prop well over a 9, as it adds a whole new dimension to childrens' shows, packs light, sets up in 30 seconds, and delivers an impressive visual stunner in grand style. Creative Magic once again showed their mastery of producing incredible effects which are also practical and sleek. Kudos to them. I'll be using this regularly and continuing to appreciate Creative Magic's cleverness in their design and selection of materials. This may be one of 2007's best new effects for general and family parlour performers. |
magicinsight Inner circle 4306 Posts |
Mumblemore,
I certainly apprecaite your review and your enthusiasm. However, my initial reaction is that it cannot be used in parlour family shows or birthday parties to produce yourself or an assitant. As with any square circle, you need to load the production item(s) first, and in this case, you or your assistant would need to be "loaded" into the square circle prior to the effect being shown. I do not see how you could do this at a birthday show or in someone's livingroom when people are roaming and milling around unless you could block people from entering the performance area during that time. Thank you again for your comments. Best regards, Michael
“Belief matters more than truth. Every moment, belief in imaginary things alters lives while truth sits unnoticed and waits.”
—Hakim, Loreweaver |
Mumblemore Inner circle 1429 Posts |
Indeed, my eight-year old daughter goes in with a book for about 20 min before, while
I am setting up and kids are kept out of the area initially. |
Mumblemore Inner circle 1429 Posts |
When she appears, she "tucks" the book behind her dress waistband under her shirt and the production is thus not cluttered by additional unexplained items. I told of her to think of it as the dentist's waiting room ... and she's good at sitting quietly for extended periods.
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Mumblemore Inner circle 1429 Posts |
One last qualification is that I loosely cover the whole thing with a light sheet with air space on the side away from audience . . . this keeps people from looking over the top (at least so far)before it is time. If you don't have a little privacy at set up this will be harder to use - Michael is right. I think the solution, since it is so light weight, is to pack it and see on a case-by-case basis.
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magicinsight Inner circle 4306 Posts |
Thank you for your tips and clarification. I will check it out.
Michael
“Belief matters more than truth. Every moment, belief in imaginary things alters lives while truth sits unnoticed and waits.”
—Hakim, Loreweaver |
Mumblemore Inner circle 1429 Posts |
Just to follow up, I got a very patient older girl (11ish) to sit in the square circle for 40 min (with a book). The thing was set up with a cover over it on the side of my staging area, and the fact that it was just part of the woodwork made it all the more impressive when this girl (who I'd trained for 5 min beforehand, without even having to reveal the secret), jumped out on my que. She wore glasses and I made sure to have her hold on to them; they could've flown off (but didn't). Michael is right, however, in that I'm not always going to be so lucky. Today I had asked the mother ahead of time, and she pointed me to just the person . . .
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