Another day, another awful one trick DVD, ah wait a minute, maybe I'm being to harsh!

Effect: A card is signed and lost in the pack. Two jokers are bought out from your pocket with holes punched in them. These jokers are threaded on to a spectators key chain. They are then pushes into the deck and pulled out. The signed card is on the key chain between the jokers. The jokers are torn off the the sepectator can keep the card on their keyring forever

Ok, so the idea sounds good but here are the issues I have with this DVD:

- Threading keys on to a keyring can be difficult at times, so imagine how difficult cards can be.

- The method is basically the same as a trick released a few years back called Tagged. Not only is the method pretty much the same, but the trick is much better (I have used tag many times in my professional work, I will not be using Sconk)

- The DVD contains an impromtu version of Sconk. Now doesn't that imply that it is an impromtu version of the above effect? Well the 'impromtu version' is this. A card is signed and lost in the pack. The deck is fanned in one hand and tossed down to your other hand leaving the signed card behind. Not only is this nothing like the above effect but it is unoriginal.

- As the guy is explaining the effect, his hands keep droping out of view. Of course he has a monitor in front of him. I know this because as he looks up he realised this and moves his hanss back up. Production values like this are just not good enough. It wouldn't have taken long to re-film stuff like this.

- The effect was probably made up in ten minutes and not road tested. Now I really don't want to beleive that but the evidence on the DVD is this. During the street performance the card is selected and signed, then the jokers removed from the pocket, yet somehow and I'm not actually sure how he even managed this, but he clearly threads one joker and the selected card on to the keyring. This is very blatant. I cant beleive this wans't spotted during editing as it is so clear! something like this should have been refilmed!

I hate giving negative reviews but this is just plain awful. The idea for the effect wasn't a bad one but needed a lot more work on it to bring it up to the one trick DVD standards. I just get the impression that everything with this DVD was rushed and made on a shoestring just to make money. A little more thought and effort and maybe I would have been won over. It probably didn't help that I watch a really good DVD just before (Stephen Tuckers Twister Continuum, see my other review).

So to sum up, if you like the idea of the effect go out and buy Tagged. It a much better trick and if you want to do it with keychains you could easily work it out with some thought, but don't buy Sconk. Companies like this need to start putting more effort into their releases or they will lose customers. It really doens't take must extra work. So I say put your money to better use, and fluch it down the loo.

Darren

Thanks for the head's up but where were you a week ago when I ordered this?

Sorry man, maybe you will like it. Just my opinion!

I had a very similar opinion. I just don't see the need for this kind of effect. Tagged has a charming quality too it. You can give it aways as a business card, since you're info can be on the tag. The key ring just doesn't have that same feel. Also, the process of putting something on a keyring is nuts. I really don't like the attempt at abbreviating the name either. As much as I don't like the names of a few of the newer products coming out (Indecent, Sinful, all the other neo-Satanic names) Sconk could use one. I work in a magic shop and I really can't recommend a trick with such an awkward and harsh sounding name.

Hmmm.....I'll pass and thanks for the review McQuade.

Maybe this one is better?

http://themagicwarehouse.com/cgi-bin/findit.pl?x_item=TA1909