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puggo Inner circle 2022 Posts |
I've had this a few days now so would like to offer an initial review.
Bias rating: A solid 0/10, as I paid my own hard earned cash and don't know Ollie or the BBM crew. Most of my work is strolling, so I mainly look for FASDIU in the hands effects, that are simple, direct & hard hitting. Card Constructions by Ollie Mealing - the official blurb & my thoughts: The SeeSaw Peek An incredibly fair and open selection of two cards - which leaves you knowing the value of both cards AND hiding one face up in the deck. GENIUS! I say: Yes, a great move which is easy to execute. Check out Lee Smith's 'Walkaround 2 cards to pocket' for my favorite application. The Barrier Shift Forget the Classic Pass, the riffle pass, the turnover pass - The Barrier Shift is your new 'go to' move. And you do it right under their nose! I say: a good move, but I struggle a little bit with the motivation for the shielded peak of the bottom card (check out the BBM demo). Perhaps this is me over thinking it. The Pit Control Tilt gone supernova - a selection is cleanly inserted half way down at the FRONT of the deck. In full view and effortlessly you move it second from top! I say: an absolute cracking variation of the tilt. Not hard, but very sweet! The Clay Switch A switch, a force, a colour change - you name it, The Clay Switch can do it! I say: On the demo it looked good, but seeing it in full, I thought 'meh!'. It may be one of those utility moves that comes alive when you use it in the right context. The Station Double Ever wanted to pull a double from the centre of the deck? Well, now you can! I say: Not hard, but will need to be done smoothly with solid direction of attention. And then learn eight of Ollie's favourite routines: Constructing the Deck Four Sugars Triple Coincidence The Sandwich Meal King Of Clues Impromptu Stunner Flat Pack Graffiti Sandwich I say: I went through them a few times with cards in hand. I tried a couple of the routines out on my regular testers (family & friends, not real gigs) so take these thoughts with a pinch of salt. Constructing the deck - not for me, a competent blank deck that prints itself effect. Four Sugars - A very strong routine where a card is selected, the mates appear in your hands with the deck in your pocket... Nice. Triple Coincidence - It involves cutting piles of cards onto a table.. (sound of screeching brakes being applied!) I'm sure many will like this, as it is a nice routine, but not for me. The sandwich meal - A sandwich trick. Or is it? Double whammy revalations of four of a kinds.. strong stuff, although I'm not currently tempted to try it. Yet. King of Clues - A belter of a trick with more climaxes than one of those 'special' movies. I probably won't practice it yet, due to a certain load move and table requirement which could easily be modified. Perhaps I'll just learn it as it is, for when the working conditions are right. Impromptu Stunner - a triple selection transposing colour changing trick. OK, I confess. I was put off it as soon as Ollie had 3 cards peeked and then told Cameron (the spectator) what they were, before then producing them in the main effect. The SeeSaw peek is a great move, but for me, either verbally reveal the cards or visually reveal / produce them. Don't tell them what the card was and them produce them in interesting ways. This is just my opinion and it is probably wrong in most peoples eyes; but for me this weakened the effect. I thought the same thing when I saw Ollies routine (the switch trick?) on the session DVD. Having said that, Ollie must be getting the reactions to continue doing this (hey, I never said I was right!). Flat pack - This is getting used in my next gig. Different plot ("OK, we're going to make a playing card..."), easy to follow, built in misdirection, building climaxes. A stunner. Graffiti sandwich - a quick and reasonable single phase-ish sandwich effect. FILMED AT ILLUSIONS MAGIC BAR, BRISTOL I say: There are two live performances for real people, the rest are filmed when the bar is shut, with all round good guy Cameron Francis performing spectator duties. It would have been good to have had more live performances. Constructive cons: The over-plugging of Karnival cards throughout was unwanted, unless Owen Packard wants to send me a free deck or two. In which case, great idea! The lighting during the live perfomance footage was not great. The SeeSaw peek verbal & visual revalation (one or the other in my eyes!) Pros: Generally excellent sound and lighting. Camera angles were good. No chemical protection suites were used.. (no offence Cameron!) Ollie is a very clear, articulate teacher. Attainable material for the majority of us not blessed with 'Buck Twin' hands. Good price. Innovative moves. The BBM pre-order offer (join the mailing list) Final thoughts: Ollie is a talented person and a good teacher. A well produced card project that should appeal to hobby-ist, part timers and probably pros as well. I'll need to re-watch it to offer comment on crediting (sorry, its late!) Highly recommended. Charlie |
Cameron Francis V.I.P. 7025 Posts |
Glad you like the dvd, Charlie. Although it looks as if you forgot to put a 1 in front of the 0 at the beginning of your review. At first I thought it was going to be really negative due to the 0/10 rating!
I had a blast with Ollie, being his spectator and learning this stuff. Looking forward to receiving the dvd myself as I wasn't able to take notes during the shoot! Poor Haz Mat Suit Man. He's taken a lot of hits over Omega.
MOMENT'S NOTICE LIVE 3 - Six impromptu card tricks! Out now! http://cameronfrancismagic.com/moments-notice-live-3.html
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puggo Inner circle 2022 Posts |
Whoops! The bias rating score was meant to show that I had no 'ulterior motives' to give a positive review {e.g. given a promo copy, friend of BBM}.
I'll try not to be confusing next time! |
Cameron Francis V.I.P. 7025 Posts |
Oh, I get it! Sorry, I misread.
MOMENT'S NOTICE LIVE 3 - Six impromptu card tricks! Out now! http://cameronfrancismagic.com/moments-notice-live-3.html
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crestfallenLyric Veteran user 307 Posts |
Thanks for the review! My DVD with Elegy Shift has arrived at my girlfriend's house, so I will pick them up in a day or two.
I have found that the Barrier Shift's wrist motion, at first a little odd, doesn't seem to be too bad to justify. I was wondering how I might justify it something where it could replace the pass, say the Roy Walton Pass the Red effect. But then I realized I could still easily tweak the words. Could you elaborate the Clay Shift section? I guess I'll be getting it in a few days, but it seemed like the demo showed the full effect, so I'm just a tad curious as the "full meh-ness" of it, lol. Also do you know if it's just the impromptu stunner that's actually impromptu? Again, thanks for the review!
"It is better for a man to honor his profession, than to be honored by it." - Robert-Houdin
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puggo Inner circle 2022 Posts |
Hi CrestfallenLyric,
In response to your points / questions: The Barrier Shift when done 'Mealing-ly smooth' (its not hard) looks fine and seems good on angles. Perhaps a touch exposed on the left, or if someone is very low down. I genuinely think its a good move, although when you execute the pass you are looking at the deck / bottom card, which invites everyone else to burn that area. When performing a turnover pass for example, you can hold the deck lower as you execute the move while making eye contact with your audience, directing their attention away from the deck before showing the bottom card. The words or verbal scripting / motivation are not an issue to me - grab a deck of cards. Show your girlfriend the top card, now show the bottom card. Does that come anywhere near the movement in the Barrier Shift? I do genuinely believe 99.99% of people would not question the move, although at some deep level in their brain, perhaps something may register... Lets be quite clear, I am only questioning and considering the move; a move with which I lack any real performance time. I will try it out for real (the more tools we have, the better?), but would probably stick with the Midnight Shift etc. Regarding the Clay Switch 'meh-ness'! Mr Mealing starts off by saying "cut the cards into two piles & putiing them on the table..." Well straight away, that will not fit in with my performing conditions the majority of the time. I also would struggle to replace a convincing control / discreet displacement / spread cull control... But - given the right routine and flow, I appreciate that this may be ideal. Also the move can undoubtedly be adapted with a small amount of work. Non - impromptu effects: Contructing the deck - Ultra easy 2 second set up in front of the audience. Sandwich meal - 12 cards to set-up, best done inbetween tables / groups King of clues - 2 cards to the top, two to the bottom. Could be easily done in front of the audience. Everything else is ready to go at any time. Charlie PS - Don't confuse these thoughts with being negative - I would still thoroughly recommend this DVD! |
insight Inner circle 3095 Posts |
The Clay Switch reads awesome!
Regards, Mike |
crestfallenLyric Veteran user 307 Posts |
Thanks for your very informative input puggo! Your answers actually are pumping me up even more to go and fetch my DVD from the ladyfriend. Exciting!
"It is better for a man to honor his profession, than to be honored by it." - Robert-Houdin
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crestfallenLyric Veteran user 307 Posts |
Just finished watching it. Wow, great effects and cool moves! My one gripe would be instead of just teaching the basics of the Clay Switch and showing applications, it would be great to go over some of the small subtleties for said applications, say the color change. I played around with it a bit to find some "sweet spots" to see how he was making it look as nice as he did. But overall, really nice, and I'll definitely use the force application.
Flat Pack and Impromptu Stunner are both insane. Definitely want to practice these when I come back from vacation (heck I'll practice all of them), 'cause those are some jaw dropping effects on this DVD.
"It is better for a man to honor his profession, than to be honored by it." - Robert-Houdin
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Lee Smith Elite user 420 Posts |
Here are my thoughts on this guys.
What it Says - Ollie Mealing has a passion for playing cards that knows no bounds. And his incredible enthusiasm will benefit YOU! On this DVD Ollie reveals five of his signature moves. From the simple, but mind-blowingly effective, Seesaw Peek to the beautiful Barrier Shift – it’s a veritable arsenal of sleights to take every aspect of your magic into a brave new world! And you don’t need to be a card ninja to learn and use these moves. The SeeSaw Peek An incredibly fair and open selection of two cards – which leaves you knowing the value of both cards AND hiding one face up in the deck. GENIUS! The Barrier Shift Forget the Classic Pass, the riffle pass, the turnover pass – The Barrier Shift is your new ‘go to’ move. And you do it right under their nose! The Pit Control Tilt gone supernova – a selection is cleanly inserted half way down at the FRONT of the deck. In full view and effortlessly you move it second from top! The Clay Switch A switch, a force, a colour change – you name it, The Clay Switch can do it! The Station Double Ever wanted to pull a double from the centre of the deck? Well, now you can! And then learn eight of Ollie’s favourite routines: Constructing the Deck Four Sugars Triple Coincidence The Sandwich Meal) Kings Of Clues Impromptu Stunner Flat Pack Graffiti Sandwich Trailer - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7bqVEKAJqA0 Available from - http://www.bigblindmedia.com/index.htm What I say. As many of you will be aware I am a friend of Ollie's and last year he very kindly gave me permission to use some of his material on my DVD and in my lecture. So I wanted to put up my honest thoughts on his new project. Ollie is a very talented magician and technically gifted. (Hate these people lol ) he is also a very nice guy and this comes across on the DVD. The disc contains a series of moves and routines which are taught in sections, none of which are difficult to learn. Some of the routines are performed in the studio with the wonderfull Cameron Francis, and others are perfromed live. I would personally like to have seen more live performances but still the routines come across clear when performed to Cameron. The production and quality is of course top notch as you would expect from Big Blind Media! No more need be said there. Moves - All of the moves taught on here are great and a couple are in my opinion just fantastic. The Clay Switch is very usefull and the See Saw peek is worth the price of the DVD alone (VERY EASY and VERY DEVIOUS) I have been using this since I saw Ollie perform it a couple of years ago. The Pit Control is also a new move I have added to my aresenal since I got Card Constuctions. All of the routines and moves explained are very clear and in detail making it easy to pick them up. Routines - If you are a hobbyist you will use most if not all of these, they are all very commercial effects that I think many of the pro's will add to their repertoires as well. I myself really liked Flat Pack and Impromptu Stunner. To sum up I think this is a brilliant product, there really is something for everyone whether your are new to magic itf your a move monkey or a working pro you will find something on here that you can use. As I said before I think the See Saw peek is worth the asking price alone and I would reccomend this to anyone. I will be looking forward to your next project Ollie. Well done mate!
www.walkaboutmagic.com
www.facebook.com/walkaboutmagic Effects. STEP SYSTEM vol 1&2, iCandy, iPhone 10, strike 2.2 and lecture notes. All available on my site. |
jcsum Loyal user Singapore 217 Posts |
Another review: http://sexymagicreviews.wordpress.com/20......mealing/
J C Sum
Project ONE: The Solo Illusionist http://www.SoloIllusions.com The World's Largest Free Online Illusion Resource http://www.IllusionBooks.com The World's Most Comprehensive Resource on Kabuki Drops http://www.MagicKabukiDrop.com Creating Highly Successful Entertainers http://www.BackstageBusinessAcademy.com |
korttihai_82 Inner circle Finland 1880 Posts |
Alternative review that has no connections to publishers. Seems Café is becoming more and more of place where friends just hype each others products and possible negative reviews are then deleted by admins or crashed down by the producers and makers of the products...
Moves are mainly not too good and there is much better alternatives to most of them The SeeSaw Peek is peak of two cards.Nothing earth shaking here. other card gets also reversed in the deck that some might consider to be an advantage, for me it was still disadvantage but depends on a routine. This was also on Lee Smiths DVD's where it was used a lot... The Barrier Shift looks like your doing something, has huge angle problems and needs huge motion of up and down to cover... Classic pass > this anyda The Pit Control: Confusing multipacket control... The control should NOT BE THE EFFECT!!! You should get it over with as fast as possible and move into something more interesting Tilt gone supernova: Suspicious looking flourish where you pivot outjogged card around the deck into tilt position. WHY!??!? WHy not just use common tilt?!?! The Station Double: Way to pull a double from the center of the deck. The old way to do this is much much better and you don't have to worry about flashing and angle problems. And then learn eight of Ollie’s favourite routines: Constructing the Deck: All backs and printing routine... Nothing really new about this. The all backs phase just isn't convincing and the printing part also suffers the problem that the ace remains on the face of the deck after printing. John Carneys 20+ years old version is much better... Four Sugars: Spec selects a card and magicians finds it and its mates while making the deck disappear... The cull used is supposed to be ingenious but to me it looked just suspicious... Why not just use common cull and get the whole thing over with 3 times faster. Kings Of Clues: Rather hard to follow colour change and transposition sequence with kings... Why would you waste time on performing something like this when you could do some real hard hitting magic? Impromptu Stunner: 3 selected cards are named and then found. The ending is again total magicians thinking making the whole thing just confusing and hard to follow. Flat Pack: two cards are selected and their values are used to make 3rd and 4th cards that appear one at the time in the cardcase. Finally the deck goes into deck leaving just the selections... Read that again... Is that easy to follow?!?!? NO WAY! Magic like this makes me just cranky... James Brown has similar type of routine that is just sooooo much better on his professional opportunist... Graffiti Sandwich: in a way version of Monkey in the middle with normal deck. Uses the suspicious looking center double lift. Not bad but not that good either. I agree Lee Smiths opinion on needing more live performances... Watching Francis Cameron play layman just doesn't work it... He even claims he was fooled many times... WOW, sorry, I know Francis is member here and will read this topic as well, but maybe you should read more classics if any of this material fooled you. Besides, he doesn't let it show on the tape at all. He looks bored most of the Also presentations are mainly "look, now I do this and that and this and that". Spectators can allready see your cutting and shuffling the deck, why state obious and also say it... The production and quality itself is same as older big blind media product in other words rather good. So my alternative reviews conclusion: Save your money... At most 2/5 Juha-Matti |
asherfox Veteran user 366 Posts |
Well, I am the one who always like to seek negative review before buying a new magic item. Because that make me know more abt the item. So I think korttihai_82 review is more valueable compared with another postive "BUY it" Review. that's great! lets share more negative opinion. Too many rubbish on the market. And the producers always got too many friends(also other producers)!!!
Back to the item. I also got no connections to the publishers. However, to me, 2/5 for this dvd is too harsh. Isn't it 1 mark for Four Sugars idea? and another 1 mark for clay switch? Or both item get 1.5 marks but other items together make it worse? Is there any mark for the production? Isn't it that bad compared with other DVD on the market? frankly speaking, I don't think so. Here is the wizard product review : http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RdnI4mbbKjc the review starts from 4:00. I think the review is also a fair one. You may like to check this out before spending your money. |
Cameron Francis V.I.P. 7025 Posts |
Korttihai, fair enough review.
However, I will say a couple of things in response to comments made about me. First, I was not bored. Jet lagged, yes. Bored no. Second, I would hope that most magicians know that it is far easier to be fooled in person than watching a video demo. In person a magician can misdirect you which cannot be done on video unless the camera turns his camera somewhere else. I think we have all been fooled by stuff that, after the fact, we realize we should have seen. But that's part of the fun of magic. Ollie did fool me with some of the tricks he showed me. That's as far as I'll go as I am too connected to this project to start trying to defend other aspects of it. I will say that Ollie is a very talented guy with some serious chops.
MOMENT'S NOTICE LIVE 3 - Six impromptu card tricks! Out now! http://cameronfrancismagic.com/moments-notice-live-3.html
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markhitton Special user 964 Posts |
I have seen the dvd.
it appears good and also well done. some moves appears to be normal middle level sleight but nothing more. the barrier shift has angle problems and the controlling is groovy and not linear. the seesaw peek is enough interesting but nothing so amazing. I ve seen best peeks and more convincing controls |
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