First of all,
Am I the only one who has noticed that P3 is putting out some dynamite offerings to the magic community??!! Dan Harlan, Kyle Marlett, Bizzaro, Jon Allen...that's just some of the people who have been releasing material through P3 as of late.

Connection by Jon Allen,
Has anyone bought this and if so can we get your impressions? Three things about this intrigue me:
1) It's Jon Allen sharing a TON of his material.
2) Dan Harlan "sits in" with Jon to share his thoughts on performing. I'm a fan of Dan "The Man" Harlan and how he approaches magic and preforming.
3) The title "Connection" refers to the connection made with your audience, which to me is the most important part of performing.

http://www.penguinmagic.com/p/3349

Very interested in hearing anyone's thoughts who has purchased this.


Thanks,
Hank

I had not even heard of this set coming out. I really enjoyed Jon's Penguin lecture, so thanks for posting this.

Looks very good.

What??!!

Something slipped past the "Zombiemeister"??!!

I hope someone who has bought this can share with us here...

lol. I was on the site and didn't see it. You have peeked behind the curtain and have seen the Zombie is no wizard after all.....

I like the premise of this set, connecting with your audience. That's something that needs to be taught ( and it can be ). One Magician performs a $500 trick and they couldn't care less. Another Magician vanishes a little red silk and they go nuts. There's a reason!

I'd also be interested in hearing from someone who has purchased these DVD's.

Does anybody have a link to the contents of these DVDs?

Thanks.

That's my question, exactly--has anybody seen contents anywhere? I have no doubt the material is terrific, but some details are always nice.

THere is only a general description of the contents on Penguin site without any specific effects as follows:

What is it that elevates you from merely showing tricks to performing magic? Simple. It’s the CONNECTION you and your magic create with your audience. In this compelling set of DVDs you will learn how to create that connection. Jon Allen’s entire performing experience is crammed into 6 and a half hours of detailed instruction, invaluable advice and thought-provoking ideas. Enjoy 23 powerful effects and plenty of unmissable in-depth discussion with guest star and creative genius, Dan Harlan. Included on these DVDs are effects with cards, coins, rubber bands, bills, sugar packets, books, Post-It notes, photos and much more. Watch performances on stage, in close-up and on the street for real people giving real reactions. The amount of performance knowledge and commercial material on these DVDs is unparalleled. Whatever level in magic you are at, CONNECTION provides you with so much to explore. CONNECTION will not only turn you into a better magician; it will turn you into a better performer.

Thank you for posting that, Magicinsight. I'd found that, too, when I clicked through from the email I got from Penguin today about this set. I guess there are people who buy books, dvds, etc., based only on such descriptions, and I guess once in a blue moon, I have, too, but any more, I'm always just looking for tricks that might be useful in very specific contexts, so that approach to magic ad writing--basically just saying there's a wide variety of wonderful material in (or on) book/dvd/download xyz--now strikes me as telling me almost nothing that I really need to know to justify a purchase, even if lots of famous magicians vouch for it. I'm old enough that I remember when the Paul Harris books were coming out, to take one example, and the trick descriptions in the ads for those books were so well done that they were not only funny, but also able to make you feel like you'd just about die if you didn't order whatever book they were advertising that very day. I'm not expecting magic ads now to affect me the way the best ones did when I was a boy. But I really hope that something a little more specific about CONNECTION will pop up somewhere soon. I'll be surprised if it doesn't.

Here is a more detailed list of what is on the 3 disc dvd set:

Disc One



•Demo


•Introduction


•Forced Improve


•High Society


•Connection


•1709 Walkabout


•DFKDFC


•Unique Coin Bend


•Learning About People


•One Trick Two Names


•Ghost


•The Creative Process


•Palm Up Bill Switch


•Signal Strength



Disc Two



•Asking "Why?"


•Grabbit Production


•Adlibitious Card


•Ring Off String Move


•Coming Full Circle


•Lucky Card


•Executive Decision


•Burning Rubber


•True Lies


•Spielbergism


•Citizen Cane



Disc Three



•What's the Point?


•The World's Funniest Joke


•Oralgami


•(untitled) Book Test


•Introduction to Heroes


•Heroes


•The Problem with Business Cards


•Introduction to The Wedding Trick


•The Wedding Trick


•Schrodinger's Card



CONNECTION will not only turn you into a better magician; it will turn you into a better performer

Thanks magicinsight!

Zombie,

No big deal. I just copied it from Penguin site. It looks like a very good dvd set. It is alwys good to mix effects and philosophy.
Michael

It's great to know what's on the set. For me, it's Jon Allen, so as soon as Astrocity posted the link, I was all in.

I met Jon at the 2012 IBM convention and got to watch and participate in some of the effects that I saw demo'd in the trailer for this DVD set. All I can say is 'Awesome'! He really did make a Connection with me and now he is one of the magicians I am most eager to learn new material from. If you don't have his book, 'Experience', you should grab that as well. I think the softback version was recently released. I think some of the material in 'Experience' is explained in greater detail on the 'Connection' DVD set. Can't wait to receive this. Thanks for sharing these secrets with us, Jon!

Hi Guys,

I've been laid out a bit with a virus (attacking me and not my Mac) but I'm now up and raring to go!

Thanks for all the comments so far about my DVD set. I am genuinely proud of this project. It is a major release and an set I believe is really different. Why? It's different from a vast majority straight off the bat because everything is created to do for laymen. No pointless card effects that solve a problem nobody cared about in the first place. No tricks simply done to showcase a move or sleight that's been worked on. Everything on these DVDs is on them because they deserve to be experienced by the general public. The trailer shows a moment I have never seen on any instructional DVD and sums up 'Connection' beautifully (but it's not the 'Dan' moment!).

The element that makes them really stand out is my assistant. The initial upset at not having the 'hot blond' was soon eradicated by having the one and only Dan Harlan accept my invitation. Not only does he join in with some of the explanations but we also chat a lot about the important things in performance. The 'what' and 'how' is important but 'why' is something not usually discusses. Well, on 'Connection', it is and Dan and I bring the best out in each other. The person who benefits from all this is YOU.

I've been on here long enough to know that this thread will, in time, contain many positive posts, probably some negatives, maybe some personal attacks on people with nothing to do with the DVD and possibly some 'off-topic' posts too. If you have any questions or queries, within reason, I'll do my best to answer them.

For those who haven't seen some quotes about the set, I set them out below for your perusal and consideration:

"Jon Allen's Connection is the ultimate magic instructional trilogy... it truly is one of the best I have seen in a long while. His presentations bring new life to many effects. Smart and fun concepts you will want to use." -Garrett Thomas

"Every time I work with Jon Allen I am reminded how magic can be used to form meaningful connections with audiences as well as entertain them. Not only are people amazed by his truly creative pieces, but they come away liking him as a person, not just a performer. That's the magic we should all be doing." -Dan Harlan

"Jon performs and teaches a variety of astonishing effects that have been expertly crafted to engage the audience in fun, entertaining ways while fooling the sh*t out of them. The Jon Allen Connection is one of the best releases in the past couple of years." -Wayne Houchin

"Powerful, practical magic. Jon explains not only the 'what' and 'how', but also the important 'why' behind his incredible, creative effects." -Chris Hannibal

This is in my wishlist and I look forward to some reviews.
KJ

I just ordered it. It is going to take some time to fully watch and digest all the material.
I think it is going to be excellent.

Michael

Mine arrived. We have a surgery today and a few hours of "waiting" so I'll bring the laptop and watch them ( or what I can ).

I hope and pray everything turns out well. Don't bring the laptap into the operating room. You might distract the surgeon trying to learn how to do the ambitious card routine.

Michael