I was at the Magic Castle last night and saw one of the most amazing up-close effects I have ever seen! A magician by the name of Lou Serrano performed a trick with 3 small silver balls. He pulled them from a small case and beautifully made them vanish and reapper in the case. Does anyone know what this routine is called or where I might find some literature on how to perform it?

It sounds a little bit like the Future Mental Effect. That's done with a small case and Crocheted balls. I may be way off base though. The similarites may end at 3 small balls in a case.

John Cornelius has something very similar, although he used rubber balls. Probably your best course of action would be to go back to the Castle before Sunday and ask Serrano if he markets the effect.

Lou Serrano is one of the best close up workers around, in this hombres opinion. Besides this effect look at how Lou structures his routine, it is a thing of beauty. He is definetly a sight for sore eyes at the castle, too many guys doing only card tricks. Only a select few can hold an auidence with only a deck of cards. If you go back as Lou if he has any lecture notes for sale also. Great Magic!!!

I just found this thread from 2002. Interesting thing is... after ten years of performing and perfecting this routine, I finally released it on DVD. It's being sold exclusively on my website, and I should have a full page ad coming out in the June issues of Genii and Magic Magazines, and I'm currently designing a banner ad for the Café. If you want to know what this routine is all about, there is a link in my signature.

Anyway, it's nice to know that people thought enough of the routine back in 2002 to actually ask about it.

Lou

Be nice to see a video of the product. Or even some pictures of the actual product.

This looks very interesting, a video would be soo nice.

Godness... You might want to reconsider your marketing approach.
The only reason that I know that your piece is good, is because I've heard about it privately, by coincidence. But the TV-shop approach makes me really uneasy, and all I can think of is kitchen knives.

Apparanty, you have a really great routine. But the marketing approach seems molded after a formula for selling crap, which causes me to question if it really is as good as my friends have claimed. That seems like a disservice to the piece.

I hope that I haven't offended you.

What's wrong with kitchen knives? The sell plenty!

"But wait! There's more!!! "

I love it!

Yes the marketing approach has totally put me off as well. That’s why I would like to see a video.

Don’t get me wrong this sounds like a really good routine. But I will not buy any thing unless I see pictures of the props or a video.

Hi everyone,

First, Lou Serrano is a friend of mine.

Second, Lou Serrano is a "worker". He has been confounding audiences at the Magic Castle for a long time. He is constantly working in the real world, for real world audiences. He is definately one of the best!

Third, the release of his routine has been waited for and anticipated by the real workers listed on his site. If their names do not convince you, then the money back guarantee should.

I have witnessed Lou's awesome routine. It is everything and more. Purchase it, learn it, and then make up your own mind. I don't think you can lose.

Enjoy the search.

Respectfully,

Paul Green

It would be great if I could see a video of the routine as I have not seen the routine myself and I'm sure that there are many others that havent sen it I will be buying blind which puts me off

Don't worry I'm sure it'll be on youtube soon enough.....

Lou,

Do the props come with it? Or do those need to be purchased elsewhere? If they aren't included, could you recommend a good source for buying them for those that are interested?

Thanks

In the advertisement on the website he states that it is the DVD only. He also mentions that he shows you how to make the box and where to buy the props.

Hi Travis,

As stated on the website copy, this product does not include the props or gimmicks required to execute the routine. I do explain in detail how to either make the props and gimmicks necessary and where appropriate, where to buy certain props and gimmicks. The steel balls are 1" steel ball bearings. A quick search on the Internet will give you dozens of places where you can purchase them.

I'd recommend not buying any of the props till you see the work involved in the execution of this routine. It's not an easy routine to do and will require serious practice on your part to perform flawlessly. This is definitely not for the beginner in magic. It is a professional, world class routine, that will devastate even seasoned professionals.

For those that are interested, let me explain my reasoning for not supplying a video of the performance. I thought long and hard about putting up a video, but in the end decided against it. A part of this routine relies on the element of surprise and misdirection. By having a video of the performance, there would be nothing to stop you from playing the video over and over again and figuring out some of the basic elements, even though you would miss out on some salient details.

I think most professionals are smart enough and creative enough to work out their own handlings of a routine by watching the hard work of another performer that has put in 10+ years into the presentation and execution of a routine.

This is not an inexpensive item to buy. It's priced to keep it out of the hands of anyone that is not a serious student and practitioner of magic. It's also an exclusive item that can only be purchased through me. It will never be sold in stores or anywhere else on web.

If you still have reservations about purchasing this item because you can't view a video first, keep in mind I do offer a 100% money back guarantee. If you decide it's not for you, just return it and I will refund your money. If that doesn't put your mind at ease, my suggestion is don't purchase it.

For those that are critiquing my marketing approach, I will be the first to admit that even after studying marketing for over 15 years, I still have a lot to learn, but I certainly am not going to fix what isn't broken.
My customers include some of the biggest names in magic from around the world.

I have quietly made my living as a professional magician for the last 15 years. My profession has taken me all across the United States working for major corporations, and it's all due to my magic performance and marketing expertise.

Sorry for the long winded post. I thought I'd try to answer as many questions as possible at once. As you can see from the number of posts I've made. I do not live on the Café. I just saw a thread from 2002, and thought I'd comment.

Respectfully,

Lou Serrano

When I turned 40, my wife threw a big party at the Magic Castle and asked me if there was a performer I particularly liked that could perform for our group. My first and only choice was Lou. I've known Lou for many, many years and will vouch for his character and his performing chops. I've seen this routine many times and think it's brilliant. I'm excited for Lou that he's releasing it and I have no doubt those who buy it will find it a true worker and will have a unique piece of magic in their show after putting in the time to learn it.

Update: After receiving several emails asking about the exact kind of steel ball bearings that are required for this routine, I've decided to include them in the package. All future orders will include the one-inch, chromed, steel ball bearings. The website will be updated soon to reflect this change.

Respectfully,

Lou Serrano

I suspect that magic convention competitions will see this routine over the next couple of years done by any number of talented young Turks (and old Pharts) wanting to do something novel and not tied to cards. Hopefully it will be done well and given the practice and rehearsal required.

So if you are one of those guys that need to see a video or demonstration of a bit before you buy just wait and you'll see it live. LOL!!

Or just wait for a couple of months and all those who buy simply to be in the know (and will never even try to perform the piece) will be re-selling their DVDs here on the Café'! Sorry Lou it happens!

Hi Harry,

I have to tell you, nothing would make me happier than to see a young turk win a competition with this. Ten years ago when I first started working on this routine, many of my peers thought I should enter competitions with this piece as the pivotal routine. In the end, I decided to focus on working in the real world.

As far as those that will resell the DVD... I think that will be a very small number. The reason being that the DVD comes with a Performance License that entitles the original purchaser to certain rights. These rights aren't transferable. Also, anyone that resells the DVD will end up losing money, since all they have to do is return it to me if they aren't happy with the product and get a full refund. In any case, I believe that you're right and it will still happen.

As far as someone putting it out on YouTube, I just can't worry about it. I recently saw on YouTube a performance of Tony Clark's Paper Balls and Rings. A version of Slydini's routine. It is one of the most beautiful pieces of magic that I've ever seen. It's a piece that really conjures up emotions in people, yet there are some people commenting on there that don't see the beauty of the performance and are giving away some of the secrets. What can you do except to live your life ethically, not worry about other people trying to tear you down (because it will happen), and just enjoy life.

To your success!

Lou