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The Magic Cafe Forum Index » » Trick coin trickery » » Imagination Coins - Quick Review (0 Likes) Printer Friendly Version

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John McLaughlin
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Received Imagination Coins, David Williamson set, and a blizzard heading towards Boston. Gonna be a fun few days! Watched the basic routine, and the handling. No moves the average coin worker can't handle. Gimmick is well-made and works with old and new quarters. Interesting coin bag thrown in. May look into getting more of these. I can do the basic routine after two viewings, but there is much more to it as Garrett says himself. It's more about the purpose of the moves and audience management. Another benifit is if you already use this gimmick Eric shows some ways to do some of the standard moves that can apply to any routine. The only think I'm hesitant about in the routine is a discrepancy in the beginning while the spectator is holding the coins. I will start by trying it Eric's way and if I'm caught I'll probably just have the spectator close his hand at that point. Hopefully, I'm just thinking like a magician and worrying over nothing. It looks great when both the magician's and spectator's hands are wide open, and that's the way I hope to be able to perform it. Finally, Kainoa Harbottle recently showed me a similar plot which I fell in love with, and will look at doing a hybrid of both routines.
...NSA John McLaughlin, not CIA John McLaughlin
MikeTheKid
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So do you like it ? will you use it ?
---------------------------------------------



Magic is a performing art that entertains an audience by creating illusions of seemingly impossible....

www.mikeliumagic.com
Ray Haining
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What's the effect?

Eric who? Jones?
Ray Haining
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Sorry, just saw the effect on another thread. Interesting.

Still don't know who Eric is.
bowers
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Eric Jones a very talented magician.
PendletonThe3rd
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Quote:
On 2014-02-05 21:51, bowers wrote:
Eric Jones a very talented magician.


Agreed...not to get too off topic but I love his Metal series DVDs. He is so clear and concise in his explanations. Highly recommended.
J-Mac
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Quote:
On 2014-02-05 21:51, bowers wrote:
Eric Jones a very talented magician.


Not sure, but I think he knows who Eric Jones is! Just that the OP said "Eric" and didn't say Eric Who. (I didn't know that Eric was on Garrett's DVD either. Smile )

Thanks!

Jim
Jon Blakeney
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Hi all,I had a 70th birthday gig this Saturday past ,(Leeton NSW, a six hour drive,but I was well paid)and I performed this twice during my close up set.Just the reaction this recieved took the sting out of the distance that I had to drive,$40.00 well spent.
Jon.
'What the eye's see the heart must believe"
Ray Haining
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Yes, Eric Jones is one of my favorite magicians.
John McLaughlin
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Jon are you having any issues with the coins in the spectator's hand.
...NSA John McLaughlin, not CIA John McLaughlin
Jon Blakeney
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No ,not as yet,but I am getting them to .close their hands
'What the eye's see the heart must believe"
videoman
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Quote:
On 2014-02-06 10:44, John McLaughlin wrote:
Jon are you having any issues with the coins in the spectator's hand.



Isn't is always frustrating when the single most important question that you hope to have answered on an instructional DVD is not even mentioned?
Well, that's how I felt after anxiously watching this entire Imagination Coins DVD by Garrett Thomas.

How does one handle issues with the coins in the specs hands? Primarily in that very first phase?
It was that one single question alone that made me want this DVD. But alas, nothing is ever mentioned about it.
Yes, I realize there is a long section on audience management, but show me where it discusses the first phase. And any tips for the last phase don't really apply to the first phase in this regard.

So yes, I was a bit disappointed in the DVD.
Great stuff if it's new to you, but nothing too groundbreaking if you have studied similar handlings (such as Eric Jones' who co-hosts the explanation segments along with Garrett).
Certainly worth 40 bucks with the gaff included, but just know that depending on your experience there may be very little you haven't already seen before.
Biggest disappointment was the first phase with the coins in the specs hand as noted above and in the OP.
That's the entire reason I was interested in this DVD. But it is not even mentioned. There is plenty of audience management discussed, but nothing specifically to this particular issue, for other phases, yes.

Unless I just missed it, which is possible because it is a long DVD. But also be aware that there is a lot of repeat on it. By that I mean that they replay entire segments over again. This is strange and I don't recall seeing this done to this extent before on a magic DVD and no mention is made of it happening or why. But all of a sudden your thinking, "wait, didn't I just watch this part already?"
So that really shouldn't count as part of the overall time. IOW, if an ad promises a 60 minute DVD, you don't expect it to be the same 15 minutes repeated 4 times. I'd guess at least 20 to 30 minutes of this DVD is material replayed twice. But that is actually a small quibble.

Overall, I would give it a break and rate this product fairly high because there is some good info included, but to not even mention the audience management issue in the first phase is inexcusable.
Anyone familiar with this type of routine who views the demo, that is the very FIRST thing they are going to be taken with and wonder about.
Most magicians including myself performing similar routines, have the spec close their hand pretty quickly. Garrett allows them to leave their hand wide open the entire time. How does he do it?
Well, that is never even mentioned on the DVD as even being a possible issue, so apparently you just do it and they usually don't notice the discrepancy, or at least you hope they don't.
But even if that is the case, at least give us some confidence by mentioning that you have done it a thousand times and no one ever notices.
But that wouldn't even be true anyway, because in one of the demos on the DVD it appears like the spec does notice prematurely and Garrett has to then show his reveal a little quicker than normal to cover it.

BTW, this discrepancy would be less likely to be noticed with smaller coins such as quarters and that is one reason this routine works well with them, but of course this point is also never mentioned on the DVD I don't believe. Not that it wouldn't work with larger coins but it's simply more noticeable. Garrett says he uses larger coins when performing for a larger group which would help as you have more going on to act as misdirection.

Eric Jones teaches some "in the specs hand" coins across stuff on his Extension of Me DVD's, which I actually think are better than the Imagination Coins routine (but no gaffs included with those).

So if this is your first foray into this type of routine, you are likely going to be very happy with your purchase.
But know that you are going to have to venture out into uncharted waters in that first phase on your own, because Garrett includes no lifelines for that.
John McLaughlin
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Yeah, I'm having them close there hands as well, but what sold me on the DVD was the fact that there hand was open the entire time.
...NSA John McLaughlin, not CIA John McLaughlin
Kozmo
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I ve seen garrett do this routine 100 times without a problem....just sayin
videoman
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Quote:
On 2014-02-06 23:45, Kozmo wrote:
I ve seen garrett do this routine 100 times without a problem....just sayin


First off, it would probably be appropriate for the sake of full disclosure to say that you are the producer of Imagination Coins. Not everyone would automatically know that.

Secondly, the fact that you've seen the routine performed so many times should make you aware of what the most important points to be included on the DVD would be, but apparently that is not the case.

Finally, that's your complete explanation regarding omitting something that at least 2 customers have said they bought the DVD for ? A semi-snide "just sayin'"remark?

Oh well, as I said, it is a good product, but could have been better IMHO.
John McLaughlin
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Just to clarify, Garrett teaches on the video how to do the trick with the spectator's hands open the entire time. I meant in my post that I"m not comfortable yet doing it that way, and am doing an easier version by having the spectator's hands closed. Not sure if you were referring to me but I have no problem with the DVD and the audience handling is explained in detail. I was just saying that when I saw the demo I was impresses with the openness of it and that's why I bought it. It's all there and more explained on the video.
...NSA John McLaughlin, not CIA John McLaughlin
videoman
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Thanks John, I'll have to go back and check it out again. Could be that I missed it because it is a very long DVD, although that was the main thing I was looking for when I viewed it. Would it be possible for you to give a hint where I might find it on the DVD?

Also to clarify, in reading back over my post it may have come off sounding harsher than I intended and I really don't wish to make a big issue out of this. Just sharing an initial opinion regarding a single aspect of the routine. As I have said, it's a good value for the money and most folks would likely be happy with their purchase.
Garrett is a fabulous magician and gives lots of insights and I value his opinions so I'm very happy he released this product.
Eric Jones is also a talented pro who shares his own opinions as well. So it's a bit like getting 2 for 1.
Hearing all this info, even if not all of it is for the first time, is in no way a bad thing. I apologize if I gave the impression that I would not recommend this DVD, because I definitely do recommend it. But I would recommend it even more highly if it does indeed address the issues I had hoped it would. I need to watch it again a few more times to absorb more of it anyway.
Kozmo
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I think if you're doing the 2 phase version you should have them close their hand on the second phase.....garrett usually does it that way
Its how I do it also.....
John McLaughlin
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Thanks Koz, gonna try it that way.
...NSA John McLaughlin, not CIA John McLaughlin
videoman
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OK, I’ve re-watched the Imagination Coins DVD a couple more times. In fact, several sections multiple times.
A lot of excellent info is given. Anyone who is interested in performing a Coins Across routine should definitely get this routine. Even if it didn't include the gimmick it would still be well worth it!

However, I still maintain that information pertaining to leaving the specs hand open for the duration of the first phase is NOT covered as well as it could/should have been. Yes, a lot of related aspects are covered but critical info regarding suggestions and tips that would promote confidence in this part of the handling was not provided, at least in the way that I would have liked it to have been.

Granted, that may just be me, but I do think that from the comments made by others there seems to be a general uneasiness about “getting away” with this phase for many if not most performers.

Admittedly, a lot of this confidence comes from just getting out there and doing it, and one advantage to using smaller coins like quarters is that they are simply less bulky and it is therefore harder for specs to distinguish the exact number of coins when stacked on their hand.
But I would also argue that after having performed this routine thousands of times (as it has been stated that Garrett has) he would almost certainly have many useful tips or suggestions about how to deal with situations where the spec notices a discrepancy prematurely. IOW, no possible “outs” were mentioned. This is the ONE PART of the DVD I was disappointed with. I believe every other aspect was covered in great detail, almost too much detail in some ways, but better too much than too little. Overall, a very good and thorough DVD.

I haven’t performed Garrett’s exact routine but I’ve been playing with it and I have performed in the past a somewhat similar Coins Across routine using the spectator’s hand (but with a different handling).
So it seems to me that one possible solution to aid in building the confidence to perform the “open hand” first phase would be to have the spec give you the imaginary coin while the 4 coins are still laid out in their hand. Then have them stack the coins AFTER they have “handed” you one.
I realize that it could be argued that this may seem unnatural, because why have them stack the coins at all at that point. However, because the stacking would seem to be so inconsequential to the spec, I believe this is something that would fly right past everyone. This modified handling would allow you to keep their hand open for the duration, but any discrepancies would be in view a much shorter time, and because the coin has been “removed” prior to the stacking it doesn’t really matter if they were to notice anything at that point anyway as you are all ready to do the reveal then. Plus, it is extremely unlikely they would notice anything amiss so quickly especially when all the attention is now being drawn to your hand as you prepare to reveal the imaginary coin.

In any case, whether this modified handling appeals to you or not, my point is that it is indicative of the type of suggestions I would have liked to seen included on the DVD. Hopefully, Garrett would have several much better ideas and including them would almost certainly have helped performers get past what is probably the main “worry point” in the routine.

But as I said before, other than this one long-winded gripe I have about it, it is an excellent product and I do applaud Garrett and Kozmo for putting it on the market.
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