Any reviews on this, on offer at penguin till midnight?

Http://www.penguinmagic.com/p/5240

Even at the intro price, and especially once it goes to the normal price, would need to know what he teaches here that he doesn't teach in his live lectures, which say they include this.

Also, it says you don't need a coat or long sleeves. Do you need sleeves of some kind? Or possibly a watch?

This is magic!
DR

Angle restrictions???
Would this be good for strolling?

I am excited to get a review on this as well

I was wondering this same thing. There is a lecture here,

http://www.murphysmagic.com/Streaming/Product.aspx?id=53827

which, granted, is $25 instead of $10, but seems to include the pen/coin work. Of course, after midnight when the Penguin offer goes up to $20 then this seems a no-brainer. So is it the same work?

Seems like there is a Rick Merrill "LIVE" lecture everywhere!

@Penguin, (is this the same live lecture available at Murphys?)
http://www.penguinmagic.com/p/4690

@MJM, there is a DVD version for only $16 which doesn't seem to be the live lecture but looks like the same material
http://www.mjmmagic.com/store/at-the-tab......a6rB4qds

Sorry for the multiple posts, but I just found a review on the live lecture, http://www.mylovelyassistant.com/reviews/view/4134 which appears to answer some of the questions y'all have above.

I did end up buying it from Penguin Magic. I haven't had a chance to practice or preform it so I wanted to give more of a first impression for people who are considering buying before the sale ends. Also I have not seen his lectures so I can't comment on if the material is on them or not, but he does say that the marker and coin is new and never shown before in his lecture notes.

There are two routines on here both use the sharpie (or other similar marker/pencil shaped item) and one uses a coin as well. The first routine is a really clean and cool vanish and reappearance of the marker. It is not angle "proof" but I think if you have any ability to position yourself correctly, and you're not surrounded, you should be fine. The vanish looks kind of difficult to start for someone like me who has no marker moves but I'm sure I can get a handle on it in just a couple of hours of practice and get it clean in less than a week. The demo doesn't tell you before you buy that a watch is required, but it should.

The second routine is a marker and coin transpo where they change places rapidly. This is what I bought the download for, and I am not disappointed. I'll have to put the work in on this to make it clean, but it looks worth it. The marker moves from this follow the same principal as the vanish but it's made more complicated, and far more impressive, by the addition of the coin.

This video also teaches the pen spin and coin roll. They are both taught well and shown well, but I didn't really pay attention because I don't like flourishes. However if I did set out to learn them I feel confident that I could learn them both from this video.

Everything in this is pure sleight of hand, be prepared to practice this if you want to preform either of the tricks. The teaching style is very good and easy to understand, which is good because there is a lot going on very quickly. Everything gets an exposed view, then an at speed view where he narrates what is happening as it happens, and then it follows up with an over the shoulder exposed view.

I bought this because I do a ball and vase routine that involves a sharpie, finger ring, and the ball and vase and I didn't have any sharpie moves. I'm looking forward to putting the work in on this and adapting the marker moves to work with my finger ring and finger ring moves. I feel like this download gave me the tools I needed. I would strongly recommend this to anyone who didn't have any sharpie moves and wanted to learn some. This would also be great for anyone who does anything with a signed coin or sharpie and coin, the trick is good enough to stand on it's own but it's to fast. These are great tricks to through into routines but they are not routines themselves and go by quickly.

Fantastic review, thanks for your thoughts Russ.

What I got out of a conversation over chat with Penguin is that this is the same material as is taught in his live lecture, but supposedly with more in-depth teaching. I don't have his lecture, or this download, just trying to pass along what I was able to find out. If I had to choose, unless the rest of his lecture was horrible (which I doubt), still seems like the lecture is a far better way to go if you want this.

The Rick Merrill At the Table Live Lecture DVD (not to be confused with the Penguin Live Lecture download or the At the Table Live Lecture Download) is 14.96. So, even at the discounted price for Champ, it's 5.01 to get the rest of the At the Table Live Lecture DVD. Once Champ goes to normal price, it will actually be 4.99 cheaper to get the entire lecture DVD. The download will still be more, but why a download is more expensive than a physical DVD is a different issue.

Also, in case anyone wants these specific items, the description of the Penguin lecture says that it includes two items which the decription of the At the Table lecture doesn't list: Rick's Close Up Opener, and Sharpie to Pencil.

Thanks Russ P. and barts185 for taking the time to post your thoughts.

So far I enjoy the effect. Although not quite sure how portions could be done for an audience, whose eyes are all staring from different angles. I do it in the mirror and if I move an inch on one part of the trick its fully exposed.

It's fantastic, well worth the cool box price. He says on the video that the coin and pen routine has never been seen before anywhere or on any lecture. I don't know if this is true or not as I haven't seen his lecture.

The video shows his performance in the Parlour Room at the Magic Castle. Not everyone's seat there is dead on I'm front of him so it can be done within a range. I'm sure with practice you will learn the angles of effectiveness. I'm not a coin guy but this I believe I can do with a little practice.

I bought this because it looked quite visually amazing for laymen. I was not disappointed, especially for the intro price. An experienced slight of hand magician will have no trouble getting the moves down. There's not much new, but the few unique moves make the transpos look very good. I think when this is done up to speed it will be less of a problem with the angles. This would work very well in a restaurant situation where the spectators are mostly in front of you. I am definitely going to use this once I get the work done on it.

Dennis

I purchased Champ and here are my thoughts on it. I have not yet tried to master the moves, and I'm not absolutely sure that the angle effects are serious enough to make the effects impractical for restaurant work. I'll wait to hear from magicians who try this out in restaurant or walk-around situations.

Champ: An Early Review

In this video download, FISM champion Rick Merrill teaches how to perform two effects based on his award-winning act. In the first effect a Sharpie disappears and reappears in the magician's hands. In the second a dollar turns into a Sharpie and vice versa. Both effects are performed with the sleeves rolled up and the hands shown empty. These effects appear truly magical -- even more magical than you might guess from looking at the demo trailers.

However, there's a drawback: The effects are angle sensitive. Merrill briefly alludes to the angle issue but not in great depth. However, my impression (and I may be wrong) is that the tricks can't safely be done with anyone behind you, and side-angles may be a problem too. Thus, I suspect these effects probably aren't appropriate for most walk-around situations and may have only limited use for restaurant work.

Merrill is a very good teacher. The sleights he teaches are within the reach of intermediate magicians (about 5 or 6 on a 10-point scale of difficulty) and require only a moderate amount of practice. They can then be used mainly in situations where the audience is located directly in front of the performer. If you want an amazing magic trick that can be pulled out to deeply impress one special spectator, Champ is an excellent choice.

Is this video, or his At the Table lecture covering the same material as in Home Schooled?

Magic such as this is always going to be angle'y .... still pure eye candy to a small crowd. Like glow sticks to a raver...even those have to be right in front of ones face to really capture the total 'glow'.
I feel this is the kinda of magic that you can just do even while watching TV, or waiting for a download...just practice...between the practice....then practice some more with out actually thinking about it. This is that kind of sleight of hand, to me. Really dig it, and saving my penny's to buy it.

Agree. In the right setting this would be fantastic! IMO, there is not much that beats pure (great/practiced) sleight of hand magic. As Mr. Rey stated, "Pure Eye Candy".

RNK