Hey Guys,
I know there have already been two reviews of this, maybe even more by the time I finish or some I didn't notice, but they both said more or less the same thing, and that was something I didn't quite agree with. I'm offering my point of view on this effect which you might like to take into account before you go ahead and buy it. So in no particular order, here's my opinion on the various aspects of the DVD.
The Teaching.
Honestly I have no problems with this, everything is explained well and in post production little textboxes and other things have been added to make everything extra clear. Everything is gone over in detail, sometimes too much detail! He even shows you how to use a glue stick. That's how indepth this thing is, you will not have trouble learning from this.
The Effect.
Problem is, will you want to learn everything exactly as it is taught? I probably wouldn't as though the rise looks wonderful and the basic idea is very good, the way it has been routined is not. The card gets signed on the front and back for example and in between the signatures you, for no apparent reason, put the sharpie away and take it out again. It's stuff like this that just makes the handling seem a little unfinished.
The Gimmick.
This is clever, I will not at any point try to deny that, though what does bother me is that with a slight, and fairly obvious (I thought) modification it can be made better in a way that will greatly aid clean-up. However you make it though, it is very easy to make, and I would be surprised if you didn't already have everything you need to make this at home. It's also very easy to use, so you don't need to worry about it failing you in performance. Like the routine though, it just seems a little unpolished.
Other
There was no performance! The download starts with a kind of montage which is more or less the preview video (I think possibly exactly the same) then you go more or less straight into the gimmick construction, later on when the routine is taught, you're seeing everything for the first time as you go along, so at no point does Dan show you the timing or anything like that, how he might handle this when performing to a real spectator.
All in all, I have to say, I like the idea behind RIOT, but it seems unfinished. If someone said to me that Dan had only come of with this fairly recently I would not be at all surprised. I don't think it's not worth the $15. But I do think it's only just about worth it. If the gimmick and handling was a little better thought out and there was a performance video included then I would say this is an absolute must have.
Comparisons with Similar Effects
Fallen - Similar visuals to fallen, though riot has somewhat better angles, or rather more natural angles, the final rise, when it becomes the top card is a lot more visual aswell. Fallen has the nice bonus that it is impromptu
Shifty - Shifty obviously has a different kind of rise, rather than rising steadily it jumps up through the pack in blocks of cards. Again, the final rise in riot is a lot better looking than the final rise in shifty. Also, everything I just said about shifty applies to Shigeo Futagawa's Elevator Card, since they are fairly similar.
S. W. Elevator - This is much harder than RIOT, and also not really as visual, unless you are really really good at it. Once again the final rise is not as good as riot.
Raise Rise - This beats Riot in all ways I'm afraid, more visual, ungimmicked, one handed! It even has an extra kicker at the end. The only problem is I don't think anyone can actually do it so.... yeah, riot might be the better option...
So summed up, it's pretty decent, but it seems unfinished and could have been better.
Tom
I know there have already been two reviews of this, maybe even more by the time I finish or some I didn't notice, but they both said more or less the same thing, and that was something I didn't quite agree with. I'm offering my point of view on this effect which you might like to take into account before you go ahead and buy it. So in no particular order, here's my opinion on the various aspects of the DVD.
The Teaching.
Honestly I have no problems with this, everything is explained well and in post production little textboxes and other things have been added to make everything extra clear. Everything is gone over in detail, sometimes too much detail! He even shows you how to use a glue stick. That's how indepth this thing is, you will not have trouble learning from this.
The Effect.
Problem is, will you want to learn everything exactly as it is taught? I probably wouldn't as though the rise looks wonderful and the basic idea is very good, the way it has been routined is not. The card gets signed on the front and back for example and in between the signatures you, for no apparent reason, put the sharpie away and take it out again. It's stuff like this that just makes the handling seem a little unfinished.
The Gimmick.
This is clever, I will not at any point try to deny that, though what does bother me is that with a slight, and fairly obvious (I thought) modification it can be made better in a way that will greatly aid clean-up. However you make it though, it is very easy to make, and I would be surprised if you didn't already have everything you need to make this at home. It's also very easy to use, so you don't need to worry about it failing you in performance. Like the routine though, it just seems a little unpolished.
Other
There was no performance! The download starts with a kind of montage which is more or less the preview video (I think possibly exactly the same) then you go more or less straight into the gimmick construction, later on when the routine is taught, you're seeing everything for the first time as you go along, so at no point does Dan show you the timing or anything like that, how he might handle this when performing to a real spectator.
All in all, I have to say, I like the idea behind RIOT, but it seems unfinished. If someone said to me that Dan had only come of with this fairly recently I would not be at all surprised. I don't think it's not worth the $15. But I do think it's only just about worth it. If the gimmick and handling was a little better thought out and there was a performance video included then I would say this is an absolute must have.
Comparisons with Similar Effects
Fallen - Similar visuals to fallen, though riot has somewhat better angles, or rather more natural angles, the final rise, when it becomes the top card is a lot more visual aswell. Fallen has the nice bonus that it is impromptu
Shifty - Shifty obviously has a different kind of rise, rather than rising steadily it jumps up through the pack in blocks of cards. Again, the final rise in riot is a lot better looking than the final rise in shifty. Also, everything I just said about shifty applies to Shigeo Futagawa's Elevator Card, since they are fairly similar.
S. W. Elevator - This is much harder than RIOT, and also not really as visual, unless you are really really good at it. Once again the final rise is not as good as riot.
Raise Rise - This beats Riot in all ways I'm afraid, more visual, ungimmicked, one handed! It even has an extra kicker at the end. The only problem is I don't think anyone can actually do it so.... yeah, riot might be the better option...
So summed up, it's pretty decent, but it seems unfinished and could have been better.
Tom
