Centrifugal by Magick Balay

[Sean.Cinco]

Here's another product that I got to preview/review. This one is an ITR DVD by Magick Balay. This can also be found on www.thebluecrown.com.

DVD Contents:

-Performances
-History of the ITR
-ITR Hookup
-Floating Coin
-Floating Ring
-Levitation Subtleties
-Lemon/Lime in Drink
-How to Repair the ITR

In this DVD, Magick Balay from New York City goes over his handling of the ITR. It starts off with a few performances of him doing the floating coin, floating ring, and my personal favorite, lime in drink, all of which are in a close-up/”street”/bar setting. After the performances, he goes over the history and different types of ITRs that have evolved from the original. I found this section to be really interesting because you actually get to see each ITR and how it evolved and shrunk in size for better usage. He also tells you the supplies you’ll need to repair your ITR. You should have most of these items sitting around at home. After these two sections, he goes into how to perform the effects.

***The Centrifugal package also comes with your very own ITR!

Magick’s instructions are very detailed and no one should have any trouble following his directions, whether you’re using the ITR for the first time, or if you’ve been using the ITR for years. He teaches you how he hooks up his ITR for the floating coin/ring and it’s not a difficult hookup at all. The best part about this hookup is that while you are talking to your spectators, you are able to hookup your ITR and the coin and it will be ready to go within five seconds. Magick also teaches some subtleties that he uses to make the levitation more realistic. If you watched his performances (as you should’ve before watching the instruction!), you’ll see how magical his levitations really look. A bonus effect he included is his lime/lemon in drink, which is where you make a lemon or lime that’s wedged on the lip of a glass and make it jump into the drink. Personally, I think that this effect is the best one of the three because it’s quick, it’s easy, and as Magick says in the video, it’s a great opener and a great way to start a conversation.

The next part of the DVD is how to repair your ITR. The ITR is bound to break at some point, whether the thread snaps or if the bands inside break, so it’s great that Magick added this section to the DVD. He goes over everything from how to get the thread out of the hole to how to replace the reel completely. He also encourages you to take your ITR apart and follow along. Again, he goes over everything step by step and as I followed along, I had no problem taking apart and repairing my ITR. Magick also talks about the different waxes that you can use for your ITR, all of which are easy to obtain. Personally, I think that this section is where you get way more than your money’s worth.

Overall, this is a great DVD on the ITR. If you’ve never even seen an ITR in person and want to start getting into thread work, this is the DVD to get. If you’re a pro with using the ITR and have been for years, there are some things that you can still pick up from Magick while watching this DVD. It’s a great source for learning about the ITR and the tricks (especially lime in drink!) are hard hitting, practical, and easy for anybody to learn.

 

[Mat La Vore]

Just got this, and I must say, this is great. Another solid release by Magick Balay.

When it comes to thread work, I've been a big fan of Loops for years now. I've never liked trying to manage loose thread set-ups, always preferring being able to easily get in and out of my thread effects using Loops. I'd played with ITRs before, but never found a hook-up or handling I liked much. Until now.

Magick Balay's handling of the ITR--getting into the hook-up and then back out so you're clean afterwards, right in front of the spectator--is all well thought-out and completely motivated. Very smart justifications in movements. And the main effect with the hook-up--the centrifugal spin levitation of coins, rings, bottle caps, etc.--looks like real magic. I think the use of the ITR, and Magick's handling of it, is really the most practical way to do this effect for a working magician. I recently performed it for a friend who has a real knack for figuring out magic effects. Even though she never sees any moves, and has no magic knowledge, she's always good at breaking down methods with statements like "somehow you switched it and...". She's my test person. So I showed her the spinning quarter and it just really amazed her. She loved it. It passed the test.

Also, since I often don't wear a button down shirt for hooking up the ITR, I worked out a way to hook up the ITR out of a pants pocket, and in my opinion, it works every bit as well as the shirt hook-up. This is the placement of the ITR I think I'll be using most, and it's working great for me so far. It's just as easy to get in and out of Magick's hook-up and the centrifugal levitation effect. So if you're holding off on getting this because of a clothing requirement, don't! In my opinion there really isn't one--you just have to change the anchor point of the ITR. The handling remains the same.

So, all around, this is an excellent product--both the DVD and what it teaches, as well as the Boss ITR that accompanies it.

Great work, guys!

 

[Alex_Pandrea]

Hey

Thanks for the review guys, we've been getting nothing but great feedback for Centrifugal. I've had a lot of questions about how this is different from tarantula or spun, but I think its obvious how the quality of this effect exceeds the others just in the fact that it comes with an ITR. No more tangling thread on cards, no batteries to worry about and nothing to hide in your hand...Centrifugal teaches you everything you need to know about the ITR including taking it apart and putting it back together, teaches you all about wax, etc. I'll be glad to answer any questions about Centrifugal as I have been performing this for many years now Thanks everyone!

Alex^