The treachery of tricks by Francis Menotti
- Thread starter BilalA
- Start date
Prop-wise it is pretty standard stuff, as I recall, except for the routine where he hangs a tv screen on his stomach. That one requires a fairly particular prop. The real value is not in doing the routines as he explains them, but instead watching his show and how he puts his material together. The video "essays" and his commentary on his thinking and creative process are why that DVD set is totally worth it.
For the mentalism you need a whiteboard or a phone.
For the card stuff you need a normal deck of cards.
For the coin stuff you need a gromit coin and a shell.
He doesn't teach the egg bag or razor blade swallow so you have to learn those somewhere else.
For the card stuff you need a normal deck of cards.
For the coin stuff you need a gromit coin and a shell.
He doesn't teach the egg bag or razor blade swallow so you have to learn those somewhere else.
Francis Menotti is an artsy guy, he has a way of making each trick unique and intriguing in a different way. This DVD is so much fun to watch and you really get a good rang of things from stand up magic to close up and mentalism.
This project is a two DVD set. DVD 1 is your basic format of here’s a trick here’s the secret and so on. DVD 2 is a mostly a performance DVD with some thoughts on theory, they have even included a commentary for the performance which was so much fun to watch. There’s a rumor going around that Francis was mentored by Teller, as in Penn and Teller. I don’t know if that is true but there is definatly a left of center vibe to his style that is reminiscent of some one like Teller or Paul Harris.
The first effect taught is Vivid. Basically an object is named by the audience and it is found inside of an envelope held by an audience member. This is a very bold piece of mentalism that will fry laymen and most magicians. He teaches this in depth and in a way that you could adapt it to close up, walk around or even a stage setting. The trick itself establishes a call back and foreshadows what will happen later on in the show if you chose to perform his effect Wyrd.
Wyrd is an add a number routine which uses an Iphone. Some Android phones may work but he teaches it for use with an Iphone. His revelation of the number is very unique and the whole concept of why he is predicting the future is very interesting. I have used this revelation to great effect in my own live performances. In one instance I used an add a number pad rather than the Iphone method and it worked just as well.
Those two pieces of magic take up almost half of the space on disc one. Between the two you can create a solid show with these two effects and “bookends” as Menotti says.
The next section is about Menotti’s coin work. It is full of funky new concepts and presentations.
Two Sides of Every Coin is a routine involving the production of three coins under the premise that you are doing magic with coins that are visible on one side but invisible on the other. This routine does require a classic coin gimmick that most magicians will own.
Imaginary coins is the perfect follow up to Two Sides of Every Coin. Three coins vanish one at a time into thin air as if they were only ever imagined. This uses the exact same props as in Two Sides of Every Coin. If you can easily palm a coin you should be able to pick this up in a couple months.
Pieces of nothing uses another great routine with a wonderful premise. The idea is that he places nothing in front of a coin making it invisible. When he removes the piece of nothing the coin comes back. This is basically a one coin routine but the magical premise makes it very entertaining to watch. At one point he produces a coin with a hole in it, besides the regular coin that’s all you need to perform this effect.
Here's an in depth review of what you get:
Sync is a 3 phase routine in which a selected card finds it’s mate. This is based off of a classic Larry Jennings plot and is a nice way to get a lot out of a single card trick. I’m always looking for impromptu magic that can be turned into something bigger and this fits the bill.
The bonus effect is called Schrodinger's Card and it fooled be badly. It is a very clean card to box and has got to be one of my favorite versions of the effect. There is a lot of dealing and shuffling before the big reveal but the routine is basically completely hands off. The spectator selects a card deals and shuffles and it vanishes from the deck finding its way into the deck.
So over all the tricks are good but not groundbreaking the thoughts and theories though are great and well worth the price of the DVD. Francis is a great magical thinker.
This project is a two DVD set. DVD 1 is your basic format of here’s a trick here’s the secret and so on. DVD 2 is a mostly a performance DVD with some thoughts on theory, they have even included a commentary for the performance which was so much fun to watch. There’s a rumor going around that Francis was mentored by Teller, as in Penn and Teller. I don’t know if that is true but there is definatly a left of center vibe to his style that is reminiscent of some one like Teller or Paul Harris.
The first effect taught is Vivid. Basically an object is named by the audience and it is found inside of an envelope held by an audience member. This is a very bold piece of mentalism that will fry laymen and most magicians. He teaches this in depth and in a way that you could adapt it to close up, walk around or even a stage setting. The trick itself establishes a call back and foreshadows what will happen later on in the show if you chose to perform his effect Wyrd.
Wyrd is an add a number routine which uses an Iphone. Some Android phones may work but he teaches it for use with an Iphone. His revelation of the number is very unique and the whole concept of why he is predicting the future is very interesting. I have used this revelation to great effect in my own live performances. In one instance I used an add a number pad rather than the Iphone method and it worked just as well.
Those two pieces of magic take up almost half of the space on disc one. Between the two you can create a solid show with these two effects and “bookends” as Menotti says.
The next section is about Menotti’s coin work. It is full of funky new concepts and presentations.
Two Sides of Every Coin is a routine involving the production of three coins under the premise that you are doing magic with coins that are visible on one side but invisible on the other. This routine does require a classic coin gimmick that most magicians will own.
Imaginary coins is the perfect follow up to Two Sides of Every Coin. Three coins vanish one at a time into thin air as if they were only ever imagined. This uses the exact same props as in Two Sides of Every Coin. If you can easily palm a coin you should be able to pick this up in a couple months.
Pieces of nothing uses another great routine with a wonderful premise. The idea is that he places nothing in front of a coin making it invisible. When he removes the piece of nothing the coin comes back. This is basically a one coin routine but the magical premise makes it very entertaining to watch. At one point he produces a coin with a hole in it, besides the regular coin that’s all you need to perform this effect.
Here's an in depth review of what you get:
Sync is a 3 phase routine in which a selected card finds it’s mate. This is based off of a classic Larry Jennings plot and is a nice way to get a lot out of a single card trick. I’m always looking for impromptu magic that can be turned into something bigger and this fits the bill.
The bonus effect is called Schrodinger's Card and it fooled be badly. It is a very clean card to box and has got to be one of my favorite versions of the effect. There is a lot of dealing and shuffling before the big reveal but the routine is basically completely hands off. The spectator selects a card deals and shuffles and it vanishes from the deck finding its way into the deck.
So over all the tricks are good but not groundbreaking the thoughts and theories though are great and well worth the price of the DVD. Francis is a great magical thinker.