So, I was going to post a review of Wayne Houchin's Art of Magic. Then I noticed that the other winner of Wayne's contest already posted one (how ironic), oh well. So here we go.
First impressions/ tid-bits: The DVD art is designed by Dan and Dave Buck and Wayne added some stuff. Dana Hocking did the music (as always) which I assume will be on the second Deception Project. The cover looks really cool, and the menu is clean and set up nicely with a slideshow type thing above it. You have three options (play the documentary part, learn the tricks, or select a scene.) The DVD is about 2 hours long all together. Three effects out of these (+ another three one of which is called Jury Duty) are taught in the June issue of Genii magazine which features an interview with WH himself. I'm not sure which effects are taught in Genii but I know Twisting the Aces is. Once my issue comes I'll edit this...
Edit: Wayne told me about the three effects [Jury Duty (a ring vanishes from an envelope and is found on a key ring), Expectations (a coin change in the spectators hand), and a toothpick swallowing effect(you swallow broken toothpicks and a piece of thread and pull it out with the toothpicks tied on)] and they sound great as well, so I recommend getting this month's issue of Genii as well. I will post a review on the magazine once I get it.
Documentary: This is about the first hour of the DVD. All five people go in depth about the topics the talk about (which range from David Blaine to the spectators perception and how it can change by the way you present a trick to close-up magic itself). They are all entertaining and intriguing to listen to, and they all have very intellectual points to add, but they sometimes joke around which makes it interesting to watch. In between topics they talk about will be Wayne performing a myriad of effects, most of which will be taught later on. There is even a pretty long performance of a trick Wayne does at the Magic Castle which is really awesome.
Effects: They're all pretty hard hitting (if performed right). Most of them (if not all) are going in my routine or one of my close-up sets. The descriptions of these tricks are all readily available so I'll just say my thoughts on them. Luckily we had a family get-together a few days after I recieved AoM so I got to try out most of the tricks (all but WH Ring + String mystery because I didn't have the right envelopes.)
French Kiss-- Easy to do, easy to follow (for the spectators), ends pretty clean exept for one little thing but they won't be thinking of it AT ALL. (you'll know what I mean when you get it... and you HAVE to get it). There is a set up but it takes literally under 5 seconds. I've gotten terrific reactions from this simple trick because of the way it is presented to the audience.
Twisting the Aces-- (Wayne's handling) It is deffinately an interesting effect that is fun to perform. No set up and pretty easy if you know a few basic sleights. I've gotten good reactions and I like the trick alot. (taught in June's Genii Magazine) It's also one of those tricks where you don't need to damage cards to perform it.
Carbon Paper-- (Wayne's handling on Jay Sankey's trick) This is probably one of my favorite tricks on this DVD, ecspecially the way Wayne handles it and presents it. It is repeatable (instantly resets). You only need to set-up once each time you go out and perform and you can do it over and over...and over again. This was the trick that went over the best when I performed it and it gets great reactions. It's pretty simple handling wise as well. And, as Wayne says, it's not really thought of as a card trick, the cards are just there to "demonstrate" the effect.
Match Bite-- Really simple, pretty easy, no set-up, no gimmicks, one match. A cool "one-off" type of "quick trick". It's fun to do and gets good reactions. You can obviously repeat it as long as you have more matches to do it with. You end fairly clean. I got good reactions the first time I did it.
WH Ring+String Mystery-- Another one of my favorite effects on this DVD. You need a ring, a piece of string, and an envelope (a certain size but they're easy to find) with a hole punched in it and you're good to go. Wayne suggests making a few of these (punching a hole in an envelope and putting the right length of string in it) and keeping them in you're wallet, which i did. (and wear or be prepared to borrow a ring. I have only performed it for my parents because I just got the right sized envelopes after the family get-together. They thought it was a cool trick and it seems like it will get great reactions. No set-up other than getting you're stuff ready and together (pretty impromptu if you have it in your wallet or with you). Repeatable if you have more envelopes and string (and a ring). Ends clean. Everything can be examined before and after the trick. I love it and use patter similar to Wayne's but I added my own patter afterwards.
Candy Scam-- Not taught on the DVD but it is performed. Wayne has said on Ellusionist's forums that he wants to work with Luke Dancy and release it with him on a later date and also make it better by them both working to improve it. (Maybe on AoM2???) Really cool effect if you are near a vending machine though. I came up with my own version that I'm currently brainstorming about and working on making it more practical.
Final thoughts: I love this DVD. If I ever remember to bring my camera along with me when I perform I'll post up some performances (live). Anyway, one of Wayne's best DVD's and a staple for those who want to advance in magic. GET IT NOW. Haha, but seriously consider this next time you want to order something. It's a great buy and has some really interesting points in it, and some great tricks. Any questions?
Edit: As always, the teaching is great, Wayne even taught a few double lifts in depth. So, even if you have never ordered a magic dvd before and know almost no sleights, you can get this. It ISN'T just like, "okay so we just double lift then do this count then control this card to the top". Everything is taught in depth.
First impressions/ tid-bits: The DVD art is designed by Dan and Dave Buck and Wayne added some stuff. Dana Hocking did the music (as always) which I assume will be on the second Deception Project. The cover looks really cool, and the menu is clean and set up nicely with a slideshow type thing above it. You have three options (play the documentary part, learn the tricks, or select a scene.) The DVD is about 2 hours long all together. Three effects out of these (+ another three one of which is called Jury Duty) are taught in the June issue of Genii magazine which features an interview with WH himself. I'm not sure which effects are taught in Genii but I know Twisting the Aces is. Once my issue comes I'll edit this...
Edit: Wayne told me about the three effects [Jury Duty (a ring vanishes from an envelope and is found on a key ring), Expectations (a coin change in the spectators hand), and a toothpick swallowing effect(you swallow broken toothpicks and a piece of thread and pull it out with the toothpicks tied on)] and they sound great as well, so I recommend getting this month's issue of Genii as well. I will post a review on the magazine once I get it.
Documentary: This is about the first hour of the DVD. All five people go in depth about the topics the talk about (which range from David Blaine to the spectators perception and how it can change by the way you present a trick to close-up magic itself). They are all entertaining and intriguing to listen to, and they all have very intellectual points to add, but they sometimes joke around which makes it interesting to watch. In between topics they talk about will be Wayne performing a myriad of effects, most of which will be taught later on. There is even a pretty long performance of a trick Wayne does at the Magic Castle which is really awesome.
Effects: They're all pretty hard hitting (if performed right). Most of them (if not all) are going in my routine or one of my close-up sets. The descriptions of these tricks are all readily available so I'll just say my thoughts on them. Luckily we had a family get-together a few days after I recieved AoM so I got to try out most of the tricks (all but WH Ring + String mystery because I didn't have the right envelopes.)
French Kiss-- Easy to do, easy to follow (for the spectators), ends pretty clean exept for one little thing but they won't be thinking of it AT ALL. (you'll know what I mean when you get it... and you HAVE to get it). There is a set up but it takes literally under 5 seconds. I've gotten terrific reactions from this simple trick because of the way it is presented to the audience.
Twisting the Aces-- (Wayne's handling) It is deffinately an interesting effect that is fun to perform. No set up and pretty easy if you know a few basic sleights. I've gotten good reactions and I like the trick alot. (taught in June's Genii Magazine) It's also one of those tricks where you don't need to damage cards to perform it.
Carbon Paper-- (Wayne's handling on Jay Sankey's trick) This is probably one of my favorite tricks on this DVD, ecspecially the way Wayne handles it and presents it. It is repeatable (instantly resets). You only need to set-up once each time you go out and perform and you can do it over and over...and over again. This was the trick that went over the best when I performed it and it gets great reactions. It's pretty simple handling wise as well. And, as Wayne says, it's not really thought of as a card trick, the cards are just there to "demonstrate" the effect.
Match Bite-- Really simple, pretty easy, no set-up, no gimmicks, one match. A cool "one-off" type of "quick trick". It's fun to do and gets good reactions. You can obviously repeat it as long as you have more matches to do it with. You end fairly clean. I got good reactions the first time I did it.
WH Ring+String Mystery-- Another one of my favorite effects on this DVD. You need a ring, a piece of string, and an envelope (a certain size but they're easy to find) with a hole punched in it and you're good to go. Wayne suggests making a few of these (punching a hole in an envelope and putting the right length of string in it) and keeping them in you're wallet, which i did. (and wear or be prepared to borrow a ring. I have only performed it for my parents because I just got the right sized envelopes after the family get-together. They thought it was a cool trick and it seems like it will get great reactions. No set-up other than getting you're stuff ready and together (pretty impromptu if you have it in your wallet or with you). Repeatable if you have more envelopes and string (and a ring). Ends clean. Everything can be examined before and after the trick. I love it and use patter similar to Wayne's but I added my own patter afterwards.
Candy Scam-- Not taught on the DVD but it is performed. Wayne has said on Ellusionist's forums that he wants to work with Luke Dancy and release it with him on a later date and also make it better by them both working to improve it. (Maybe on AoM2???) Really cool effect if you are near a vending machine though. I came up with my own version that I'm currently brainstorming about and working on making it more practical.
Final thoughts: I love this DVD. If I ever remember to bring my camera along with me when I perform I'll post up some performances (live). Anyway, one of Wayne's best DVD's and a staple for those who want to advance in magic. GET IT NOW. Haha, but seriously consider this next time you want to order something. It's a great buy and has some really interesting points in it, and some great tricks. Any questions?
Edit: As always, the teaching is great, Wayne even taught a few double lifts in depth. So, even if you have never ordered a magic dvd before and know almost no sleights, you can get this. It ISN'T just like, "okay so we just double lift then do this count then control this card to the top". Everything is taught in depth.
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