BentTouchSlink
http://www.ellusionist.com/product/dvd+training/card+magic/bent+touch+slink+dvd.do
The Official Spam:
The Effects:
Bent - A coin magically bends while squeezed within your hands. Both hands are shown empty, and the coin is given away as a souvenir. Four (4) different handlings are taught, and they all are super visual.
Touch - A coin is placed on one side of a table. Both of the magician's hands are shown empty. You rub the coin, and it magically travels to the other side of the table.
Slink - Two ordinary rubber bands visually link together, and then just as visually they unlink.
What You Need:
To start performing right away, go get yourself a SL Coin Bending Tool, a whole bunch of quarters, and some rubber bands. That's all you should need.
The Teaching:
Daniel Garcia taught these three (3) tricks absolutely fantastic. He not only went over everything more than once, there were also freeze frames with captions reminding you what to do. Daniel seems happy to be there, and is very enthusiastic. He is a wonderful teacher.
The Quality:
Like most other Ellusionist products, they film with excellent cameras. The video and sound quality are spot on. The DVD cover is also very nice. I couldn't have asked for a better production job.
My Review:
Bent - This turned out to be my favorite trick on the DVD. The only real problem is that there are some clothing restrictions. Daniel teaches four handlings, three (3) of which you end clean, two empty hands. In the first, second, and fourth handlings a coin is squeezed within your hands, and when they are opened the coin is bent. I really like this approach, it really shows that magic doesn't have to be visual to be good. The third handling is done with one hand. You just take the borrowed coin, shake it, and it bends. Both hands are then shown empty. Daniel gives you a unique approach to 'dodge' some of the clothing requirements, which might be useful for some younger magicians. All in all, this is my favorite effect on the DVD.
Touch - As Daniel Garcia publicly stated, this effect was created on the set and he no longer performs this. This is most definitely the weakest effect on the DVD. While it does have a small amount of potential, I don't like this. If you watch the video, you might be able to figure it out. On the DVD, Daniel teaches you some great subtleties that make this better. The only way I can see this being performed is at the beginning of a Matrix routine, as a starter. This is not an opener or a closer, but can in someway be added to existing routines. In my opinion, if Daniel Garcia created this on the set, it shouldn't have been on the DVD.
Slink - This was the main reason why I bought this DVD, but it turned out to be my second favorite effect. It's very open and visual, and the spectators love it. There is a small amount of set-up needed, but with misdirection this can be done under the spectator's' noses. In my opinion, this is best to be done after another rubber band trick, such as the Crazy Man's Handcuffs. While I feel some methods for linking rubber bands are stronger than this, such as Nabil Murday's, this is fantastic for impromptu rubber band magic, when you are asked to perform on the spot.
Crazy Man's Handcuffs - This is thrown on the DVD as a bonus, it fits perfectly with Daniel Garcia's Slink. I think this is incorrectly labeled as his own handling, because I was not able to see a different between this, and the handlings that are spread throughout various other sources. It was a nice little bonus for people who didn't know this classic, but shouldn't have been called Daniel's handling.
Additional Thoughts:
Another reason why Bent is fantastic is because of the unlimited amount of possibilities. Not only can you bend coins, but you can also turn chewed gum into wrapped gum, and other various tricks. If you use your creativity, you'll find many ways to use Bent. Also, many other items can also be used in Touch.
Overall:
I really liked this DVD, but I feel Touch and "Daniel's Handling" of Crazy Man's Handcuffs brought this down a little. While it was still nice to have them included on the DVD, I felt that it could've been better. I rate this a solid 9/10.
Jeff
http://www.ellusionist.com/product/dvd+training/card+magic/bent+touch+slink+dvd.do
The Official Spam:
The Effects:
Bent - A coin magically bends while squeezed within your hands. Both hands are shown empty, and the coin is given away as a souvenir. Four (4) different handlings are taught, and they all are super visual.
Touch - A coin is placed on one side of a table. Both of the magician's hands are shown empty. You rub the coin, and it magically travels to the other side of the table.
Slink - Two ordinary rubber bands visually link together, and then just as visually they unlink.
What You Need:
To start performing right away, go get yourself a SL Coin Bending Tool, a whole bunch of quarters, and some rubber bands. That's all you should need.
The Teaching:
Daniel Garcia taught these three (3) tricks absolutely fantastic. He not only went over everything more than once, there were also freeze frames with captions reminding you what to do. Daniel seems happy to be there, and is very enthusiastic. He is a wonderful teacher.
The Quality:
Like most other Ellusionist products, they film with excellent cameras. The video and sound quality are spot on. The DVD cover is also very nice. I couldn't have asked for a better production job.
My Review:
Bent - This turned out to be my favorite trick on the DVD. The only real problem is that there are some clothing restrictions. Daniel teaches four handlings, three (3) of which you end clean, two empty hands. In the first, second, and fourth handlings a coin is squeezed within your hands, and when they are opened the coin is bent. I really like this approach, it really shows that magic doesn't have to be visual to be good. The third handling is done with one hand. You just take the borrowed coin, shake it, and it bends. Both hands are then shown empty. Daniel gives you a unique approach to 'dodge' some of the clothing requirements, which might be useful for some younger magicians. All in all, this is my favorite effect on the DVD.
Touch - As Daniel Garcia publicly stated, this effect was created on the set and he no longer performs this. This is most definitely the weakest effect on the DVD. While it does have a small amount of potential, I don't like this. If you watch the video, you might be able to figure it out. On the DVD, Daniel teaches you some great subtleties that make this better. The only way I can see this being performed is at the beginning of a Matrix routine, as a starter. This is not an opener or a closer, but can in someway be added to existing routines. In my opinion, if Daniel Garcia created this on the set, it shouldn't have been on the DVD.
Slink - This was the main reason why I bought this DVD, but it turned out to be my second favorite effect. It's very open and visual, and the spectators love it. There is a small amount of set-up needed, but with misdirection this can be done under the spectator's' noses. In my opinion, this is best to be done after another rubber band trick, such as the Crazy Man's Handcuffs. While I feel some methods for linking rubber bands are stronger than this, such as Nabil Murday's, this is fantastic for impromptu rubber band magic, when you are asked to perform on the spot.
Crazy Man's Handcuffs - This is thrown on the DVD as a bonus, it fits perfectly with Daniel Garcia's Slink. I think this is incorrectly labeled as his own handling, because I was not able to see a different between this, and the handlings that are spread throughout various other sources. It was a nice little bonus for people who didn't know this classic, but shouldn't have been called Daniel's handling.
Additional Thoughts:
Another reason why Bent is fantastic is because of the unlimited amount of possibilities. Not only can you bend coins, but you can also turn chewed gum into wrapped gum, and other various tricks. If you use your creativity, you'll find many ways to use Bent. Also, many other items can also be used in Touch.
Overall:
I really liked this DVD, but I feel Touch and "Daniel's Handling" of Crazy Man's Handcuffs brought this down a little. While it was still nice to have them included on the DVD, I felt that it could've been better. I rate this a solid 9/10.
Jeff
