Chad Nelson: Liberation of the Fingers Review

Jul 27, 2009
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Chad Nelson Liberation of the Fingers Review
to purchase: http://modernperformers.com/
by Jeff Black


The first thing I should say is this dvd was produced by Chad Nelson himself with some help from his friends and family, so a lot of love went into this project. That love shines bright when you navigate the menus filled with fun photography and specially made music for the dvd.

This DVD is not for everybody however, it is filled with professional card magic that works especially well for a strolling performers and flourishers. With creative sleight of hand ranging from intermediate to very advanced. Of course the moves, flourishes, tricks, and ideas that Chad provides are labors of love themselves. There are items I added immediately to my repertoire and others I realized are not for me at this time. All of the items will be discussed below:

3 CONTROLS
a. Cirque (Cirque Du Soleil Control): This is a flourishy double that has an aesthetic appeal and never uses a break. Useful for card to mouth or an ambitious card routine. It can be done standing without a table.
b. OK: A natural control for 3 cards that leaves them palmed in your left hand with dummies outjogged in the deck. Can also be done standing without a table.
c.Thumbki: A control from a vertical spread that leaves you with an outjogged dummy card and the selection on top. On a personal note, this control is perfect for solving a control problem that I was having with a card across (from The Trilogy) type of effect.

5 EFFECTS (+1 performance of Card through Glass which will be discussed by Chad in his online lecture on www.themagicsession.com)
a. 4orce: An effect where 4 cards are touched and they are all a four of a kind of your choice (for example the aces). I have begun using this for a 4 card selection routine I'm already doing.
b. Eve Sandwhich: A visual sandwich effect using the Eve Production that could work well in a sandwich routine or on it's own.
c. Teleport: An effect very similar to Portal (by DnD) using Chad's Thumbki control and his Manipflip production.
d. Manipflip Sandwhich: An advanced sleight of hand sandwich effect that uses a control taught on Surfaced and the Manipflip taught on this DVD.
e. Molecule Ace Cutting: This is one of my favorite Chad Nelson effects to date. It's a modern ace cutting routine that uses the DnD molecule cut to make a packet turn face-up in the center of the deck, the face card is mentioned by the magician then the packet is placed on the table face-down. This repeats 3 more times. After the magic moment the cards at the faces of the 4 packets are looked at again and are found to be all aces. This effect is magical for magicians and muggles alike. The method is also REALLY clever, and fun to perform.

1 DOUBLE (+1 idea for a production/change with a double)
a.Stickum Up Double: This is a beautiful double done from a pinky break with one hand that can display a card at chest height. It also allows the option of becoming an aerial double that you toss to the other hand. I have begun using this.
b. The idea for the change/production is in my opinion very good and uses a standard move you probably already know.

2 FLOURISHES (+a double packet spin idea)
a. Grin Cut: a 3 packet full deck retention cut with aerial element to it, worth using.
b. Half Nelson: Chad's signature false cut that uses 5 packets that retain the whole deck. This flourish is not only useful for a magician but also very cool! Chad also provides further ideas that are worth trying and using in the explanation for this cut
c.Double Spin Idea: A way to spin two packets of cards in the air at the same time, but you will need to find a way to integrate it into a flourish.

3 PRODUCTIONS
a. Eve: This is a really cool and useful “production/flourish” where a card quickly appears face-up-outjogged in the middle of a squared pack! It can produce between 1 and 4 cards depending on your break.
b. Green Machine: A 4 card production that uses a variation of Lennart Green's top shot, it produces 2 (or more) cards at once. Quick, visual, and fun, the top shot idea is something that I've heard about but have been waiting to see published.
c.ManipFlip: A production of 1-4 face-up cards outjogged from a spread. This occurs with the card(s) in a grip you wouldn't expect which threw me off. Chad has nice uses for it in the tricks section of the dvd, but it is angle sensitive if the audience isn't standing close to the performer.

SUNDRY (3 options 5 total items)
a. Four Frontal: A 4 card switch that can be done standing without a table that looks VERY natural. An awesome double is also shared in the explanation of this move. If you use a 4 card switch already, then this is a fine contender for replacing it
b. 3 Finesse Points: 3 ideas Chad put into one explanation. The first two are flourishy riffle spreads, one in the hands and one on the table. Finally there is a convincer that can be used in combination with the tilt control.
c.Club Change: Although very difficult, this is one of my new favorite color changes. It is just so visual/magical, it is like the Juan Pablo change of cards. The Club Change is one of the main reasons I purchased this DVD!

There are more ideas and material that Chad provides in the explanations than what I have listed here. It is my hope that this brief overview has been useful for deciding if this DVD is for you and if you will have use for the material on it. Also included is the trailer, an “Insight Film”, and full credits.

Overall I would recommend purchasing this instructional DVD if you enjoy card sleight of hand and flourishes. The DVD cover claims "This DVD will ignite, inspire, and invigorate your magical thinking" and at the end of this journey I must agree. It's nice having fingers of the liberated variety.
 
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