I will try and answer the most common questions that I have seen on this website, but I WILL NOT reveal the gimmick or how the trick is done:
If anyone feels that my answers expose any part of the trick in any way, please PM either me or somebody with the powers to edit my answers so that this wonderful piece of magic isn't exposed.
Ah, Distortion. This trick has received a lot of hype and some controversy regarding its originality. People have criticized it for not being original, people have praised it for revamping an old idea, personally, I couldn’t care if Houdini himself did this trick, and made it famous and Wayne just ripped him off, I would still have bought this DVD. Before I ordered it however, I gave it lots of thought. The chief complaint was that the gimmick could easily be broken and people wondered about getting a new one. After much time spent not eating and contemplating whether or not to buy this, I sucked it up, and shelled out $24.95 + S&H and bought it. What a rollercoaster of feelings I had once I received it…
Q: Is there a gimmick?
A: Yes, THERE IS A GIMMICK, but it is included WITH your dvd purchase.
Q: Can this be done with cards other than the 4 and 6 if Diamonds??
A: No, it can only be done with those cards, as those are the one’s that are provided, however you could purchase this gimmick elsewhere and use other cards.
Q: Can you do this surrounded/ Is it angle sensitive?
A: It is almost completely angle proof; however, lighting could be an issue.
Q: How hard is this trick to perform?
A: In my opinion this trick is easy as can be. You will need to have a basic knowledge of sleight of hand and misdirection to perform this, but other than that, everything is pretty much self working.
Q: Can I make the gimmick should it be lost or damaged?
A: You could, but I highly recommend simply buying a new one from Theory 11.
Q: Can the deck be borrowed?
A: Yes, as long as you have the gimmick with you.
Q: Can the cards be passed out for inspection?
A: Yes, with some moves that are taught on the DVD, everything can be inspected.
Q: Can this trick be done with Bicycle Guardians, or Bicycle Masters?
A: No, it can not be done with Guardians, but it can be done with Masters, in fact, Wayne uses Masters in the DVD.
Q: Are there any variations?
A: The are two variations of this effect. One is Michael Ammar’s “Visually Yours” which is a very lovely effect. There is also an Easter Egg called “Visual Distortion” which is my preferred method of handling, and the only one that I use.
Q: Will I have to buy anything for this effect?
A: It all depends on what color gimmick you purchase, but if for some weird reason you don’t have any deck of cards, either a red or a blue deck.
That's it for the QUESTION part of the review. A: Yes, THERE IS A GIMMICK, but it is included WITH your dvd purchase.
Q: Can this be done with cards other than the 4 and 6 if Diamonds??
A: No, it can only be done with those cards, as those are the one’s that are provided, however you could purchase this gimmick elsewhere and use other cards.
Q: Can you do this surrounded/ Is it angle sensitive?
A: It is almost completely angle proof; however, lighting could be an issue.
Q: How hard is this trick to perform?
A: In my opinion this trick is easy as can be. You will need to have a basic knowledge of sleight of hand and misdirection to perform this, but other than that, everything is pretty much self working.
Q: Can I make the gimmick should it be lost or damaged?
A: You could, but I highly recommend simply buying a new one from Theory 11.
Q: Can the deck be borrowed?
A: Yes, as long as you have the gimmick with you.
Q: Can the cards be passed out for inspection?
A: Yes, with some moves that are taught on the DVD, everything can be inspected.
Q: Can this trick be done with Bicycle Guardians, or Bicycle Masters?
A: No, it can not be done with Guardians, but it can be done with Masters, in fact, Wayne uses Masters in the DVD.
Q: Are there any variations?
A: The are two variations of this effect. One is Michael Ammar’s “Visually Yours” which is a very lovely effect. There is also an Easter Egg called “Visual Distortion” which is my preferred method of handling, and the only one that I use.
Q: Will I have to buy anything for this effect?
A: It all depends on what color gimmick you purchase, but if for some weird reason you don’t have any deck of cards, either a red or a blue deck.
If anyone feels that my answers expose any part of the trick in any way, please PM either me or somebody with the powers to edit my answers so that this wonderful piece of magic isn't exposed.
The Review!
Ah, Distortion. This trick has received a lot of hype and some controversy regarding its originality. People have criticized it for not being original, people have praised it for revamping an old idea, personally, I couldn’t care if Houdini himself did this trick, and made it famous and Wayne just ripped him off, I would still have bought this DVD. Before I ordered it however, I gave it lots of thought. The chief complaint was that the gimmick could easily be broken and people wondered about getting a new one. After much time spent not eating and contemplating whether or not to buy this, I sucked it up, and shelled out $24.95 + S&H and bought it. What a rollercoaster of feelings I had once I received it…
WHAT YOU GET
The DVD for Distortion.
The gimmick
THE GIMMICK
The gimmick… Where to begin… Well, lots of people have had problems with their gimmick, others have worked fine. Personally, I found that my gimmick was well made, and durable enough that I didn’t have to say a prayer every time I used it. I believe that for most people, their gimmick is well made, but still fragile. At first I wasn’t too impressed with the gimmick, as I thought that any lay-person would be able to see the method from a mile away, but so far in all off my performances, no body has suspected a thing. My advice would be: if you get it, be careful with it, and keep it in the original case that it comes in.
THE DVD
DVD Menu:
I really enjoyed this DVD. It has very simple, but good looking artwork on the cover and back. The menu is simple enough:
Play, Visually Yours (Michael Ammar’s handling of the effect) or Scenes are your choices.
Quality:
As for filming, it is very well filmed, very straightforward stuff, they do their signature Auto-Focus every so often. The picture quality is the same as it is for Panic, and for the 1-on-1 instant downloads.
Teaching:
The most important part is the teaching, and Wayne does a good job in teaching. I felt that it was a little rushed, almost like “Ok, here’s how it works, do it like this.” But Wayne does a good job teaching, and you will learn everything you need to know from this. One bonus that I thought helped and greatly enjoyed was Wayne doing a commentary of one of his performances that you can see in the demo (The guy saying he’s F***ing crazy). He goes step by step and tells you what is going on, and I found that it helped to see what you were supposed to do in a real life setting.
Easter Egg:
Visual Distortion. In my opinion, there’s no need to do the basic handling of Distortion, or Visually Yours, this one takes them both and makes them something special. It is such a strong effect that will get killer reactions, trust me, it beats out all others. I did find it funny that Wayne sounded as though he had a slight distaste for the name (Something that Dana came up with).
Performances:
This part is Wayne doing the trick on various different people, and just having fun on the pier. He did however break one of the Cardinal rules of magic: Never perform the same trick to the same audience twice! (Although technically, the majority of the audience had never seen it before) I really liked this part, and found it to be very enjoyable, and it was good to see Wayne’s sense of humor come out.
Setup/Reset:
The setup is very simple, but probably shouldn’t be done in front of the audience, but probably could. Reset will take about 30 seconds, but can’t be done in front of specs.
PRO'S AND CONS
Pro's:
VERY visual
Easy to do once you get used to the gimmick
I found the gimmick to be ingenious
Great teaching on DVD
Comes with the gimmick so that you don't have to make your own
Visual Distortion is to die for
Great audio commentary
Con's:
The gimmick is fragile
A heckler could kill the whole routine easily
I felt that the teaching was rushed
Short play time on DVD
OVERALL OPINION/FINAL THOUGHTS
Honestly, at first I was let down. Panic was such a great effect, the gimmick was amazing, and the teaching was so thorough it was as though Aaron OVER taught it. With this, I felt let down by the rushed teaching, and I felt that the gimmick was very obvious, I even contacted customer support about returning, because I was so disappointed, But I said to myself “No Jon, give it a week. If you don’t like it in a week, then you can return it.” Well, not even a week later, and it’s in my top 10 effects. It turned out to be a great effect, despite the fragile gimmick; in fact most people haven’t even been able to tell it’s a gimmicked card. I do have once piece of advice, and it’s something that Wayne recommends on the DVD: Do a quick, simple transpo effect to lead into this effect; I do Ultimate Transpo, and I think that’s what he does on the DVD. I think it gives a little bit more depth to the routine, as they kinda know what to expect. But that’s just my thought.
Buy this trick. If you don’t like it, return it, and get your money back, but I think that this one could be a REAL reputation maker!
9/10
The DVD for Distortion.
The gimmick
THE GIMMICK
The gimmick… Where to begin… Well, lots of people have had problems with their gimmick, others have worked fine. Personally, I found that my gimmick was well made, and durable enough that I didn’t have to say a prayer every time I used it. I believe that for most people, their gimmick is well made, but still fragile. At first I wasn’t too impressed with the gimmick, as I thought that any lay-person would be able to see the method from a mile away, but so far in all off my performances, no body has suspected a thing. My advice would be: if you get it, be careful with it, and keep it in the original case that it comes in.
THE DVD
DVD Menu:
I really enjoyed this DVD. It has very simple, but good looking artwork on the cover and back. The menu is simple enough:
Play, Visually Yours (Michael Ammar’s handling of the effect) or Scenes are your choices.
Quality:
As for filming, it is very well filmed, very straightforward stuff, they do their signature Auto-Focus every so often. The picture quality is the same as it is for Panic, and for the 1-on-1 instant downloads.
Teaching:
The most important part is the teaching, and Wayne does a good job in teaching. I felt that it was a little rushed, almost like “Ok, here’s how it works, do it like this.” But Wayne does a good job teaching, and you will learn everything you need to know from this. One bonus that I thought helped and greatly enjoyed was Wayne doing a commentary of one of his performances that you can see in the demo (The guy saying he’s F***ing crazy). He goes step by step and tells you what is going on, and I found that it helped to see what you were supposed to do in a real life setting.
Easter Egg:
Visual Distortion. In my opinion, there’s no need to do the basic handling of Distortion, or Visually Yours, this one takes them both and makes them something special. It is such a strong effect that will get killer reactions, trust me, it beats out all others. I did find it funny that Wayne sounded as though he had a slight distaste for the name (Something that Dana came up with).
Performances:
This part is Wayne doing the trick on various different people, and just having fun on the pier. He did however break one of the Cardinal rules of magic: Never perform the same trick to the same audience twice! (Although technically, the majority of the audience had never seen it before) I really liked this part, and found it to be very enjoyable, and it was good to see Wayne’s sense of humor come out.
Setup/Reset:
The setup is very simple, but probably shouldn’t be done in front of the audience, but probably could. Reset will take about 30 seconds, but can’t be done in front of specs.
PRO'S AND CONS
Pro's:
VERY visual
Easy to do once you get used to the gimmick
I found the gimmick to be ingenious
Great teaching on DVD
Comes with the gimmick so that you don't have to make your own
Visual Distortion is to die for
Great audio commentary
Con's:
The gimmick is fragile
A heckler could kill the whole routine easily
I felt that the teaching was rushed
Short play time on DVD
OVERALL OPINION/FINAL THOUGHTS
Honestly, at first I was let down. Panic was such a great effect, the gimmick was amazing, and the teaching was so thorough it was as though Aaron OVER taught it. With this, I felt let down by the rushed teaching, and I felt that the gimmick was very obvious, I even contacted customer support about returning, because I was so disappointed, But I said to myself “No Jon, give it a week. If you don’t like it in a week, then you can return it.” Well, not even a week later, and it’s in my top 10 effects. It turned out to be a great effect, despite the fragile gimmick; in fact most people haven’t even been able to tell it’s a gimmicked card. I do have once piece of advice, and it’s something that Wayne recommends on the DVD: Do a quick, simple transpo effect to lead into this effect; I do Ultimate Transpo, and I think that’s what he does on the DVD. I think it gives a little bit more depth to the routine, as they kinda know what to expect. But that’s just my thought.
Buy this trick. If you don’t like it, return it, and get your money back, but I think that this one could be a REAL reputation maker!
9/10
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