Draven Reviews: Fall by Philip Ryan

Title: Fall

Artist: Banachek and Philip Ryan

Producers: Vortex Magic

Link: Available At Your Favorite Murphy’s Magic Dealer

Demo Video Link:

Retail Price: $24.95

Learning Difficulty: Easy

Length of Video Download: 12 Minutes



Fall is a brilliant reimagining of the classic tip over block trick that many of us know and love. Inspired by Banachek, and brought to life by Philip Ryan Fall is in position to become one of the hottest instant illusions of the year.


The package itself is unassuming. It’s a pen length box with the gimmick inside. The gimmick being a Sharpie marker. A note to the wise: Don’t try and remove the cap. You can ruin your gimmick if you try. The construction on the gimmick is solid. You can handle this thing with ease and not have to worry about breaking it. Obviously, it can’t be handled by the spectator (because the cap doesn’t come off) but that’s nothing a simple switch out can’t fix. The construction of the gimmick is so well done that it must come with a predesignated marking system on it so you don’t confuse it with other non-gaffed sharpie markers.


There is no usual DVD or even printed instructions for the trick. Instead you get a link to an online password protected video, you get the password as well. The video is short and sweet. This is what the gimmick is, this is where it came from, and this is how you use it. The video comes in at just shy of twelve minutes so it’s a quick watch.


One of the selling points of Fall is its variable timing option. You can invisibly set the time for the fall right under the spectator and have the marker drop anywhere from around fifteen seconds to upwards of two minutes. Instantly resettable. Other incarnations of this gimmick are not nearly as versatile. Performing Fall takes a couple minutes of playing with the gimmick to get the hang of the timing. As I said the gimmick is self-contained so there are no strings, magnets, or wires to fuss with. Fall instantly resets and can be performed again strait away. This is where using the variable timing can really be important, making Fall ideal for table hopping, or strolling. Given the visual appeal of the pen falling over by itself I can see it also playing really well for a stage show too.


Fall is highly practical for many reasons. It’s reliable, it’s well made, and its premise is diverse enough to fit into just about any act. Street, Mentalism, Spiritualism, Spook, there’s a lot of ways to interpret the forces behind why the pen drops. All it takes is a little creativity on your part to connect those dots together.


Over all I’m very satisfied with my Fall. I think one of the largest limitations of previous incarnations of this same effect is the overly propish nature of the wooden blocks that were often used. Philip addresses that concern by creating the gimmick in a way that flies right by people because it’s such an ordinary object. The price is very reasonable as well. Fall comes in at under $25 bucks making it an easy purchase for just about any budget. Given its versatility in how it can be performed Fall is going straight into my working material where I anticipate it will stay for a good time to come. I highly recommend you check out Fall for yourself!





When I give my product scores below I am measuring them on a scale of 1 to 10. 1 Being absolute the worst score possible, and 10 being the absolute best, making a score of five average. The four points that I grade upon is Product Quality, Teaching Quality, Sound & Video Quality and Overall Quality.


Product Quality: 9

The price is right, the product is well made, and even if handled roughly will still probably last a lifetime.


Teaching Quality: 9

Simple, direct, to the point, and well taught without all the needless filler. Just the way I like my videos.


Video & Sound Quality: 9

Sound and video, for a download isn’t bad.


Overall Quality: 9

Fall is exactly what I expected it to be, and hot damn am I glad I got one!



Have a product you want reviewed? Want to see if it will stand up to the Draven Seal of Approval? Contact me directly at thewilliamdraven@gmail.com to find out how your product could be on the next Draven Reviews! Don't forget to like my blog where all my reviews are posted at www.williamdraven.wordpress.com.
 
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