Title: Flat Line
Artist: Jay Sankey
Producers: Sankey Magic
Link: You can purchase this at your favorite Murphy?s Magic retailer.
Retail Price: $35
Learning Difficulty:
Length of DVD: 56 Minutes
Notes:
Features:
? Play All
? Napkins, Bills + More
? Card Stab
? Two Gags
? Hot Thought
? Captain Crunch
? Magnetic
? Remarkerable
? I.Q. Test
You have a gimmicked sharpie that is flattened on one end. You use a normal marker for anything, then switch it out secretly for the Flat Line gimmick, slap your hands together and squeeze apparently flattening the end of the marker.
There?s an old Family Guy gag where author Stephen King is wildly pitching anything to his publicist to be the plot of his next story. I think he even says that a desk lamp could be scary. Flat Line kind of reminds me of Jay Sankey in the role of Stephen King with regards to that short. I feel like Jay is just reaching into his drawer pulling anything out of it and selling it with a DVD tutorial as the next great close up trick. Here we have another half baked idea that could be used a number of ways, overpriced, and thrown onto the market for open consumption. This I think is one of those rare times in which having a DVD instructional is more beneficial to the product than just having printed instructions. The scary part is when Jay takes about an hour to sell you on the many different ways you can apply the Flat Line gimmick. It?s a Sharpie marker that is flat on one end. It doesn?t do anything other than at the reveal look flat on one end. It?s a hell of a lot of work for a two second sight gag that is going to get tossed into your case and overshadowed by anything else that you do. I don?t know, maybe I?m just jaded but I look at this product and the only question I find myself asking is ?Why did I buy this again?? It seems like to me it?s just more work than it?s worth.
This is about as practical as any other Sharpie magic trick you?ll find on the market. That is to say it gives you something magical you can do with a utility device most close up, bar, and restaurant workers carry with them at all times anyways. Hell Sharpies aren?t that hard to come by so borrow one off a friend and do Flat Line with it. Once you understand that you need to switch it out for the gimmick, and the gimmick looks like you flattened one end of it, you?re pretty much downhill from there.
Overall this is just another over priced product that promises a lot and delivers little. This isn?t something I?d make use of and if you get yourself a hammer and a lighter I bet you can make one yourself for a fraction of the cost. This one I?ll pass on. Product failed.
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: 3
For the effect it does what it looks like, but at $35 bucks for a DVD and a couple of Sharpie markers? No thanks. I?ve got a hammer. I can make this gimmick for less, and anyone who has been involved with magic longer than a week should be able to figure out how to use it or switch for it.
Teaching Quality: 8
Jay is always fun and entertaining to watch and listen to even when the product he is pitching is a steaming pile of dog crap.
Video & Sound Quality: 8
Good video, and sound quality.
Overall Quality: 3
Over Priced, and Over Rated. Take a pass on this one folks, you?re not missing much.
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