Title: Hospitality
Artist: Max Francis
Producers: Magic Tao
Link: You can buy this at any of your favorite Murphy?s Magic retailers.
Retail Price: $24.95
Learning Difficulty: Easy
Length of DVD: 30 Minutes
Notes: You?ll need to buy certain things to resupply your ability to perform this after a while.
Features:
? Play All
? Trailer
? Hospitality Performance
? Hospitality Intro
? Hospitality Setup
? Hospitality Explanation
? Cocktail Performance
? Cocktail Setup
? Cocktail Explanation
? XXXX* to Use
*Edited to avoid exposing the gaff.
Hospitality is an interesting close up or stage effect where you pour the contents of a soda can completely out until the can is empty and then produce another different beverage.
I think the idea behind Hospitality, originally called Libation, is a good one. It?s theatrical, which is a lot different than most look - see ? do magic we see on the market these days. This peace is a brilliant silent bit that reads perfectly well on stage and doesn?t need dialog at all to support or sell it. Theater aside it is still a nice little worker for the close up performer.
The DVD isn?t very long at all, and once you understand what each of the bits that come with the DVD is used for you?ll be pretty much off and running on your own. This is that kind of effect that is pretty self explanatory without needing much in the way of video tutorial. The only down side to this effect is that if you plan to do it often you?re going to need to buy a lot of the things that make the effect possible. I?ll just refer to those things as the ?gimmick? from here out, even though a gimmick it really isn?t.
You can use the same gimmick to do a larger load inside a cocktail shaker too. It?s the same idea but the handling they suggest in the DVD is just stupid. Honestly instead of going through the asinine process they suggest go get yourself a PK ring and use that instead. Failing that just finger palm the damn XXX*
*Edited to prevent revealing the method.
I like the cocktail performance idea but not nearly as much as I did Hospitality. I get the strong impression that Cocktail was a half baked idea that came from a brainstorming session as a way to add onto the project
The gimmick and method for deploying it are sturdy and should do fine for what it is you?ll be doing with them. You?ll need to replace the gimmick with a new one after each show though. This is not an effect you?ll want to do walk around style, or even table hopping. This is a parlor or stage trick as it is sold. It?s not a bad one either. It?s visual and I imagine when presented well it?ll be a nice piece. I?m glad I picked it up.
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: 8
Not bad for the price. Nice stage piece. Reliable gimmick.
Teaching Quality: 8
The tutorial on the DVD is pretty easy to follow.
Video & Sound Quality: 9
Clear sound, and video.
Overall Quality: 8
This isn?t the walk around piece that I thought it would be. It?s very clearly a stage piece. Knowing that now I?ve had to rework how I had planned to use it. Otherwise for what it is it?s a pretty cleaver trick.
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