Dupes by Gary Jones and Chris Congreave
Price: $29.99 (Plus a penny for tax)
Where: Big Blind Media (Soon from all other good magic distributors like Penguin)
Quality: This dvd has the same high picture quality that I have come to expect from Big Blind Media. The music is good and not overpowering at all. Also, no crazy, super flashy editing; just good, professional, slick-looking editing.
Menu: I liked the menu on this dvd a lot because of the absolute simplicity of it. The main menu is a black background with an ongoing video of Gary or Chris quietly doing some flourishes, and in the lower right corner are just three options: Play All, Chapters, and Extra Credits.
I just really liked the navigability and simplicity of it all. Plus it made it very easy to go from performance to explanation.
Performances: The performances are done in a warehouse-type setting, which has been used in several other BBM productions. Everything is well lit, and the background does not distract the eye. Of course, Gary and Chris are the ones performing, and also participating as spectators. In some cases Iain Moran is used also as a spectator. Personally I probably would've preferred an actual layman to be used in the performances, because often times Chris or Gary would not actually perform things like controls in the routine because they were "just showing it to a magician." This distracted from the performances IMO.
Teaching: The teaching was good, but it does move quite swiftly, which if you're a beginner, you may not enjoy. As an intermediate magician I actually really appreciated this speed because they did not take my time up explaining basic things like tilt, a DL, the Hofzinzer cull, controls, forces, etc. So if you are a beginner, do not buy this dvd. If you already have a firm grasp of card magic and how it is to be performed, and are looking for some awesome new material, check this dvd out! Personally, I enjoyed the teaching quite a bit.
My Rating System-
I rate on a scale of 1 to 5. It is broken down like this:
5-Awesome
4-Great
3-Okay
2-Bad
1-Awful
Now that you know my rating system, I’ll give my thoughts on each of the effects presented on Dupes!
The Effects:
Almost CAAN: A card is freely selected and just as freely returned by the spectator while the deck is on the table, and you are looking away. They square the deck, you give the pack a couple of cuts. The spectator names any number from 1-52 and they count down to the number. Impossibly, the card at the selected number is the chosen card! Different cards are seen throughout, and a bonus little ace production is taught, which can be done as a prelude to this effect (and is used elsewhere in the dvd). Everything looks VERY clean and hands-off. My favorite thing about this routine is the wonderful subtlety that Gary uses to make the effect so much more convincing. Great start to the dvd! 4/5
Kicked Right Back: Two queens are taken out, and then two cards are selected and subsequently returned to the deck. The queens are replaced on top of the deck and the two selected cards appear face-down between them. The spectator takes out the selected cards to turn them over, but when they do, they instantly change into the queens that were still on the deck! Now you have the selected cards! This is a pretty simple sandwich routine handling, however, the ending does make this fun and surprising for the spectators (Surprise is always a good thing to include in your magic). For that reason, this could be a memorable routine. IMO it's a little too short to stand on it's own, though. I'm not so sure I would carry around the extra cards just for this in a table-hopping situation, but perhaps for a set show. 3/5
Joker Surprise: A card is selected and shuffled into the deck (possibly by a spectator). You attempt to find the card and...well I don't want to discuss what happens next on a public forum because it is such a simple idea that a knowledgeable magician could copy from my description. Anyway, the card he/she selected ends up being the only one that's not a joker. The real lesson in this effect is in the presentation. The effect is SO simple from a technical standpoint, yet the presentation makes it one of those things that can be really entertaining and memorable (which should be what we're aiming for) for the audience! The only downside is that you must devote one deck to this one effect. Don't overlook this one, no matter how straightforward it may seem. You won't appear to be a miracle worker, but rather, an entertainer. 4/5
C2B (with Zilcho Palm): A card is selected, replaced, etc. The black aces are then placed half-way into the case and the red aces set aside. The spectator pushes in the black aces and closes the flap. Instantly, the red aces transform into the black aces! When the spectator opens up the box, inside they find three cards; the red aces and the spectator's signed card in between! I LOVE this effect! This is a true worker that I can see many close-up guys using all the time (I know I will). There's no set-up and as a bonus, Gary teaches a just-as-good version with no duplicate cards whatsoever! It should also be mentioned that the "Zilcho Palm" simply means that there is no palming involved. Super convincing, easy, and impossible. Awesome effect! 5/5
Packed Wallet: Two cards are selected, signed and replaced. After some cuts and shuffles, one of the signed cards appears in your left pocket. You then reach in your right pocket and hand your wallet to a spectator telling him that the card is inside. When he opens it, he finds the entire deck! In your hand is only the selected card! This is a great take on a very novel idea (first conceived by Simon Lovell). There's one move here that may be kind've angly and bold, but it can be done with some misdirection on your part. There's a nice added feature to this effect, which I won't talk about, but it's something I thought was pretty clever. Packed Wallet is surprising, quick and an effect that I think spectators will have a very strong reaction to. 4/5
Pocket Aces: The four aces are produced from the deck and then placed into various sections of the pack. The deck is shuffled, and when you reach into your pocket, there are four face-down cards inside! The deck is spread and the aces are no longer there, however when you turn over the face-down cards, they're the kings! The aces then appear inside the spectator's own pocket! Wow this one really surprised me! I think your spectators will be genuinely surprised at the outcome of the effect. The method is very practical, and you don't have to try to sneak aces into some guys coat across the room before your show. A pickpocketing theme would go excellently with this effect and I think I will have a LOT of fun with this! The only problem is that sometimes you will not really be able to perform this unless your spectator has certain types of clothing (like jackets) on. Personally, this is something I am going to be excited to use. 5/5
The Big Transpo: A card is selected, signed, etc. You attempt to find the card with a few cuts, but instead you find the wrong card. This card is placed aside, and you reach inside your pocket saying that the selected card has jumped inside. When the card is pulled out, it is the same card that you just placed on the table! The card on the table then changes to the selected card. IMO the use of a duplicate in this effect just isn't that worth it. The exact same effect can be easily done with just sleight of hand. Mike Power's has a great effect called Expert Cards to Pocket that has a similar plot, except with 5 phases, more sleight-of-hand, and two selected cards. It should be noted that this effect can be used as a way to ring in a duplicate. If that is your motive, then you may end up using this. 3/5
(See the rest below)
Price: $29.99 (Plus a penny for tax)
Where: Big Blind Media (Soon from all other good magic distributors like Penguin)
Quality: This dvd has the same high picture quality that I have come to expect from Big Blind Media. The music is good and not overpowering at all. Also, no crazy, super flashy editing; just good, professional, slick-looking editing.
Menu: I liked the menu on this dvd a lot because of the absolute simplicity of it. The main menu is a black background with an ongoing video of Gary or Chris quietly doing some flourishes, and in the lower right corner are just three options: Play All, Chapters, and Extra Credits.
I just really liked the navigability and simplicity of it all. Plus it made it very easy to go from performance to explanation.
Performances: The performances are done in a warehouse-type setting, which has been used in several other BBM productions. Everything is well lit, and the background does not distract the eye. Of course, Gary and Chris are the ones performing, and also participating as spectators. In some cases Iain Moran is used also as a spectator. Personally I probably would've preferred an actual layman to be used in the performances, because often times Chris or Gary would not actually perform things like controls in the routine because they were "just showing it to a magician." This distracted from the performances IMO.
Teaching: The teaching was good, but it does move quite swiftly, which if you're a beginner, you may not enjoy. As an intermediate magician I actually really appreciated this speed because they did not take my time up explaining basic things like tilt, a DL, the Hofzinzer cull, controls, forces, etc. So if you are a beginner, do not buy this dvd. If you already have a firm grasp of card magic and how it is to be performed, and are looking for some awesome new material, check this dvd out! Personally, I enjoyed the teaching quite a bit.
My Rating System-
I rate on a scale of 1 to 5. It is broken down like this:
5-Awesome
4-Great
3-Okay
2-Bad
1-Awful
Now that you know my rating system, I’ll give my thoughts on each of the effects presented on Dupes!
The Effects:
Almost CAAN: A card is freely selected and just as freely returned by the spectator while the deck is on the table, and you are looking away. They square the deck, you give the pack a couple of cuts. The spectator names any number from 1-52 and they count down to the number. Impossibly, the card at the selected number is the chosen card! Different cards are seen throughout, and a bonus little ace production is taught, which can be done as a prelude to this effect (and is used elsewhere in the dvd). Everything looks VERY clean and hands-off. My favorite thing about this routine is the wonderful subtlety that Gary uses to make the effect so much more convincing. Great start to the dvd! 4/5
Kicked Right Back: Two queens are taken out, and then two cards are selected and subsequently returned to the deck. The queens are replaced on top of the deck and the two selected cards appear face-down between them. The spectator takes out the selected cards to turn them over, but when they do, they instantly change into the queens that were still on the deck! Now you have the selected cards! This is a pretty simple sandwich routine handling, however, the ending does make this fun and surprising for the spectators (Surprise is always a good thing to include in your magic). For that reason, this could be a memorable routine. IMO it's a little too short to stand on it's own, though. I'm not so sure I would carry around the extra cards just for this in a table-hopping situation, but perhaps for a set show. 3/5
Joker Surprise: A card is selected and shuffled into the deck (possibly by a spectator). You attempt to find the card and...well I don't want to discuss what happens next on a public forum because it is such a simple idea that a knowledgeable magician could copy from my description. Anyway, the card he/she selected ends up being the only one that's not a joker. The real lesson in this effect is in the presentation. The effect is SO simple from a technical standpoint, yet the presentation makes it one of those things that can be really entertaining and memorable (which should be what we're aiming for) for the audience! The only downside is that you must devote one deck to this one effect. Don't overlook this one, no matter how straightforward it may seem. You won't appear to be a miracle worker, but rather, an entertainer. 4/5
C2B (with Zilcho Palm): A card is selected, replaced, etc. The black aces are then placed half-way into the case and the red aces set aside. The spectator pushes in the black aces and closes the flap. Instantly, the red aces transform into the black aces! When the spectator opens up the box, inside they find three cards; the red aces and the spectator's signed card in between! I LOVE this effect! This is a true worker that I can see many close-up guys using all the time (I know I will). There's no set-up and as a bonus, Gary teaches a just-as-good version with no duplicate cards whatsoever! It should also be mentioned that the "Zilcho Palm" simply means that there is no palming involved. Super convincing, easy, and impossible. Awesome effect! 5/5
Packed Wallet: Two cards are selected, signed and replaced. After some cuts and shuffles, one of the signed cards appears in your left pocket. You then reach in your right pocket and hand your wallet to a spectator telling him that the card is inside. When he opens it, he finds the entire deck! In your hand is only the selected card! This is a great take on a very novel idea (first conceived by Simon Lovell). There's one move here that may be kind've angly and bold, but it can be done with some misdirection on your part. There's a nice added feature to this effect, which I won't talk about, but it's something I thought was pretty clever. Packed Wallet is surprising, quick and an effect that I think spectators will have a very strong reaction to. 4/5
Pocket Aces: The four aces are produced from the deck and then placed into various sections of the pack. The deck is shuffled, and when you reach into your pocket, there are four face-down cards inside! The deck is spread and the aces are no longer there, however when you turn over the face-down cards, they're the kings! The aces then appear inside the spectator's own pocket! Wow this one really surprised me! I think your spectators will be genuinely surprised at the outcome of the effect. The method is very practical, and you don't have to try to sneak aces into some guys coat across the room before your show. A pickpocketing theme would go excellently with this effect and I think I will have a LOT of fun with this! The only problem is that sometimes you will not really be able to perform this unless your spectator has certain types of clothing (like jackets) on. Personally, this is something I am going to be excited to use. 5/5
The Big Transpo: A card is selected, signed, etc. You attempt to find the card with a few cuts, but instead you find the wrong card. This card is placed aside, and you reach inside your pocket saying that the selected card has jumped inside. When the card is pulled out, it is the same card that you just placed on the table! The card on the table then changes to the selected card. IMO the use of a duplicate in this effect just isn't that worth it. The exact same effect can be easily done with just sleight of hand. Mike Power's has a great effect called Expert Cards to Pocket that has a similar plot, except with 5 phases, more sleight-of-hand, and two selected cards. It should be noted that this effect can be used as a way to ring in a duplicate. If that is your motive, then you may end up using this. 3/5
(See the rest below)
There wasn't really anything on here that I just thought was useless or filler. It seemed like Chris and Gary have actually used these routines (and continue to) in the real-world. In fact, looking back at my review, I realize that I have a lot of 5/5 ratings, but I truly think those effects DESERVE 5/5's! That testifies to the quality of the dvd.