Five Speed by Chris Kenner
The Official Spam-
The Video-
Obviously, this is a 1on1 download, and like all of theory11's downloads, is superb quality. At first I had a few problems getting it to load and play properly, but I wouldn't be in the least bit surprised if it was my computer's fault.
The Teaching/Teacher-
Like always, Chris is a great teacher, and always throws a bit of humor in there. The video is broken up into four or five parts, and he goes over everything very well; making sure you get it. Just in case you're wondering, the download is almost 30 minutes long; so he takes plenty of time going over everything.
Also, at the end, there is a re-cap to let you go through it with him and make sure you have all the steps memorized before you run off and get to practicing.
Gimmicks/Impromptuness-
This effect is not impromptu, and does require a small gimmick. I'm sure most of you know what it is after viewing the demo. You can easily carry this with you in a backpack (if you're in school, which I know the majority of us forum users are), and set this up on the fly.
The first time I watched this and he said, "And now making the gimmick," I got scared. I can't make gimmicks at all, so I was worried that I was going to always make mine bad and screw up the effect by doing that. But trust me, you cannot possibly screw up this gimmick. It's simple, and pretty easy to get rid of, as well. And if you lose, it's very cheap to get, so now worries.
Difficulty-
I would have to say that the hardest part of this effect is remembering the order in which to do certain moves or phases of the effect; which isn't that hard at all. Most of the sleights are simple ones that, even if you don't know them, will take about five minutes to learn.
Now, just because this is easy, doesnn't mean you should practice for thirty minutes and then go out and perform it. I got it on Friday when it was released, and learned it on Saturday (I was having some problems with the download), and I still don't think I'm quite ready to perform it. Maybe, just maybe, I'll perform it tomorrow at school if I get the chance.
Price-
At $12.95, this is quite an expensive 1on1; considering they all used to be $4.95, and you can get Totally Out of Control; this effect plus dozens of others, for $38.82. But, since I won't be getting Totally Out of Control for a while, I thought I got what I paid for; excellence. Although I wouldn't be disappointed if theory had sold it for cheaper.
Performances-
This download, since it was filmed at the theory11 "headquarters", has no live performances for real people, and the only performance during the teaching section is the one you see in the demo. Although, for something small like this, it doesn't really matter.
Dirty-ness-
When I first learned this effect, I was terribly worried, because you end dirty. However, after toying with it for a while, I have come to the realization that the spectators will never notice this. It goes right by them. So yes, you're left dirty, but it's not a big deal at all!
Worth It?
After every magic effect, DVD, download, prop, book, PDF, etc. that I buy, I often find myself asking the question, "Was it worth it?" For this: it was definitely worth what I paid for it! However, for only about three times the cost of this download, you can get Kenner's book, Totally Out Control; which contains this effect plus many, many more.
So if you can justify buying this, but not the book, then go for it. The only reason I bought this before buying TOOC was because I knew it would be a while before I had the extra money to buy TOOC, and I really wanted to start learning and performing this effect... so I bought it!
The Story-
Well, according to Chris, Micheal Weber published one of Chris' effects, Unilink (also available for purchase as a download at theory11) in his book with out Chris' permission, so Chris was sort of "returning the favor". Some consider this to be rude (cough**zach**cough), but supposedly their close friends, so I doubt Mr. Weber's going to make a big deal about it.
Overall-
Joining everything else I have ever bought from theory11, this effect is top notch in quality, teaching, and everything else an effect should be. My only problem, and it is a tiny one, is the dirtiness thing. But it's really not that big of a deal to me. So get this effect, it's worth it!
Performance Story 1:
I was at my cousins' High School graduation party, and I as requested to perform some magic. So, of course, I thought this would be the perfect time to try out Five Speed. I had the card selected, shuffled into the deck, I took out the Ace through Five of Spades, and began. I went through the whole trick, and it went good, until... I got to the end. I revealed the selection, and one of my spectators just walked off. He just got up out of his seat and walked off. So that wasn't good... that was great! And hilarious. I declare performance #1 a success.
Performance Story 2:
So I was in my Biology class today, and we had time to spare (only 1 1/2 more days of school left, so we were just screwing around), and I decided to whip out my cards and perform a little bit. I thought this would be a great time to "test-run" Five Speed again.
Now, you have to be in my class to really understand this, but our teacher's a young guy (mid-20s), and I think he's pretty cool. He's a strict scientist, and he's constantly calling me a fake (as a joke, of course). Well, today, I performed Five Speed, and when I did the "Ambitious Sequence", he just started laughing. Then during the Monte sequence he was silent. And after I revealed the selection, he goes, "That's freakin' awesome." Best reaction I've ever received, simply because he's usually such a tough person to get a reaction out of. Definitely a success.
Random Story:
Well, this was the last day before Christmas break, and the day before my Biology teacher (we'll call him Mr. N for now) told us the day before to feel free to give him a present. So I took that as a perfect chance for an effect, and brought him a present all wrapped, but told him he couldn't open it unless I got to do a trick for the class.
So I nervously walked up to the front of the room and got out my cards. I invited Mr. N to remove a card and show it around. He approached the cards, and as he got to them, he goes, "Oops!" and grabs the deck, spreading them all around and mixing them up. I welcomed this with opened arms.
After he removed the card (10 of Spades), he put it back in the deck and shuffled again. I removed a card, declaring it as his card. However, the whole class told me it wasn't. Failure.
I moved on to my next effect; Witness. I performed this, and the whole class freaked out (thanks, Lee!). I kinda forgot my previous effect after that, and felt good about myself.
I walked back to my seat, and upon remembering, said, "Hey Mr. Niswonger (yes, that's really his name), you can open your present now." So he unwrapped it (it was taped very well, by the way, and sitting in full view of everybody the WHOLE time!), and inside was a card box. He opened the card box, and inside that was a small plastic bag. In that bag, upside down, was another bag, and inside that a matchbox. Inside the matchbox, folded into eighths, rubber-banded, was the 10 of Spades. Success at last.
If you want any more details on that effect (it's extremely, extremely simple to do), just PM me.
Thanks for reading, and expect an update of this post with performance stories, advice, etc.
The Official Spam-
The Video-
Obviously, this is a 1on1 download, and like all of theory11's downloads, is superb quality. At first I had a few problems getting it to load and play properly, but I wouldn't be in the least bit surprised if it was my computer's fault.
The Teaching/Teacher-
Like always, Chris is a great teacher, and always throws a bit of humor in there. The video is broken up into four or five parts, and he goes over everything very well; making sure you get it. Just in case you're wondering, the download is almost 30 minutes long; so he takes plenty of time going over everything.
Also, at the end, there is a re-cap to let you go through it with him and make sure you have all the steps memorized before you run off and get to practicing.
Gimmicks/Impromptuness-
This effect is not impromptu, and does require a small gimmick. I'm sure most of you know what it is after viewing the demo. You can easily carry this with you in a backpack (if you're in school, which I know the majority of us forum users are), and set this up on the fly.
The first time I watched this and he said, "And now making the gimmick," I got scared. I can't make gimmicks at all, so I was worried that I was going to always make mine bad and screw up the effect by doing that. But trust me, you cannot possibly screw up this gimmick. It's simple, and pretty easy to get rid of, as well. And if you lose, it's very cheap to get, so now worries.
Difficulty-
I would have to say that the hardest part of this effect is remembering the order in which to do certain moves or phases of the effect; which isn't that hard at all. Most of the sleights are simple ones that, even if you don't know them, will take about five minutes to learn.
Now, just because this is easy, doesnn't mean you should practice for thirty minutes and then go out and perform it. I got it on Friday when it was released, and learned it on Saturday (I was having some problems with the download), and I still don't think I'm quite ready to perform it. Maybe, just maybe, I'll perform it tomorrow at school if I get the chance.
Price-
At $12.95, this is quite an expensive 1on1; considering they all used to be $4.95, and you can get Totally Out of Control; this effect plus dozens of others, for $38.82. But, since I won't be getting Totally Out of Control for a while, I thought I got what I paid for; excellence. Although I wouldn't be disappointed if theory had sold it for cheaper.
Performances-
This download, since it was filmed at the theory11 "headquarters", has no live performances for real people, and the only performance during the teaching section is the one you see in the demo. Although, for something small like this, it doesn't really matter.
Dirty-ness-
When I first learned this effect, I was terribly worried, because you end dirty. However, after toying with it for a while, I have come to the realization that the spectators will never notice this. It goes right by them. So yes, you're left dirty, but it's not a big deal at all!
Worth It?
After every magic effect, DVD, download, prop, book, PDF, etc. that I buy, I often find myself asking the question, "Was it worth it?" For this: it was definitely worth what I paid for it! However, for only about three times the cost of this download, you can get Kenner's book, Totally Out Control; which contains this effect plus many, many more.
So if you can justify buying this, but not the book, then go for it. The only reason I bought this before buying TOOC was because I knew it would be a while before I had the extra money to buy TOOC, and I really wanted to start learning and performing this effect... so I bought it!
The Story-
Well, according to Chris, Micheal Weber published one of Chris' effects, Unilink (also available for purchase as a download at theory11) in his book with out Chris' permission, so Chris was sort of "returning the favor". Some consider this to be rude (cough**zach**cough), but supposedly their close friends, so I doubt Mr. Weber's going to make a big deal about it.
Overall-
Joining everything else I have ever bought from theory11, this effect is top notch in quality, teaching, and everything else an effect should be. My only problem, and it is a tiny one, is the dirtiness thing. But it's really not that big of a deal to me. So get this effect, it's worth it!
Performance Story 1:
I was at my cousins' High School graduation party, and I as requested to perform some magic. So, of course, I thought this would be the perfect time to try out Five Speed. I had the card selected, shuffled into the deck, I took out the Ace through Five of Spades, and began. I went through the whole trick, and it went good, until... I got to the end. I revealed the selection, and one of my spectators just walked off. He just got up out of his seat and walked off. So that wasn't good... that was great! And hilarious. I declare performance #1 a success.
Performance Story 2:
So I was in my Biology class today, and we had time to spare (only 1 1/2 more days of school left, so we were just screwing around), and I decided to whip out my cards and perform a little bit. I thought this would be a great time to "test-run" Five Speed again.
Now, you have to be in my class to really understand this, but our teacher's a young guy (mid-20s), and I think he's pretty cool. He's a strict scientist, and he's constantly calling me a fake (as a joke, of course). Well, today, I performed Five Speed, and when I did the "Ambitious Sequence", he just started laughing. Then during the Monte sequence he was silent. And after I revealed the selection, he goes, "That's freakin' awesome." Best reaction I've ever received, simply because he's usually such a tough person to get a reaction out of. Definitely a success.
Random Story:
Well, this was the last day before Christmas break, and the day before my Biology teacher (we'll call him Mr. N for now) told us the day before to feel free to give him a present. So I took that as a perfect chance for an effect, and brought him a present all wrapped, but told him he couldn't open it unless I got to do a trick for the class.
So I nervously walked up to the front of the room and got out my cards. I invited Mr. N to remove a card and show it around. He approached the cards, and as he got to them, he goes, "Oops!" and grabs the deck, spreading them all around and mixing them up. I welcomed this with opened arms.
After he removed the card (10 of Spades), he put it back in the deck and shuffled again. I removed a card, declaring it as his card. However, the whole class told me it wasn't. Failure.
I moved on to my next effect; Witness. I performed this, and the whole class freaked out (thanks, Lee!). I kinda forgot my previous effect after that, and felt good about myself.
I walked back to my seat, and upon remembering, said, "Hey Mr. Niswonger (yes, that's really his name), you can open your present now." So he unwrapped it (it was taped very well, by the way, and sitting in full view of everybody the WHOLE time!), and inside was a card box. He opened the card box, and inside that was a small plastic bag. In that bag, upside down, was another bag, and inside that a matchbox. Inside the matchbox, folded into eighths, rubber-banded, was the 10 of Spades. Success at last.
If you want any more details on that effect (it's extremely, extremely simple to do), just PM me.
Thanks for reading, and expect an update of this post with performance stories, advice, etc.
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