FreeFall by Andrew Mayne

May 18, 2008
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Well, as always, I am going to start this off with a tad bit of background. I have always seen Andrew Mayne's stuff on Penguin and other magic sites, but had never really heard to much about it. I knew it was cheap and Andrew was a primarily stage magician... So I THOUGHT!

The first experience I ever had with Andrew was back in late March; he performed at a show (along with Jeff Hobson, Chad Long and Karl Hein) over by my house. Now, all of these guys did a FANTASTIC job, but (and I will probably get flamed for this) Andrew did the best job. He had a HILLARIOUS straight jacket escape that had tons of laughs, audience participation and a POWERFUL mental effect... All in one.

Well, he ended this performance with FreeFall; the day before it was released. He just happened to be selling it in the back; so I picked one up (probably just to find out how it was done; it FREAKED me out and fooled me worse than any effect I had seen recently). Oh, and I needed to see if I could still do a review over my EPIC defeat over in the contest on Penguin....

I still can. :wink:

So, without further ado, ON WITH THAT REVIEWZZZZ!11!eleven!111

What the Andrew Mayne and Company says://

Make bricks, bowling balls, fish bowls even a hot cup of coffee appear from nowhere!

Andrew Mayne presents his innovative technique for making impossible and unwieldy objects appear from impossible places.

Bowling Ball - An updated handling on Andrew's Bowling Ball from Shopping Bag effect that makes a great show opener or closer. Includes Andrew's new handling and technique that makes this a portable, practical illusion you'll want to make a part of your show.

Brick - Make a heavy brick appear from an empty lunch bag and drop it literally at your audience's feet. This never-seen-before effect allows you to create a huge impact up close or onstage when you produce a real brick under the most challenging conditions.

Fish Bowl - Make a fish bowl appear complete with real fish! Use it as part of an Aerial Fishing routine or use the bowl to produce giveaway items or anything else you want.

Home Brew - This is Andrew's almost impromptu method for making a hot cup of coffee appear. It makes a great ice break or fun effect to do at the coffee house.

Freefall is an easy to perform effect that's almost impromptu in its simplicity. You can use it onstage with a bowling ball or up close with a brick you can leave as a souvenir. It's got multiple applications including one that's right for your show.

Running Time: Approximately 20 minutes

Andrew Mayne TELLS NO LIES.

First Thoughts://

Andrew Mayne was a SUPER cool guy; VERY nice and incredibly generous. I got his autograph and got to talk to him for a while (along with the other 3) after the show. Andrew is just awesome. Definitely in my top 2 magicians of all time; and a CRAZY good performer.

Well, when I got the DVD, I was excited after seeing his show and seeing this performed. I popped it in, and began to watch. All I can say is "WOW". This is CRAZY; an EMPTY paper bag (that I watched and was fooled AGAIN!) and a feather falls out. The bag is SHAKEN upside down, turned, shown... And a BOWLING ball comes out! This is a POWERFUL effect. Then, after watching the explanations, this is one of those, "MAN, Andrew is a GENIUS" type things.

Case and DVD://

This Case is VERY well done; Andrew and crew are very good at graphic design and whatnot. Very aesthetically pleasing case and DVD (with the same picture that is on the case). Cool looking.

Teaching://

Andrew is a GREAT, GREAT teacher who explains EVERYTHING REALLY well without having to go over everything 100 times. He goes over it a couple times and you have it. I understood the concept and was doing this WITHIN an hour.

Speech://

This HAS to be said; Andrew, as stated above, is a CRAZY good teacher. I think ANYONE could learn from him.

However, his speech is the very best I have ever heard; after watching other videos, and this DVD, everything he talks about is VERY well articulated and enunciated. He speaks for a long time (on some videos) and he NEVER says "Um, You Know, Like" or anything of that. He knows EXACTLY what he wants to say, even in person. It is crazy, so if you are OCD like me, this is AWESOME and a trait you very much enjoy in magic DVDs.

Plus, he doesn't stumble through anything here. Recommended JUST to hear him talk. Did he get a major in Public Speaking or something?

Rehash?://

There were a lot of questions about this being "re-hashed" from his DVD, Shock FX. While "Bowling" on Shock FX goes over the main concept, this DVD is HIGHLY recommended for it's IMMERSION in TRULY teaching you the ins and outs of this along with SO many other variations and ways to make it legitimately routined into something that could be a cohesive performance piece.

Individual Effects://

Bowling Ball:

This is the main idea; the empty paper bag is shaken and OBVIOUSLY empty. Then, ANYTIME, a bowling ball pops out.

This is a PERFECT effect; the FIRST thing I have seen that gets a PERFECT 10. Seriously. Basically, you spend around 2 dollars to make this. Secondly, it plays HUGE. Third, it packs SUPER small. 4, it fools EVERYONE (including magicians!)... 5, it is SUPER easy (a beginner could do this one in 10 minutes) and 6... It is a VERY beautiful effect that works AMAZINGLY in almost ANY performance setting.

This is practical, easy, and SUPER powerful. I LOVED this one.

And yes, this IS the one on Shock Effects. Just explained better here. However, don't let the fact that you have Shock FX deter you from buying this; still worth it for the WEALTH of detail.

Brick:

JUST when I thought it couldn't get ANY better, this effect comes along. This one is the BEST looking on the DVD, and probably THE way I would convince someone I did real magic.

Because Andrew Mayne is an amazing genius, this is the version for close-up... a small, gas-station esque paper bag is brought out. VERY obviously empty, and ANY time, a brick falls out.

Man, this looks even more beautiful than the other one, and still plays HUGE. He even gives an AWESOME idea for this to be used as a card revelation. This is just PERFECT magic that doesn't get better. I would pay 100 bucks for THIS effect. No kidding at ALL.

Fish Bowl:

This is a way to do the SAME thing except with a bowl of LIVE fish. Crazy good, and it makes sense.

This is probably the most cohesive on the DVD; the way he routines this is really pretty, and it is riddled with powerful subtlety that prove this to be an excellent performance piece for ANY sized show. I LOVE this and am tempted to go buy fish JUST for this effect.

Home Brew:

Wow; an effect with COFFEE!

This, like the above three, is showing an empty bag, shaking it out, upside down... Then, anytime, you can produce a FULL cup of coffee (with no lid, if you desire).

I LOVE this. Much like the fish one, this effect makes a lot of sense (the way he routines it, anyway) and like ALL of them, this is a POWERFUL, practical effect. You could easily bring along a bag and a do this any time, at a coffee shop. (Alvo, I hope you are listening! :lol: )

Concept://

Don't think this can ONLY be done with paper bags! While the concept is shown with paper bags (and meant for them), this concept, if nothing else, will inspire you to try out different mediums (as Andrew did this with a STRAIGHT-JACKET live!)

Angle-Sensitivity://

Wow, most people are probably reading this and thinking, "Wow, that bowling ball must be in some sort of GIANT topit or something and this probably can't be done from all angles".

Wrong and Wrong. The ball is SO cleverly hidden that you can walk up with NO bulges from ANY angle. No hiding of it at all; in plain sight the WHOLE time (which is what is so darn practical about this!).

This can be done ALMOST 360 (as Andrew gives tips on a lot of these to make it without Angle problems). This is crazy that something like this can be that perfect.

Difficulty://

As I said above, this effect isn't even intermediate; this is a TOTAL easy effect, and one that can be set for close-up, stage, to music, be used to produce nearly ANYTHING. This is just SUPER easy too.

Running Time://

This is a 20 minute DVD... Is there anything wrong with that?

Not at ALL. As stated above, Andrew is a FANTASTIC speaker that can teach ANYONE anything in a short amount of time. You will HAVE NO questions at all, and be able to do this routine.

Plus, it is FULL HD which is always a huge plus. Very cool.

Price://

Andrew is ripping himself off; 4 of the BEST effects I have EVER seen for less than 20 bucks?!?

This DVD is 15 on Penguinmagic.com, and I believe the same price on Andrew's website. Super powerful magic and at THAT price? I would have GLADLY paid hundreds for this concept (if I had hundreds, that is. If I did though, I would GLADLY pay them).

Overall://

I REALLY can't speak enough; this effect is almost angle-proof, SUPER easy, SUPER practical, NO clothing or lighting restrictions, no work to hide anything, can be used to produce almost ANYTHING, can be done ALMOST impromptu, can be done for children OR adults, can be done close-up OR stage... This is THE perfect effect.

I really can't recommend this enough; please buy this. Now. Or don't. I like the secret and would be TOTALLY fine using it all by myself. Seriously. A PERFECT 10/10.

This can be bought http://www.penguinmagic.com/product.php?ID=S12185 .
 
May 18, 2008
807
0
Does this have to be done with the specific objects. Could it be done with other large objects instead?

It all depends on the object; this is an incredibly versatile idea.

This doesn't work for ALL objects, but there are hundreds that do work with it; the limit really is your creativity.
 
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