Before there was Frozen and Ringtone, there was Glass.
I'm sure that most of you on these forums are familiar with just how creative Adam Grace is. However I was genuinely shocked when I searched these forums and I did not find a review for Glass. I decided to take on the task of writing a review for this awesome DVD.
Now for starters, I will flat out tell you the very disappointing aspect behind the DVD. It does not come with the dry erase marker (which is not that big of deal) or the glass (which is kind of a big deal considering all of the effects on the DVD but one need this). With that being said Ellusionist does offer a Glass Accessory Pack for 5 dollars. Included in the Accessory Pack is a dry erase marker (that would set you back a dollar, and two pieces of glass (that if you had somebody measure out to the specific size and sand the edges for safe handling would probably set you back more than 5 dollars) As you could imagine I would highly recommend the Accessory Pack with the download or DVD of Glass.
With that out of the way, let's talk about the DVD quality and contents.
Visual/Sound Quality: Theory 11 spoils us with the visual and sound quality of there products. This is an Ellusionist DVD that was released in 2005. While you can't compare this quality with Theory 11, I have to say that out of all the Ellusionist DVDs that I own that this one delivers with both visual and sound quality with other DVDs that were put out by them in 2005. I would have to rate this 7/10 just to be fair.
Teaching: Although Adam Grace's explanation of these effects taught on this DVD are brief, they do not need to be lengthy. Adam Grace does a wonderful job with making the viewer understand how every one of the effects on the DVD are accomplished. 9.5/10
Effects: Now this is where Adam Grace spoils us! This DVD teaches 15 outstanding effects using the a dry erase marker and glass. How many other DVDs are out on the market that teaches 15 tricks using groundbreaking concepts that are extremely easy to accomplish? All of the effects (expect one) are very practical in method. Oh, I almost forgot the best part; in all of the effects taught everything is examinable. 10/10
Without further ado, let's talk about the effects!
Stained Glass: This is my favorite out of the bunch. The performer expresses to the spectators that since he was a little kid he has wanted to become a scientist, but chose to become a magician, because when you think about it magic is a lot like science (cool analogy). The performer then writes the word ATOM on a piece of glass and asks the spectator to name one of the letters (No Forcing required). Whatever letter they name you visibly push through to the other side of the glass (if you want you can have the spectator verify this). This is repeated once more with another letter. In the end only the letters that they did not name stay on the right side of the glass. Pretty killer stuff! For the big finale the performer draws a big dot in the center of the glass (referring to it as an atom) and without any funny movements not only make it travel to the opposite side of the glass but does it again transferring the image back to the right side! A real workhorse.
Passing Thru: This is the only effect on the DVD that is not practical in nature. However, at the right time and right place this could be a reputation maker! The performer has them write their initials with a dry erase marker on a big piece of glass, like for instance on a window. The performer holds a jacket in front of their initials saying that he will make the initials travel to the other side of the glass. The performer lowers his jacket and it appears as though nothing has changed. The performer hands the spectator a napkin to try and wipe off their own initials, but to their amazement and dismay they can not until they go around to the other side of the glass! Adam also teaches an alternate way to present this effect.
Stained Coin: The performer shows both sides of a piece of glass and with a dry erase marker draws a dot in the shape of a quarter or penny. When the ink is wiped away what is left is an actual coin, that gets pulled out the glass.
Again Adam shows an alternate way to present this effect.
Dots Be Gone: The performer draws a dot in each corner of a piece of glass. He very cleanly makes each dot vanish, for the last dot you can even make it reappear in whatever corner the spectator names.
Sudden Change: The spectator selects a card fairly and let's say they select on the 3 of Diamonds. The performer says that before the card was selected he placed a prediction under the card case and hands the spectator their card to hold on to. The performer shows a piece of glass underneath the card case that says...The Eight of Hearts... Oh crap, Mr. Magic messed up! The performer causes a little magic to take place and has the spectator take a look at her card which is now The Eight of Hearts! Even stranger the glass now says 3 of Diamonds! Killer!
Stained Prediction: Another card effect! What makes this strong is the fact that the spectator shuffles the pack at the beginning, deals however many cards he wants onto the table or into the performer's hands into two piles. Then the spectator flips the top cards of both piles over any is given a choice as to which one he wants. Whatever card he says is the one that is written on a piece of glass that was in the performers pocket. Yes, there is only one piece of glass on the performer. Adam offers two presentations for this effect.
The Glide Change: Yet another card effect! Basically, the spectator selects a card, let's say the spectator selects the Six of Hearts. The performer shows that he has a piece of glass underneath the card case which is bound to have her card written on it. Well of course it is because they see that what is on the glass is 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 J Q K with pictures of the Diamond, Hearts, Club, and Spade written at the bottom. A slightly comical, but nonetheless very dull moment. The performer covers the glass with the selected card and tells the spectator the spectator to tap the card. She does and when she lifts up the card she finds that all the images on the glass are gone expect for the 6 and the picture of the Heart. But those images had to go somewhere, right?
They are found printed on the back of her selected card!
Wipe Out: The second to last card effect on the DVD. A piece of glass is shown to have written on it: The Name of the Card is 8 of Clubs. The performer states that he is positive that the spectator will pick the 8 of Clubs. The spectator picks the Ten of Hearts, oh well, with just a shake of the glass; the message rearranges itself to simply read: Ten of Hearts!
Assistant's Revenge: While not recommended performing this for teenagers and adults, this does play exceptionally well for small children. The performer shows an image of a person or a house (it could really be anything) on a piece of glass. The performer tells a quick story about the image and the image on the glass alters itself with just a shake.
Dot Matrix: Imaginary dots that the spectator draws in the air appears on a piece of glass held by the performer, one dot at a time! Pretty amazing!
Dot Transport: Dots that are drawn on one piece of glass travel one by one to another piece of glass! This is much in the same vain as Dot Matrix, except it uses two pieces of glass, but it looks fantastic!
Moving Hole: This is really bizarre! A dot is drawn on a piece of glass and easily moved around the glass wherever the spectators want. At the end of the effect the spectator is allowed to wipe to dot off the glass. Visual and Mind Blowing magic!
Dots Reveal: You could consider this to be the last card effect on the DVD, but with a little imagination, you could make this effect really be about anything!
A whole mess of dots drawn on a piece of glass with just a shake rearrange themselves to form a selected or thought of card or a message!
Behind the 8 Ball: One of Adam Grace's good friends Steve Corritori contributed this effect to this project. It's a lovely effect where a drawing of an 8 ball transforms itself into a REAL 8 ball!
Glass Away: The same piece of glass that has been used all throughout the effects on this DVD can be made to vanish under a handkerchief! I can tell you from experience that the spectators can even hold onto it right before the performer whisks the handkerchief away showing that it has vanished!
If these effects aren't enough, on the Bonus Features section of the DVD Aaron Fisher also makes an appearance and conducts an interview with Adam Grace! The interview includes an amusing story and how they met and became such great friends!
Well there you have it friends, the Glass DVD in all of it's glory! I hope this review has been helpful to anyone that has considered this or is just curious about it. Please do not hesitate to leave any comments or PM me with any question you might have about this product.
Sincerely,
David
I'm sure that most of you on these forums are familiar with just how creative Adam Grace is. However I was genuinely shocked when I searched these forums and I did not find a review for Glass. I decided to take on the task of writing a review for this awesome DVD.
Now for starters, I will flat out tell you the very disappointing aspect behind the DVD. It does not come with the dry erase marker (which is not that big of deal) or the glass (which is kind of a big deal considering all of the effects on the DVD but one need this). With that being said Ellusionist does offer a Glass Accessory Pack for 5 dollars. Included in the Accessory Pack is a dry erase marker (that would set you back a dollar, and two pieces of glass (that if you had somebody measure out to the specific size and sand the edges for safe handling would probably set you back more than 5 dollars) As you could imagine I would highly recommend the Accessory Pack with the download or DVD of Glass.
With that out of the way, let's talk about the DVD quality and contents.
Visual/Sound Quality: Theory 11 spoils us with the visual and sound quality of there products. This is an Ellusionist DVD that was released in 2005. While you can't compare this quality with Theory 11, I have to say that out of all the Ellusionist DVDs that I own that this one delivers with both visual and sound quality with other DVDs that were put out by them in 2005. I would have to rate this 7/10 just to be fair.
Teaching: Although Adam Grace's explanation of these effects taught on this DVD are brief, they do not need to be lengthy. Adam Grace does a wonderful job with making the viewer understand how every one of the effects on the DVD are accomplished. 9.5/10
Effects: Now this is where Adam Grace spoils us! This DVD teaches 15 outstanding effects using the a dry erase marker and glass. How many other DVDs are out on the market that teaches 15 tricks using groundbreaking concepts that are extremely easy to accomplish? All of the effects (expect one) are very practical in method. Oh, I almost forgot the best part; in all of the effects taught everything is examinable. 10/10
Without further ado, let's talk about the effects!
Stained Glass: This is my favorite out of the bunch. The performer expresses to the spectators that since he was a little kid he has wanted to become a scientist, but chose to become a magician, because when you think about it magic is a lot like science (cool analogy). The performer then writes the word ATOM on a piece of glass and asks the spectator to name one of the letters (No Forcing required). Whatever letter they name you visibly push through to the other side of the glass (if you want you can have the spectator verify this). This is repeated once more with another letter. In the end only the letters that they did not name stay on the right side of the glass. Pretty killer stuff! For the big finale the performer draws a big dot in the center of the glass (referring to it as an atom) and without any funny movements not only make it travel to the opposite side of the glass but does it again transferring the image back to the right side! A real workhorse.
Passing Thru: This is the only effect on the DVD that is not practical in nature. However, at the right time and right place this could be a reputation maker! The performer has them write their initials with a dry erase marker on a big piece of glass, like for instance on a window. The performer holds a jacket in front of their initials saying that he will make the initials travel to the other side of the glass. The performer lowers his jacket and it appears as though nothing has changed. The performer hands the spectator a napkin to try and wipe off their own initials, but to their amazement and dismay they can not until they go around to the other side of the glass! Adam also teaches an alternate way to present this effect.
Stained Coin: The performer shows both sides of a piece of glass and with a dry erase marker draws a dot in the shape of a quarter or penny. When the ink is wiped away what is left is an actual coin, that gets pulled out the glass.
Again Adam shows an alternate way to present this effect.
Dots Be Gone: The performer draws a dot in each corner of a piece of glass. He very cleanly makes each dot vanish, for the last dot you can even make it reappear in whatever corner the spectator names.
Sudden Change: The spectator selects a card fairly and let's say they select on the 3 of Diamonds. The performer says that before the card was selected he placed a prediction under the card case and hands the spectator their card to hold on to. The performer shows a piece of glass underneath the card case that says...The Eight of Hearts... Oh crap, Mr. Magic messed up! The performer causes a little magic to take place and has the spectator take a look at her card which is now The Eight of Hearts! Even stranger the glass now says 3 of Diamonds! Killer!
Stained Prediction: Another card effect! What makes this strong is the fact that the spectator shuffles the pack at the beginning, deals however many cards he wants onto the table or into the performer's hands into two piles. Then the spectator flips the top cards of both piles over any is given a choice as to which one he wants. Whatever card he says is the one that is written on a piece of glass that was in the performers pocket. Yes, there is only one piece of glass on the performer. Adam offers two presentations for this effect.
The Glide Change: Yet another card effect! Basically, the spectator selects a card, let's say the spectator selects the Six of Hearts. The performer shows that he has a piece of glass underneath the card case which is bound to have her card written on it. Well of course it is because they see that what is on the glass is 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 J Q K with pictures of the Diamond, Hearts, Club, and Spade written at the bottom. A slightly comical, but nonetheless very dull moment. The performer covers the glass with the selected card and tells the spectator the spectator to tap the card. She does and when she lifts up the card she finds that all the images on the glass are gone expect for the 6 and the picture of the Heart. But those images had to go somewhere, right?
They are found printed on the back of her selected card!
Wipe Out: The second to last card effect on the DVD. A piece of glass is shown to have written on it: The Name of the Card is 8 of Clubs. The performer states that he is positive that the spectator will pick the 8 of Clubs. The spectator picks the Ten of Hearts, oh well, with just a shake of the glass; the message rearranges itself to simply read: Ten of Hearts!
Assistant's Revenge: While not recommended performing this for teenagers and adults, this does play exceptionally well for small children. The performer shows an image of a person or a house (it could really be anything) on a piece of glass. The performer tells a quick story about the image and the image on the glass alters itself with just a shake.
Dot Matrix: Imaginary dots that the spectator draws in the air appears on a piece of glass held by the performer, one dot at a time! Pretty amazing!
Dot Transport: Dots that are drawn on one piece of glass travel one by one to another piece of glass! This is much in the same vain as Dot Matrix, except it uses two pieces of glass, but it looks fantastic!
Moving Hole: This is really bizarre! A dot is drawn on a piece of glass and easily moved around the glass wherever the spectators want. At the end of the effect the spectator is allowed to wipe to dot off the glass. Visual and Mind Blowing magic!
Dots Reveal: You could consider this to be the last card effect on the DVD, but with a little imagination, you could make this effect really be about anything!
A whole mess of dots drawn on a piece of glass with just a shake rearrange themselves to form a selected or thought of card or a message!
Behind the 8 Ball: One of Adam Grace's good friends Steve Corritori contributed this effect to this project. It's a lovely effect where a drawing of an 8 ball transforms itself into a REAL 8 ball!
Glass Away: The same piece of glass that has been used all throughout the effects on this DVD can be made to vanish under a handkerchief! I can tell you from experience that the spectators can even hold onto it right before the performer whisks the handkerchief away showing that it has vanished!
If these effects aren't enough, on the Bonus Features section of the DVD Aaron Fisher also makes an appearance and conducts an interview with Adam Grace! The interview includes an amusing story and how they met and became such great friends!
Well there you have it friends, the Glass DVD in all of it's glory! I hope this review has been helpful to anyone that has considered this or is just curious about it. Please do not hesitate to leave any comments or PM me with any question you might have about this product.
Sincerely,
David
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