Welcome! This is my review for Jeff Prace’s brand new DVD, “GUM”. Gum is a collaboration of different tricks with pens…just kidding. It of course uses chewing gum. To be clear, 4 effects use Gum. There is also an “easter egg” which contains a card trick by Jeff. So let’s elaborate on the different things Mr. Prace teaches and what makes this an awesome DVD.
TEACHING 4/4. What I think made this DVD so good, is the teaching. Usually you get tricks on DVDs and all the way through you hear the “uuuuuhhh’s” and “aaaaaaaaannd’s”. Jeff is very deliberate with the way he teaches these tricks. Every now and then there was a slight studder, but a wide portion of the DVD is clear. Not only that, but he remains CALM which I feel is an important virtue to have. Magic is difficult to teach and Jeff really took this seriously
PRODUCTION QUALIty 3/4. Kozmo has never disappointed be with the way he makes his DVDs. He knows clarity. If there’s one thing we hate, it’s when things aren’t clear (on top of the others). I just thought that one thing I got a LITTLE frazzled with, was the menu screen. It’s weird to say, but let me explain. There were a lot of spinning circles and colors on the menu. It was a little difficult to read. That shouldn’t turn you off of the DVD, but just keep it in mind. They were laid out nicely other than that. One other honorable mention is the DVD case. I don’t know why, but this thin little case is really cool. Can’t explain much about that. Wrapping that up, comes the artwork And editing. Tim Feher designed the cover art and he did a very good job. Probably one of the better ones I’ve seen in Magic. The editing was really simple and didn’t take away from the DVD at all, like most do.
THE EFFECTS
“Orbit” ¾: I loved this effect. It looked like a little simple trick (don’t underestimate those) in the demo, but I realized much more of it in the actual DVD. The effect is really cool. The Magician kindly offers his audience some gum, but uh oh. Only one piece left! Don’t worry though, Jeff snaps his fingers and the rest of the pack fills up completely with chewing gum! Oh, and it can be handed out
This deserved to be first. Not only, did it catch my eye and intrigue me, but it made me want to learn more! The gimmick is simple, but very difficult to construct. It will take some time and you might mess up a little. Jeff constructs the gimmick for you on camera and explains everything he does. As for practicality goes, this will hold up for a long time and it can be moved around a little bit.
“Re-wrapped” 4/4: A 4 seems pretty fair. This one resembles that of Jay Sankey’s “Wrap it up” most probably. But don’t worry, this one is better! You are pretty secure on angles unless you are performing for a whole lot of people. Jeff teaches you how to get out of that situation though. The Magician removes a piece of gum from his mouth and stretches is a little. But when he clumps it up a little, it wraps up perfectly into an unchewed, unwrapped piece of gum!
Jeff made this one really cool. The visuals of it are astonishing and it fooled the pants off of me. The gimmick is definitely the easiest to make, and it really doesn’t involve any “construction” at all. You will probably have to buy something, but that’s ok. Clean up it also a cinch.
“Insta-Wrap” ¾: Essentially the same thing as “Re-Wrapped” but with a completely different gimmick. You remove the gum from your mouth, give it a squeeze, it wraps up, and then you hand out the gum.
Jeff went beyond the beyond with this one. He had me completely baffled when he said what the gimmick will be. I was like “No way, I need to see this!” It’s legitimate! But also very hard to make and you need a lot more to do it. I suggest going with “Re-Wrapped” over this one, but that’s me.
“Back in Time” 4/4: This is my favorite effect with gum now. It fooled the crap out of me too. It’s a little complicated to set up and pocket space becomes a little bit of an issue, but it’s completely sensible and very magical. The Magician doesn’t want to be rude, so he removes his Gum and puts it inside a container. Offering to show them a photograph that was taken of him, you see that he was chewing gum at the time it was taken. That won’t do. So you bring them back in time, and the gum wraps itself up. THEN the photograph changes into one of you smiling.
This one is a full routine almost. It’s great for an opening effect and that’s what Jeff uses it for in a restaurant. The setup is a little time consuming and it might not last a long time, but it’s worth it. You also need the most for this trick. But don’t worry, it’s worth it! Even if you don’t have some of the props required. It’s clean too! You don’t want to miss this one!
“No More Cards Tricks!” 4/4: Closing this up is “No More Card Tricks”. This is the segment Jeff used in an issue of Reel Magic Magazine. It’s a full performance and explanation of the effect. Keep in mind this is an easter egg and you will have to find it! But the effect looks great and it fooled me. The Magician closes a set of tricks by magically making the deck of cards wrap itself up in electrical tape.
Jeff goes over how to wrap up the deck in the explanation and it’s really simple. It’s also a functional deck of cards which merits some consideration. You really can do tricks with this which is great. You will love this one
.
SO I suppose that’s really it. Over all I give this DVD a great 4/4. The performances are great to watch and the explanations are thorough. I look forward to seeing some more from Jeff. OH! And for those who watch, some of the outtakes were the most hilarious things I’ve seen! You will know what I’m talking about when you watch
TEACHING 4/4. What I think made this DVD so good, is the teaching. Usually you get tricks on DVDs and all the way through you hear the “uuuuuhhh’s” and “aaaaaaaaannd’s”. Jeff is very deliberate with the way he teaches these tricks. Every now and then there was a slight studder, but a wide portion of the DVD is clear. Not only that, but he remains CALM which I feel is an important virtue to have. Magic is difficult to teach and Jeff really took this seriously
PRODUCTION QUALIty 3/4. Kozmo has never disappointed be with the way he makes his DVDs. He knows clarity. If there’s one thing we hate, it’s when things aren’t clear (on top of the others). I just thought that one thing I got a LITTLE frazzled with, was the menu screen. It’s weird to say, but let me explain. There were a lot of spinning circles and colors on the menu. It was a little difficult to read. That shouldn’t turn you off of the DVD, but just keep it in mind. They were laid out nicely other than that. One other honorable mention is the DVD case. I don’t know why, but this thin little case is really cool. Can’t explain much about that. Wrapping that up, comes the artwork And editing. Tim Feher designed the cover art and he did a very good job. Probably one of the better ones I’ve seen in Magic. The editing was really simple and didn’t take away from the DVD at all, like most do.
THE EFFECTS
“Orbit” ¾: I loved this effect. It looked like a little simple trick (don’t underestimate those) in the demo, but I realized much more of it in the actual DVD. The effect is really cool. The Magician kindly offers his audience some gum, but uh oh. Only one piece left! Don’t worry though, Jeff snaps his fingers and the rest of the pack fills up completely with chewing gum! Oh, and it can be handed out
This deserved to be first. Not only, did it catch my eye and intrigue me, but it made me want to learn more! The gimmick is simple, but very difficult to construct. It will take some time and you might mess up a little. Jeff constructs the gimmick for you on camera and explains everything he does. As for practicality goes, this will hold up for a long time and it can be moved around a little bit.
“Re-wrapped” 4/4: A 4 seems pretty fair. This one resembles that of Jay Sankey’s “Wrap it up” most probably. But don’t worry, this one is better! You are pretty secure on angles unless you are performing for a whole lot of people. Jeff teaches you how to get out of that situation though. The Magician removes a piece of gum from his mouth and stretches is a little. But when he clumps it up a little, it wraps up perfectly into an unchewed, unwrapped piece of gum!
Jeff made this one really cool. The visuals of it are astonishing and it fooled the pants off of me. The gimmick is definitely the easiest to make, and it really doesn’t involve any “construction” at all. You will probably have to buy something, but that’s ok. Clean up it also a cinch.
“Insta-Wrap” ¾: Essentially the same thing as “Re-Wrapped” but with a completely different gimmick. You remove the gum from your mouth, give it a squeeze, it wraps up, and then you hand out the gum.
Jeff went beyond the beyond with this one. He had me completely baffled when he said what the gimmick will be. I was like “No way, I need to see this!” It’s legitimate! But also very hard to make and you need a lot more to do it. I suggest going with “Re-Wrapped” over this one, but that’s me.
“Back in Time” 4/4: This is my favorite effect with gum now. It fooled the crap out of me too. It’s a little complicated to set up and pocket space becomes a little bit of an issue, but it’s completely sensible and very magical. The Magician doesn’t want to be rude, so he removes his Gum and puts it inside a container. Offering to show them a photograph that was taken of him, you see that he was chewing gum at the time it was taken. That won’t do. So you bring them back in time, and the gum wraps itself up. THEN the photograph changes into one of you smiling.
This one is a full routine almost. It’s great for an opening effect and that’s what Jeff uses it for in a restaurant. The setup is a little time consuming and it might not last a long time, but it’s worth it. You also need the most for this trick. But don’t worry, it’s worth it! Even if you don’t have some of the props required. It’s clean too! You don’t want to miss this one!
“No More Cards Tricks!” 4/4: Closing this up is “No More Card Tricks”. This is the segment Jeff used in an issue of Reel Magic Magazine. It’s a full performance and explanation of the effect. Keep in mind this is an easter egg and you will have to find it! But the effect looks great and it fooled me. The Magician closes a set of tricks by magically making the deck of cards wrap itself up in electrical tape.
Jeff goes over how to wrap up the deck in the explanation and it’s really simple. It’s also a functional deck of cards which merits some consideration. You really can do tricks with this which is great. You will love this one
.
SO I suppose that’s really it. Over all I give this DVD a great 4/4. The performances are great to watch and the explanations are thorough. I look forward to seeing some more from Jeff. OH! And for those who watch, some of the outtakes were the most hilarious things I’ve seen! You will know what I’m talking about when you watch
