Half-Baked Products

[Maaz Hasan]

Is it just me, or has there been an influx in random products that seem like half-baked ideas? I've been getting updates about a lot of products, and they either seem like they are made to sell quick, or they are just not very practical as actual products.

Don't get me wrong, there have been some absolute stunners recently. But just as many random things have come up. And I'm not talking about products that I personally don't like, I see very few people using these things in performance.

 

[Biz]

Please do give some examples

 

[RealityOne]

But they are organic, highly visual, must-have effects that kill, slay, murder and then resuscitate the audience. Every magician quoted has been amazed by them. In fact, they are the most amazing trick since the last trick they were quoted on.

 

[010rusty]

But they are organic, highly visual, must-have effects that kill, slay, murder and then resuscitate the audience. Every magician quoted has been amazed by them. In fact, they are the most amazing trick since the last trick they were quoted on.

That is the most true thing I’ve read.
-
In all seriousness, I’ve noticed every trick recently has just been a rehash. I would do like maaz and take the high road and not name any particular effect, but Woops.

The cat paw from Ellusionist is clearly just Micheal ammar’s little hand.

Pot of jam- one of the stupidest plots I’ve ever heard of, but it is clearly just the orange trick..... but a pot of jam instead of an orange. THATS IT!!!! The only difference.

A couple of the recent penguin effects seem incomplete and unpolished in my opinion, but I could be wrong.

 

[Maaz Hasan]

That is the most true thing I’ve read.
-
In all seriousness, I’ve noticed every trick recently has just been a rehash. I would do like maaz and take the high road and not name any particular effect, but Woops.

The cat paw from Ellusionist is clearly just Micheal ammar’s little hand.

Pot of jam- one of the stupidest plots I’ve ever heard of, but it is clearly just the orange trick..... but a pot of jam instead of an orange. THATS IT!!!! The only difference.

A couple of the recent penguin effects seem incomplete and unpolished in my opinion, but I could be wrong.

Pretty much the exact ones I was gonna mention, plus a few others.

I mean the cat paw isn't even original (and they do not claim it to be so). It's from an Old Paul Harris effect and then the Michael Ammar version.

Pot of Jam made me question a lot of things. I mean, it doesn't seem like an original effect at all, I've seen effects and presentations of the exact same thing using balls, coins, paper, whatever. Yet it's a gimmick? I don't know about you guys, but carrying around a gimmick for 1 trick that I can accomplish using pure slight of hand just seems impractical. Yes, you can make anything appear at the end. But what makes it so special? We always hear about companies getting mad that someone ended up publishing a similar trick as before, but these are literally just old tricks rebranded and given a little quirk to make them look special. Maybe I'm being a bit harsh, but some of these things are just plain old dumb.

Ellusionist made some very good products recently, but for everyone like Quiver, Clone, etc., there has been a random product.

And yeah, penguin has put out some random stuff too recently.

Btw, this is NOT me taking a shot at any company for pettiness, these are just my thoughts on recent releases.

But they are organic, highly visual, must-have effects that kill, slay, murder and then resuscitate the audience. Every magician quoted has been amazed by them. In fact, they are the most amazing trick since the last trick they were quoted on.

^ This

 

[kennethcmerrill]

I just wanted to chime in as someone who purchased Pot of Jam a few days ago. I consider myself a beginner, but since I've been in and out of it for 10 years and lurking in forums for most of that, I'm not a sucker for ad language. I've gotten pretty good at seeing through a demo/trailer and understanding the basic mechanics at work or at least their limitations. I watched the demo for Pot of Jam, and even though I'm not experienced enough to know exactly what's going on or be able to do it, I got the gist of it. I knew it wasn't all that original--though I'm not versed enough to know if it's been ripped out of some book. I basically knew that I could probably learn all the sleights necessary and figure it all out from Bobo/Greg Wilson/etc. But the hardest part about being a beginner is not knowing how to learn. There is a lot of material out there, and combing through it all, finding a routine that feels right for you, etc. can be discouraging.

I've long gotten over the phase where I have the urge to buy everything that Ellusionist/Theory 11/Dan & Dave release. For me now, these sites are useful curators. Sometimes it's nice to have someone package/repurpose a bunch of moves and put them together for a fun routine that's practical and good for someone without much experience. It's like buying beginner's workbooks for a musical instrument. It's all basic stuff that's pretty much repurposed from other places, but it's put together in a useful way for someone who is just starting out.

On the other hand, I can still agree that a lot of pretty pointless magic gets put out there by almost everyone. I will say I think Theory 11 is more selective than most about the effects they publish, and it shows. It's pretty easy to feel like some sites are just grabbing for easy cash from youngsters. At Theory 11 I always buy with confidence--though I still don't buy that often haha. I'm all about books these days. Has Theory 11 thought about becoming a distributor for some of the classics? That would be cool.

 

[kennethcmerrill]

Also just a side note, I guess you do make an extremely basic gimmick for Pot of Jam, but like you said it could definitely be done without one. The gimmick just makes it very simple for someone like me who isn't great at coins yet.

 

[Antonio Diavolo]

Also just a side note, I guess you do make an extremely basic gimmick for Pot of Jam, but like you said it could definitely be done without one. The gimmick just makes it very simple for someone like me who isn't great at coins yet.

Tbh I was so confused by "Pot of Jam". I didn't realize it was a gimmick. I'm even more baffled because it seems like an effect that could easily be done without the gimmick.

 

[WitchDocIsIn]

It could be done without the gimmick, but then you'd have to think about it. James Brown's style is to do everything with the most simple method possible, and focus 100% on engaging with the audience and being entertaining.

 

[obrienmagic]

It could be done without the gimmick, but then you'd have to think about it. James Brown's style is to do everything with the most simple method possible, and focus 100% on engaging with the audience and being entertaining.

The method is 100% an exact clone of "Cent." He got permission to re-release this with some of his own touches but essentially it is the same trick.

 

[RickU]

I just wanted to chime in as someone who purchased Pot of Jam a few days ago. I consider myself a beginner, but since I've been in and out of it for 10 years and lurking in forums for most of that, I'm not a sucker for ad language. I've gotten pretty good at seeing through a demo/trailer and understanding the basic mechanics at work or at least their limitations. I watched the demo for Pot of Jam, and even though I'm not experienced enough to know exactly what's going on or be able to do it, I got the gist of it. I knew it wasn't all that original--though I'm not versed enough to know if it's been ripped out of some book. I basically knew that I could probably learn all the sleights necessary and figure it all out from Bobo/Greg Wilson/etc. But the hardest part about being a beginner is not knowing how to learn. There is a lot of material out there, and combing through it all, finding a routine that feels right for you, etc. can be discouraging.

I've long gotten over the phase where I have the urge to buy everything that Ellusionist/Theory 11/Dan & Dave release. For me now, these sites are useful curators. Sometimes it's nice to have someone package/repurpose a bunch of moves and put them together for a fun routine that's practical and good for someone without much experience. It's like buying beginner's workbooks for a musical instrument. It's all basic stuff that's pretty much repurposed from other places, but it's put together in a useful way for someone who is just starting out.

On the other hand, I can still agree that a lot of pretty pointless magic gets put out there by almost everyone. I will say I think Theory 11 is more selective than most about the effects they publish, and it shows. It's pretty easy to feel like some sites are just grabbing for easy cash from youngsters. At Theory 11 I always buy with confidence--though I still don't buy that often haha. I'm all about books these days. Has Theory 11 thought about becoming a distributor for some of the classics? That would be cool.

I too was like you

Buying up the latest thing

Then like my other fads/hobby’s I dropped them because it was more about buying than learning

I returned only recently w a clearer head about it all

Maybe cos I’m older now...but it’s about finding the style/type of magic you enjoy and love. That way - you become selective.

For me I got back into it after learning about mentalism

 

[TylerScottIllusionist]

I have bought so many bad magic products over the last couple of years. That's why I started my review show to share my experiences, both good and bad, with others in hopes of educating them more before they make a purchase. As I've matured more into magic, I realize how to make more with less if that makes sense. Sure there are a lot of magic products that look tempting but the magic that I already own is good enough to entertain people at a gig. I only really buy something now if I can see where it can fit in a show/street performance, there is live performances of it, and it has good reviews outside of the publisher it is released on.