Well, as stated in my FreeFall review, I met Andrew (along with Jeff Hobson, Karl Hein and Chad Long) at a show they did near my house. After seeing how good Andrew was and buying some of his products, I can EASILY say that he is my ALL time favorite magician. Seriously. He is AMAZING, as are the effects he releases are EASILY some of the best, most original, easy to do, practical and powerful on the market. Not to mention they are ALL incredibly well taught.
So, without further ado, on with that review! (Woah, I didn't know I could rhyme! I got skillz!) :lol:
What Justin Robert Young (who is secretly Andrew Mayne with a beard :lol: ) says://
And they TOTALLY are not lying. At all. Seriously.
First Thoughts://
You know that feeling when you see a demo for something (not even magical) and you just HAVE to have it? On the spot? Because you WILL use that?
Yeah, that is the feeling that came across when I saw this demo. It was crazy awesome. Having that ability at the practicality that we know Andrew Mayne is very capable of coming up with is just a fantastic skill to possess. So, when I got it, I wondered... Is it as good as Andrew's past releases?
Case and DVD://
Like always, Andrew and crew have some MAD design skills. It is TRULY crazy what they are able to do with PhotoShop (among other programs) and this case just is pure aesthetically pleasing artwork. I really do love the design of this, and if their was a poster with this artwork on it, I would frame it. I don't know why I do, but hey, who can explain why they like art?
The DVD looks the same; well done, cool looking.
Teaching and Teacher://
As I believe I have mentioned before, Andrew's speaking skills are immaculate. He NEVER says um, uh, like... any of those things. Even in person, he KNOWS what he is going to say. That is what makes these DVDs easy to watch and learn from.
Nothing is rushed through; Mayne teaches in an amazing way. He goes over everything to the point of understanding it without actually taking up hours and hours of repetition. I believe it would be IMPOSSIBLE to come away from this without knowing how to do this effect.
In fact, the day I received this in the mail, I was going to be hanging out with my friends that night. So, I watched this, and then less than an hour after my first viewing (and no practice; I had no balloons) I was out.
Well, at my friends house, I asked if he had some balloons; he did. So, on my VERY first try I was able to construct the gimmick and performed it FLAWLESSLY, the way that Andrew had taught. Fried the HECK out of him, and he is a magician!
So, yeah. DEFINITELY easy to learn from.
Quality://
The video quality is that of HD (well, compressed HD... Regular DVDs can't hold FULL HD... It still looks HD though) in Andrew's studio. The backgrounds are not distracting at all and this is easy to see EVERYTHING he is doing (even through a balloon!).
The audio, while being almost perfect, because of the way that balloons create TONS of noise had to be constantly shifted from speaker to speaker. This means that 7 or 8 times throughout the DVD, the noise will ALL shift from your left speaker to your right and vice-versa. Nothing wrong with that, just... random.
Effect Itself://
This effect is just as the demo video and the advertisement say it is; you visually rip the stem off a balloon... Then, you cause it to vanish. Visually, it reappears on the balloon only to be visually and audibly POPPED inside. This looks and sounds CRAZY.
This is another PERFECT effect. I have no bias towards or against Andrew, but of the two I have reviewed, this and FreeFall are the only PERFECT effects in magic (that I have seen). This one (much like FreeFall) is SUPER practical, EASY to do and VISUAL. Powerful magic that packs small and has VERY little room for error.
This is all without mentioning the fact that Andrew Mayne thinks through all of his effects; he isn't one of those who thinks of something and releases it the next day. Even though it may seem like it, he REALLY thinks through these effects and it is obvious upon watching this disc that he knows what he is talking about and has done this for real audiences.
This effect is AMAZING; the mechanics are too. Being able to make one of these things by yourself is a great feeling; the method for making these is SUPER clever and NOT that hard; I made one on my first try successfully. Not to mention that this is routined FLAWLESSLY. Even if I had developed this concept, I wouldn't know what to do with it other than show it off as a stunt! Andrew has turned this into a POWERFUL piece of theatre!
Oh, and one other thing... After you get the hang of making and performing these, the gimmick you need can be made IN FRONT OF THE SPECTATORS WITH A BORROWED BALLOON. This is TOTALLY impromptu if you put the work into it. This is a PERFECT piece of magic.
Price://
This DVD should be around $50 bucks for allowing it to do what it allows you to do... It isn't. This DVD is only $14.95 and can be obtained at:
http://www.penguinmagic.com/discuss/viewtopic.php?f=10&t=157479
or
http://www.andrewmayne.com/shop/inversion.html
This effect is WAY under-priced.
Difficulty://
I said it above and I will say it again; this one is EASY. You can probably make the gimmick and do this within your first 5 tries. Once you have made a gimmick, you can use it for dozens of performances if you choose not to give it away.
As far as making the gimmick reliably goes, that is a tad bit harder. A little hard work (and a lot of balloons) will go into that, but eventually, if you get REALLY good, this becomes impromptu. I love this effect.
Running Time://
Much like Andrew's other DVDs, this one clocks in around 20 minutes. This isn't a bad thing, as it is easy to understand and Andrew leaves you with NO questions at all. Andrew is one of the greatest teachers in the magic industry.
Plus, it was filmed in HD, so...
Overall://
I can't speak enough of this DVD, or FreeFall, or ANY of Andrew's stuff. Maybe it is because Andrew's style matches that of mine to a tee? Maybe it is because Andrew's stuff fits my mental category of "real magic"? Regardless of the reason, I am glad to have found out about his stuff and this is a trick that I have already started to use on a daily basis; super powerful and WAY practical.
In fact, my method for performing this at school is just to give away each. Then people carry around stuff (that occasionally has my bussiness card in it for kicks) and take home with them an object people ask about... This is a great promotional piece as well. I can't recommend this item enough, and if you like powerful, easy to do, practical magic, this is something for you. Pick this one up TODAY!
So, without further ado, on with that review! (Woah, I didn't know I could rhyme! I got skillz!) :lol:
What Justin Robert Young (who is secretly Andrew Mayne with a beard :lol: ) says://
And they TOTALLY are not lying. At all. Seriously.
First Thoughts://
You know that feeling when you see a demo for something (not even magical) and you just HAVE to have it? On the spot? Because you WILL use that?
Yeah, that is the feeling that came across when I saw this demo. It was crazy awesome. Having that ability at the practicality that we know Andrew Mayne is very capable of coming up with is just a fantastic skill to possess. So, when I got it, I wondered... Is it as good as Andrew's past releases?
Case and DVD://
Like always, Andrew and crew have some MAD design skills. It is TRULY crazy what they are able to do with PhotoShop (among other programs) and this case just is pure aesthetically pleasing artwork. I really do love the design of this, and if their was a poster with this artwork on it, I would frame it. I don't know why I do, but hey, who can explain why they like art?
The DVD looks the same; well done, cool looking.
Teaching and Teacher://
As I believe I have mentioned before, Andrew's speaking skills are immaculate. He NEVER says um, uh, like... any of those things. Even in person, he KNOWS what he is going to say. That is what makes these DVDs easy to watch and learn from.
Nothing is rushed through; Mayne teaches in an amazing way. He goes over everything to the point of understanding it without actually taking up hours and hours of repetition. I believe it would be IMPOSSIBLE to come away from this without knowing how to do this effect.
In fact, the day I received this in the mail, I was going to be hanging out with my friends that night. So, I watched this, and then less than an hour after my first viewing (and no practice; I had no balloons) I was out.
Well, at my friends house, I asked if he had some balloons; he did. So, on my VERY first try I was able to construct the gimmick and performed it FLAWLESSLY, the way that Andrew had taught. Fried the HECK out of him, and he is a magician!
So, yeah. DEFINITELY easy to learn from.
Quality://
The video quality is that of HD (well, compressed HD... Regular DVDs can't hold FULL HD... It still looks HD though) in Andrew's studio. The backgrounds are not distracting at all and this is easy to see EVERYTHING he is doing (even through a balloon!).
The audio, while being almost perfect, because of the way that balloons create TONS of noise had to be constantly shifted from speaker to speaker. This means that 7 or 8 times throughout the DVD, the noise will ALL shift from your left speaker to your right and vice-versa. Nothing wrong with that, just... random.
Effect Itself://
This effect is just as the demo video and the advertisement say it is; you visually rip the stem off a balloon... Then, you cause it to vanish. Visually, it reappears on the balloon only to be visually and audibly POPPED inside. This looks and sounds CRAZY.
This is another PERFECT effect. I have no bias towards or against Andrew, but of the two I have reviewed, this and FreeFall are the only PERFECT effects in magic (that I have seen). This one (much like FreeFall) is SUPER practical, EASY to do and VISUAL. Powerful magic that packs small and has VERY little room for error.
This is all without mentioning the fact that Andrew Mayne thinks through all of his effects; he isn't one of those who thinks of something and releases it the next day. Even though it may seem like it, he REALLY thinks through these effects and it is obvious upon watching this disc that he knows what he is talking about and has done this for real audiences.
This effect is AMAZING; the mechanics are too. Being able to make one of these things by yourself is a great feeling; the method for making these is SUPER clever and NOT that hard; I made one on my first try successfully. Not to mention that this is routined FLAWLESSLY. Even if I had developed this concept, I wouldn't know what to do with it other than show it off as a stunt! Andrew has turned this into a POWERFUL piece of theatre!
Oh, and one other thing... After you get the hang of making and performing these, the gimmick you need can be made IN FRONT OF THE SPECTATORS WITH A BORROWED BALLOON. This is TOTALLY impromptu if you put the work into it. This is a PERFECT piece of magic.
Price://
This DVD should be around $50 bucks for allowing it to do what it allows you to do... It isn't. This DVD is only $14.95 and can be obtained at:
http://www.penguinmagic.com/discuss/viewtopic.php?f=10&t=157479
or
http://www.andrewmayne.com/shop/inversion.html
This effect is WAY under-priced.
Difficulty://
I said it above and I will say it again; this one is EASY. You can probably make the gimmick and do this within your first 5 tries. Once you have made a gimmick, you can use it for dozens of performances if you choose not to give it away.
As far as making the gimmick reliably goes, that is a tad bit harder. A little hard work (and a lot of balloons) will go into that, but eventually, if you get REALLY good, this becomes impromptu. I love this effect.
Running Time://
Much like Andrew's other DVDs, this one clocks in around 20 minutes. This isn't a bad thing, as it is easy to understand and Andrew leaves you with NO questions at all. Andrew is one of the greatest teachers in the magic industry.
Plus, it was filmed in HD, so...
Overall://
I can't speak enough of this DVD, or FreeFall, or ANY of Andrew's stuff. Maybe it is because Andrew's style matches that of mine to a tee? Maybe it is because Andrew's stuff fits my mental category of "real magic"? Regardless of the reason, I am glad to have found out about his stuff and this is a trick that I have already started to use on a daily basis; super powerful and WAY practical.
In fact, my method for performing this at school is just to give away each. Then people carry around stuff (that occasionally has my bussiness card in it for kicks) and take home with them an object people ask about... This is a great promotional piece as well. I can't recommend this item enough, and if you like powerful, easy to do, practical magic, this is something for you. Pick this one up TODAY!