NULL by Jay Crowe. Pre release taster!

Jun 10, 2008
921
1
Newcastle upon Tyne
From the outset I will state- Jay is a dear friend of mine, and taking this into consideration, I have tried to be as fair and honest as possible.

NULL

Jay Crowe is a very gifted creator and performer of very effective, oft-off beat, and generally very interesting magic.

While NULL is not a debut release, it IS his first full length book. And what a book it is!
The material in these pages exudes a confidence in thinking that is unusual in one so young, and it's a confidence that is not unwarranted.
Jay thinks so far outside of the box that I'd be surprised if it were even visible to him.

His approaches are often very lo-tech, which is a bonus to those of us who like to concentrate more on the presentations involved... you know, the magic.

His approach to the 'spike-monte' (in which he replaces the danger of spikes with the more family friendly suspense of eggs!) is to be applauded not for it's ingenuity, but for the utter simplicity involved in it's workings. The gimmicks used have been explored in magic before, but in completely different area's. This was a standout item for me. While Jay's presentation revolved around the little dairy-bombs, the method could be applied to almost ANY other 'monte-prop'.

Jay's creativity truly shines in his 'lava coin' effect. The effect is a simple one- The performer borrows a coin, and squeezes it in his hand to warm it. he then drops it into a plastic bag, where it visibly, and with no cover melts right through the surface. Sound vanilla? Listen to this- There are NO switches of any kind- The borrowed coin is the one used throughout. Oh, and the coin LITERALLY melts through the bag, it burns right through, leaving a ragged hole!
This is a truly great effect, and although it's fair to say you won't have the bits and pieces needed, the materials are fairly inexpensive.

Jay treats us to a display of his love of special efefcts in film with his very own real life special effect. Imagine being in the street, walking with your significant other in the rain, when you stop at a puddle of fallen rain. Watching the drops fall from the sky into the pool, you make a magical pass whereupon one solitary drop of rain floats up, back out of the puddle and back into the heavens. This effect could be played off the cuff, but I will say, this is quite simply one of the purest, most beautiful visuals I've witnessed in magic.

There are other standout items of course, but I don't want to spoil all the surprises. While the items presented are generally lo-tech, Jay has absolutely no fear of utilising new and interesting technologies in pursuit of a simpler, more pure effect.

Jay is a terrific thinker, deft creator and a stand-up guy to boot.

With artwork by Dee Christopher, the book is beautiful to look at and a pleasure to read.

Keep your eyes peeled for this wonderful new item!



CL
 
Nov 20, 2007
4,410
6
Sydney, Australia
Jay treats us to a display of his love of special efefcts in film with his very own real life special effect. Imagine being in the street, walking with your significant other in the rain, when you stop at a puddle of fallen rain. Watching the drops fall from the sky into the pool, you make a magical pass whereupon one solitary drop of rain floats up, back out of the puddle and back into the heavens. This effect could be played off the cuff, but I will say, this is quite simply one of the purest, most beautiful visuals I've witnessed in magic.

Holy ****. The rest of the stuff sounded meh to me (not my style), but wow, this effect you've mentioned, that is totally me... Considering getting the book for that effect now haha... Wow. Man, you know when you see something, you just KNOW it's totally your type of effect. Wow... I'm blown away just thinking about it.

Do you have an estimate of when it will be released?
 
Jun 10, 2008
921
1
Newcastle upon Tyne
It's being kep quiet for now mate. That effect is truly beautiful.
In my entire time in magic, I've seen visuals that have fooled me, floored me, fried me, flipped me, made me smile, made me laugh, but dear lord- This effect is just wonderful, AND very VERY simple to execute!

Not that I'd endorse this kind of thing, but I could see somebody doing this on a date and having the partner just fall in love with them!

It looks like real magic.


I'll be sure to keep you posted.

CL
 

Deechristopher

theory11 moderator
Moderator
This is a great resource for anyone looking for interesting, out of the box effects - Some really cool and some really peculiar effects and methodology.

When this does hit the shelves, I'd go check it out - It's definitely worth any magician's attention. :)

D.
 
Nov 23, 2007
607
1
50
NC
OK. Youve got my attention. Keep us updated on this one please.

In the meantime I'll be trying not to over abuse my new found power of making things fall.
 
Nov 20, 2007
4,410
6
Sydney, Australia
Holy ****. Chris, I just wanted to post here again, almost 24 hours since I posted the above post - it's 11:03 PM here, and I'm STILL freaking out and ridiculously pumped about that one effect... Your point about the date thing certainly isn't lost on me. Holy **** holy **** holy **** I can't get the possibilities of that effect out of mind... Wow. You better let me know the second any more details get posted, buddy ;)

Haha thanks for the info and endorsement though mate (and for bringing this to my attention).. Can't wait to see it..
 
Jun 10, 2008
921
1
Newcastle upon Tyne
My absolute pleasure mate. I spoke to Jay on the weekend and he assures me that it'll be released soon, though he's keeping specific deets on the DL.

Yeah man, that effect is just- absolutely mindblowing, and even if the methodology for some reason puts you off, the visuals of the effect m,ake it all worthwhile.

One more thing- It's extremely practical too. You could do this every day.

Haha, just to get you chomping at the bit!

CL
 
Jun 10, 2008
921
1
Newcastle upon Tyne
Not as of yet dude, Jay has a lot on at the moment, but he's assured me that as soon as he knows anything, I'll know something... Oh, and as soon as I know something, you'll know something...

CL
 
Sep 1, 2007
1,699
1
34
Not as of yet dude, Jay has a lot on at the moment, but he's assured me that as soon as he knows anything, I'll know something... Oh, and as soon as I know something, you'll know something...

CL

Let's be realistic. It'll probably take a few minutes, at least.
 
Dec 14, 2007
817
2
Is this the same person who changed his name from j.p.? His card rise was given a very harsh review in the magazines, and his work is currently being ridiculed on the cafe. Is this the same guy?

Brad henderson

P.s. The use of the egg in the roulette effects is neither new nor is.
 
Sep 20, 2008
1,112
3
prae, you're getting me pumped on that friggin effect. LOL

damn it, there's a truckload of good mateiral out during xmas, damn you Magic producers, DAMN YOU ALL!
 
Mar 21, 2010
154
0
Is this out yet?! Im with praetoritevong on this. That raindrop effect is wicked.

Way to bump up a dead thread. ;) I was going to do the same, but decided not to. But I was also very interested in the raindrop effect, as well. At the moment, Jay Crowe is working on the 'Elite Coin Bend', which looks pretty sick, I should say so myself... check it out.
 
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