Pressure -- UPDATED
I purchased Pressure last night (the download), I've practiced it enough to be comfortable with it (not enough to perform it, though--I can do the sleights, but I want to have a good performance to go along with it), and now I'll give my early impressions on it.
Effect: You borrow a cell phone (or ipod, or whatever other small object). You bring out (or even borrow) a balloon. You blow up the balloon, and then push the object into the balloon as the balloon deflates onto the object; the object gets sucked right into the balloon. This is a really nice moment to show off the phone inside of the balloon. The phone is then taken out of the balloon by you, or you can hand out the phone/balloon for the spectator to take the phone out.
Teaching: The teaching is superb. They go over almost every single thing that needs to be covered (minus one exception, explained below). But, all things considered, they go over everything that you'll really need to know, and they do so in great depth (well, as far in depth as they need to--it's not a difficult effect).
Method: The method is quite genius. It looks great, and is easy to pull off. There's nothing super difficult about any of the moves in this effect. However, even after the cleanup, you are left with one small (physical) inconsistency that they don't touch on, although it doesn't appear as though it'll be that noticeable--especially because after you (or they) take the phone out of the balloon, that inconsistency disappears. It's a small inconsistency, and it doesn't appear as if most will notice it (they're not looking at it with a magician's eyes...they're looking at it, amazed (or at least, they should be, had you performed it decently)).
The method is actually quite practical, though. It's impromptu! The "moves" are easy to do, the cleanup is easy, and the spectator is left astonished. And if cell phones aren't your thing, you could use any small object--a deck of cards, a wallet, a pop can, etc. Whatever your heart desires (that is of the correct size--refer to the bloopers in the video for examples of items you CAN'T use, haha).
Difficulty: This is quite possibly one of the easiest effects that I've learned. There is one instance where a bit of misdirection is your friend, but that misdirection is built into the effect.
Extras: There are bloopers. And there's Daniel Garcia. Plus guests. Need I say more?
Overall: I'm quite pleased with the effect. For $20, you can't go wrong. There is one small inconsistency that isn't addressed that could give you some problems once in a blue moon, but I'm not really worried. It's a great effect, one I can see myself performing quite a bit. Especially because I was looking for an easier alternative to Air Tight, and this looks to be it. Obviously not the exact same effect, but the ease at which this can be performed, and the lower cost (compared to Air Tight, where I'd have to give up a balloon AND a deck of cards, plus a decent amount of prep time), it's much more practical for me.
Also, I'd like to mention that out of all of the "one effect DVDs" sold here on T11 (not including 1-on-1's that teach sleights), this is the one I can see myself performing most often (alongside Witness). It truly is a gem!
Although I'm not one for giving effects numbers, I will say that, for $20, I would highly suggest this effect. It's a great one.
Aside: I'd also like to take the time to point out that the method in this effect can be applied to more than just putting an object inside of a balloon. What I mean is, you can take it further than that. It's essentially a new sleight, one where you can use your imagination to do other things with it. You can expand upon why you put an object inside of a balloon...maybe you can do a colour changing deck (or a deck switch), or putting an object inside of the balloon and taking part of it out, etc. There are numerous applications for this effect, with just a little imagination.
UPDATE:
Reactions: I went to the Relay 4 Life (fundraiser for the Canadian Cancer Society; you pledge for a few weeks for donations, then spend the whole night walking around the track (you only need one team member on the track at a time, hence "relay"), and doing lots of fun activities) event at my university last night, and decided it would be the perfect opportunity to try out Pressure for a real audience (besides my parents and my girlfriend, haha).
It went over great. Out of all the effects I performed (mind reading with the Universal Impression, stopping one's watch, Biddle, card to wallet, and obviously Pressure), Pressure actually got the wildest reactions. I'm not saying it got the "best" reactions, because each effect gets a different type of reaction, and each person is unique and reacts in a different way, but the reactions I got for Pressure were nuts.
One of the biggest "wow" factors was the initial sucking in of the phone into the balloon. However, the "second wind", so to speak, is when you hand the phone back to them INSIDE of the balloon. They are floored as they're hanging onto the balloon, watching their phone dangle inside of it. It takes a few moments to register (and when I say register, I mean register again)...they were already floored that the phone went inside of the balloon; however, when they're handed the balloon with their phone inside of it, it's like they just saw the trick all over again, as whatever thoughts they had inside of their head just leave and they're left with "wtf?" There is no explanation in their minds...their phone was just sucked into a balloon, and they're holding it there, dangling in front of them. All that's left for them to do is rip it out (assuming they want their phone back--obviously they do).
So, in addition to the above review, I'd like to add that Pressure is indeed great for performing for a real audience. It seems like kind of an obvious thing to say, but I wanted to wait until I had some real world experience with the effect before making that claim. I got a lot of comments on "the balloon trick", all of which were very positive.
So I'd like to echo my initial reaction--this is a must have effect! You would really be missing out by not adding this effect to you repertoire.
I purchased Pressure last night (the download), I've practiced it enough to be comfortable with it (not enough to perform it, though--I can do the sleights, but I want to have a good performance to go along with it), and now I'll give my early impressions on it.
Effect: You borrow a cell phone (or ipod, or whatever other small object). You bring out (or even borrow) a balloon. You blow up the balloon, and then push the object into the balloon as the balloon deflates onto the object; the object gets sucked right into the balloon. This is a really nice moment to show off the phone inside of the balloon. The phone is then taken out of the balloon by you, or you can hand out the phone/balloon for the spectator to take the phone out.
Teaching: The teaching is superb. They go over almost every single thing that needs to be covered (minus one exception, explained below). But, all things considered, they go over everything that you'll really need to know, and they do so in great depth (well, as far in depth as they need to--it's not a difficult effect).
Method: The method is quite genius. It looks great, and is easy to pull off. There's nothing super difficult about any of the moves in this effect. However, even after the cleanup, you are left with one small (physical) inconsistency that they don't touch on, although it doesn't appear as though it'll be that noticeable--especially because after you (or they) take the phone out of the balloon, that inconsistency disappears. It's a small inconsistency, and it doesn't appear as if most will notice it (they're not looking at it with a magician's eyes...they're looking at it, amazed (or at least, they should be, had you performed it decently)).
The method is actually quite practical, though. It's impromptu! The "moves" are easy to do, the cleanup is easy, and the spectator is left astonished. And if cell phones aren't your thing, you could use any small object--a deck of cards, a wallet, a pop can, etc. Whatever your heart desires (that is of the correct size--refer to the bloopers in the video for examples of items you CAN'T use, haha).
Difficulty: This is quite possibly one of the easiest effects that I've learned. There is one instance where a bit of misdirection is your friend, but that misdirection is built into the effect.
Extras: There are bloopers. And there's Daniel Garcia. Plus guests. Need I say more?
Overall: I'm quite pleased with the effect. For $20, you can't go wrong. There is one small inconsistency that isn't addressed that could give you some problems once in a blue moon, but I'm not really worried. It's a great effect, one I can see myself performing quite a bit. Especially because I was looking for an easier alternative to Air Tight, and this looks to be it. Obviously not the exact same effect, but the ease at which this can be performed, and the lower cost (compared to Air Tight, where I'd have to give up a balloon AND a deck of cards, plus a decent amount of prep time), it's much more practical for me.
Also, I'd like to mention that out of all of the "one effect DVDs" sold here on T11 (not including 1-on-1's that teach sleights), this is the one I can see myself performing most often (alongside Witness). It truly is a gem!
Although I'm not one for giving effects numbers, I will say that, for $20, I would highly suggest this effect. It's a great one.
Aside: I'd also like to take the time to point out that the method in this effect can be applied to more than just putting an object inside of a balloon. What I mean is, you can take it further than that. It's essentially a new sleight, one where you can use your imagination to do other things with it. You can expand upon why you put an object inside of a balloon...maybe you can do a colour changing deck (or a deck switch), or putting an object inside of the balloon and taking part of it out, etc. There are numerous applications for this effect, with just a little imagination.
UPDATE:
Reactions: I went to the Relay 4 Life (fundraiser for the Canadian Cancer Society; you pledge for a few weeks for donations, then spend the whole night walking around the track (you only need one team member on the track at a time, hence "relay"), and doing lots of fun activities) event at my university last night, and decided it would be the perfect opportunity to try out Pressure for a real audience (besides my parents and my girlfriend, haha).
It went over great. Out of all the effects I performed (mind reading with the Universal Impression, stopping one's watch, Biddle, card to wallet, and obviously Pressure), Pressure actually got the wildest reactions. I'm not saying it got the "best" reactions, because each effect gets a different type of reaction, and each person is unique and reacts in a different way, but the reactions I got for Pressure were nuts.
One of the biggest "wow" factors was the initial sucking in of the phone into the balloon. However, the "second wind", so to speak, is when you hand the phone back to them INSIDE of the balloon. They are floored as they're hanging onto the balloon, watching their phone dangle inside of it. It takes a few moments to register (and when I say register, I mean register again)...they were already floored that the phone went inside of the balloon; however, when they're handed the balloon with their phone inside of it, it's like they just saw the trick all over again, as whatever thoughts they had inside of their head just leave and they're left with "wtf?" There is no explanation in their minds...their phone was just sucked into a balloon, and they're holding it there, dangling in front of them. All that's left for them to do is rip it out (assuming they want their phone back--obviously they do).
So, in addition to the above review, I'd like to add that Pressure is indeed great for performing for a real audience. It seems like kind of an obvious thing to say, but I wanted to wait until I had some real world experience with the effect before making that claim. I got a lot of comments on "the balloon trick", all of which were very positive.
So I'd like to echo my initial reaction--this is a must have effect! You would really be missing out by not adding this effect to you repertoire.
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