I received the rizer DVD in the mail today, have had time to play around with it, so here's my review.
I'll start off by saying that, in the right hands, this is one killer effect. The effect is beautiful, and the method is damned clever. But there's a few issues I have with the product so let me get those out of the way first.
I was quite disappointed with the quality of production of the video. Not that is has anything to do with the effect but nowadays it's something you come to expect from a company like Ellusionist and this time they let me down. It was shot in what appeared to be their (messy) warehouse. The lighting was off, the camera and microphone kept getting bumped and the whole deal just felt really amateur which surprised me considering Ellusionist pioneered the modern magic video format we've all become familiar with. Also this was my first experience with Robert Smith and Eric Ross and as nice as they seem, the teaching felt painfully unrehearsed. Now don't get me wrong, they teach it thoroughly, but they just seemed to stumble over each others words and it just felt rushed. Some parts of the video we're obviously filmed with different cameras and added as if an after thought. The best part of the production was the music which i was quite fond of. Also I think the advertising is a bit misleading as it does not come with the gimmick you need. Now many of us already have what you need and if you don't its nothing a trip to the store and $2 won't solve. It does come with something but not exactly what you need for the effect.
Now, on to the good stuff.
You've seen the demo clip, this effect is beautiful. On top of that, it's SIMPLE. I had an idea how it was accomplished, I was right. It uses an old principle in a way that blows the doors open as far as what can be achieved with it. Two thumbs up to these guys for being clever enough to think this up. This one is certainly not going to see the dusty old never-used magic drawer, this is a real worker. You have no angles to worry about here because there's nothing to hide, ditch, steal or even cover. It's quite practical considering the nature of things, not much to carry around if anything at all (at most a small vile that they send you which can go right on your keychain). It's completely examinable a moment after the effect is done and it can reset in a matter of a few seconds if you're keeping the same card or a few minutes if you want to change the rising card. For walk around I would suggest just using the same card if you can just to save some time resetting, but if you decide that's not appropriate it only takes another minute to change the rising card and prepare for another performance.
Its also worth mentioning that this will take a bit of playing around with to get just right. Nothing out of the ordinary but don't expect this to perform itself, you ll have to get the fine details of preparation down.
People like ratings so I'll give a try at rating this.
Ease of use: 8/10
Practicality: 8/10
Versatility: 8/10
Teaching: 7/10
Video Production: 4/10
I'd be glad to answer any questions or if I've left something out let me know.
Happy magic.
I'll start off by saying that, in the right hands, this is one killer effect. The effect is beautiful, and the method is damned clever. But there's a few issues I have with the product so let me get those out of the way first.
I was quite disappointed with the quality of production of the video. Not that is has anything to do with the effect but nowadays it's something you come to expect from a company like Ellusionist and this time they let me down. It was shot in what appeared to be their (messy) warehouse. The lighting was off, the camera and microphone kept getting bumped and the whole deal just felt really amateur which surprised me considering Ellusionist pioneered the modern magic video format we've all become familiar with. Also this was my first experience with Robert Smith and Eric Ross and as nice as they seem, the teaching felt painfully unrehearsed. Now don't get me wrong, they teach it thoroughly, but they just seemed to stumble over each others words and it just felt rushed. Some parts of the video we're obviously filmed with different cameras and added as if an after thought. The best part of the production was the music which i was quite fond of. Also I think the advertising is a bit misleading as it does not come with the gimmick you need. Now many of us already have what you need and if you don't its nothing a trip to the store and $2 won't solve. It does come with something but not exactly what you need for the effect.
Now, on to the good stuff.
You've seen the demo clip, this effect is beautiful. On top of that, it's SIMPLE. I had an idea how it was accomplished, I was right. It uses an old principle in a way that blows the doors open as far as what can be achieved with it. Two thumbs up to these guys for being clever enough to think this up. This one is certainly not going to see the dusty old never-used magic drawer, this is a real worker. You have no angles to worry about here because there's nothing to hide, ditch, steal or even cover. It's quite practical considering the nature of things, not much to carry around if anything at all (at most a small vile that they send you which can go right on your keychain). It's completely examinable a moment after the effect is done and it can reset in a matter of a few seconds if you're keeping the same card or a few minutes if you want to change the rising card. For walk around I would suggest just using the same card if you can just to save some time resetting, but if you decide that's not appropriate it only takes another minute to change the rising card and prepare for another performance.
Its also worth mentioning that this will take a bit of playing around with to get just right. Nothing out of the ordinary but don't expect this to perform itself, you ll have to get the fine details of preparation down.
People like ratings so I'll give a try at rating this.
Ease of use: 8/10
Practicality: 8/10
Versatility: 8/10
Teaching: 7/10
Video Production: 4/10
I'd be glad to answer any questions or if I've left something out let me know.
Happy magic.
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