Smooth Operations Review by ElisG

Sep 1, 2007
655
1
Smooth Operations Review


Overview
Smooth Operations was in all a great purchase, whilst I thought the flourishes contained inside it were mediocre, everything else was very good, and I will be using 4 of the 5(actually 6 if you include the Visa Exchange) effects and 2 of the productions. There is also some comedic effects in there, that you may enjoy reading. Obviously Kevin Ho’s blend of flourishing and magic won’t be for all, but if you’ve seen Kevin Ho and like his style this book is truly a great investment.

Value For Money

At $25 I don’t think we can really complain, it’s not a hard-back book with hundreds of pages but more of a small booklet(similar to a magazine), but everything is printed on good quality glossy paper and there are lots of full color illustrations, it’s a wonderfully produced book and is well worth the small price tag.

EFFECTS


Overview
Thankfully the effects are amazing, all of them are really, really nice and I can’t complain about any of them being badly taught or illogical or anything, it’s just amazing, thanks Kev!

PUNK'D

The Official Spam

This version of Re-Set is simple, instant, and leaves you completely clean. Imagine two four-of-a-kinds, like the four Aces and four Jacks, instantly changing places with each other, and then back again moments later.

How It Looks

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1d1yD3vNEEs&feature=related

What I think

This is one of my favourite versions of reset, because everything is logical, as you can see in the video it takes about 30 seconds, plus you end totally clean, all the sleights are broken down and illustrated and it’s very easy to understand, it’s a classic example of the simplest routines being the best.

Difficulty:
3/10

Rating:
8.5/10




LONG DIVISION

The Official Spam

This clever routine is fun to do and gets killer reactions.

A card is produced, equalling the value of two spectators chosen cards. This single card is then visually stretched into a long card, which the spectators help split into their respective selections.

What I think of it
This is one of the routines I won’t be using, it’s very difficult to get the ‘stretching’ smooth, the instructions are easy to follow and are well illustrated but it is a knacky thing to do well. Definitely a cool idea though.

Difficulty:
8/10(to do it well)

Rating:
6.5/10

CHASER


The Official Spam

The magician offers to demonstrate different aspects of sleight of hand. What follows is a fast-paced sequence of cards appearing, teleporting, changing, and transposing with each other in a casual, highly visual manner.

What I think
In my opinion the best trick in the book, it’s basically a sandwich routine with a twist, it has a motivated plot and because the spam is vague, here’s how the routine actually goes:

A card is selected and outjogged, you tell them about the different type of sleight of hand, “the first is the type you can see”.
As you say that you dribble the cards and 2 black kings appear.
You separate the kings from the deck and you tell them that “the next is the type of sleight of hand is invisible”.
And you shake the deck and the outjogged card vanishes and appears in between the 2 kings.
You then put the selected card on the table and say that “the other type of sleight of hand happens before you know it”.
You then reveal that the Kings have turned into aces.
In the last phase you lay the Aces on the table and take the selection on top of the deck, you say that “the last type of sleight of hand you know exactly what’s going to happen, but you don’t know how.”
And in an instant the selection in your hand transforms into 2 face up aces with a face down card in between, which is their selection and the kings are revealed on the table.

As you can tell it’s an awesome effect and the only difficult part is the beginning production of the two kings(superflip) which can easily be substituted.

Difficulty with Superflip:
7.5/10
Without Superflip:
5.5/10

Rating:
10/10

COLLECTORS: REDUX


The Official Spam

In the process of finding three spectators' selections, the four Queens (or any four-of-a-kind) are found in an insanely chaotic and visual way that only Kevin would think of.

What it looks like
http://youtube.com/watch?v=Jey2aU-XN4c

What I think

It’s so smooth, and such a beautiful end display, it also is much easier than it looks, it takes a bit of practice to do the whole thing without pausing but most of the work is done before you do the flourishy bit, during the flourishy bit you only need to produce 4 cards as opposed to the 7 you end up with. Very nice routine.

Difficulty, to do it smoothly:
6/10

Rating:
9/10

CONSPIRACY OF FOUR

The Official Spam
An extremely visual and fun handling of a classic plot.

The magician offers to find a four-of-a-kind other than the four Aces. All goes well until the fourth and final production - it's an Ace. However, within the blink of an eye, the other three cards instantly turn into the other three Aces, forming a complete four-of-a-kind after all.

What I think
The kicker ending gets them real good in this one, the only thing I wasn’t fond of was the switch at the end, but I’ve replaced it with something better(in my opinion), and this effect is one of my favourites.

Difficulty:
6/10

Rating:
9.5/10
 
Sep 1, 2007
655
1
Sleights

Overview
The sleights are ok, but I can’t see me using any to be honest, the color changes are inferior to others and whilst there’s a neat switch I just can’t see me using any.

INVERSE IMPULSE


The Official Spam

A very magical looking one-handed color change that can be continuously repeated.

What I think

It’s a great change and it’s well taught but It’s not really original, this is acknowledged in the book, but it seems as if this is more of a filler. If you don’t currently know this change you will love it, if you do, then you may feel as I do.

Difficulty:
3.5/10

Rating:
7.5/10



VISA SWITCH

The Official Spam

This very cool switch is open for many, many applications, of which Kevin supplies two. However, I'm sure after a little experimenting, you’ll have applied it to numerous ideas of your own. All around, it’s a fun little move to play with.

What I think
This is a cool little switch, but from my experience I’ve haven’t been in a situation where I can use this, there’s a little routine called the Visa Exchange which is a cool transposition, and there is a way of splitting a 2 into 2 aces using exactly the same technique, which is called the Visa Split.

Difficulty:
Visa Switch: 4/10
Visa Exchange: 4.5/10
Visa Split: 4/10

Rating:
7/10

BOB CHANGE


The Official Spam

With a light shake, a card held in the magician's hand instantly turns into an other card.

A very clever and in-your-face take on the well-known Shapeshifter change.


What I think

Nice, visual change, but inferior to the shapeshifter in my opinion. Maybe that’s me being an ass, but I just think that if you want to learn a change like this, just get the shapeshifter, it doesn’t require you to lift the cards up in the air or anything, this is nice, but there’s much better out there.

Difficulty:
5/10

Rating:
6.5/10

FLORIDA COUNT + PCP

The Official Spam
I guess you could say it's a rhythm count...on acid. Very flashy, very visual, very cool.

This is definitely one of our favorite effects. It's fast, visual, direct, and allows you to showcase beautiful sleight of hand.

PCP
Four Jacks are counted between your hands as they seem to visually change into the four Aces. (Note: If you're tired of the remark, "Do that again", this is not the trick to do.)

What I think

Florida Count
It looks nice when done well, but I like the rhythm count to actually confirm in the spectators mind that ALL the cards are 4, it’s too flourishy for the key moment of the trick where they just want to be shown the cards straight.

PCP
I think the flourishy-ness(new word) suits this effect, it’s a beautiful quick effect to throw in between the long drawn pick a card tricks.

Difficulty:
Florida Count: 6.5/10
PCP: 7.5/10​
 
Sep 1, 2007
655
1
Productions

Overview
The book contains three wonderful productions, I will use them all, just elegance at it’s finest.

STATIC 4

The Official Spam

A quick and easy four Ace production that's perfect for getting into any of your four card routines. It's also one of Kevin's favorites.

What I think
This is perfect for the times you don’t want to just remove the aces nor do you want to do a long winded ace production, you touch the deck and an ace snaps up, and before they have time to gasp four aces appear in a diagonal line display that looks amazing.

Difficulty: 3/10

Rating: 8.5/10


PEGASUS


The Official Spam
An insane production of any four-of-a-kind that will blow your audience away. (Includes an alternate version).

What I think
Another elegant production, you shake the deck and an ace appears, and then in a second, four aces appear from nowhere and slowly shift into a square display, it looks really good.

Difficulty(if you can already one hand top palm): 4/10
(if you can’t): 7.5/10

Rating:
8.5/10



FULLY LOADED


The Official Spam

In this effect, Kevin explains how a deck of cards can be a deadly weapon with not only the ability to shoot single cards out of the deck, but also to produce a four-of-a-kind (Okay, it's a really cool ace production with some fun patter.).

What I think
I love this production, the others are great but this is my favorite, it’s one of the rare productions where all the aces appear at the same time, in less than a second, put that together with a beautiful plus sign style, symmetrical display and you have a lovely production.

Difficulty: 6/10

Rating:
9.5/10​
 
Sep 1, 2007
655
1
Flourishes

Overview
Sorry Kev, but I was disappointed with the flourishes, I was looking for some multipacket cuts because in my opinion you are the best flourisher around, but what I got was a card spin and a fan, sorry, maybe their not my style but I didn’t really like them.

RACCOON


The Official Spam

Imagine a card spinning atop the deck 540 degrees to infinity. This cool little flourish is so neat and original, it has to be seen.

What I think
I have to be honest, I just don’t get it, it seems to be illogical, maybe as a magical gesture? Meh.

Difficulty:
6.5/10

Rating:
3.5/10



REPAINTED


The Official Spam

A blank fan of cards is seen. With a quick wave, the faces of the cards visually appear. The method is so obvious itís hard to believe no one has ever thought of this before. An instant classic in my book.

What I think
It looks OK, just not my style, sorry.

Difficulty:
7.5/10

Rating:
5/10
 
Sep 3, 2007
2,562
0
Europe
Very nice review. I'm not sure that I was a fan of the whole "centered text" thing, but it was still a good review. I may have to look into this. Oh, and by the way... you totally stole the "Official Spam" thing from me. :D
 
Sep 1, 2007
655
1
Conclusion

As you guys can see, I am critical if I don’t like things, I don’t like the flourishes, but I have to say, this book is phenomenal. Buy it, now! It’s awesome it has some great magic, it’s beautifully produced, it has full color illustrations, great material mashed in with some comedy and it’s very well written, put that together with a price(if you can call it that) of $25 and you’ve got yourself a steal, all I can say is thank you Kevin Ho!

Overall Rating: 87/100
 
Sep 1, 2007
655
1
Very nice review. I'm not sure that I was a fan of the whole "centered text" thing, but it was still a good review. I may have to look into this. Oh, and by the way... you totally stole the "Official Spam" thing from me. :D

Actually I stole it from someone else who stole it from you.
 
Sep 3, 2007
2,562
0
Europe
Actually I stole it from someone else who stole it from you.

My reviews are just that popular, I guess. ;) Just out of curiosity, who stole it from me that you stole it from?

The Official Spam[/B]
A blank fan of cards is seen. With a quick wave, the faces of the cards visually appear. The method is so obvious it's hard to believe no one has ever thought of this before. An instant classic in my book.

Umm, people have thought of it before. I know people that do reverse fans all the time...

Unless they're just talking about changing it from "blank" to "printed". In that case... nevermind.
 
Sep 1, 2007
655
1
Umm, people have thought of it before. I know people that do reverse fans all the time...

Unless they're just talking about changing it from "blank" to "printed". In that case... nevermind.

Watch the trailer on dananddave.com, towards the end, people have done blank fans, but this is like a visual change.

And correct me if i'm wrong but i think it was joecarr who did the official spam thing, not sure tho.

Also can a mod like move adjones posts so they are after my review :p.
 
Oct 19, 2007
31
0
Good overall review there. I find the Florida Count more difficult than 6.5. Well, you can do it after the second reading, but it really takes some rhytm and flow, and also som finger-strechting of the ringfinger and pinky to execute it well. I really hope there won't be any YouTube performances of it.

Understanding of the review: 7.5 out of 10.

Grammar: 2... out of 10.

Name of account: 9.5 out of 10.
I really like ElisG.
 
Sep 1, 2007
91
0
33
Denmark
I don't have alot to say other than I enjoyed your review and I think you did a great job.

Since I'm too lazy to make a new thread I'll just post my thoughts here...
As said before if you're into this flashy magic style (aren't we all these days?) then Smooth Operations is a most have!
I completly agree with your views on the production quality, its just spotless.
So all in all, Smooth Operations is an awesome set of notes from my favorit magician :D


Also, you don't "get" Raccoon? What is there to "get"? Its a flourish, it looks good. Thats is really all there is to it. Plus I've been performing it for a few months now I can easily say that it quickly becomes a habit.
 
Sep 1, 2007
223
1
Florida.
I am glad he didn't put any two-handed multiple packet cuts in this, that might be very difficult to explain.

And if you do want some, wait for the Virts DVD.
 
Sep 1, 2007
655
1
Also, you don't "get" Raccoon? What is there to "get"? Its a flourish, it looks good. Thats is really all there is to it. Plus I've been performing it for a few months now I can easily say that it quickly becomes a habit.

A flashy cut cuts the cards,
a flashy shuffle shuffles the deck,
a flashy production produces a card,
Raccoon Spins a card on top of the deck, it's just not particularly impressive, especially if you compare it to the pirouhette flourish.


antongrant said:
Grammar: 2... out of 10.
Is that supposed to be a rating of my grammar?

Angathorion said:
Why 2-handed packet cuts? Haven't we got plenty of those already? :/
Have you ever seen a Kevin Ho 2 handed cut?



Thanks for all the comments :).
 

JoeCarr

Banned
Jan 6, 2008
664
0
Manchester
Watch the trailer on dananddave.com, towards the end, people have done blank fans, but this is like a visual change.

And correct me if i'm wrong but i think it was joecarr who did the official spam thing, not sure tho.

Also can a mod like move adjones posts so they are after my review :p.

i got it from a few reviews, i wasnt the original unfortunately :p, but its cool people thought i was :D
 
INVERSE IMPULSE

The Official Spam
A very magical looking one-handed color change that can be continuously repeated.

===

Just out of curiosity is the original changed mentioned in the booklet called the "Miller Change"?

When I first started magic I was shown this by the owner of my local magic shop and he said he did it more as a gag, I took it re-developed it and added a few extra subtleties and looks basically the same as inverse impulse. I want to make sure my crediting/history is correct on it.

Thanks,
-RA69
 
Sep 1, 2007
47
0
35
Orange, CA
kevhonline.net
Just out of curiosity is the original changed mentioned in the booklet called the "Miller Change"?

The similarity in technique to the Miller/Victor change is credited and acknowledged in the book; however, there are certain subtleties and changes in the handling and approach that make it easier, more natural, and instantly repeatable from the get-go.

I hope I didn't misuse that semi-colon.

-Kev, The Virts
 
Searching...
{[{ searchResultsCount }]} Results