The Cloak
By Justin Miller
Review by Jacob Hatfield
What is the cloak?? This is what Justin Miller has on the website for the cloak as well as the back of the DVD package (very cool looking) says:
The Cloak is a brand new elastic hook-up that will:
Minimize breakage by 90%!
For the first time ever...freedom in your floats and animated effects that you did not have before, this has got to be seen to be believed.
Flotation,movement,and animation on almost any object with pinpoint precision!!!!!
No jerky body motion or suspicious moves.
On this DVD you will learn to perform:
The cleanest most astounding,not 1 but 2 card Haunted pack ever!
The cleanest in THEIR HANDS haunted pack ever..VERY VERY VERY STRONG!!
The most bizarre card reveal EVER. The card creeps out of deck and then turns itself face-up to reveal it is the chosen card. Everything is INSTANTLY REPEATABLE and EXAMINABLE. The spectator believes they did all of the work!
A rising card that defies all possibilities...did I mention you NEVER TOUCH the cards... the spectator does all the work?
And so much more!!!
So I must note that this DVD took a good amount of patients for. There was delay and even shipping took a while as it was delayed a bit more due to the amount of pre-orders Justin was moving.
So was the wait worth it? I would say so.
The Cloak is innovative and allows for freedom that many magicians who use loops, just can’t have. You are able to do effects in your spectators hands on the other side of the table, or without every really handling the cards. I feel that this is a major plus. The effect is magnificent in this fact. The effects themselves are also very powerful and hard hitting that Justin presents. The Haunted Packs are very straight forward, nothing complex. Justin even admits that he uses a stronger haunted pack routine with his regular loops. The Rising (rising card effect) is definitely a keeper. The strong point here is that you use a normal deck and never touch the cards. The downfall is the need of a glass. The glass is not gimmicked but it is needed to definitely make the effect work. Justin justifies using the glass as “theatrics” and it plays the effect up. I personally know that when I do walk around, I don’t carry a wine glass in my pocket… Is it easy to grab one and walk up to a table? Yes. And I figure you would use the card box as well for less “theatrics” and still achieve a great effect.
The DVD though is not about the effects, but about the hook-up. There are two basic hook-ups, a standing and a sitting hook up. The sitting is amazing. Watching the DVD, I laughed and said to the screen, there is no way this will work Justin, thanks for coning me…but I was wrong. The hook up is actually very nice to work with. Once again, that freedom that The Cloak creates allows for you to care not about your elastic thread so much, as the effect your doing and the people around you. That freedom is The Cloaks selling point.
The standing version on the hook-up, Justin speaks of how Danny Garcia talked to him about it. The standing great. I feel I will actually use this one more than the table version. The standing allows you to be free walking around and access the IET at any time without worries of being caught. No weird pens of reels. No fishy moves. You want it…you have it.
Justin says the best thread to use with The Cloak is Yigal Mesika’s IET. I don’t have any on hand, so I can’t back that up. But I did use David Mann’s Worm Silk from Precision Magic, and it works nice. I also tried the thread I received with my pre-order and was very pleased with that as well. It stretched very nice, but its black color disappointed me. I feel that you need to use a more colorless thread for this hook-up.
Now what the are the downfalls?? Well, Justin doesn’t have many effects selling this hook up. They are great, but the potential is just getting tapped into. The Cloak has more power that is revealed here and only playing around with it can unlock its power.
Also in the DVD, unless I missed it, (I highly doubt I did) Justin NEVER talks about how to hook up the table hook-up in the situation of walking up to a table and starting your routines as well as how much should be used in different situations. (I was also hoping for more live performances) Its as if he is expecting you to have access to the table before and after or be at the table all day. I am sure I (and you) can be creative and figure out a sneaky way to do all the prep work…(maybe a max of 6 seconds to prepare) and not get caught. Also, the idea of managing the spectators never comes in. The idea of a man standing very still and not moving with cards are moving in his hand (like Kozmo does in the DVD when demonstrating) is hard to come by. Of course this is basic audience management. I also disliked how Justin demonstrated all the effects using dental floss. Of course its hard to see IET on a video…but I feel Justin would be more creative and use something that has similar properties it IET. (Rubber bands for example)
Overall, I feel the DVD was a great buy. I would not recommend this DVD to a beginner in magic. Nor someone who has never dealt with IET before. I know I was told through E-mail from Sebashtion R. Houston (very helpful by the way) that the Cloak works fine for beginners and even if you have not had IET work. I disagree. Other than the minor downfalls, The Cloaks power of freedom and untapped powers, make me give it two big thumbs up.
Great job Justin and his team!
By Justin Miller
Review by Jacob Hatfield
What is the cloak?? This is what Justin Miller has on the website for the cloak as well as the back of the DVD package (very cool looking) says:
The Cloak is a brand new elastic hook-up that will:
Minimize breakage by 90%!
For the first time ever...freedom in your floats and animated effects that you did not have before, this has got to be seen to be believed.
Flotation,movement,and animation on almost any object with pinpoint precision!!!!!
No jerky body motion or suspicious moves.
On this DVD you will learn to perform:
The cleanest most astounding,not 1 but 2 card Haunted pack ever!
The cleanest in THEIR HANDS haunted pack ever..VERY VERY VERY STRONG!!
The most bizarre card reveal EVER. The card creeps out of deck and then turns itself face-up to reveal it is the chosen card. Everything is INSTANTLY REPEATABLE and EXAMINABLE. The spectator believes they did all of the work!
A rising card that defies all possibilities...did I mention you NEVER TOUCH the cards... the spectator does all the work?
And so much more!!!
So I must note that this DVD took a good amount of patients for. There was delay and even shipping took a while as it was delayed a bit more due to the amount of pre-orders Justin was moving.
So was the wait worth it? I would say so.
The Cloak is innovative and allows for freedom that many magicians who use loops, just can’t have. You are able to do effects in your spectators hands on the other side of the table, or without every really handling the cards. I feel that this is a major plus. The effect is magnificent in this fact. The effects themselves are also very powerful and hard hitting that Justin presents. The Haunted Packs are very straight forward, nothing complex. Justin even admits that he uses a stronger haunted pack routine with his regular loops. The Rising (rising card effect) is definitely a keeper. The strong point here is that you use a normal deck and never touch the cards. The downfall is the need of a glass. The glass is not gimmicked but it is needed to definitely make the effect work. Justin justifies using the glass as “theatrics” and it plays the effect up. I personally know that when I do walk around, I don’t carry a wine glass in my pocket… Is it easy to grab one and walk up to a table? Yes. And I figure you would use the card box as well for less “theatrics” and still achieve a great effect.
The DVD though is not about the effects, but about the hook-up. There are two basic hook-ups, a standing and a sitting hook up. The sitting is amazing. Watching the DVD, I laughed and said to the screen, there is no way this will work Justin, thanks for coning me…but I was wrong. The hook up is actually very nice to work with. Once again, that freedom that The Cloak creates allows for you to care not about your elastic thread so much, as the effect your doing and the people around you. That freedom is The Cloaks selling point.
The standing version on the hook-up, Justin speaks of how Danny Garcia talked to him about it. The standing great. I feel I will actually use this one more than the table version. The standing allows you to be free walking around and access the IET at any time without worries of being caught. No weird pens of reels. No fishy moves. You want it…you have it.
Justin says the best thread to use with The Cloak is Yigal Mesika’s IET. I don’t have any on hand, so I can’t back that up. But I did use David Mann’s Worm Silk from Precision Magic, and it works nice. I also tried the thread I received with my pre-order and was very pleased with that as well. It stretched very nice, but its black color disappointed me. I feel that you need to use a more colorless thread for this hook-up.
Now what the are the downfalls?? Well, Justin doesn’t have many effects selling this hook up. They are great, but the potential is just getting tapped into. The Cloak has more power that is revealed here and only playing around with it can unlock its power.
Also in the DVD, unless I missed it, (I highly doubt I did) Justin NEVER talks about how to hook up the table hook-up in the situation of walking up to a table and starting your routines as well as how much should be used in different situations. (I was also hoping for more live performances) Its as if he is expecting you to have access to the table before and after or be at the table all day. I am sure I (and you) can be creative and figure out a sneaky way to do all the prep work…(maybe a max of 6 seconds to prepare) and not get caught. Also, the idea of managing the spectators never comes in. The idea of a man standing very still and not moving with cards are moving in his hand (like Kozmo does in the DVD when demonstrating) is hard to come by. Of course this is basic audience management. I also disliked how Justin demonstrated all the effects using dental floss. Of course its hard to see IET on a video…but I feel Justin would be more creative and use something that has similar properties it IET. (Rubber bands for example)
Overall, I feel the DVD was a great buy. I would not recommend this DVD to a beginner in magic. Nor someone who has never dealt with IET before. I know I was told through E-mail from Sebashtion R. Houston (very helpful by the way) that the Cloak works fine for beginners and even if you have not had IET work. I disagree. Other than the minor downfalls, The Cloaks power of freedom and untapped powers, make me give it two big thumbs up.
Great job Justin and his team!
