This has a collection of tricks that anyone can do, but the real treasure here is the lesson in presentation as well as his thoughts on the trick designs. But I'm sure you want to know about the tricks, so here goes:

COLLUSION: pure gold. This is Bannon's variation on ACAAN (any card at any number). You can see the performance for yourself in one of the trailer videos.

It's simple to do, and the explanation has a performance tip on how to set it up (or reset) on the fly. Just set aside the jokers ahead of time and Collusion is ready to go whenever you like.

SORT OF PSYCHIC: an expanded (improved?) version of an old Max Maven trick called "Out of Sorts". Bannon's version lets the spectator choose from a larger packet of cards than the original.

It's not my style, but it showcases the presentation and interaction with the spectator. It also makes great use of techniques featured on the disc to spice up an otherwise weaker trick.

Unfortunately, the camera missed a ridiculously good "move" in the performance that he described in the explanation. Bannon took the top card and put it on the bottom - in plain sight. I think that's the biggest lesson for this trick and perhaps for the whole disc: with the right presentation, you can be utterly brazen in your misdirection.

ULTERIOR: pure "magician's choice", which is NOT a Good Thing. It's on the disc as an introduction to equivoque, and he says this particular trick is also useful for setting up other tricks. Still, I can't imagine performing this, and I doubt many others would want to perform it either.

PROPHET MOTIVE: I didn't consider the trick itself to be all that strong, but the explanation section has a fantastic walk-through of techniques that could be used here.

ION MAN: really quick, really easy, but really lame. It's easily the worst trick on the disc. You could impress a child with it - but only once, and only if you let him/her keep the quarter.


BAN-NIHILATION: Bannon's adaptation of "Annihilation Deck" by Cameron Francis, which you can see here:

https://www.penguinmagic.com/p/S27948

Bannon's version is simple to set up, and his method doesn't ruin any cards. I think the presentation could be jazzed up a bit more but is a real winner once you work out a presentation style that fits you.

FOUR SIDED GEMINI: Collusion was largely adapted from this. It's a "production" - turning up the four aces, for example - where Collusion is ACAAN. But they use exactly the same method, so you would never perform them together.

All the same, they are both very strong tricks, and for educational purposes it's great to see how a method can be used in different presentations.

PERENNIAL: Bannon's version of a birthday or diary trick. Not bad, and it's nice to see a demonstration of giving a presentation a more personal angle. But otherwise this is just another prediction. The others on this disc are stronger.

I suspect that even after I master far more advanced tricks, I will likely still want to perform a couple of these from time to time. In the meantime, this is a great lesson in interaction and performance, and the presentation and design tips already have me thinking about ways that I would modify the tricks to suit my own presentation style.

Highly recommended.

OVERVIEW

Move Zero (Vol 1) is the first in a series of four videos by John Bannon, in which he teams up with Big Blind Media to bring self-working magic to dazzling new heights. Anyone familiar with John Bannon's body of work will be well aware that he is no ordinary magician. It's especially when Mr Bannon applies his genius to self-working magic tricks that you get a real sense of his cleverness. Self-working tricks often get an unfair rap in magic, but when percolated through the mind of John Bannon, they get a caffeine kick like never before. In this series of four brilliant DVDs, John Bannon will perform and teach you some mind-blowing magic.

FORMAT

the main content of the video consists of the following:
- Performances: The section for each trick first features a performance for different spectators.
- Explanations: During the tutorial section, John Bannon not only explains how to do the trick, but also explains why things are done in a certain way, thus giving insight into the construction of the magic in a way to make it as strong as possible. As a nice touch, the closing sequence for each trick comprehensively covers all the credits.
- Other material: Between the tricks, there are "trick-bag" sections that cover some of the principles and tools that good self-working tricks will use, such as equivoque, basic cuts, and the cross-cut force. There are also "interview" sections covering John's thoughts on a range of magic topics in answer to questions put to him.

IMPRESSIONS

1. Content: This is a solid collection of tricks. There's some overlap in certain aspects of the material, but there's some very strong routines among the eight routines that are taught, with Collusion easily being one of my favourites from this DVD. Ban-nihilation is also a real fooler. I also really like the potential of Prophet Motive, and the presentational ideas of Perennial.

2. Self-working: Some of the tricks taught do require some set-up, although the majority can be performed impromptu. But it's fair to say that what we have here is a collection of genuine self-workers, that rely on cleverness, psychology, and subtleness, and where everything is openly performed, rather than on secret sleights.

3. Difficulty: Because all the tricks in this collection are self-working, they are well within the scope of beginners to learn. While there is excellent material here that beginners can perform, experienced performers will also find top notch magic that will satisfy them as well.

4. Powerful: Self-working doesn't mean weak magic, so don't dismiss this collection just because no sleights are used. These are still top notch card tricks, and when performed well they can really produce a big impact. And you can modify some of these tricks to introduce sleights if you think that makes them stronger.

5. Psychology: I really appreciate the presentation and patter that John Banner uses. Much of it is very subtle, reinforcing certain ideas that need to be important in the mind of the spectator; he does this very effectively, and it can make all the difference in performing a trick successfully. Behind much of his patter are very deliberate choices that emphasize psychological principles, and this kind of thinking is key to being a good magician.

6. Explanations: The teaching section consists of a dialogue that John has with Liam Montier and other BBM folks, and it has the feel of a personal sit-down session with a magician. But there's much more value to the teaching sections than just learning the method behind the effect in question. Along the way there are many moments of useful discussion, advice and tips that have very wide application, for example about equivoque, or patter.

7. Master-class Instruction: Move Zero isn't just about teaching effects. One thing I really appreciate about this DVD is that in addition to the eight routines, there are all kinds of extras: interviews, moves, advice. The BBM team has deliberately engaged John to de-construct his methods and the process of his thought. This is incredibly valuable, not just for the useful tips that he passes on, but also for developing your own thinking about magic, and how to craft routines that are truly powerful. One of John Bannon's real strengths is his understanding about the psychology of magic. This video does a good job of helping us understand some of his thought processes and so make us think more maturely about key aspects of magic.

8. Utility Moves: The "Trickbag" sections of the video cover some of the techniques that are foundational to self-working card magic. In these sections Bannon covers things like the Cross Cut Force, Balducci/Cut Deeper Force, and Equivoque - all important concepts that every magician should familiarize themselves with. While not sleights, they are absolutely clever tools worth having in your tool box.

9. Interviews: In these sections of the video, John Bannon shares his thoughts in response to questions on topics like what makes a good trick, his favourite tricks, what got him started in magic, and more. It's fascinating to get his personal insights about his own experiences, background, and perspectives.

10. Video: The video is 2 hours and 4 minutes in length, and is stellar quality all round. This starts with the video case, which has some very professionally produced graphic design as the cover artwork, and has a list of the contents on the back. The production quality is absolutely outstanding in every respect, and it is hard to think of a magic video with higher quality cinematography! The filming has been done in a studio, and the lighting and camera work is terrific. Multiple camera angles are used, along with panning and close-ups. A montage of images helps retain interest during longer sections of monologue and commentary from Bannon. At times music has been used to good effect to set a background mood. Everything about the video has been put together extremely well, and Big Blind Media deserves major kudos for their excellent work in producing such a high quality product. Absolutely superb!

RECOMMENDATION

Why should you be interested in a video dedicated to self-working card magic? Well, this isn't your ordinary self-working magic that doesn't stoop to the level of mathematical atrocities. It's top quality material that is well constructed and thoughtful, and which really capitalizes on important principles of magic. While being relatively easy to perform, these tricks still have the potential to produce real miracles for your spectator. John Bannon has a real gift in understanding the important psychological aspects of magic that can really strengthen a routine, and there's a great deal that can be learned from his clever and intelligent approach to the subtleties of magic.

From a technical and production point of view, the video itself is outstanding. In almost every respect, Big Blind Media has raised the bar for a quality magic video, and it's difficult to think how a superb production like this could be improved. Combined with strong material from a top notch and clever magic thinker like John Bannon, they have created a real winner with their Move Zero series. Congratulations all round, and highly recommended! - BoardGameGeek reviewer EndersGame

If you are like me, you need to learn another card trick like you need another hole in your head, let alone, another instructional video on self-working card tricks. But John Bannon's MOVE ZERO, vol 1, is not your grandfather's self-working card tricks where you count 21 cards into 3 piles and then divide by the square root of pi. John Bannon features 8 knockout routines that you won't believe are "self-working" when you see them performed by John. And I guarantee you will want to perform them. No knuckle-busting moves here or slippery sleights to master. Of course, you will have to put some thoughtful practice and rehearsal into these brilliant, meticulously constructed routines to bring them up to performance tempo. A small price to pay for truly professional card tricks you can do with anyone's deck, anywhere, anytime. And John gives you all the fine points and subtleties that sell each effect, along with revisiting some oldies such as the criss-cross force and the cut-deeper force. Get it...you will use it.

I have been doing magic for a long time and this is easily the best card product i have ever purchased. Also it hits laymen so hard much harder than any card trick on penguin. So if you have not got this you are CRAZY. SO WHAT ARE YOU WAITING FOR CLICK THE GREEN ADD TO CART BUTTON AND YOU WILL BE RESPECTED BY MAGICIANS AND LAYMEN ALIKE!

Heads up... if you think you will want more than one disc in this four volume series, you're better off getting the full set rather than getting them one at a time.

This disc will teach you several tricks and a few non-move "moves" that even a beginner with arthritic hands (like me) can do. As long as you don't overuse them, the false cuts and the "cut deeper force" are effective - and simple to do.

As for the tricks, Collusion might be the strongest trick in all four volumes of the collection. It's a version of ACAAN (any card at any number). With a slight modification, this one can even be performed on the fly with a borrowed deck. To me, that makes it one of the best ACAAN versions out there.

Ban-nihilation is his variation of The Annihilation Deck. It's another strong one, and Bannon's version doesn't ruin any of the cards.

I'll say that I didn't like Ion Man at all and felt the others were hit or miss. Four Sided Gemini is really good, but you won't want to perform it in the same set with Collusion. More than anything, it's great for teaching how methods can be adapted to different effects.

Overall, it's a great disc for Collusion, Ban-nihilation, Four Sided Gemini, and the various cuts/forces that don't require slight of hand.

To me those are worth the price tag, especially if you get it as part of the four disc set rather than paying full price for Vol 1 alone. Five stars.

Anything John Bannon creates is very good. The instructions are clear, and there are no difficult sleights in this series, hence the name Move Zero. Get all 3 volumes, because these are some really great card tricks! AK47 and Origami Poker are some of my favorites.

Great CD very easy to learn and very baffling magic
will buy other volumes in the future.

Move Zero 1 and 2 are some of the best magic DVDs I have ever seen. If you want some great self working tricks, as well as some insight on why they work, get this.

I don't usually write reviews, but these were right up my alley. I am old and have arthritic fingers and can't do the sleights that I used to think I knew.
One of my peers who is 85, suggested that we need to learn self working or at least easy to do magic. These fit our needs perfectly.
These are also great for beginners and most would be good for anybody no matter what your skill level is.

Great! A guy won our magic club competition using one of the routines. But he made a whole act of stuff from Young Frankenstein. He had the volunteers dressed as Igor and Egor. I almost didn't recognize the routine.