Penguin has a habit of misplacing my negative reviews an I hope this one sees the light of day.
Anyway, Joe presents most things in excruciating detail, and I guess on balance, that is mostly
better than not enough. Still, the man loves to talk. Then there are the annoying gaps. My
favorite so far (I haven't made it all the way through and my not for a while... more on that later)
is at the beginning where he describes "the perfect air pump". He shows some bad ones and provides
reasons why. Then he shows you hand pump he has determined based on extensive use, to be the best
around. Then he... talks about something else. No clue about where to get one. (Not to worry, I
use a Filbert Pump, and that *is* the best.)
Some of the information is a bit "dated". For
example, he talks about Sharpie's being the best for drawing on balloons. I think the current trend
is to use dry erase markers. But, I digress.
I ordered the DVD download to save a few
bucks. That means I don't have the benefit of an index which might appear on the DVD. However, as
I've gone through the video, I've noted the crucial times and would like to share them with you.
The presentation starts out with basic info, how to inflate a balloon, tie a not, select a
pump (if you can figure out which he's recommending, and types of twists.
Then, the
sculpturing begins...
0>35 - Heart
0;53 - Plane (That's a long gap, maybe I missed
something?)
0:59 - Heart redux
1:01 - Butterfly
1:04 - Bear
1:11 - Cat
1:21 -
Palm tree with a monkey (now we're getting someplace!)
1:37 - A heart with two bears
1:37 -
Basic Man (aren't we all?)
The Basic Man is as far as I've gotten. It is a sculpture with
amazing potential. Joe expands on it a bit, showing all the different figures you can create
starting with this and making a few simple additions/changes. This is the "worth-the-price"
creation, and it could be the topic of an entire video.
Once I get past it and finish the
video, I'll edit this review to complete the index. That is, assuming Penguin chooses to post it in
the first place.
In all fairness, I have no other products to compare this to. I used this DVD to learn 7 basic
balloon animals and I do them for money at restaurants on a regular basis. You only need to learn a
few basic balloons and you can make your money back.
I purchased this one week before a wedding reception I was booked to work. I did this because I
found out that day over half the guests were children. I am SO glad I did. I learned all of the
balloons he taught in a few days and made at least one of everything. Additionally, I made several
other requests based on the techniques he taught. HIGHER RECOMMEND
Negative: The Diamond Ring is
hard to follow along with. However, he does tell you that this is the case.
I wish there had
been a complete walk through on a small sculpture, but I can understand why there wasn't. That
wasn't the purpose of the dvd.
When it comes to balloon twisting, there's no doubt that Joe Montella is good. He's a great
performer, but an awful teacher. There are literally thousands of free tutorials on balloon
twisting on youtube, and hundreds of sculptures that are better than the ones Joe teaches. His
sculptures are nothing fancy but he does do them well and they are well liked sculptures. He also
never once gives you any guidance on how much to inflate the balloons for each sculpture.
I
bought the DVD solely for the business lessons that the description gave as well as the information
on giant centerpiece sculptures. Neither of those two things are actually discussed at length in
this DVD. Joe simply tells you to go out and market yourself (duh) and that giant sculptures take
work and planning (duh).
Overall, I was sadly disappointed with this DVD. If I were a true
beginner, this DVD would have some value, but again all the beginner information is available for
free elsewhere on the net (i.e. youtube).
Save yourself some money and don't purchase this DVD
unless you have $45 bucks that you can burn without consequence. You'd be better off buying
supplies with that money and teaching yourself.
I have the down load version for about a week and i have Been doing crazy stuff with it i cannot
stress enough you learn how to make the differnt types of flowers, and the mermaid those are great
for picking up girls, the other ones are cool for little children, you can use a regular pump, it
takes a different kind of training and energy to learn how to do ballon shapes, it is not like a
magic trick be patient and do not be afraid of the ballons even if they pop up, i recomend ( just
like Joe says) using the pump but it is worth it that you learn how to blow up the ballon with your
mouth, and you may be able to make shapes on the fly ( like impromptu ballon sculpturing) i hope i
write another post soon telling you how this works on the field
BUY IT NOW !!!!
After watching the entire DVD I feel I learned a great deal of new balloon art for my kid shows. I'm
not a balloon artist, but just wanted to learn more than the 5 I was doing for my kid shows as an
added bonus.
Be prepared to rewind as Joe goes pretty quick through each one.
Joe did a FANTASTIC job with this DVD. He gave full details from start to finish explaining how to
do Balloon Art. He even went into important things like how to make money in the business and how to
handle customers, etc.
I highly recommend this DVD if you have any interest in making
things out of balloons. GREAT !
Joe really takes the time to teach. He has passion. Was clear in his teaching. Very good dvd to have
to start off for balloon sculpturing.
This is the best balloon sculpture dvd I have found. It really takes you from beginner to pro. I had
never been that interested in balloon sculpture until i realized that I could make money at it. This
dvd shows you how. The business section is probably the most valuable part. I honestly never though
I would ever be able to make anything better than a weiner dog, but every time I make the mermaid I
actually impress myself. This stuff is too cool.
Most people like balloons. Twisting as an artform that deserves more attention outside the
children's performer Arena. This DVD has most of what you need to get started. You can add balloons
to many different routines in situations. Incredible performers such as John Cassidy a world
recordholder blow people away with high-energy balloon routines.
Today, when you order "Balloon School with Joe Montella", you'll instantly be emailed a Penguin Magic gift certificate. You can spend it on anything you like at Penguin, just like cash. Just complete your order as normal, and within seconds you'll get an email with your gift certificate.
One sculpture is worth the price (and the rest is valuable too)
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Mediocre
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Good skill to have
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