I really have mixed feelings about this one.
On one hand, this is a truly powerful effect
that is certainly likely to cause the reactions you see in the trailer. It's essentially a cold
reading that doesn't require any skill to perform and doesn't reveal any personal information that
might embarrass your spectator. You need to be respectful and ethical in how you do effects like
this, but if done right it might actually change someone's life by enabling them to move past an
obstacle.
That said, the trailer is extremely misleading. The only reveal actually shown
(lifting the card box to reveal a card) is not the primary reveal taught, and it's only possible
sometimes. But what's worse, the card revealed in the trailer wasn't even accurate! Chris predicted
the seven of diamonds, but the spectator actually chose the five of diamonds. It's important to
acknowledge that the spectator's reaction to the "wrong" card in the trailer was genuine (they
didn't mismatch the audio), and Chris handled it well so that the trick still worked. But as
consumers, we should know what we're buying.
The ad copy is accurate. It says "The strength
of the effect is all in its script, but Chris Philpott (with Steve Valentine) also go into details
about the handling for both an impromptu version and one using a gimmicked deck (which you may
already own)." Let me clarify what that means: The primary presentation taught is 100% patter using
a full deck of cards and an old method. It's so 100% patter that the gimmicked deck isn't even
explained at all. If you knew how the selection was usually revealed you'd know what the gimmicked
deck was and realize you could use the patter from the trailer without paying for the download --
which I assume is why the trailer uses a completely inaccurate representation of the reveal. I'm not
going to give away anything else.
Steve Valentine does go into detail about impromptu
handlings, and you'll actually learn several utility moves that some might find worth the download
by themselves. They all use sleights that I would not call beginner moves, but like the ad said they
allow any deck to be used. The video includes about 45 minutes of instruction and discussion and
about 30 minutes of the full performances with the spectators shown in the trailer.
Chris
and Steve said repeatedly in the video that you shouldn't think of this as merely a new presentation
of a standard gimmicked deck, and I agree. Unfortunately, many consumers will make a purchase based
on the trailer and be disappointed that the reveal doesn't work that way most of the time. I'm
giving four stars because I think it's worth $14.95 to learn the presentation and the impromptu
handlings, because even with the gimmicked deck your spectators will be blown away, and because I'm
happy to support Chris's brilliant work in general. I deducted a star because the trailer is just
plain misleading to magicians.
Hey Craig, thanks for the kind words on the effect.
But I respectfully disagree that the trailer was misleading. I prefaced the performance in question with an explanation that this was an early performance before I had worked out an additional subtlety that would have made this a direct hit.
I chose to use this performance because I liked her reaction at the end -- "I feel shaky after that one. That is really powerful!" And that was when it wasn't a direct hit! You've seen the instructions -- you know I could have gotten a direct hit there if I wanted to (using what was in the card box) but in the moment I chose not to because I believe in an effect like this sometimes getting close can be just as strong and I think the reaction bears this out. If that's not for you, fine, Steve and I provide plenty of ways to get a direct hit 100% of the time, but I don't think it's fair to call it misleading.
-Chris
Why would I pay for something not right all the time
@Chris, thanks very much for taking the time to reply. My review was attempting to distinguish between how your effect might be perceived by spectators and how your product might be perceived by magicians (i.e. consumers).
The trailer accurately portrays how spectators are likely to react, whether you use the gimmicked deck, the utility moves, or the reveal actually shown in the trailer. But because the trailer only shows a reveal that only works sometimes and is only briefly mentioned in the instructional video, I don't think it provides consumers with fully representative information about the product. Does that actually matter? That depends on the consumer.
@mendoranch, The effect hits 100% if you want it to, but in order to hit 100% of the time you have to use either a gimmicked deck or sleights. To do what it shown in the trailer, you need certain circumstances. Chris could have chosen to get a direct hit but decided the circumstances were close enough that even being a little off on the reveal would still be more powerful than using the gimmick.
Hey mendoranch -- what magicsteeple said is correct.
Hey magicsteeple, I'm not sure I've ever seen a magic trailer for an effect that can end more than one showing all of them. The way I show hits 40% - 50% of the time (notice how many of the chosen cards in the trailer are, well, you know...) I've seen full-on multiple out effects where they only show a reveal that hits 20% of the time, so I think that this is more than fair. And I tried to put as much of this effect in the trailer as I could without giving away the entire scripting. I think it's pretty thorough and fair -- calling it "extremely misleading" I just don't think that's a fair comment.
Philpott is NOT the type of guy to be intentionally misleading, and I think you are hurting this effect by saying so.
I wanted to give Chris the last word earlier, but I feel compelled to respond to RaceBlakhart. I'm not saying Chris was intentionally misleading, and as I said in my original review I admire his work overall. But the bottom line is that the trailer depicts an effect in which a single card under a card box is revealed to match the spectator's selection, and Chris said above that that only actually happens 40%-50% of the time. He also defended that by saying that other trailers are even less accurate.
I gave the effect four stars and recommended its purchase. But my recommendation is based on consumers knowing what my review and subsequent discussion has disclosed, and not just what was in the trailer and ad copy.
Thank you, Raceblakhart.
Magicsteeple, I think you misunderstood me: I didn't say this trailer is accurate because other trailers are less accurate (God knows many are!) I confined my comments to effects that have more than one out (one of the most powerful techniques in magic imho). It is simply impossible to show more than one without tipping the method. To single this effect out as having a "very misleading" trailer I think is a very unfair comment. I mean, the video gives almost the entire scripting away, the ad copy says there are several methods giving including one "using a gimmicked deck (which you may already own)." What more I can do, I do not know. Feel free to tell me at chris@magicaonline.com .
In any event, I hope you enjoy the effect.
-Chris
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Powerful Effect, Misleading Trailer
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