Real World Product Reviews
Reviews from the repertoire of a real working professional!
Issue 21 - April 8th 2015
In this issue:
Automata reviewed by Jon Jensen
Real World Reviews
I`m a big fan of Gary Jones and Chris Congreave, a pair of professional
magicians from England, who sporadically produce high quality products
together, usually with a theme. Many of the tricks on their DVD projects
come directly from their own professional shows so you know they are
perfect for the real world.
Automata is a DVD with nine self working tricks, a popular theme in
magic. All of the tricks require minimum practice, yet produce a big effect.
I am not afraid of sleight of hand, but I enjoy tricks where I can concentrate
on the performance. I found merit for all nine tricks, and you could perform
any of them for your friends, or in a professional show, and get a great
reaction.
I chose one of the tricks on the DVD, the fireball cups and balls, to
perform at the bar last week. It is done with three small cups and three
pieces of paper rolled into small balls. After a series of tricks where the
balls penetrate through the bottom of the cups, the three cups are stacked
and the three balls are placed on top. Using a lighter, the balls vanish with
a bright light. An object of your choice is produced from under the stacked
cups. Gary produces a shallot, which has a special meaning in England, I`ll
explain my final load in a second.
On the DVD Gary uses three small metal cups which are not easy to
find. However, at Walmart I found mini red cups that are perfect for this
routine. For the final load I wanted to use red fireball candy which were not
as easy to find as I first thought. Instead, I used sour cherry ball candy and
simply misnamed it fireball candy at it`s revelation.
Gary Jones`s routine is diabolical as you do not have to palm in the final
load during the routine. Also, the use of flash paper always increases the
impact of a trick, and in this case it is particularly true.
This trick packs small, plays big, and will stun your audience. Plus you
get eight other great tricks to play with.
Automata
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