Fancy a pot of jam
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Available :
Alakazam £24.99 (Or your favourite dealer)
Description of effects contained therin, along with my own personal dialogue :
Brainless Travellers - The routine James wanted to keep to himself! Two piles of ten cards…the spectator merely THINKS of a card from one of the piles…it immediately vanishes from this pile…only nine remain…the second pile is counted…there are eleven…the thought of card is shown to have travelled across…But Wait… another spectator thought of a different card…NO PROBLEM! With just a click of the fingers and without even touching the piles… the piles are counted (by the spectators) and one pile now contains only eight cards and the other twelve! The second card has now travelled across!
Now get this no gimmicked cards, no setup and the best part it can all be done with a borrowed deck!
Yeah, It plays as it says. Very strong and very direct, pretty easy to do too.Signed Card to Sealed Envelope - This is not your standard Signed Card to Sealed Envelope; it's all done by the spectator! A signed card vanishes from your spectator's possession and impossibly reappears in a sealed envelope held by the very same spectator!
This was the only effect I didn't want to immediately go out and learn, and although it was pretty cool, the routine just seemed a little long and drawn out.Psychological Deck Vanish - The ultimate solution to the "Show me a trick!" request that will blow them away! The deck vanishes from between yours and the spectator's hands, leaving nothing but their previously thought of card!
This is slightly hypey. "Previously thought of card" means card that you stopped on, but the routine is phrased to make them remember that they thaught of a card. This however dosen't mean that it isn't absoloutely fantastic, you freely drop the cards from one hand to another and a spectator says stop anywhere. You ask them how many cards there are in the deck, and then ask them to put their hands above and below the deck you are holding. The deck then vanishes, you have no sleeves or anything. Strong misdirection is needed, as per anything in this dvd, but its a fun and stunning vanish. As a note, this will only work as-is for people working profesionally, instead of to friends and family, but it could easily be adapted to work just as well for anyone (It just might require slightly different misdirection than listed on the DVD).Card Under Box - The classic effect with some great new twists! See James perform this in all the "wrong" situations and successfully blow people away! Repeat card under box, deck under box & optional vanish! This is a great lesson in misdirection as James proves that with the right thinking, you CAN do this anywhere!
Yeah... Its pretty darn cool. If I didn't already have a card under box routine I was entirely happy with, I would be wanting to learn this. Again, strong misdirection is needed, but james's routine has built in misdirection which makes it achievable for most people.Card Under Watch - This one gets people talking! When a spectator finds their signed card folded & wedged snugly under their watch, they literally freak out! James has routined this in such a way that the spectator's will NEVER be able to backtrack the load. A fantastic lesson in time misdirection!
Again, another routine I love, I really want to learn this. The presentation is really clever and made the effect interesting, and James Brown again gives you lots of tips over the misdirection needed.Fancy a Pot of Jam? - Pitching & loading for the real world! This effect takes a simple coin trick and gives it an ending that is so surreal that it will be remembered for a very long time! James begins with "The World Famous 11p Trick" & ends it with a mind blowing production of a pot of jam.
Ill explain this routine in full - You bring out a 10p and a 1p peice, spectators can look at them, and then you place them on your palm, stating its the 11p trick. You take the 10p away, and ask the audience what you have in your hand... "1p" ... but nope, its the 11p trick you explain, so you have 11p in your hand. You invite the spectator to pickup the 1p and drop it freely in your pocket. Then you ask what is in your hand again, "10p" they state, but again you remind them, its the 11p trick, displaing 11p in your hand. Again you remove the 10p, putting it in your pocket, and ask the audience how much you have in your hand, they catch onto your clever scam and say "11p", trying to catch you out, but then of course, you reply "Ok... so definately not a pot of jam" dropping a small pot of jam onto their hand... Do you know why I use jam by the way?" he asks, as he cups his hands around it. "... Because its practically invisible" as he opens his hands and shows its no longer there (sleeveless). If wished it then reappears on the shoulder of the spectator... Ohwow.
As you can probably tell, this routine is totally awesome. I haven't managed to perfect it to a performance level yet, but I can't imagine it getting a bad reaction. I know this phrase is thrown around a lot, but this routine is worth the price of the DVDCards Opener - A brilliant routine combining the best elements of card Magic, to create an action packed showpiece that is ideal to begin your set with. Cards to pocket, card changes and a deck vanish make this something to really show you mean business when you have a deck of cards!
This, for me, was my favourite routine in the DVD. As it reads, very fast moving routine, very strong, fairly flashy but also happens in the audiences hands. Gutsy loads made easy by Mr Brown's fantastic misdirection tips.Cards to Spectator's Pocket - Sounds impossible! You have to see, learn it, then go out and try it! This really works and takes the popular cards to pocket plot, but amplifies the impact! Especially as the spectator actually removes the card from their own pocket and the WHOLE DECK when the effect climaxes with it vanishing & appearing in their pocket! A reputation maker for those who are willing to go out there & do it!
Ill learn the other effects first, and then come back to this one, maybe my misdirection will be strong again then 
Diminishing Switch - A fantastic transposition effect that is not the norm! A SINGLE card on a spectator's hand changes places with FOUR cards from your hands! This routine takes a well known sequence, builds a trick around it, then delivers a knock out transposition ending that is just impossible!
Yet another routine I loved. Ill explain the basic effect so you know exactly what you are getting with this - A spectator picks a card, and its placed flat on their hand. You get another spectator to look at a card (e.g. 4 of diamonds) , and you explain that you are going to find what her card is by using the top 4 cards of the deck. The first card is a 4 of diamonds which shows its red, the second card is a 4 of diamonds which shows the card chosen is a diamonds, the third card shows its a 4 e.c.t. and when all 4 cards have been shown to be the 4 of diamonds, they are turned over and revealed to actually be all queens. The spectator is then asked what card they think they have on their palm, they answer 4 of diamonds trying to predict the path of the trick, but when they look at the single card on their hand, they find that it has changed to 4 cards - the 4 kings, and the performer of course, has one card, the 4 of diamonds.
A very nice effect with a very nice kicker which fooled me hard when I first saw it (like most of the stuff on this dvd, actually). Yet another trick I have to learnBand Up! - Visual card Magic at its best! A selected card literally appears from nowhere on the back of a spectator's hand. The deck is wrapped in a rubber band; the spectator's hand goes on top, then BANG, the selection jumps onto the BACK of their hand! It looks like trick photography on film!
Meh, it dosen't look like trick photography on film, but it IS pretty cool. Very fun to do, and can get some good reactions if you put it into your ambitious card routine (You can play this as, when the card was going to the top of the deck, you overshot a bit)."James's sensational audience management will make you shake your head in disbelief. I have seen James in action for real people and trust me when I say he is a master of misdirection. He is consistently excellent with his magic. This DVD is a must for anyone who wants to learn from a real worker. GREAT! GREAT! GREAT! You can only mess with the classic principles of magic when you fully understand why they work; James fully understands why they work, period!"
OHMYGOD I WROTE A LOT, BUT I LOVE THIS DVDJames Brown has made one hell of a DVD. Seriously. It may not be everyone's style of magic, but for me the effects suit my performing style perfectly, and are incredibly strong too.
Not listed above is James also explaining the basics of the watch steal and the misdirection for that, amongst other priceless advice given along the way.
A wealth of learning is also to be had by simply watching James perform to real people in real situations, and watching how bold he is with the moves.
I would give it a 9/10, but truth is, thats undershooting. And as nothing is completely and utterly perfect, this DVD gets a
9.9/10I may add more to this dvd, or more likely prune it, but thats my review as it stands.
Yes there are probably mistakes in my review, probably tens of hundereds, but its nearly 12 o clock and I am bloody tired. Goodnight Go Magic Go.
