Strip with Jon Thompson
From :
http://www.bigblindmedia.comFormat : DVD (with a free Stripper Deck)
Price : £22.99
Overview: Now the Stripper deck does often get looked down on by many magicians, but one man has broken that stigmata. His name is Jon Thomson and has done a great job of redefining the stripper deck. With help from David Forrest and Owen Packard you will learn how to make the stripper deck a more practical and viable tool in card magic.
Review:
10 effects are taught called Formation Aces, Binary 101, Cardman Elektra, Programmed Deck, Find My Aces, Out of Sight (redux), Mental Man (si-stack), Sandwich This, Genuinely Drawn and One to Ten. Along with all the moves and fine points of handling the deck.
David Forrest demo's each of the effects along with Rachel Townsend (who has appeared in many of BBM productions! Poor girl, I have offered to stand in just to give her a break!). Then David and Owen teach the effects with with some great close up shots. The teaching is very well done and you can and will learn all you need to know Also you will find their banter to be great! These two really make the DVD fun to watch and learn from. (Guys, do a podcast please!)
The effects are very well put together and offer many great uses in card and mentalism areas of magic. Its a great mix of effects and will suit all levels of magic.
Now Jon mainly deals with the moves and sleights, but also teaches some “out of the box” stuff as well which could well open up your creative side. Again, he shows ALL the moves in great detail and I had no problems with what he was teaching.
Now Barry Mephisto uses a totally new way of teaching which has to been seen to be believed! Now here we see a pro at work. I hope we can see more of him soon
Good Points: Very detailed, lots of info and ideas, plus a free deck of stripper cards!
Bad Points: the 2 blue heads that distract the viewer and Owen could at least dress for the DVDs (wink)
Conclusion: It seems the quality of the BBM products is getting better and better! Its just really amazing and a testament to the production team and the stars themselves! So far I have not seen one bad DVD from the guys and they use great material and magicians!
A 9 out of 10 overall, this would suit beginners very well and also those who have a few years experience. Never rule out a prop, you never know what new things you could do with it!!!
Gareth Witty
http://www.garethwitty.co.uk
