Price$24.95
Media TypeTrick
CategoryClose Up
Date AddedNov 21, 2014
Voices
Prace, Jeff
(Based on 2 reviews)
Filtering through hundreds of murmurs, I have extracted four astonishments, each one unbelievable in effect and innovative in method.
FLAVORLESS :: A chewed piece of gum becomes new again in a fraction of a second.
CONTAINMiNT :: A container of orange-flavored mints transforms to those of a different color. *gimmicks included*
CLASPED :: A borrowed finger ring melts away and arrives secured on the magician's necklace.
FUEL :: The logo on a standard lighter dematerializes and travels before multiplying in the spectator's hand. *gimmicks included*
Additionally, I perform and explain three bonus tricks utilizing drinking straws, headphones, and lighters.
The disc also includes a 15-minute session on creativity, in which I present in-progress ideas with the hope of inspiring original thoughts.
The voices have been quieted.
Reviews
(Top ▲)
Voices by Jeff Prace is a collection of tricks using everyday objects presented on a well-produced DVD. These tricks will resonate with magicians that want to appear as if they are doing impromptu magic with ordinary everyday items such as gum, tic-tacs, a bic lighter, a cup of soda, a necklace or headphones. Voices has four main tricks, three “bonus” tricks and a fifteen minute “creative session” with Prace. With the DVD you get a small envelope that has some of the materials needed to build some of the gimmicks, but you will still need to buy materials needed to complete the gimmick building.
As referenced above, you will not be able to hit the ground running. You will need to run to the local store to buy the materials necessary to build the gimmicks and then you will need to engage in some art-and-crafts construction for most of the effects. You may not be able to find everything you need at a local store, but with some poking around you will be able to locate all the necessary items needed to create the gimmicks. This should probably be disclosed in advance to avoid the disappointment of not being able to perform any of the tricks without first creating a small shopping list.
The four main effects are described below:
FLAVORLESS: The performer takes a chewed piece of gum out of his mouth, puts it in his hand and offers it to a spectator. Once refused, the performer taps the gob of gum with the blister pack and the chewed gum instantly transforms into a new piece of gum, ready to be chewed. The effect is good, but the chewed piece of gum looks a bit funky and not exactly like a real chewed piece of gum. It looks more like 3 or 4 pieces in a large chunk. If you like the way this trick looks in the promotional video, then you will have fun performing this effect. This trick uses a basic sleight.
CONTAINMINT: The performer turns a box of orange colored tic-tacs into white colored tic-tacs. This is a clever and simple effect, but as the promotional video shows, the transformation takes place when Prace places it under the bottom of his T-shirt, for a split second, which weakens the effect. You probably could do the same transformation without the need to hide the box for that quick instant. There are some angles that can be managed by the handling of the box and you will need to clean up before handing out some tic-tacs.
CLASPED: The performer borrows a finger ring and vanishes it after “polishing” it under the bottom of a t-shirt. You can’t have a tucked in shirt to do this trick as taught. The ring then reappears on a necklace around the performer’s neck. This trick is great in concept but will require you to build the necklace from a specific type of rope, which may not suit many people and will look like a cheap rope. Prace indicated that the type of material is hard to find and did not give any leads to find it. You will also need to buy other items other than the necklace, which can easily be bought on the internet. Also, the handling of the necklace looks a bit funky, which was edited out of the promotional video. There are serious angle issues with this trick. The spectators must be directly in front of you and no one can be behind you. I was disappointed because the edited snippet of the promotional video, whether intentional or not, led me to believe that the trick was something different than what I perceived it to be. Clean-up of this effect can also be a bit cumbersome. Note that I did not build this gimmick based upon the issues presented above.
FUEL: The graphic logo on a bic lighter moves, vanishes and multiplies on the lighter. This is an update to a paddle routine and can be very fooling. As in all the other effects, you will need to buy a certain item, which in this case is easy to find, to perform this trick.
Prace credits several magicians for the above-tricks that have created similar earlier effects.
Prace also describes three additional effects that he calls “bonus” effects, although I am not sure why they are bonus effect as opposed to regular effects. Strawsome is an effect in which your friends see you drinking one color liquid from a fast-food type cup and then the drink visually changes into another color, which can be seen in the transparent straw. A pretty neat effect and one that Prace distributed for free on the internet. Although Prace covers the straw during the quick moment when the drink changes colors, you may want to try it without obstructing the straw. Iflite is a ring vanish in which the spectator’s finger ring appears on a headphone cord that is plugged into your phone which is in your pocket. Although this is a clever trick, the handling raises some questions and it is not a killer effect. Light Flight is another trick with bic lighters in which you “remove” the logo from one lighter and magically “throw” it onto another bic lighter. This is similar in working and handling to Fuel, described above.
Prace then has a “15 minute creative session” in which he explains how he creates and updates old magic tricks using everyday objects. He gives as example of the stiff rope trick trick, but uses headphones, instead of a rope. It is interesting to see how Prace goes about his art and his creative process.
The DVD is detailed and clear in gimmick construction and trick instruction. Prace is very methodical and slowly takes you through each trick. The entire DVD is shot in a basement and has some spooky, horror film-like music running in the background throughout to match with the theme that he hears voices that help him create magic. I could have done without the haunted music as it is not necessary and somewhat annoying to listen to after a few minutes. These tricks are not spooky or scary so although the themed idea is creative, it does not 100% match the tricks. The DVD is easy to navigate with distinct performance and explanation tracks. The DVD also has some printable image files to create a gimmick.
The promotional video is mostly accurate, with the exception of the editing I referenced above. Some people make take issue with the ad copy claims, which are vague sales assertions such as “insanely good tricks” or that the tricks are “astonishments, each one unbelievable in effect and innovative in method.” This is a bit of an overstatement, or perhaps just puffing, but notwithstanding that, Voices is a creative project.
As referenced above, you will not be able to hit the ground running. You will need to run to the local store to buy the materials necessary to build the gimmicks and then you will need to engage in some art-and-crafts construction for most of the effects. You may not be able to find everything you need at a local store, but with some poking around you will be able to locate all the necessary items needed to create the gimmicks. This should probably be disclosed in advance to avoid the disappointment of not being able to perform any of the tricks without first creating a small shopping list.
The four main effects are described below:
FLAVORLESS: The performer takes a chewed piece of gum out of his mouth, puts it in his hand and offers it to a spectator. Once refused, the performer taps the gob of gum with the blister pack and the chewed gum instantly transforms into a new piece of gum, ready to be chewed. The effect is good, but the chewed piece of gum looks a bit funky and not exactly like a real chewed piece of gum. It looks more like 3 or 4 pieces in a large chunk. If you like the way this trick looks in the promotional video, then you will have fun performing this effect. This trick uses a basic sleight.
CONTAINMINT: The performer turns a box of orange colored tic-tacs into white colored tic-tacs. This is a clever and simple effect, but as the promotional video shows, the transformation takes place when Prace places it under the bottom of his T-shirt, for a split second, which weakens the effect. You probably could do the same transformation without the need to hide the box for that quick instant. There are some angles that can be managed by the handling of the box and you will need to clean up before handing out some tic-tacs.
CLASPED: The performer borrows a finger ring and vanishes it after “polishing” it under the bottom of a t-shirt. You can’t have a tucked in shirt to do this trick as taught. The ring then reappears on a necklace around the performer’s neck. This trick is great in concept but will require you to build the necklace from a specific type of rope, which may not suit many people and will look like a cheap rope. Prace indicated that the type of material is hard to find and did not give any leads to find it. You will also need to buy other items other than the necklace, which can easily be bought on the internet. Also, the handling of the necklace looks a bit funky, which was edited out of the promotional video. There are serious angle issues with this trick. The spectators must be directly in front of you and no one can be behind you. I was disappointed because the edited snippet of the promotional video, whether intentional or not, led me to believe that the trick was something different than what I perceived it to be. Clean-up of this effect can also be a bit cumbersome. Note that I did not build this gimmick based upon the issues presented above.
FUEL: The graphic logo on a bic lighter moves, vanishes and multiplies on the lighter. This is an update to a paddle routine and can be very fooling. As in all the other effects, you will need to buy a certain item, which in this case is easy to find, to perform this trick.
Prace credits several magicians for the above-tricks that have created similar earlier effects.
Prace also describes three additional effects that he calls “bonus” effects, although I am not sure why they are bonus effect as opposed to regular effects. Strawsome is an effect in which your friends see you drinking one color liquid from a fast-food type cup and then the drink visually changes into another color, which can be seen in the transparent straw. A pretty neat effect and one that Prace distributed for free on the internet. Although Prace covers the straw during the quick moment when the drink changes colors, you may want to try it without obstructing the straw. Iflite is a ring vanish in which the spectator’s finger ring appears on a headphone cord that is plugged into your phone which is in your pocket. Although this is a clever trick, the handling raises some questions and it is not a killer effect. Light Flight is another trick with bic lighters in which you “remove” the logo from one lighter and magically “throw” it onto another bic lighter. This is similar in working and handling to Fuel, described above.
Prace then has a “15 minute creative session” in which he explains how he creates and updates old magic tricks using everyday objects. He gives as example of the stiff rope trick trick, but uses headphones, instead of a rope. It is interesting to see how Prace goes about his art and his creative process.
The DVD is detailed and clear in gimmick construction and trick instruction. Prace is very methodical and slowly takes you through each trick. The entire DVD is shot in a basement and has some spooky, horror film-like music running in the background throughout to match with the theme that he hears voices that help him create magic. I could have done without the haunted music as it is not necessary and somewhat annoying to listen to after a few minutes. These tricks are not spooky or scary so although the themed idea is creative, it does not 100% match the tricks. The DVD is easy to navigate with distinct performance and explanation tracks. The DVD also has some printable image files to create a gimmick.
The promotional video is mostly accurate, with the exception of the editing I referenced above. Some people make take issue with the ad copy claims, which are vague sales assertions such as “insanely good tricks” or that the tricks are “astonishments, each one unbelievable in effect and innovative in method.” This is a bit of an overstatement, or perhaps just puffing, but notwithstanding that, Voices is a creative project.
(Top ▲)
Random I-Tunes Song of The Moment: The Story of Us by Taylor Swift
Voices by Jeff Prace Review
One DVD, a bunch of gimmicks and $25 bucks. Is it gem or is it rubble? Stay tuned to find out.
Effect
This is a multi-effect DVD. The four main effects are: 1) chewed gum becomes restored, 2) color changing Tic Tacs, 3) "ring flight" to your necklace and 4) jumping and multiplying logo (on a Bic lighter).
The bonus effects are: 1) color changing soda (i.e., the soda sipped through a clear straw changes from Coke to orange soda), 2) "ring flight" to your iPod earphones and 3) jumping logo from your friend's Bic lighter to your Bic lighter.
Method
Most of the effects require heavy arts and crafts and/or some advance set up work. Once you've made the gimmicks, the methods are pretty solid, for the most part. That's the catch, however, you'll still need to go out and buy some more stuff to make the gimmicks work. Though several "things" are included to help you make your gimmicks, not all of the stuff required to is include.
For example, chewed and restored gum (Flavorless) requires that you purchase 3 more things before you can do the effect. Plus, of course, you'll have to purchase the gum packet. For the color changing Tic Tacs, everything you need (other than a box of Tic Tacs is supplied.
For the ring flight, nothing is included. You'll need a special kind of cord that Jeff Prace admits is hard to find. He said he found it online but didn't give a link or a reference to where it is found. In addition to that, you'll need to purchase the clip that the ring ends up hooked to, and you'll need to buy two "special somethings" to make the rest of the gimmick. Furhter, once you have everything you still need to do some arts and crafts.
For the Bic logo stuff, you are supplied everything but the lighters. The color changing soda can be done at any fast food restaurant with the what you will find in the environment. The "ring flight" to earphones requires you to purchase a set of earphones that you can destroy — it can be a cheap pair. The Bic lighter effect only requires a Bic lighter and the already-included gimmick.
Once you've got everything put together and you decide to use any/all of these effects, the methods are reasonably practical. For the gum effect, you'll need to carry your pack of gum with you and special little gimmick. The gimmick has to be kept clean and protected. Jeff recommends keep it in a Tic Tac box until you're ready to perform. That's fine, but when you're ready to perform, you'll want to have it out of the box and ready to go. As long as you're careful with the gimmick, you shouldn't have any issues with it. Once you're in performance, the method is very clean and super easy to do.
For the color changing Tic Tacs, you just need to have the gimmicked box in your pocket, and you're ready to go. This one has some minor angles to be concerned about, but nothing too serious. However, the only change that he teaches requires that you wear an un-tucked shirt. If you don't wear an un-tucked shirt, then you'll have to come up with your own method to effect the change. Do to the angle issues, this may be a little trickier than you think.
With the gum trick you can easily give out a piece of gum without worrying about the gimmick getting in the way. With the Tic Tacs, the gimmick is a little bit in the way a little bit. You have to ditch the gimmick and get it out of the way if you're going to give away a Tic Tac. The premise of the effect is that you show a box of orange Tic Tacs and offer them, but instead of giving them out, you change them to white and give those out. Let's hope nobody wants orange.
The ring flight effect requires that you are wearing the necklace you made in the arts and crafts section earlier, and you'll need to have an un-tucked shirt. There is no other way to do this effect. You must be wearing an un-tucked shirt that hangs just below your belt and not much further down.
Assuming you've done that, there is also one further point in the method that cannot be done if there is anyone behind you, so for street performance and most close up settings this is not work-able. For parlor, you're fine. However, I would argue that if you're performing parlor, you'll likely not be dressed as casually as an un-tucked shirt suggests.
For the Bic lighter logo stuff, just carry the gimmicked lighter in your pocket and you're all set. You can even have it examined when you're done. Of all the main effects, this is the most practical and the cleanest looking effect.
For the bonus effects, you can do the color changing soda at a fast food restaurant as long as you can have a moment alone at the soda fountain. The ring flight to earphones just requires you to carry your smart phone/mp3 player in your front pocket, and you'll need to be wearing earphones with them tucked in your pocket as well. The earphones can just be around your neck rather than in your ear, but they must be in plain sight. Also, the method/handling taught on the DVD isn't the most convincing handling I've seen. It was a little fishy looking. Lastly, the bonus lighter effect only requires that you carry a gimmicked (yet examinable) lighter in your pocket. It also requires that you can borrow another Bic lighter. Other than that, like the previous lighter effects, this is the most practical of the bunch.
Ad Copy Integrity
The written ad copy is fine. There really aren't any claims made, just basic descriptions of the effects. The video trailer is pretty good for the most part. However, there are two major pieces of the ring flight to necklace effect that are cut out of the trailer. One of the missing moments, in particular, changes the way the effect looks. If they left it in the trailer, you would definitely see what I mean when I say that the handling is a little fishy.
Product Quality
The DVD is pretty well made. It's well lit and well mic'd. However, there were a few places where the camera wasn't in the right place, and any close up shots were a bit blurry. There was only one real place where this kind of caused a problem. The gimmicks included are well made. You will have to modify them to make them work which is a bit of pain. The odd thing is that in the DVD Jeff tells us to trim them down to size to fit the lighter (or Tick Tac box). I find that odd because the lighter and Tic Tac box required for the effect to work are of a standard size. In other words, he could have made the gimmicks the right size to start with rather than having us trim them down.
Some of the stuff required to make some of the gimmicks was not included. Some of it, I understand. I don't expect the gum, lighter, tape, glue, etc. to be included. However, there were two little things that were needed for both the gum trick and necklace ring flight that probably should have been included. However, when you consider that the DVD is only $25, and you do get some customized gimmicks, it's not too terrible that the "little things" were not included. However, the special cord for the necklace is hard to find, so there should have been at least a resource for us to find the needed cord.
Final Thoughts
I know that I've said a lot of things that were not exactly compliments regarding this project. So let me be clear where I stand. In the ad trailer, you see most of the effects performed, and they look that good (or bad) in real life. The only exception is the ring to necklace effect. You do not see an accurate portrayal of that effect. That one effect aside, the other effects are as clean as they looked in the trailer.
The question is do you like the effects? If so, if you don't mind a fair amount of one-time arts and crafts and a possible trip to a craft store, then you'll be happy with your purchase. The lighter tricks require you to gimmick one or two lighters (depending on if you want to do both or just one of the lighter tricks) with stuff included. That's it. You're done. The gum trick . . . a trip to a craft store. The method is super clean once you create the gimmick. Tic Tacs trick . . . use the stuff with the DVD to gimmick your own box of Tic Tacs; carry it with you, and you're good to go. Just watch your angles on the change.
Both of the ring flight effects are a little fishy when it comes to the less than clean handling. The one on the necklace really requires a very controlled environment. The one on the earphones requires a very smooth placement of the ring secretly into your pocket. It's awkward. It was awkward and obvious when Jeff did it on the video.
This DVD has a lot of good stuff. It's all organic stuff. Use your gum, breath mints, lighter, earphones, etc., just stuff you already (probably) carry on you. Further, there is a 15 minute segment about creativity that has a few decent ideas that you'll likely find valuable. All in all, this DVD isn't horrible. It has a lot of stuff for only $25. Plus the majority of the methods are solid and clean once you create the gimmicks.
Final Verdict:
3.5 Stars with a Stone Status of gem.