Price$99.95
Media TypeDVD
CategoryManipulation
Date AddedMar 16, 2003
Art of Card Manipulation DVD Library, Volumes 1-3, The
McBride, Jeff
L & L Publishing
(Based on 1 review)
Jeff McBride, renowned performer and one of the finest card manipulators of our time, teaches you the inside secrets of professional card manipulation. Routines, sleights, productions and flourishes are clearly taught and demonstrated, along with sample routines and the seasoned advice that only a working professional can provide.
Many of these slights and techniques have been closely guarded for years - never published, but only passed on from one professional to another. These can only be found exclusively on this set of studio-quality videos. Jeff leads you through each and every one, while giving you the little tips that make learning easier and performing more entertaining.
Never has video instruction been more valuable. You see how the slights should look, precisely how they are timed and how they are performed in the real world. Now with the help of Jeff McBride, you can learn the baffling and sophisticated card manipulations you have always dreamed of performing.
Extra bonus photo gallery ONLY on the DVDs.
Reviews
(Top ▲)
This epic three-volume set is quite amazing. Jeff McBride has gathered just about everything he has ever learned about card manipulation, and put it on these tapes. This is the stuff he actually uses in his act, including tips and touches learned from the masters -- and through hard-won experience. Each volume contains over twenty items that can be strung together like pearls on a necklace to form a complete card manipulation act (which is exactly what Jeff has done). In fact, the sheer wealth of material on these tapes precludes my listing it all here: fans, flourishes, front-palms, back-palms, cuts, color-changes, vanishes, productions... Here are a few of my favorites:
Volume I: Goldston's Card Flower. The entire deck is transformed into a kind of origami blossom -- which blooms in an audience member's hand. (Watch out for the floating, disembodied head of Eugene Burger, which appears over Jeff's right shoulder near the end of the tape.)
Volume II: The Double-Tier Fan. The first time I saw someone do a giant card fan, I was so consumed with envy that I learned how to Faro Shuffle just so I could make one. My favorite moment on the tape, though, is when Jeff describes how to wet the tips of the fingers in order to manipulate cards while wearing gloves. "Louis Ganson suggests 'spittle' for this," says Jeff. "I just use my saliva."
Volume III: The Boomerang Card. Imagine a playing card flying through the air and returning to your hand like an obedient dove. Jeff apparently learned this technique, as I did, from Ricky Jay's book Cards as Weapons.
Jeff's teaching skills are in fine form throughout the series. He periodically appears before a giant set of tarot cards to give us tips and advice -- not only on card manipulation, but on the art of magic in general. Coming from a world-renowned artist, these secrets are in my opinion the most valuable information on the tapes. Jeff even explains how he recovers when he makes mistakes -- a subject most magicians studiously avoid.
I think these tapes illustrate the advantages of video as a teaching tool. While print is excellent for explaining linear, sequential actions, it is inadequate for conveying simultaneous ones. Issues of timing and finesse are also difficult to discuss on paper. In fact, Jeff relates that when he first read about card manipulation in books, he just didn't get it -- the material seemed impossible. It was only when he saw pros actually doing the moves that he finally caught on. Sometimes a picture really is worth a thousand words.
Ultimately, I think these tapes have achieved something that transcends technique. They have captured the character of a world-class performer
and a truly charming magical personality.
Volume I: Goldston's Card Flower. The entire deck is transformed into a kind of origami blossom -- which blooms in an audience member's hand. (Watch out for the floating, disembodied head of Eugene Burger, which appears over Jeff's right shoulder near the end of the tape.)
Volume II: The Double-Tier Fan. The first time I saw someone do a giant card fan, I was so consumed with envy that I learned how to Faro Shuffle just so I could make one. My favorite moment on the tape, though, is when Jeff describes how to wet the tips of the fingers in order to manipulate cards while wearing gloves. "Louis Ganson suggests 'spittle' for this," says Jeff. "I just use my saliva."
Volume III: The Boomerang Card. Imagine a playing card flying through the air and returning to your hand like an obedient dove. Jeff apparently learned this technique, as I did, from Ricky Jay's book Cards as Weapons.
Jeff's teaching skills are in fine form throughout the series. He periodically appears before a giant set of tarot cards to give us tips and advice -- not only on card manipulation, but on the art of magic in general. Coming from a world-renowned artist, these secrets are in my opinion the most valuable information on the tapes. Jeff even explains how he recovers when he makes mistakes -- a subject most magicians studiously avoid.
I think these tapes illustrate the advantages of video as a teaching tool. While print is excellent for explaining linear, sequential actions, it is inadequate for conveying simultaneous ones. Issues of timing and finesse are also difficult to discuss on paper. In fact, Jeff relates that when he first read about card manipulation in books, he just didn't get it -- the material seemed impossible. It was only when he saw pros actually doing the moves that he finally caught on. Sometimes a picture really is worth a thousand words.
Ultimately, I think these tapes have achieved something that transcends technique. They have captured the character of a world-class performer
and a truly charming magical personality.