Price$25.00
Media TypeDVD
CategoryClose Up
Date AddedApr 05, 2009
Gemstones
Jeff Stone
Stone Cold Magic
(Based on 5 reviews)
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Gemstones Today!
It's official: Jeff Stone is unstoppable. His newest project, Gemstones unleashes a string of visual yet practical magic. These are indeed rare gems, and best of all: they are well within the reach of every performer.
No pipe dreams here. Even experienced magicians will be fooled by some of the material on this DVD.
You'll surprise your audience with:
- A card box utility for vanishing or changing cards, bills, slips of paper and more! This will take you a whole 5 minutes to make!
- A super little effect using a folded card and a roll of film. So simple, so minimalist, but their mouths will hang open!
- A coin effect using a candy sucker that plays as well for a roomful of professors as it does a roomful of 6 year-olds.
Every magician is constantly looking for that newest little subtlety that looks and feels natural but makes their magic look professional. This DVD is loaded with 'em! How about leaving your Top-it Laden jacket hanging on a chair? Learn the S.S. Vanish and you'll have a utility at your disposal that will allow you to completely and cleanly vanish and/or switch any small item that you can fit in your hand.
You'll see how Jeff uses classic moves in unique and different ways that will catch even the most well-studied magicians off guard. Plus (and don't overlook this added bonus): you'll have access to a special website full of extras and additional effects... specifically created just for those who purchase this DVD!
Gemstones features a wonderful variety of commercial magic and powerful images, and I wish to heck I had created 'Under My Skin.' I'm CRAZY about that effect! - Jay Sankey
Reviews
(Top ▲)
Overview
Gemstones by Jeff Stone is appropriately named for it contains 13 interesting takes on some highly commercial and entertaining magic. On this DVD Jeff Stone revisits several plots in magic which are familiar but a few are reincarnated versions of tricks that few probably have never seen.Effect
The effects on Gemstones range from card tricks, coin tricks, prediction effects and more. Not only is the average magician’s tools used but Stone incorporates the use of film canisters, office supplies, inexpensive packet trick wallets and modified card boxes. Nothing on this DVD is not within the reach of even a rank beginner including making the gimmicks.Method
The methods employed are basic sleights which are taught as well as a couple of home made gimmicks. The tricks are constructed well where nothing seems to be extraneous. The very first trick requires a 35MM film roll and canister which by today’s standards would seem unusual but the very fact that it is rarely see these days actually creates a bit of curiosity.Product Quality
The filming is basic on this DVD. It certainly is not as glitzy as todays DVDs and downloads but the photography is clear, the sound is good and the pace is easy to follow. What is exceptional are the “extras” you receive with the DVD. You have access to a separate site with bonus content. What I especially appreciated is the customizable “receipt”. Stone generously provides an excel spreadsheet which will allow you to generate and print out a receipt for any item you choose, from any store and location and you can put in any price you want and adjust the tax rate to where you live. How great is that?Ad Copy Integrity
Jeff Stone is especially keyed up on ad copy integrity and there is no doubt you get not only what is stated in the ad copy but more. Remember the bonus content? That alone is worth the asking price.(Top ▲)
Gemstones is Jeff Stone’s follow-up DVD project to his debut DVD, Stone Cold Magic. It could have been named Stone Cold Magic Volume II because like the former project, it has a ton of magic (over an hour and a half), it is all well-taught in a magic lesson format, and contains something for everyone. Unlike Stone Cold Magic, Gemstones does not contain just card tricks. In Gemstones, you will learn tricks with cards, but also coins, keys, and a Twinkie....yes, a Twinkie. This is a fantastic project.
The DVD has over a dozen effects, tricks and routines. The performances are recorded with Stone in a studio setting behind a table. The explanation and instruction tracks immediately follow each performance, which makes this DVD very easy to watch. There are portions of the DVD where Jeff touches upon various magic techniques such as coin vanishes, back palming, ditching and card splitting.
Although the DVD was filmed in Jay Sankey’s studio in Canada, sometimes the camera drifts off the background to expose the side of the backdrop. It does not interfere with your learning or enjoyment of the magic. The DVD also comes with a link to a website that gives additional ideas, although it has last been updated in 2009 as far as I can tell.
Among the stronger effects that are taught is Under My Skin, an effect in which a spectator’s coin vanishes and appears inside (yes, inside) a playing card. Also joining the ranks of “awesome” on this DVD are the Most Triumphant routine and Bill in Twinkie. Yes, if you have never heard someone talk about a “Twinkie force”, you will now.
Quasi Photo is a very good and clever trick, but it is somewhat obsolete because you need to use a 35mm roll of film. No one has rolls of film anymore and I don’t even know if you can easily buy rolls of film in the digital age. Once omnipresent, rolls of film have been replaced by flash drives and SD memory cards. With that being said, I still love this routine and think it can play very strongly to an older audience.
As part of Quasi Photo, Jeff teaches how to build a utility device out of a box of cards that can vanish small items such as torn bills or ripped playing cards. It is very easy to make and it can help create some powerful illusions.
This DVD reminds me of the type of magic that is taught on Murphy’s Magic excellent At The Table lecture series. Come to think of it, I am wondering why Jeff has not yet taught some of this magic in his own At The Table lecture….???
And of course no Stone Cold Magic DVD would be complete with a SPAM reference. He has a magical guest star with an expressionless face staring into the camera and holding a Spam sign. Of course, it is Sankey.
The promotional video shows you accurate snippets of what you will be taught on this project.
You get a great bang for your buck on this excellent DVD and it is well-worth the purchase.
The DVD has over a dozen effects, tricks and routines. The performances are recorded with Stone in a studio setting behind a table. The explanation and instruction tracks immediately follow each performance, which makes this DVD very easy to watch. There are portions of the DVD where Jeff touches upon various magic techniques such as coin vanishes, back palming, ditching and card splitting.
Although the DVD was filmed in Jay Sankey’s studio in Canada, sometimes the camera drifts off the background to expose the side of the backdrop. It does not interfere with your learning or enjoyment of the magic. The DVD also comes with a link to a website that gives additional ideas, although it has last been updated in 2009 as far as I can tell.
Among the stronger effects that are taught is Under My Skin, an effect in which a spectator’s coin vanishes and appears inside (yes, inside) a playing card. Also joining the ranks of “awesome” on this DVD are the Most Triumphant routine and Bill in Twinkie. Yes, if you have never heard someone talk about a “Twinkie force”, you will now.
Quasi Photo is a very good and clever trick, but it is somewhat obsolete because you need to use a 35mm roll of film. No one has rolls of film anymore and I don’t even know if you can easily buy rolls of film in the digital age. Once omnipresent, rolls of film have been replaced by flash drives and SD memory cards. With that being said, I still love this routine and think it can play very strongly to an older audience.
As part of Quasi Photo, Jeff teaches how to build a utility device out of a box of cards that can vanish small items such as torn bills or ripped playing cards. It is very easy to make and it can help create some powerful illusions.
This DVD reminds me of the type of magic that is taught on Murphy’s Magic excellent At The Table lecture series. Come to think of it, I am wondering why Jeff has not yet taught some of this magic in his own At The Table lecture….???
And of course no Stone Cold Magic DVD would be complete with a SPAM reference. He has a magical guest star with an expressionless face staring into the camera and holding a Spam sign. Of course, it is Sankey.
The promotional video shows you accurate snippets of what you will be taught on this project.
You get a great bang for your buck on this excellent DVD and it is well-worth the purchase.
(Top ▲)
Gemstones is a DVD brought to you by none other than the prolific reviewer himself, Jeff Stone.
On this DVD you will find some clever ideas and effects that you may be able to put into your own sets. Jeff gives you the background of each effect and where it came from, so his crediting is also very good. Some of the effects use rather archaic items (like a roll of film) and others use techniques that are often misjudged or misused by many magicians (such as equivoque). Even archaic props can be justified with the right kind of presentation but you, dear reader, are the one that must come up with those ideas.
The production quality of this DVD was good - the lighting and the video quality were top-notch. There were a few spots where the microphone gets overpowered by the sound of ruffled clothing but nothing that affects the learning process. The menu was easy to navigate.
The overall videography was a little frustrating because just as you started too focus your eyes on a particular shot or on a prop, the shot changed to something else or the camera was moving. To be clear, this was not the case for every single minute of the DVD, just some parts here and there. It was enough to give the star rating a little bit of a hit.
Jeff does a good job of teaching you the effects and how to perform them, as well as giving you a few ideas for presentational hooks for some of them.
If you like what you see in the ad trailer or read in the ad copy, both of which are 100% accurate, you will not be disappointed with this DVD, especially for the price.
4 stars.
On this DVD you will find some clever ideas and effects that you may be able to put into your own sets. Jeff gives you the background of each effect and where it came from, so his crediting is also very good. Some of the effects use rather archaic items (like a roll of film) and others use techniques that are often misjudged or misused by many magicians (such as equivoque). Even archaic props can be justified with the right kind of presentation but you, dear reader, are the one that must come up with those ideas.
The production quality of this DVD was good - the lighting and the video quality were top-notch. There were a few spots where the microphone gets overpowered by the sound of ruffled clothing but nothing that affects the learning process. The menu was easy to navigate.
The overall videography was a little frustrating because just as you started too focus your eyes on a particular shot or on a prop, the shot changed to something else or the camera was moving. To be clear, this was not the case for every single minute of the DVD, just some parts here and there. It was enough to give the star rating a little bit of a hit.
Jeff does a good job of teaching you the effects and how to perform them, as well as giving you a few ideas for presentational hooks for some of them.
If you like what you see in the ad trailer or read in the ad copy, both of which are 100% accurate, you will not be disappointed with this DVD, especially for the price.
4 stars.
(Top ▲)
PROS
This is a collection of a dozen effect plus some bonus ideas. It includes some gems and a bit of rubble.
There is likely to be a nice little routine that you might enjoy. I particularly liked the Miser’s Nightmare. This is a very nice routine with multiple phases and several easy methods.
I also really liked All For One. A very nice card production.
All routines use pretty simple moves. Some may take a bit of practice.
CONS
Some of the effects are from another century, using extinct props. Photographic memory uses an old camera film case and an old roll of camera film. Really!? Who has these laying around any more? I would NOT recommend doing this routine, unless you follow it up with an effect involving an eight track cassette. However, this routine does involve a nice gimmicked card box that could be used for a routine that does not involve extinct props.
One of the effects, VISA 2.0, is a multiple out. While there are some clever outs, I think these effects often come across awkward. The awkwardness is if they say this, then you count this way, if they say that, then you count that way, etc.
One of the effects, under my skin, may get under your skin. The preparation for just one effect is quite the lengthy project.
VERDICT
There are some gem effects and a bit of rubble, but I think you might find something of value in here.
This is a collection of a dozen effect plus some bonus ideas. It includes some gems and a bit of rubble.
There is likely to be a nice little routine that you might enjoy. I particularly liked the Miser’s Nightmare. This is a very nice routine with multiple phases and several easy methods.
I also really liked All For One. A very nice card production.
All routines use pretty simple moves. Some may take a bit of practice.
CONS
Some of the effects are from another century, using extinct props. Photographic memory uses an old camera film case and an old roll of camera film. Really!? Who has these laying around any more? I would NOT recommend doing this routine, unless you follow it up with an effect involving an eight track cassette. However, this routine does involve a nice gimmicked card box that could be used for a routine that does not involve extinct props.
One of the effects, VISA 2.0, is a multiple out. While there are some clever outs, I think these effects often come across awkward. The awkwardness is if they say this, then you count this way, if they say that, then you count that way, etc.
One of the effects, under my skin, may get under your skin. The preparation for just one effect is quite the lengthy project.
VERDICT
There are some gem effects and a bit of rubble, but I think you might find something of value in here.
(Top ▲)
Gem Stones is a well made DVD, easy to navigate and good quality. I found the videography a little irritating with the strange angles and clumsy zooming but overall it was good and you should have no difficulty understanding what is going on.
The array a tricks is pleasing. Jeff has a nice mix of card and non-card effects. He states that there are 13, but there are more in the bonus section. Do not miss this section.
He has an interesting card box utility that will intrigue many close up magicians and get thing thinking in some new ways. He also demonstrates a “small object vanish” that leaves the hands totally clean. He fooled me with that one.
I enjoyed Visa 2.0, which is a reworking of Joe Diamond’s Visa Card. It is fun and has lots of possibilities to make this your own personal effect.
Synchronicity has a nice visual look to it.
Jeff has done a lot of thinking here and his explanations are very clear. I would like to see him develop more compelling premises for his effects. Many of them are simply expositions.
If you are looking for some new close up material, I think you will be pleased with this DVD. It should get you thinking in some new ways.
The array a tricks is pleasing. Jeff has a nice mix of card and non-card effects. He states that there are 13, but there are more in the bonus section. Do not miss this section.
He has an interesting card box utility that will intrigue many close up magicians and get thing thinking in some new ways. He also demonstrates a “small object vanish” that leaves the hands totally clean. He fooled me with that one.
I enjoyed Visa 2.0, which is a reworking of Joe Diamond’s Visa Card. It is fun and has lots of possibilities to make this your own personal effect.
Synchronicity has a nice visual look to it.
Jeff has done a lot of thinking here and his explanations are very clear. I would like to see him develop more compelling premises for his effects. Many of them are simply expositions.
If you are looking for some new close up material, I think you will be pleased with this DVD. It should get you thinking in some new ways.