Price$34.95
Media TypeDVD
CategoryGeneral, Close Up
Date AddedMay 28, 2015
The Clover Project
Kennedy, Brian
World Magic Shop
(Based on 1 review)
Three incredibly strong, original effects, from their working repertoire. Cello-Ollogy: A chosen signed card visually penetrates the cellophane on an examined card box. Roulette: Brian's magician fooler! Out of this World with a deck that is shuffled any way and every way by the spectator. The spectators themselves then separate the cards into two separate piles, one red and one black. Diffuse: A signed card is returned to the deck and further isolated in the card case. The case is then bound with a piece of ribbon. In a mind blowing moment of visual magic the card visibly penetrates the card case and appears instantly, trapped by the ribbon, on the outside of the case. It can be immediately examined.
Reviews
(Top ▲)
The Clover Project, presented by World Magic Shop, is a DVD featuring proud Irish magicians, Brian Kennedy and Carl Campbell (Kennedy twice makes a point that Ireland is not a part of England). The duo presents three card tricks and the DVD comes with some of the necessary supplies that are needed to make gimmicks for two of the three tricks.
The first trick, Cello-Ollogy, is a clever effect in which the spectator freely selects any card and signs it. The magician returns it to the deck and after placing the cards on the closed box, the signed card magically appears under the cellophane of the tuck box. It is a very strong effect. Before performing this trick you must engage in an arts-and-crafts project. Although it is not complicated, it will take anywhere from 10 to 25 minutes to make. Cello-Ollogy starts off with two lives performances, a studio performance and a thorough tutorial on how to make the gimmick. Kennedy makes the gimmick real time and it is easy to follow. In addition to the supplied gimmicks, you will need glue, a straight-edge razor (and/or scissors) a cutting pad, a pencil, a special playing card and an extra card box. The explanation on how to perform the trick is taught by Kennedy, which is clear and easy to follow. The reset is quick and can be repeated in a table hopping setting. The box cannot immediately be handed out for inspection, but the signed card can be given to the spectator for a souvenir. This trick is worth the effort.
The second trick, Roulette, is Kennedy’s own version of Out of This World, meant to be performed to two spectators; one who selects the red cards and one who selects the black cards. Unlike the original OOTW, in this routine, the cards can be shuffled by the spectator before and during the trick. Also different is that the performer handles the cards, by asking each spectator (either the red pile or black pile designee) if they want to add the card to their pile of discard the card onto a trash pile. This selection process is reminiscent of the White Trash trick from Twisted Blizzard marketed by Mark Mason. In the end, there is a pile of the discarded cards, an all-black pile and an all-red pile. The live performance takes about six minutes, which is an eternity. It is way too long and needs to be cut down or you will lose the interest of your spectators. It was hard to watch. In fact, Kennedy suggested doing the trick with only half of the deck. This cannot be done with a borrowed deck as the cards used are gimmicked in a way that is similar to other recently released products. The magicians explain how to create the deck and how to perform the trick, which track is a bit tedious. It will take a one-time set up, which will take about five minutes. The spectators can handle the deck and will most likely not be able to detect the method. Audience management greatly reduces the risk of exposure of the method. This is a good trick, but will require a patient audience in the right, distraction-free, setting.
The final trick, Diffuse, is a very cool and very strong effect that will require a significant arts-and-crafts project to make the gimmick. In Diffuse, the performer apparently selects a free card after a riffle of the deck and signs the “selected” card. The performer places the card back in the deck and then all the cards back into the box. Then the performer, wraps a ribbon around the closed box and the spectator ties it in a knot or bow. In an amazing display of magic, the signed card instantly materializes, in front of the spectator’s eyes outside the box and under the tied ribbon. The construction phase of this gimmick will require a few duplicate boxes of cards that will be cut, a duplicate “selection” card, a needle, the materials needed to construct Cello-Ollogy listed above and the supplied materials. Campbell constructs the gimmick real-time in an almost twenty minute track. It took me about an hour to create a satisfactory gimmick after a few stumbles. Stick with it, it is worth it. After significant use, the gimmick may need to be reconstructed, but I have not used it enough to verify that theory. Some of the handling of the cards is not so fluid and will require practice to get it to a level of fluency needed to perform. The DVD contains a live performance of Diffuse and an explanation by Kennedy and Campbell. The trick cannot be repeated to the same group. The instant of magic will create some noise, which is not an issue if you are at a loud party. This can also be covered by talking and/or snapping at the instant that the signed card appears. There are also some tight angles that need to be protected, which limits the environment in which Diffuse can be performed. Also, the box of cards cannot immediately be handed out for inspection, unless there is come clean-up. The signed card can be immediately handed out.
The production quality of the DVD is not great. The video quality is not up to par as the resolution does not meet today’s standard and in various clips the color is off because of the lack of professional lighting. In one scene, there a noticeable shadows on the wall that makes the video look like a high-school project. Also, the audio tracks are not clean and there is a significant amount of background noise in some of the live performance segments. During the explanation tracks, the two magicians are seated behind a table in front of what appears to be a purple painted cement wall with spots were the paint was chipped. Not too professional looking. If the quality of the DVD production was better, so would the rating of this project
The ad copy claims that the tricks are “incredibly strong.” I would agree with this statement for Cello-Ollogy and Diffuse.
Unfortunately many magic producing companies release single trick DVD’s frequently. I would not have been surprised to see any one of the three tricks released on a single trick DVD. To World Magic Shop’s credit, they included these three tricks on one DVD. Ultimately, that should make the DVD more marketable and financially successful and uphold their reputation for value.
The thinking behind these three tricks is clever and if you are not afraid of some gimmick construction, I recommend this project. I look forward to future releases from Ireland.
The first trick, Cello-Ollogy, is a clever effect in which the spectator freely selects any card and signs it. The magician returns it to the deck and after placing the cards on the closed box, the signed card magically appears under the cellophane of the tuck box. It is a very strong effect. Before performing this trick you must engage in an arts-and-crafts project. Although it is not complicated, it will take anywhere from 10 to 25 minutes to make. Cello-Ollogy starts off with two lives performances, a studio performance and a thorough tutorial on how to make the gimmick. Kennedy makes the gimmick real time and it is easy to follow. In addition to the supplied gimmicks, you will need glue, a straight-edge razor (and/or scissors) a cutting pad, a pencil, a special playing card and an extra card box. The explanation on how to perform the trick is taught by Kennedy, which is clear and easy to follow. The reset is quick and can be repeated in a table hopping setting. The box cannot immediately be handed out for inspection, but the signed card can be given to the spectator for a souvenir. This trick is worth the effort.
The second trick, Roulette, is Kennedy’s own version of Out of This World, meant to be performed to two spectators; one who selects the red cards and one who selects the black cards. Unlike the original OOTW, in this routine, the cards can be shuffled by the spectator before and during the trick. Also different is that the performer handles the cards, by asking each spectator (either the red pile or black pile designee) if they want to add the card to their pile of discard the card onto a trash pile. This selection process is reminiscent of the White Trash trick from Twisted Blizzard marketed by Mark Mason. In the end, there is a pile of the discarded cards, an all-black pile and an all-red pile. The live performance takes about six minutes, which is an eternity. It is way too long and needs to be cut down or you will lose the interest of your spectators. It was hard to watch. In fact, Kennedy suggested doing the trick with only half of the deck. This cannot be done with a borrowed deck as the cards used are gimmicked in a way that is similar to other recently released products. The magicians explain how to create the deck and how to perform the trick, which track is a bit tedious. It will take a one-time set up, which will take about five minutes. The spectators can handle the deck and will most likely not be able to detect the method. Audience management greatly reduces the risk of exposure of the method. This is a good trick, but will require a patient audience in the right, distraction-free, setting.
The final trick, Diffuse, is a very cool and very strong effect that will require a significant arts-and-crafts project to make the gimmick. In Diffuse, the performer apparently selects a free card after a riffle of the deck and signs the “selected” card. The performer places the card back in the deck and then all the cards back into the box. Then the performer, wraps a ribbon around the closed box and the spectator ties it in a knot or bow. In an amazing display of magic, the signed card instantly materializes, in front of the spectator’s eyes outside the box and under the tied ribbon. The construction phase of this gimmick will require a few duplicate boxes of cards that will be cut, a duplicate “selection” card, a needle, the materials needed to construct Cello-Ollogy listed above and the supplied materials. Campbell constructs the gimmick real-time in an almost twenty minute track. It took me about an hour to create a satisfactory gimmick after a few stumbles. Stick with it, it is worth it. After significant use, the gimmick may need to be reconstructed, but I have not used it enough to verify that theory. Some of the handling of the cards is not so fluid and will require practice to get it to a level of fluency needed to perform. The DVD contains a live performance of Diffuse and an explanation by Kennedy and Campbell. The trick cannot be repeated to the same group. The instant of magic will create some noise, which is not an issue if you are at a loud party. This can also be covered by talking and/or snapping at the instant that the signed card appears. There are also some tight angles that need to be protected, which limits the environment in which Diffuse can be performed. Also, the box of cards cannot immediately be handed out for inspection, unless there is come clean-up. The signed card can be immediately handed out.
The production quality of the DVD is not great. The video quality is not up to par as the resolution does not meet today’s standard and in various clips the color is off because of the lack of professional lighting. In one scene, there a noticeable shadows on the wall that makes the video look like a high-school project. Also, the audio tracks are not clean and there is a significant amount of background noise in some of the live performance segments. During the explanation tracks, the two magicians are seated behind a table in front of what appears to be a purple painted cement wall with spots were the paint was chipped. Not too professional looking. If the quality of the DVD production was better, so would the rating of this project
The ad copy claims that the tricks are “incredibly strong.” I would agree with this statement for Cello-Ollogy and Diffuse.
Unfortunately many magic producing companies release single trick DVD’s frequently. I would not have been surprised to see any one of the three tricks released on a single trick DVD. To World Magic Shop’s credit, they included these three tricks on one DVD. Ultimately, that should make the DVD more marketable and financially successful and uphold their reputation for value.
The thinking behind these three tricks is clever and if you are not afraid of some gimmick construction, I recommend this project. I look forward to future releases from Ireland.