Price$27.00
Media TypeDVD
CategoryClose Up
Date AddedDec 12, 2014
Sizzle
Bannon, John
Big Blind Media
(Based on 2 reviews)
* An insanely cool, easy to do, 6 phase packet trick
* Includes 9 special USPCC printed cards
Welcome to John Bannon's 'Sizzle' - an absolute tour-de-force of a packet trick. A jaw dropping SIX phases, it amazes the audience all the way up to an ending so impossible, so utterly unexpected that people may well faint.
SIZZLE - You show a packet of cards consisting of three red backed Jokers and an Ace Of Spades. One of the red backed Jokers from this group is set aside, and replaced with a blue backed Joker. Instantly the other red backed Jokers magically change colour to match the blue stranger. Then one of the blue backed jokers is removed and replaced with a green backed Joker; the other Jokers in the packet turn green as well. Impossibly this happens a third time as a purple Joker turns the packet purple.
The Ace Of Spades is then removed and shown to have an ORANGE back design. Even more incredibly when the packet of Jokers is spread out it shows that every card now has a different colour back.
This bewildering and jaw dropping series of visual changes will leave any audience shellshocked... and then you hit them with the motherload. The packet of Jokers is flipped face up to show that every card has changed leaving you with A ROYAL FLUSH IN SPADES!
- No sticky stuff
- Ends completely examinable
- Simple handling / Easy to do
- Comes with the necessary nine USPCC cards
"This is Bannon at the very top of his game. The amount of effect he gains from brilliant construction and subtlety is sheer genius!"
- John Carey
"Any fan of John Bannon will want to add little "Sizzle" into their next performance."
- Bill Malone
"My absolute favorite version of Alex Elmsley's Dazzle ever. Elegant and so CLEAN!"
- Cameron Francis
"Best. Packet. Trick. Ever."
- James Went, BBC's 'Help My Supply Teacher Is Magic'
"If anyone could reboot Alex Elmsley's "Dazzle," it's John Bannon. What a fantastically constructed routine!"
- Andi Gladwin
"John Bannon's work on packet tricks has been a game changer, and SIZZLE is the pinnacle of efficiency. So much magic for so little effort, and examinable at the end?! My mind is just blown!"
- Liam Montier
"In true Bannon fashion, Sizzle is elegantly structured and powerfully potent."
- John Guastaferro
"It seems like every time I break my "I don't like packet tricks" rule, it's with a Bannon effect. Sizzle is another broken rule to add to my collection."
- Jeff Stone, MagicReviewed.com
"Sizzle is simply terrific. John has taken Elmsley's Dazzle plot to a new level, and there is not a single gaff (which is hard to believe when you see the number of startling changes), making this an examinable miracle!"
- Peter Duffie
"Dazzle on steroids = Sizzle"
- Raj Madhok
Reviews
(Top ▲)
PROS
If you like the demo, you are going to love this effect.
It uses ungaffed cards. If you have or purchase five different backed decks, you have a lifetime supply of refills.
The routine is easy to set up and easy to reset
The instruction is excellent.
They show several performances so you get a different flavor with each.
The effect can be performed totally surrounded
CONS
You will need to perform some very basic sleights like the Hammond count and a variation of the Elmsley count.
VERDICT
Excellent packet trick with ungaffed cards.
If you like the demo, you are going to love this effect.
It uses ungaffed cards. If you have or purchase five different backed decks, you have a lifetime supply of refills.
The routine is easy to set up and easy to reset
The instruction is excellent.
They show several performances so you get a different flavor with each.
The effect can be performed totally surrounded
CONS
You will need to perform some very basic sleights like the Hammond count and a variation of the Elmsley count.
VERDICT
Excellent packet trick with ungaffed cards.
Suggestions
In the DVD, they show several different performances with different patter. This routine really lends itself to very creative patter. You could use a theme of having different jobs with different uniforms, or different teams, or different products for a company, etc.(Top ▲)
Random I-Tunes Song of The Moment: Harvester of Sorrow by Metallica
John Bannon: Sizzle Review
One DVD, nine specially printed cards, two effects and $27 bucks. Is it gem or is it rubble? Stay tuned to find out.
Effect
The main effect is the standard type of packet trick effect. You show the backs of the cards changing colors multiple times; then show that the faces all change at the end. Watch the ad trailer to get a sense of how this looks. The trailer shows Bannon using a bunch of Three of Heart cards. However, the set you'll uses Jokers instead. One at a time show three Jokers each with a different colored back. Then the other three Jokers (total of six) all change to have the same colored back as one of the Jokers.
One at a time time, the set of three Jokers change to match the color of the back of another Joker. Then as a kicker, the cards are shown to have changed to all have different backs. Then the faces all change to be a Royal Flush in Spades rather than Jokers. Everything is examinable. The second effect — the bonus — is a very convincing prediction of a selected card.
This is a modification/variation of Alex Elmsley's effect, Dazzle.
Method
The method for the main effect relies on straight up Sleight of Hand. Bannon's Bullet Display and/or the Elmsley Count and the Hamman Count are all the moves needed to perform this. You'll, of course, need the special cards that are supplied with the DVD as well. The Elmsley and Hamman counts are standard card moves, and the Bannon display is a variation of the Elmsley count, so it's essentially a standard card move as well. If you can do an Elmsley, you can do the Bannon move.
This is totally legitimate and doable and within the grasp of any sleight of hand performer. You'll need to practice, but this is nothing difficult. The second effect is actually self-working and uses a couple of ideas that when combined are extremely clever. This is the most deceptive X-ing the Cut force I've ever seen. This effect is within the grasp of any performer and is suitable for magic or mentalism or mental magic.
Ad Copy Integrity
The written ad copy is 100% accurate except for the hyperbole found in the way spectators may react (e.g., " . . . an ending so impossible, so utterly unexpected that people may well faint" — I'm guessing they won't really faint). Other than the stuff that is obvious satire, the ad copy is dead on. The effect is as clean and as examinable as they claim. The video ad trailer is also 100% accurate. What you see Liam Montier perform is exactly how it looks in real life.
Product Quality
And it came to pass that there was a mystical creature who, while sporting a magnificent goat-beard, was able to create magic videos of the highest quality. The majestic creature was named Owen Packard. Legend has it that this is where the phrase "pulling an Owen" came from. You know; you've heard it: Tony Hawk is amazing . . . did you see him do that 1440 in the air!? He totally pulled an Owen!
Anyway, the point is that this is a Big Blind Media production, so of course it's well produced, well lit, well mic'd, etc. Additionally, the teaching of the material is detailed and clear. They cover how to do each of the three required moves. Both Liam Montier and John Bannon teach them separately. Bannon also clearly teaches the bonus prediction effect that is performed with a regular deck of cards.
Final Thoughts
If you like the effect shown in the ad trailer, then you'll be very happy with your purchase. It's reasonably priced, easy to do, taught well and comes with everything you need to perform it. Additionally, you'll likely be very interested in the bonus prediction effect and his method for taking an old force and making it much more convincing.
Final Verdict:
5 Stars with a Stone Status of GEM!