Price$34.95
Media TypeDVD
CategoryGeneral, Close Up
Date AddedFeb 24, 2015
eLit
Eggink, Peter
Empty Hand Productions
(Based on 3 reviews)
A spectator is asked to select a card and to memorize it. Next, you borrow a bill from your spectator and with a lighter you start to heat up their bill...slowly a watermark seems to materialize in the fibers of the paper...an actual watermark of the suite and number from their chosen card is slowly and magically revealed...only to be locked in THEIR bill forever!
Key Points:
SUPER PRACTICAL PERFECT FOR STROLLING MAGIC EASY TO DO NO SLEIGHT OF HAND SELF- CONTAINED GIMMICK PERFECT FOR MENTALISM EFFECTS
Peter Eggink's "eLit" comes complete with a full training DVD and a custom engineered gimmick that you can carry inside your pocket all day long and is always ready to go!
Reviews
(Top ▲)
Overview
One DVD, one set of gimmicks, $35 bucks and one eLit Review. Is it gem or is it rubble? Stay tuned to find out.Effect
A borrowed (no switches) bill "develops" a watermark that matches the name of a "chosen" card.Method
The method is a special gimmick that you can easily access. It allows you to secretly and quickly alter the borrowed bill permanently (in theory). That plus a good old fashion "selection" technique and your good to go . . . in theory. The catch is . . . well . . . wait until product quality. You'll see.Product Quality
The DVD does a good job of teaching the details of how it (theoretically) works. It covers the concept, method, etc. in great depth. However . . . well . . . wait until product quality . . . oh wait, you're here.Well, the gimmick doesn't work. The gimmick allows you to (quickly, easily and secretly) apply some sort of chemical to the bill. Once you do that, the bill then is supposed to appear to have a watermark on it. However, no matter what I tried, I could not get it to work. I was able to secretly and easily apply the chemical. However, it did not affect the bill whatsoever.
It's also supposed to work on paper too. Nope. The only two results I got with the paper was either you could not see the "watermark" at all (even in the brightest of back-lighting) or you could completely see the "watermark" all the way through the paper with no lighting. It looked like a grease stain.
However, on the bill I got nothing at all. He claims that it works on any paper currency, but it just didn't folks. I can't speak the currency he used in the video, but as for American money (and paper) it doesn't work.
Ad Copy Integrity
Everything that the ad copy claims is true (in theory), but . . . well . . . wait until product quality. You'll see.Final Thoughts
If somehow he gets the chemistry to work on this, everything else is SOLID. The method for getting the stuff on the bill is clever and super easy and deceptive. The problem is that the chemical doesn't work. If it did, this would be at least 4 stars, probably more. As it is, however . . .Final Verdict:
1 Star with a Stone Status of Rubble!
(Top ▲)
Peter Eggink’s elit allows you to “watermark” a piece of paper with the value of a selected playing card.
Basically, the spectator picks a card and loses it in the deck. The performer borrows a paper bill from the spectator and holds a lighter under the bill and after heating it up, a “watermark” appears on the paper with the value of the card. As demonstrated on the DVD, the “watermark” revelations appear on Euro notes. This is important to note because making the marks appear on American money is not as easy as it seems on the DVD.
The trick comes with a well packaged DVD, a gimmick, and a substance that makes the gimmick work. You need to supply your own lighter. Although the trick does not need to use a lighter, it is recommended to help expedite the reveal and because using a flame adds to the mystical appearance of the effect.
The DVD quality is fair at best. Eggink demonstrates a live performance using a spectator’s 50 Euro note, but the video is not sharply in focus and the lighting is very dark. The set-up portion of the instructional video is not as clear as it could be because the teaching, as is the majority of the DVD, is done in pantomime with English subtitles. This is not optimal for this effect and there should have been spoken instruction.
For some reason, even though the packaging graphics shows the watermark on a U.S. One Dollar bill, the entire video is demonstrated with a Euro notes. The ability to make the mark appear clearly on american money depends on making sure that the mark is in the “right” place, which is difficult. Also, if you don’t use the right amount of the elit substance in conjunction with the gimmick, the mark may be incomplete or fuzzy. Because there was not any teaching on this issue, I had trouble finding the “right” place on a variety of different U.S. bills (ones, fives and twentys). In fact, I don’t think that U.S. bills are the best paper surface to demonstrate this very cool effect on because there is too much writing on the bills which makes the card value mark hard to see. And, the mark location for U.S. bills should have been taught on the DVD. Also, the newer and crisper the bills, the easier it is to make a mark. Also, you may not be able to hand out the bill as quickly as is demonstrated since it may cause some issues to the mark.
The trick is easy to do, subject to the above caveats. I think Euros are better currency to use since there is a larger space with no writing on it. Although the DVD claims there is enough of the substance for 1000 performances, I doubt it. The refill is about $10 U.S. and has a different reveal, which would be a nice thing to have if you want to repeat the trick with a different outcome. Which means, that when you buy elit, you can only reveal one card, each time.
The ad copy claims that there is “no sleight of hand” which is not 100% accurate, but the sleight needed is very minimal. The mark is actually not a watermark, however, and it is more like a mark that resembles an oil stain on a piece of paper.
I like this trick very much, but I just don’t think that it is practical for American money. If I lived in Europe, I would give the 4.5 to 5 stars. Because it doesn’t easily adapt to American money, and the packaging shows a beautifully clear mark on an American bill, the rating here is two and a half stars. I won’t use this on American money, but may use it on other paper goods. I still think it is clever, I am just disappointed with its lack of adaptability to American money.
Basically, the spectator picks a card and loses it in the deck. The performer borrows a paper bill from the spectator and holds a lighter under the bill and after heating it up, a “watermark” appears on the paper with the value of the card. As demonstrated on the DVD, the “watermark” revelations appear on Euro notes. This is important to note because making the marks appear on American money is not as easy as it seems on the DVD.
The trick comes with a well packaged DVD, a gimmick, and a substance that makes the gimmick work. You need to supply your own lighter. Although the trick does not need to use a lighter, it is recommended to help expedite the reveal and because using a flame adds to the mystical appearance of the effect.
The DVD quality is fair at best. Eggink demonstrates a live performance using a spectator’s 50 Euro note, but the video is not sharply in focus and the lighting is very dark. The set-up portion of the instructional video is not as clear as it could be because the teaching, as is the majority of the DVD, is done in pantomime with English subtitles. This is not optimal for this effect and there should have been spoken instruction.
For some reason, even though the packaging graphics shows the watermark on a U.S. One Dollar bill, the entire video is demonstrated with a Euro notes. The ability to make the mark appear clearly on american money depends on making sure that the mark is in the “right” place, which is difficult. Also, if you don’t use the right amount of the elit substance in conjunction with the gimmick, the mark may be incomplete or fuzzy. Because there was not any teaching on this issue, I had trouble finding the “right” place on a variety of different U.S. bills (ones, fives and twentys). In fact, I don’t think that U.S. bills are the best paper surface to demonstrate this very cool effect on because there is too much writing on the bills which makes the card value mark hard to see. And, the mark location for U.S. bills should have been taught on the DVD. Also, the newer and crisper the bills, the easier it is to make a mark. Also, you may not be able to hand out the bill as quickly as is demonstrated since it may cause some issues to the mark.
The trick is easy to do, subject to the above caveats. I think Euros are better currency to use since there is a larger space with no writing on it. Although the DVD claims there is enough of the substance for 1000 performances, I doubt it. The refill is about $10 U.S. and has a different reveal, which would be a nice thing to have if you want to repeat the trick with a different outcome. Which means, that when you buy elit, you can only reveal one card, each time.
The ad copy claims that there is “no sleight of hand” which is not 100% accurate, but the sleight needed is very minimal. The mark is actually not a watermark, however, and it is more like a mark that resembles an oil stain on a piece of paper.
I like this trick very much, but I just don’t think that it is practical for American money. If I lived in Europe, I would give the 4.5 to 5 stars. Because it doesn’t easily adapt to American money, and the packaging shows a beautifully clear mark on an American bill, the rating here is two and a half stars. I won’t use this on American money, but may use it on other paper goods. I still think it is clever, I am just disappointed with its lack of adaptability to American money.
(Top ▲)
PROS
Excellent routine. The prop quality is also excellent. It is easy to use and takes up very little space. The material that is used for the prop must be refilled after a while, but it should last a very long time with regular use.
CONS
The prop is a single card, so you won’t be repeating this effect with a different card. There is a refill for sale, and I haven’t seen it, but I suspect that this refill is not a new prop, but what is needed to use the prop.
VERDICT
Excellent prop, excellent explanation. Highly recommended.
Excellent routine. The prop quality is also excellent. It is easy to use and takes up very little space. The material that is used for the prop must be refilled after a while, but it should last a very long time with regular use.
CONS
The prop is a single card, so you won’t be repeating this effect with a different card. There is a refill for sale, and I haven’t seen it, but I suspect that this refill is not a new prop, but what is needed to use the prop.
VERDICT
Excellent prop, excellent explanation. Highly recommended.