Animate and Restore
Feinberg, Jesse; Harris, Paul
Paul Harris
You received a weird, rare, possibly illegal "Card Puzzle" in the mail. You open the envelope and pour out four torn card pieces onto your normal deck.
And now for the STRANGEST THING you've ever seen...
Slowly, gradually, hauntingly, the pile of TORN PIECES COME TO LIFE!
Each piece starts to CREEP and TWIST and TURN on top of the deck... as they gradually ASSEMBLE THEMSELVES into the shape of a COMPLETE CARD!
And yes...THE CARD IS RESTORED, EXAMINABLE AND CAN BE GIVEN AWAY.
- A & R Gimmick is completely self-contained on the envelope.
- Nothing attached to the body or deck
- Perform any time your feel like it.
- Normal deck is clean and completely unprepared.
- Re-sets in seconds
- Easy to do. No palming
MAKE YOUR T&R COME TO LIFE WITH A & R
Complete with long lasting tyvec envelope, gimmick and DVD.
Reviews
(Top ▲)
You get a prepared gimmick along with the envelopes and other props you need to do the effect. You also get a video link explanation.
WHAT IS COOL
This is a tough one to review because it is REALLY cool. I has it’s problems, but let’s start with the good stuff. It looks amazing! It is fidgety, but it does work.
The product quality is good. The mechanism does work in a cool way, the pieces not only restore, but they turn in unusual ways and then turn a different way to restore.
The video explanation is good, but this is a complicated product. You may need to pause the video several times and check out the product carefully to understand what is going on.
The method is mixed. It is good in that it works by simply pulling the gimmick and the threads do the rest, very clever.
The ad copy is very accurate.
WHAT ARE THE DOWNSIDES
This is not a simple, pull it out of the box and go present it sort of effect. You will need to take some time to learn it and practice in different environments. In the wrong environment you will see the thread that controls it.
It is hard to say if this is angle proof or not. It depends on the setting. I think this is best suited to perform in darker environments. Perhaps at a dinner party would be best.
AT A GLANCE
Skill level required: 4 of 5.
Audience management skill required: 4 of 5.
Performance angles: It depends upon the lighting. I think this is best performed in an evening setting.
Reset time required: You can reset in front of your audience.
DIY time involved in advance: None.
VERDICT
I really like this, but in purchasing this, you must realize that this is a complicated piece of magic and you will need to put in some time to learn how and where to perform it, as well as how it works.
Suggestions
Don’t perform this unless you have the right conditions. I think it would be best performed in the evening in less than bright lighting. You will need to practice a lot to get all the conditions right to perform this. If you are willing to put in the work, this could be a very cool effect.(Top ▲)
The effect is very pretty to watch and has several aspects to commend it. The use of an envelope allows the performer to introduce the effect at any point in a set, allowing him to perform several card effects prior to performing “Animate & Restore.” At the end of the effect the restored card is completely examinable, as is the deck. For an effect as gimmicked as this one is, this level of practicality and examinability is impressive.
The main problem is in the instruction and handling. Mr. Feinberg, like many young, prolific inventors of magic, is a terrible teacher, and appears woefully unprepared. He appears to not have rehearsed any of the explanation. He actually takes time on the DVD to explain affixing a stamp to the envelope, which while a good idea, doesn’t have to be demonstrated. I just wish some of these young inventors put as much time into communicating their creations as they do in coming up with them.
While the effect is beautiful, Mr. Feinberg’s handling of the envelope is awkward and cozy, making the effect looked cramped and suspicious. There is an easy and obvious solution to this, which makes me wonder how many times Mr. Feinberg has performed the effect for an actual audience.
It’s also important to note that the ad copy stating the effect resets in seconds is seriously exaggerating. And even when mastered, the reset is not something easily done casually between tables or groups, so this would be a difficult effect to perform in a walk around situation. Also, while the gimmick does all the work in the effect, making it look smooth and without guile will take a lot of thought, effort and rehearsal on the performer’s part.
If the buyer takes the time to rehearse the effect and develop a more refined, casual handling, this effect has the potential to create powerful memories for an audience. Unfortunately, the explanation on the DVD will not help in this regard. For $35 you get a complicated gimmick that can produce an amazing effect, but beware it will take a lot of work to get there. If you like the effect and are willing to take the time, it may be worth it.
(Top ▲)
For $35 bucks you get a very visual, self contained miracle that's extremely fidgety and not as easy to set up/reset as the ad copy claims.
The DVD production is excellent. The teaching segments, however, were very often hard to follow. I had to rewind multiple times and pause and stop and rewatch to make sure I was keeping up. That could just mean I'm slow, or it could mean that the explanations weren't clear enough.
The gimmick itself is well made. However, without exposing part of it, I'll just say that it is sometimes too aggressive thus causing some "sticky" situations that are hard to recover from in performance.
While it's true that this can be done "any time you feel like it," and it is all completely self-contained, there are still some hang ups. First, getting the pieces out of the envelope onto the deck of cards is very awkward. You'll notice in the teaser that there were a few "funny" cuts. This is because it's tricky to get the pieces out of the envelope. Even on the DVD, Jesse has some noticeably awkward moments trying to get the pieces out.
Resetting it is a bit of a pain and takes a bit longer than the instructions imply. Also, the final switch out at the end is clean however, the gimmick tends to "stick" and cause another awkward moment. Often times in teasers, the edits are there to hide the method. I'm ok with that. However, in this case, the edits seem to be to hide all of the awkward and messy moments of the handling.
Having said all of that, however, the magic moment where the pieces restore is very visual and beautiful. On occasion, the gimmick may hang up a little and you don't quite get as smooth of a restoration as I would like, but overall this part of the effect (the animation) is the best part.
It's a good idea with a decent method that's not as reliable as something like this should be. However, the price is relatively low considering what you're getting.
Final Verdict:
2.5 Stars with a Stone Status of Grubble (Gem idea, but a bit of rubble in delivery and method).