Price$55.98
Media TypeTrick
CategoryMentalism
Date AddedNov 08, 2013
Tube
Leeds, Ethan; Leeds, Russell
World Magic Shop
(Based on 2 reviews)
As well as the main TUBE effect, the innocent looking and yet specially gimmicked map has other bonus effects built in. These allow you to reveal a London landmark that the spectator is thinking of, reel off the telephone number of a thought of Station and a great routine for parlour or cabaret shows.
2 Specially Gimmicked Maps Included
No Memory Work
Nothing Written Down By The Spectator
Innocent & Deadly
(2 Gimmicked Maps)
Reviews
(Top ▲)
I wanted to like this effect. The idea is clever and the effect on the audience memorable. Unfortunately, the presentation is sub-par.
My comments apply to both the regular edition (which has two smaller maps) and the stage edition (which has a large map in addition to the two smaller maps).
The maps are beautiful to look at it. This is quality printing on quality paper, not the cheap tat that some magic props get. The maps are gimmicked in ways that are not obvious.
All versions of the map have two flaws, one slightly annoying and one devastating. The merely annoying error is that the mapmakers swapped two tube stations on the Central Line, Oxford Circus and Marble Arch, for no good reason. I live in Canada, and even my eighty-year-old, directionally-challenged mother has done enough shopping on Oxford Street to know which side of Oxford Circus you will find Marble Arch on.
That tiny, careless error doesn't bode well for the rest of the map.
The map is gimmicked in such a way that you can tell your volunteer(s) which station they begin and end their journey on, which is terrific. Except that the mapmakers forgot to consider what will happen 3% of the time, when the trick will go horribly wrong.
It's really distressing when people who have a brilliant idea--or their publishers--fail to do fairly elementary quality control. They just plain forgot to consider all the cases, even though the outstanding case is pretty obvious. The DVD explanation doesn't even mention the possibility of failure, or what to do about it. On the bright side, the publisher didn't take the opportunity to make a lame excuse about how getting it wrong strengthens the mentalism, so there's that much to be grateful for.
Yes, you can come up with a way around the problem. But then again, if you're inventing things, you can come up with a way to a similar effect with a completely ungimmicked map, so the whole idea of "hey, there are workarounds!" won't hold water.
It gets particularly disturbing when the publishers fails to do anything about the error when it is pointed out to them.
Did the publisher pull the effect? No.
Did the publisher reprint the gimmicked maps? No.
Did the publisher put together a video, available from the publisher's website for those who purchased the effect (cf. Vanishing Inc Magic and Penguin Magic), that provides supplemental instruction on how to handle the 3% case? Did they hell!
You might argue that they publisher doesn't have to do any of those things. Obviously they don't, not legally... given a reasonably lax trial judge. But a truly top-notch publisher would do a lot more than shrug their shoulders and say, "Well, the maps are printed. Whaddaya gonna do?"
There are supplementary effects that are not affected by the errors in gimmicking the map, but please note that all material for Tube makes it absolutely plain what the main effect is. And that main effect just simply has not been thought all the way through.
I give Tube two stars. A lot of the time, the effect will work and it is strong. Some of the time, the effect will fail spectacularly, and you will look a right prat.
My comments apply to both the regular edition (which has two smaller maps) and the stage edition (which has a large map in addition to the two smaller maps).
The maps are beautiful to look at it. This is quality printing on quality paper, not the cheap tat that some magic props get. The maps are gimmicked in ways that are not obvious.
All versions of the map have two flaws, one slightly annoying and one devastating. The merely annoying error is that the mapmakers swapped two tube stations on the Central Line, Oxford Circus and Marble Arch, for no good reason. I live in Canada, and even my eighty-year-old, directionally-challenged mother has done enough shopping on Oxford Street to know which side of Oxford Circus you will find Marble Arch on.
That tiny, careless error doesn't bode well for the rest of the map.
The map is gimmicked in such a way that you can tell your volunteer(s) which station they begin and end their journey on, which is terrific. Except that the mapmakers forgot to consider what will happen 3% of the time, when the trick will go horribly wrong.
It's really distressing when people who have a brilliant idea--or their publishers--fail to do fairly elementary quality control. They just plain forgot to consider all the cases, even though the outstanding case is pretty obvious. The DVD explanation doesn't even mention the possibility of failure, or what to do about it. On the bright side, the publisher didn't take the opportunity to make a lame excuse about how getting it wrong strengthens the mentalism, so there's that much to be grateful for.
Yes, you can come up with a way around the problem. But then again, if you're inventing things, you can come up with a way to a similar effect with a completely ungimmicked map, so the whole idea of "hey, there are workarounds!" won't hold water.
It gets particularly disturbing when the publishers fails to do anything about the error when it is pointed out to them.
Did the publisher pull the effect? No.
Did the publisher reprint the gimmicked maps? No.
Did the publisher put together a video, available from the publisher's website for those who purchased the effect (cf. Vanishing Inc Magic and Penguin Magic), that provides supplemental instruction on how to handle the 3% case? Did they hell!
You might argue that they publisher doesn't have to do any of those things. Obviously they don't, not legally... given a reasonably lax trial judge. But a truly top-notch publisher would do a lot more than shrug their shoulders and say, "Well, the maps are printed. Whaddaya gonna do?"
There are supplementary effects that are not affected by the errors in gimmicking the map, but please note that all material for Tube makes it absolutely plain what the main effect is. And that main effect just simply has not been thought all the way through.
I give Tube two stars. A lot of the time, the effect will work and it is strong. Some of the time, the effect will fail spectacularly, and you will look a right prat.
(Top ▲)
TUBE will be called Tube throughout this review because otherwise I think I will go crazy pressing shift every sentence! Now, let the review begin...
Tube is a very clever effect and it is a very good idea and, as Richard Osterlind says very clearly on the front,"I wish I had thought of this!" Now, the package comes with 2 gimmicked maps, hence the name at the top of 'Tube (2 Gimmicked Maps)'. It has two different sizes of map, and I do believe that they offer another stage size map, but that is sold separately. The smaller map fits nicely into your pocket, and works great for walkaround, and the bigger one is the perfect size for table or cabaret shows. It does also come with a DVD, which I will now speak about in great detail!
The DVD comes with 3 whole live performances, which to me is very important. I am glad that they have taken the time to put these on here, because they do help a lot, and I like to watch the DVD, practice it for a while, and then when I think I have got it I will go back to the DVD and see if I have got it as smooth as his performance of it. This was good to see. The gimmicked maps are explained in great detail, and they are extremely cleverly thought out. Anyway, back to the DVD. It does come with three 'bonus effects' however two out of three of these do not have live performances of them, which is a shame, but the one that does has three live performances, however they are not as necessary as the main live performances because the effects are much simpler. One final thought about the DVD which for me was slightly annoying, was that there were quite a few jump cuts, and Russell Leeds never got to finish his sentence. It just went on to the next chapter. You could still perfectly understand all of the effects, and I had no problems learning them. The video quality and the sound quality were up to scratch, and there were no problems there. Actually, there is one more thing. In some shots there was also another camera shooting from another angle, which was a bit annoying and I thought that they could have taken the time to move it back the 10cm that it needed. Apart from that, it was really very well produced and the DVD was good, they got across what needed to be said, in a clear way.
The gimmicks are also well made, but are made of paper, so would wear out. It would have been nice if they made a refill pack, but to be fair you do get two in the first place.
The actual effect is very good, and it has a built in presentation which is very strong. The live performances are in London, which I think is brave because he could have been caught out. Because the maps are gimmicked, someone who commutes everyday is quite likely to spot that something is up, when the tube station that they travel to everyday has somehow changed lines, however if you pick the right audience then this will kill in London. I must say though, if you do live outside of the U.K then this effect is not worth it. The routine won't really make sense, and the beauty of this effect is that a tube map is so innocent, if you get it out in America then it already looks suspicious. However I am sure you could have a decent cover story, something like you went on holiday there and bought this back with you, or once you understand the gimmick very well, you could even try and make one for your own country. This might not work though, because there are certain requirements and adaptations might be necessary. My only problem that I once had when performing this effect was when someone couldn't find the station they had just seen on the list, and they asked to choose another one. Now, because of the way this effect works, it is extremely risky for me to do that, so I said no. They then were fine with it, but it made me look a bit suspicious and it would have probably seemed much more magical if they got to choose another station when they asked.
Overall, a very good DVD, good gimmicks, and a good effect with only a few small blips. For that I am knocking of half a star, so that means that this product gets 4.5 stars. I would perform it and recommend it, Well done Russell and Ethan Leeds.
Tube is a very clever effect and it is a very good idea and, as Richard Osterlind says very clearly on the front,"I wish I had thought of this!" Now, the package comes with 2 gimmicked maps, hence the name at the top of 'Tube (2 Gimmicked Maps)'. It has two different sizes of map, and I do believe that they offer another stage size map, but that is sold separately. The smaller map fits nicely into your pocket, and works great for walkaround, and the bigger one is the perfect size for table or cabaret shows. It does also come with a DVD, which I will now speak about in great detail!
The DVD comes with 3 whole live performances, which to me is very important. I am glad that they have taken the time to put these on here, because they do help a lot, and I like to watch the DVD, practice it for a while, and then when I think I have got it I will go back to the DVD and see if I have got it as smooth as his performance of it. This was good to see. The gimmicked maps are explained in great detail, and they are extremely cleverly thought out. Anyway, back to the DVD. It does come with three 'bonus effects' however two out of three of these do not have live performances of them, which is a shame, but the one that does has three live performances, however they are not as necessary as the main live performances because the effects are much simpler. One final thought about the DVD which for me was slightly annoying, was that there were quite a few jump cuts, and Russell Leeds never got to finish his sentence. It just went on to the next chapter. You could still perfectly understand all of the effects, and I had no problems learning them. The video quality and the sound quality were up to scratch, and there were no problems there. Actually, there is one more thing. In some shots there was also another camera shooting from another angle, which was a bit annoying and I thought that they could have taken the time to move it back the 10cm that it needed. Apart from that, it was really very well produced and the DVD was good, they got across what needed to be said, in a clear way.
The gimmicks are also well made, but are made of paper, so would wear out. It would have been nice if they made a refill pack, but to be fair you do get two in the first place.
The actual effect is very good, and it has a built in presentation which is very strong. The live performances are in London, which I think is brave because he could have been caught out. Because the maps are gimmicked, someone who commutes everyday is quite likely to spot that something is up, when the tube station that they travel to everyday has somehow changed lines, however if you pick the right audience then this will kill in London. I must say though, if you do live outside of the U.K then this effect is not worth it. The routine won't really make sense, and the beauty of this effect is that a tube map is so innocent, if you get it out in America then it already looks suspicious. However I am sure you could have a decent cover story, something like you went on holiday there and bought this back with you, or once you understand the gimmick very well, you could even try and make one for your own country. This might not work though, because there are certain requirements and adaptations might be necessary. My only problem that I once had when performing this effect was when someone couldn't find the station they had just seen on the list, and they asked to choose another one. Now, because of the way this effect works, it is extremely risky for me to do that, so I said no. They then were fine with it, but it made me look a bit suspicious and it would have probably seemed much more magical if they got to choose another station when they asked.
Overall, a very good DVD, good gimmicks, and a good effect with only a few small blips. For that I am knocking of half a star, so that means that this product gets 4.5 stars. I would perform it and recommend it, Well done Russell and Ethan Leeds.