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Casanova Concept

Steve Haynes

(Based on 2 reviews)
Steve Haynes has tweaked and developed this closely guarded secret for 17 YEARS! Now, it can be yours! The Casanova Concept is an easy to apply principle that will allow you to perform bona-fide miracles with both playing cards and business cards. It's simple and straightforward, requires the minimum of sleight of hand and will go straight into your repertoire. This is NOT a trick; it's a principle that can be applied to hundreds of routines.

Featured on this DVD:

Stroller Controller - A freely selected card is signed front and back, and then lost in the deck. You cleanly reach into your pocket and withdraw their card, showing that you had it BEFORE they even signed it!

Thru & Through - A signed Card Thru Window with a FACE UP, SIGNED selection!

Rip Trip - A signed business card is torn but miraculously restores itself!

Homing On Easy Street - A signed card disappears from the deck and appears in your pocket. TWICE! This is easy-peasy!

And, Steve Haynes' signature piece - the Casanova Closer...

Your spectator selects two cards and SIGNS them both. One is placed in their own wallet (or pocket). The other is lost in the deck. Within seconds you open your own wallet to reveal the signed selection which was apparently lost in the deck.

As your spectator is still reeling, you offer to repeat the effect. You re-open your wallet (which was empty only moments ago) and slowly withdraw a face-down card. Your spectator's eyes are popping out of their head - 'How did that signed selection get back into your wallet'?

It didn't. It's the OTHER signed card! The one that should have been in the spectators' wallet. And when they look in their pocket they find the first signed card! Then they faint!

BOTH CARDS ARE GENUINELY SIGNED BY THE SPECTATOR AND YOU NEVER TOUCH THE SPECTATOR'S WALLET!

NOTE: The Casanova Closer utilises a gimmicked wallet (not supplied). But, this is just one way to employ the Casanova Concept. The DVD also features a second method using nothing but a deck of cards and an ungimmicked wallet!

PRAISE FOR THE CASANOVA CONCEPT:

"Every ten years or so a paradigm popping concept of pure power filters through into this dimension with the potential to re-shape a chunk of the astonishment landscape. Steve Haynes' "Casanova Closer" is one of those long awaited pieces of strange. If you're doing any effect that involves signed cards moving from here to there, changing places or appearing in impossible locations...you may want to ponder the the possibility of super charging it with Casanova."
- Paul Harris

"It looks great! I can't wait to get my copy."
- Paul Green, Professional Magician

"Very Inventive, Very Creative And Very, Very Clean!"
- Steve Thomas, Professional Magician

"The Casanova concept opens the door for a myriad of effects. It's limitless. When I saw the card through glass, I jumped out of my seat. I couldn't believe my eyes. Rewind. Play. Rewind. Play. Rewind. Play..."
- Aaron Delong, Professional Magician

"Okay, so I want to learn the Casanova Closer NOW! That routine is killer, man! It floored me!"
- Cameron Francis, Professional Magician

Running Time Approximately 1hr 24min

Reviews

Jeff Stone

Official Reviewer

Jun 18, 2013

Ad Copy


Owen - if we ever meet be prepared to get a big bear hug that just may snap your spine in two . . . in a good way. Why? Because the ad copy is 100% accurate.


This DVD was produced by Big Blind Media (a.k.a. Owen Packard). The ad copy is not only 100% accurate, but they even went the extra mile in telling you that one of the routines employs a gimmicked wallet not supplied. If only all magic producers were this honest in their ad copy . . . we could have whirled peas. Five stars for the ad copy. Congratulations to Steve Haynes, Owen Packard, et al. for their classy candor and integrity.


Production Quality


Owen - if we ever meet be prepared to get a chest bump that'll break 3 ribs . . . in a good way. Why? Because the production quality is superb. I probably don't need to say too much about the production quality. If you've ever watched a BBM production, you know. Top notch lighting, sound, editing, menu, everything. Between segments we're treated to fun little moments added in during editing . . . very fun and super easy to watch. Five stars for production quality.


Teaching Quality


Owen - if we ever meet be prepared to get a locker room bum slap (in a manly way extremely heterosexual way) that'll make it hard for you sit for at least a week . . . in a good way. Why? Because the teaching segments were excellent.


The combination of David Forrest and Owen Packard is chemistry and comedy and hilarity all rolled up into a very educational and well taught DVD. Every detail is covered clearly and entertainingly. No detail is left out. Five stars for the teach quality.


Method


Owen - if we ever meet be prepared to get your leg humped by my female french poodle, Owen Jr. . . . in a good way. Why? Because she thinks your left shin is sexy.


If Steve Haynes isn't actually a genius, this concept should easily get him inducted into the club as an honorary member. The technique is simple and can be used in a huge variety of effects as we'll see below in the effects section. In 2003-ish, Jay Sankey released an effect called Uberchange on his 2 DVD set, Revolutionary Card Magic. This effect used the exact same concept, but it was applied in a different way. It was sort of used in an opposite way to this. Unfortunately Jay was not mentioned in the crediting.


Understand, however, that Steve Haynes, as mentioned in the ad copy, has been toying with this for 17 years, so it certainly predates Jay's effect. Thus it's very likely that Haynes is the originator, but for the sake of heading in the direction of completeness, I thought I'd mention the Sankey similarity.


Obviously I can't reveal the method. Let me just say that it allows you to very easily to some very impossible things. My hat's off to Mr. Haynes. Five Star method.


Effects


Owen - if we ever meet be prepared to get punched in the face so hard that you'll need reconstructive surgery and will end up looking like Cher when they're done . . . in a good way. Why? Because I'm violent when I show love.


Casanova Closer

This is the "signature effect" that you'll see in the trailer. It is as clean as it looks. The spectator signs two cards and puts one in her wallet/purse/pocket. You clearly show that you have the other signed card. It magically appears in your wallet. Then in an instant you now have the card that WAS in her purse, and in her purse is now the one that you were just holding. No duplicate signatures and you NEVER touch her wallet/purse/pocket, etc. You never go near them. This is the only method that requires a little something extra (a gimmicked wallet and a little something you can pick up at any stationary store). At the end, everything (except your gimmicked wallet) is examinable.


Thru & Through

Quite possibly the most visual card through glass table you'll ever see. It happens face up with a signed card. You actually see the card melt through the table. It looks like real magic. The only issue I had with this one was that they said you could do this through a window or a glass door. However, due to the method used, I'm not sure how you would logistically do it. They never really explained how. Either way, if you find yourself somewhere with a glass table top . . . this is one of the most visual things you can do.


Homing On Easy Street

A very clean and sneaky, no palm method of Francis Carlyle's Homing Card. For the uninitiated, it's signed card to pocket . . . twice. The original Carlyle version was super clean and pretty easy. This version is very clever and completely eliminates the need to palm a card. In some respects it's cleaner than the Carlyle version; in other respects it's less clean. There are trade offs, but all in all this method is a worthy competitor no doubt. There are certainly some elements that are better than the original.


Stroller Controller

This is essentially another card to pocket routine that's instantly reset (unlike the above). This one requires that you dedicate an entire deck to this effect. The effect is that any name card is removed from the deck and signed on the face and back. The card is lost in the deck. However, instantly with empty hands you remove a card from your pocket which turns out to be the signed card. It's very clean and very easy.


Rip Trip

This employs the principle on your business cards rather than your playing cards. The plot and premise are classic (sawing a woman in half). However, the handling on this one is a bit fidgety. Were I to do this effect, I would try to work out a different handling. It's not terrible, but it's not as clean as everything else on the DVD.


New Age Card to Wallet

This is essentially the same effect at the Casanova Closer but it does not require the gimmicked wallet nor does it require the extra something that you can buy at your stationary store. You can do it with your regular wallet. The handling is not quite as smooth as the other version, but this one has other virtues that the other does not. As with most things there are trade offs, but either way, this effect is very easy and pretty clean.


Final Thoughts


Owen - if we ever meet be prepared to get your beard hairs ripped from you face . . . in a good way. Why? Because I need them to make a sweater for Owen Jr. . . . she gets cold.


The ad copy is honest; the method is easy, commercial and legit; the production quality is top notch; the teaching segments were super clear. What else does a DVD need for me to give it a top rating.


Final Verdict:
5 Stars with a Stone Status of complete and total GEM.

(Top ▲)

Gordon Meyer

Official Reviewer

Dec 16, 2010

You might wonder what the "Casanova Concept" is. I sure did, and it wasn't until about 20 minutes into the DVD that it's finally revealed. Actually, it's shown earlier, but after the third or fourth description of it one of the DVD's hosts finally labels it in an "oh by the way" moment. Further obfuscating the "concept" is the fact that its sometimes referred to as the Casanova Principle instead.

And that's the problem with this DVD. It's an instructional mess and is clearly not scripted or rehearsed. Misstatements, some of which are corrected with onscreen text, abound. Tricks are explained before they're performed so you have no idea what they're intended to achieve. Frankly, at best the instructional approach is unprofessional. But worse, it's disrespectful of the purchasers time. This DVD could have easily been half of its current length and still conveyed everything necessary.

The Casanova Principle is, in reality, a gaff. A 1970s mentalism gaff that has been applied to card magic. The scrolling credits at the end of the DVD quickly mention Syd Bergson's El Numero for the inspiration, but refer to Richard Osterlind's DVD as the source. Oddly, the magician credited with developing the Casanova Principle, Steve Hayne, never appears on the video. This leads to more awkward instructions as we're treated to third-person descriptions of Hayne's handling of the effect. If you're guessing this results in rather superficial discussion, you're right.

There are many reviews here at My Lovely Assistant that criticize DVDs that are poorly produced. This will not be one of them. If anything, this DVD is over-produced. The uneven music track and masturbatory title sequences are, perhaps, intended to distract you from noticing that if this material had been submitted to a magazine, instead of being packaged, hyped, and sold, you could have learned it in 15 minutes and then gotten on with your life. I suggest you just do the latter and use the 90 minutes for better things.

I have no doubt that strong magic can be created with these methods. Unfortunately the DVD does not include any strong performances to learn from, it goes on far too long, and just overall it feels like it was created only to milk $30 out of your wallet. Don't encourage them.
(Top ▲)