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Move Zero

Bannon, John

Big Blind Media

(Based on 2 reviews)
An incredible 2 hour extravaganza on self-working card magic.

John Bannon's Move Zero is undoubtedly the most exciting study of self-working card magic this century.

There is not one sleight in any of the eight featured jawdroppingly impossible routines. That's right - no sleight of hand. None. No moves, no sleights. Yet despite being automatic in method, each and every effect is a staggering, explosive, layered stunner. And contrary to expectation of how powerful sleight free magic can be, these tricks will decimate any audience (be they magicians, lay people, even sometimes yourself).

Each routine is achieved with nothing more than an ordinary deck of cards. No gaffs, pencil dots, 'marks', gimmicks or extra cards. Many are also entirely impromptu!

And it is not just incredible tricks you are learning here. The fascinating, detailed explanations Bannon provides on MOVE ZERO reveal his incredible thinking about method, applied subtlety and intelligent layering. MOVE ZERO will help you turbo charge ALL your sleight free magic. This is a true masterclass in trick construction.

On MOVE ZERO you'll also learn seven essential techniques to put into your own 'trickbag'. These are the building blocks of self-working magic. From false cuts done in the open to card forces that spectators can unleash on THEMSELVES!

Forget everything you think you know about self-working card magic. It's time to plug into MOVE ZERO.

PRAISE FOR MOVE ZERO -

"I knew it would be good, but truly it's one of the best things I've seen in years!"
- Iain Moran

"A generous insight into a devious mind. Clever, confounding card magic."
- R Paul Wilson

"Every effect is so well layered and structured and you will not only learn the 'how's' but the all important 'whys'."
- John Carey

"This is your one stop shop for self-working card tricks."
- MagicOrthodoxy.com

"It's a Bannon DVD so...just BUY IT!"
- Dave Forrest

"Rich with wonderful thinking and top-notch routines that all EASY to do."
- Peter Duffie

"Great job on the production and the material is excellent. I give this release my highest recommendation!"
- DARYL

CONTENTS -


* Collusion
* Sort Of Pyschic
* Trickbag - Jay Ose False Cut
* Trickbag - Cross Cut
* Ulterior
* Trickbag - Cut Deeper Force
* Prophet Motive
* Trickbag - Deal & Cross Cut Force
* Trickbag - Spectator Ose Cut
* Trickbag - Remote Control
* Trickbag - Rosetta Control
* Ion Man * Trickbag - Equivoque
* Ban-nihilation
* Four Sided Gemini
* Perennial

Running Time - 2hr 4min

Reviews

Jeff Stone

Official Reviewer

Sep 24, 2022

Overview

One DVD, 8 effects, a whole bunch of principles, philosophy, thinking and a heaping helping of John Bannon and one Move Zero Review all for $30. Is it gem or is it rubble? Stay tuned to find out.

Effect

This DVD contains 8 effects. Let's take a peek at each one briefly so that you get a sense of the type of effects you'll be performing.

Collusion
The basic effect here is A Card at any number. However, the spectator does everything. Two spectators freely select a number. They deal down to the combined total to find the card. Keep in mind that the magician genuinely does not know the numbers the spectators are thinking of. He does not need to know the numbers for the effect to work.

Sort Of Pyschic
In this effect, the spectator uses her intuition to find her own selection by "pyschically intuiting" where her card is.

Ulterior
Under impossible circumstances, the spectator very clearly finds her own selection, while at the same time secretly stacking the deck for an upcoming effect.

Prophet Motive
The Spectator handles the cards. They shuffle, they cut, the mix, they smush, they make all of the decisions, yet you have predicted the outcome and the card they would find.

Ion Man
This is the only non-card effect on the DVD. It's an adaptation of Max Maven's Positive/Negative where the magician predicts which coin a spectator will select along with whether it will be head's up or tail's up . . . all done with imaginary coins.

Ban-nihilation
Based on Cameron Francis's Anihilation, in this effect, the spectator freely shuffles the deck, and freely cuts the deck, yet they still find the predicted card.

Four Sided Gemini
This is a variation of the first effect, Collusion, on this DVD. In this case, the outcome is a production of the four aces.

Perennial
This effect feels a bit like a diary effect. The spectator deals out cards based on a loved one's birthdate and name only to arrive at what you've predicted in advance would be their loved one's lucky card.

Method

Rather than going over each method for each effect, I'm just going to discuss the methods at play in a more general sense. For the most part, we're talking about forces and minor — I mean very minor — set ups. That's about it.

There are also false cuts and shuffles involved . . .

. . . but Jeff . . . you said it was self-working stuff. Don't get your panties in a twirl. I think it's safe to say that it's still self-working when the spectator is doing the false shuffles and the false cuts. That's right . . . the spectator is doing it.

The shuffling and cutting techniques involved in the methods on this DVD are so deceptive, yet so self-working that the spectator can (and does in most cases) do them for you. Imagine methods where the spectator cuts a packet to the table, then shuffles the cards in her hand . . . then cuts another packet to the table . . . then shuffles the cards in her hand again, then reassembles the cut packets together . . . yet after all of that, you still are able to control the outcome of the effect without ever touching the deck.

John is an extremely clever creator, and it shows in this product. However, what really shows/shines in this project is his ability to cull. Don't get your knickers in a twist. I don't mean the card sleight. I mean his ability to select the best stuff from multiple resources. He has culled out and put together some of the best self-working techniques you've ever seen. Then he added that drop or two of Bannon . . . and bam! You've got some of the most deceptive card magic you've ever seen.

On top of this, Bannon takes (with the help of some friends) one of the most basic (and self-working) card forces to places you'd never dreamed, let alone believed, were possible. The methods are so simple, and so deceptive that in some cases, you may actually fool yourself. There are a few other techniques and methods at play here, but rest assured, they are all easy, automatica, and unbelievably deceptive.

Product Quality

Anyone who knows me knows that it's my fantasy for my pet lizard, Owen, to have a love child with Owen Packard's pet lizard (hopefully named Jeff). That aside, know this, I'm a fan of O.P., not because of his sexy pet lizard or his manly goat beard (although that does help), but rather, because he and the BBM team are leaders in the magic production industry when it comes to quality. This product is no exception.

It's produced with great attention to detail. I love the cuts from color to B&W. On occasion, during the filming, they would cut to a different camera that was a bit removed from the action so that you could see the lighting, other cameras, and the studio. I love how that felt. It was subtle and brief, but felt oh so right. The lighting, audio, editing, etc., were all done exceptionally well. The DVD menu was excellent and easy to use as well.

On top of the top-notch production values, the content was also amazing and high bang for your buck. There were several sections where Bannon answered some interview questions that I found intersting and thought-provoking. The "Trick Bag" interlaced between effects was chock full of tips, tricks and details on the various procedures and techniques used for the effects.

Further, what I found extremely valuable (as always with Bannon) was his low-key, super casual performance style. Most people become narcoleptic at the thought of self-working card trick performances. However, with Bannon, it's quite the contrary. While his performance style is low-key, his presentations and premises are quite exciting and thoughtful. They are very interactive and get the spectators involved in more than just a robotic-follow-my-instructions way.

The presentations offered and taught by Bannon are meaningful, useful, and are often part of the method. As always, presentation, is not part of what goes into my star rating. However, I still discuss it in my reviews. I do this for two reasons. First, it gives you more information about the product to help you decide if you want to purchase it. However, in this particular case, it's a bit more than that. It's meant to show you how careful, thoughtful and deceptive Bannon's material is which further proves how powerful the methods are, and as you know, "method" does impact the star rating.

Ad Copy Integrity

The ad copy is solid. You may notice that there's a section on the Jay Ose False Cut. For the last time, don't get your undies in a bunch. This is one of the false cuts that the spectator does. Further, even in the cases that you do it, it truly is self-working. It is not what I would consider a sleight of hand move. It's a cleverly designed/constructed action that looks like something that it's not, but it is NOT sleight of hand. It's more like sleight-of-spectator's-eye. This product delivers all that they say it will and much more.

Final Thoughts

How powerful is Bannon's magic? Well here's some food for thought. Owen at BBM mailed a copy of this DVD to me nearly 2 months ago. It never arrived. Every few days, we'd check in with each other via email to see what's going on. It never arrived, so finally, Owen sent me another copy. I got it about a week ago. I didn't have time to watch it until today, June 9, 2016. The final effect on the DVD, Perennial involves a spectator thinking of the birthday of a loved one. The date, she thought of? June 9. Today's date. That's the kind of magic John Bannon does, and that's why he's a Master of Time and Space.

Move Zero Review - Final Verdict:
5 Stars with a Stone Status of GEM!
(Top ▲)

Stuart Philip

Official Reviewer

Jul 12, 2016

A review of a magic DVD can be short. It can be long. The short review of John Bannon and Big Blind Media’s DVD, MOVE ZERO (Volume 1) is as follows… Excellent! Highest marks!! Get it!!!

Move Zero exceeded already high expectations.

First let me start of by stating that the production value of this DVD is of the highest caliber. It is the best. The cinematography is excellent. There is footage shot from numerous camera angles and the editing is top-notch. There is Bannon’s insightful narrative dubbed over video at certain times as well. The DVD menu is organized in a way that makes watching the project easy and it flows seamlessly from one section to the next. Even the music fits perfectly. The rights tracks are inserted at the right time for the ideal length of time. Clearly a tremendous amount of thought and production hours went into devising and creating this uber professional project.

Not only does it teach eight tricks (seven cards tricks and one mentalism coin trick), but it teaches various cuts and controls with Bannon’s added touch. The DVD also contains segments of interviews with Bannon which are very interesting. I would not have minded to hear more.

Each trick is performed by Bannon to a spectator in a studio setting in either a home or restaurant. After the performance, Bannon teaches the trick with the subtleties and the steps needed for a finessed performance. Often it is a discussion of the trick with another during the explanation. In between the various tricks, there are the “trickbag” instructions that teach the forces and controls I mentioned before. Bannon offers some techniques that make some basic cuts very fooling. I immediately added a few of his touches to my arsenal.

During the DVD, Bannon makes much of the cross-cut force. His take and deployment of the cross-cut force may make you re-examine the force in the event that you have moved onto other methods in your card handling. Bannon is the master of disguising cuts and controls that may otherwise be detected. He enhances a standard Gemini Twins trick in Collusion and also teaches another variant in the Four Sided Gemini. For those that are not familiar with equivoque, he teaches a crash course in the “magician’s choice” and then implements it in a few of the tricks. He also teaches a trick that cleverly sets up the magician to do a four card production after that trick’s conclusion. Some of the trick are impromptu and some are not. Some require minimal set up which can be accomplished on the fly or in advance. I was completely slayed by Sort of Psycho which can be done impromptu with a borrowed shuffled deck.

Throughout, Bannon takes bits and pieces of inspiration from magicians and then adds and subtracts his own “stuff” to come up with his unique Bannon handling and version. He does this extremely well. He fastidiously credits the magicians before him.

The tricks presented herein are easy to perform. They are easy to learn. They evoke very strong reactions. This DVD is not just for beginners because they are easy to perform. And, anyone could learn these tricks and head out with a solid set of entertainment. There is nothing noteworthy about the promotional video or ad-copy, which is a good thing.

As stated above, this DVD is Excellent! It gets the highest marks!! You should get it!!!

We are anxiously awaiting Volume 2.
(Top ▲)