Price$89.95
Media TypeDVD
CategoryClose Up
Date AddedFeb 17, 2010
An Extension of Me
Jones, Eric
Kozmo Magic
(Based on 1 review)
In this stunningly produced three-DVD set you will have Eric take you through effects using cards, coins, and sponge balls in painstaking detail. Every piece of Eric's magic is thought out to the nth degree. It looks and feels like real magic because Eric has thought out every detail, every nuance and finally shares this all with you.
This project has been in the works for over two years with multiple shoots as Eric wanted to ensure that everything from the production to the teaching to the material was top-notch. The teaching takes you through each piece in tremendous detail from various angles. The DVDs are beautifully produced and packaged in a stunning fold-out case. The performances are pure magic. The thinking is superb. Eric is smooth as silk and so can you be if you follow Eric's careful teaching. You will use the effects from this DVD set and you will also find wonderful ideas, handlings, and sleights to apply to your existing magic.
Also included as a bonus is a special gimmick coin so you can immediately start working on Eric's stunning version of The Karate Coin that has been hailed by coin experts from around the world as THE best version of this now classic effect.
Effects presented within this 3 DVD set:
SpeedFly
Impossible Production
Eye Candy
Trip.Rev
Impossible Coins Across
Hellbound Remix
Ambitious
El Cambio Nada
Swirl Production
Standing Room Only Collectors
Elevator Cut
Oxy-Clean Coin Routine
Flash Coins Re-Lit
G.O.D.H.A.N.D. Move
Peregrination
Ishkibble Sandwich(feat. Iskabibble Switch,Open Faced Iskabibble Sandwich)
Tai Chi Penetration(two versions)
Ambitious Force
"An Extension of Me" by Eric Jones will change your magic, your thinking about magic, and will simply motivate you to be a better magician.
Reviews
(Top ▲)
Though the DVDs are well produced (lighting, angles, sounds, etc), I did have some issues with the menu. Basically every effect has a 2 deep level in the menu system, and after each single item plays you end up back on the sub menu where you have to back up to the main menu and find the next item to watch. There was no "play all" on the main menu.
Additionally, after clicking on any item on any of the menus, it takes almost a full 20 seconds to slowly drag out the displaying of the title of the effect or explanation you are about to see. That is really frustrating. It really made the DVD drag . . . It literally added about 15 minutes to the experience . . . too much.
Those huge annoyances aside, it's all gonna boil down to whether or not you get $90 worth of magic, gimmicks and education, so let's dive in.
Disk 1:
Speed Fly (3.5 stars)
This is a pure sleight of hand no extra coins handling of three fly that has some really nice visual moments that look like real magic. There are, however, a few places in the routine where it just looks a little fishy like something is happening (because it is). However, there are some nice utility moves to be learned here.
Peregrination (3 stars)
This is a pretty standard 4 coins across routine. Nothing really revolutionary here. Though the method for the final coin into the spectator's hand was pretty clever.
Flash Coins Re-Lit (4 stars)
This is very visual and pretty magic. There are a couple of moments where it really did look like real magic . . . coins appearing in a flame of fire . . . beautiful. There were other parts of the routine that I felt weakened it overall, but in the end, there are plenty of magic moments that you could use in your own effects or routines.
Elevator Cut / Trip. Rev / Swirl Production / Standing Room Only Collectors (4 stars)
This is a very clean collectors routine along with some cool moves to produce the cards and a false cut. All in all it's a pretty strong routine. The production of the four Kings at the beginning is very pretty though a bit angly. The method for "collecting" the cards in the collector portion of the routine seems impossible. It's very clean.
Disk 2:
Eye Candy (3.5 stars)
Jones's handling of the sponge balls. Not too much original, but a pretty solid routine. The performance bothered me quite a bit, however. He was constantly talking over and squashing the audience members's reactions. Additionally, his presentation was very much focused on himself. Saying things like "Move over here" or "What I want you to do is this . . ." always come across bossy and pushy. When doing an intimate effect like the sponge balls, you've got to spend more time and effort connecting with your audience.
El Cambio Nada (4 stars)
Very visual and powerful color change, but a little angly. However, in a situation where your audience is in the right place, this will blow people away. You hold a single playing card at chest level in your left hand. Your right hand passes in front of it (never completely covering the card) and suddenly it's changed. Powerful.
Ambitious Force (4.5 stars)
A very clean looking force of a card. It kind of takes the Riffle Force to a whole new level.
Hellbound Remix (4.5 stars)
If you're a coin guy you'll add this to your repertoire. It's one of the most visual coin routines I've ever seen. A Half Dollar held at the finger tips just - poof - changes into a Chinese coin. You can then immediately show both sides of your hand. There's nothing to see.
Ishkabibble Sandwich (5 stars)
Hands down, the best sandwich routine I've ever seen. I don't think that a sandwich routine can get any more visual than this. It looks like real magic. It's so beautiful to watch. Plus Jones shows us some variations that allow the concept to be used in other applications that are very clever and beautiful.
Oxyclean Coin Routine (4.5 stars)
Bare hands, sleeves up produce three coins at the finger tips one at a time, showing your hands empty after each production. Then vanish them one at a time just as cleanly. Beautiful magic. The only reason I didn't give this 5 stars is because it requires a couple of expensive gimmmicks . . . one of which you may have already.
Disk 3:
Ambitious (2.5 stars)
There are some nice moves in this routine, but if you do Ambitious Card you likely already know these moves . . . nothing revolutionary here. Also, in his presentation, Jones constantly is telling the spectator, "I want you to do X." or "Here what I want you to do . . . "
First, that's un-interesting patter. Second, why should the spectator care what you want? Let's do something together rather than just MY agenda . . . Jim Carrey (as Ace Ventura) said it best: "How Selfish of me! Let's do all the things YOU want to do!"
G.O.D.H.A.N.D. (2.5 stars)
Jones's handling of an Apollo Robbins idea. He's not really adding much to this.
Tai Chi Penetration (5 stars)
Jones's handling of Karate Koin is beautiful. It looks like real magic . . . really. Plus you get some good pointers and tips on spectator body loading. Some of it's "ok" and some of it's really good. But either way, this effect gets 5 stars just for the handling of the Karate Koin . . . and remember, this DVD set comes with the coin.
Impossible Production (1.5 stars)
Sorry folks, but this looked like anything but magic. There are a couple of interesting moves, but all in all it looks like he's just hiding the coins in his hands - he is.
Impossible Coins Across (4.5 stars)
This is a beautiful and relatively sleight-free handling of coins across. You will need a couple of not cheap gimmicks to pull this off, but it's worth the investment. The only thing I don't like about this routine is that you're telling a spectator to examine a gimmicked coin . . . one that could relatively easily be discovered to be a gimmick. That aside, there are some extremely beautiful moments of magic in this routine.
The average star rating of all the effects is 3.8. Very strong. However, let's consider a couple of things. First, there is no doubt that Jones is a pro in just about every sense of the word. He takes his material seriously and works very hard to perfect it.
I have not issues with his technical skills. He is at a level about most of us. His presentations however, left a little bit to be desired in many cases. Often he kind of just did the moves (smoothly and incredibly) and just kind of ignored the audience. So just a word of caution, learn from his technical skills, but be a little more careful when learning from his presentations. In many cases his presentations were better, but in general I just felt that he didn't connect with the audience members.
Having said all that, I'm not docking any points for it; I just wanted you to be aware. My biggest issue with this DVD set is that it was too many DVDs. There were only 15 effects. 3 of which I felt could have been left out completely without impacting the product quality at all.
Combine that with the fact that the menu and title displays literally add about 15 minutes to the whole project, I think this set could easily have been one DVD, maybe two at the most. I think $45 to $50 for one DVD with the included coin gimmick would have been a fair price.
All in all, however, it's really hard to not recommend this. There is a lot of great material on here.
Final Verdict: 4 stars with a Stone Status of Gem . . . pricy Gem, but Gem nonetheless.