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Blink Of An Eye – A Review

Blink Of An Eye – A Review

Blink of An Eye – By David Luu – A Review
Rick Carruth
$9.00

This is a super quick and very visual card change that occurs while a card is extended from a deck.
Here is the ad copy from the download..

Description:
Instantly change the faces and the backs of your playing cards — even restore a torn corner! This is modern visual card magic at its finest. Learn this lightning quick, hyper-visual card change today! Download this video and begin performing these impossible-looking feats of magic!

Created by David Luu and sold as an instant download by Murphy’s Magic, Blink of an Eye is a visual card change, designed to change one card for another, or one color back for another. Unlike most effects I normally review, this is utility device that does the work for you.. and you provide the story.

I cannot compare this to any other device right off. If there is something similar, I’m not familiar with it. You show approximately half a card, extending from the deck, and with a very gentle movement, the card changes from one to another. It’s quick.. and the movement isn’t necessary to achieve the change. It only helps mask the change.. a la Vernon..

I can tell you what happens.. but I can’t tell you HOW it happens, other than to say there is a device (gimmick) used to effect the change. One card is made to recess into the gimmick, quickly, revealing a second card. There are a number of uses for David’s gimmick, limited only by your imagination… Vanish a card, change a card, change the color of a card, restore a corner on a card, and other magical possibilities.

The upside and downside:

I almost hate to mention this, as it’s not an issue with many users. You do have to build the gimmick. The download is about 45 minutes long and goes into great depth as to the creation of the gimmick. It’s not highly complicated and well within the ability of the average customer. Folks who read my reviews know I am not a DIY guy, as I’m on of those people who will pay a premium to have someone else build it for me. BUT.. this is a nine dollar download. It would be a $25-30 gimmick if all the work were done for you. So.. I can’t say anything. Forget I mentioned it.. Buy it, build it today, and be the focus of attention tonight.

Someone is going to buy it.. and complain that I didn’t tell them the deck couldn’t be freely examined after you vanish or change a card. Remember, there is a gimmick involved… and the gimmick is inside the deck. Many great effects use gimmicks, so this isn’t a problem, unless you aren’t paying attention to what I’m saying.

Honestly, the best way to get a good grasp of what David’s device will do is go to this link and watch the video. I like what it does, and the possibilities that are presented. I think you will too.

https://www.murphysmagic.com/product.aspx?id=62070

Omega = Alpha – A Review

Omega = Alpha – A Review

Omega = Alpha
Woody Aragon

If you’re serious about your card manipulations.. you’re familiar with Woody Aragon. He is a master performer and an extremely talented creator of effects. He’s one of those few guys who sells a ton of material because there’s no way in hello you’re going to watch his trailers and figure out the method.

This offer from Murphy’s Magic is part of their THE VAULT series, which is an instantly downloadable feature available through their site.

Now, this download is a single effect, thus the $4.95 price, but it’s a well-developed effect that could serve as either an opener or a closer.

Reminiscent of a classic Martin Gardner effect, this is strictly a mathemagical effect that is self working, yet seems like magic. You can perform it with a thoroughly shuffled deck.. and you can perform it with a borrowed deck. Don’t shrug it off because it’s mathematical, as you can perform it in a way as to take the appearance of mathematics out of the equasion.

Listening to Woody talk and teach is a little like listening to Tamariz.. animated, happy-go-lucky, and infectious…. and never boring! It’s not hard to learn and there is nothing complicated to remember. You can watch the video and perform it right away. Just my type of trick…

I recommend Omega = Alpha to all my friends. The investment is minimal and the likelyhood you’ll perform it is very high.

To quote the ad copy…

“Woody Aragon offers a great piece of self-working magic that can be done with a borrowed deck of cards. The cards are shuffled, and a card is simply thought of. The deck is shuffled again and with a bit of banter, the cards are dealt into two piles. One pile is eliminated, and the process is repeated until a single card remains… The card merely THOUGHT of by the spectator!!!!! ”

Download the video and learn this stunner! $4.95

https://www.murphysmagic.com/Product.aspx?id=62421

Creating Carbonaro Effects: How Michael Carbonaro and His Writers Room Make Magic Happen Every Week

Creating Carbonaro Effects: How Michael Carbonaro and His Writers Room Make Magic Happen Every Week

It’s been three years since I first talked with truTV’s Michael Carbonaro, who stars in a big truTV series that involves pranking. No, he’s not the fifth Impractical Joker, he’s the star of The Carbonaro Effect which has a huge following all its own. In each episode, Michael performs brilliant magic tricks on members of the public who have no idea that he’s performing tricks. It’s all caught on hidden camera, as Carbonaro tries to convince people (usually successfully) that the impossible things they are witnessing are really happening.
 Last time we spoke, Michael told me that they never use trick camerawork to pull off his illusions. In the three years since I last wrote about my conversation with Carbonaro, we’ve received countless messages from people who just couldn’t believe that was possible. So when I got the chance to speak with him again, I asked him about that, as well as what we can expect in the upcoming Season Four, which kicks off this Thursday on truTV. He told me fans can expect Michael and his team to up their game once again, with Spielbergian levels of practical effects, illusions and magic, hauntings, aliens, and even turning a ghost into a scarecrow, and he shared how he and his team come up with their ideas, where they find their “marks” and… Read More…