I thought it would be cool to review both of these projects together. I really like Jibrizy's thinking. There are a few great ideas on these projects that I have been playing around with and one routine is going straight into my repertoire. Also these projects are really cheap - they are five bucks each and go for around half an hour. Everything is well taught and this style of magic (using pens, rubber bands, ChapStick, phones etc.) is great for walkaround at school. I will do mini-reviews for each effect on the two projects :)
VOLUME 1:
Gone and Back:
This is a great sandwich routine with a few visual elements. There is one moment where the selection is face up between two cards and as soon as you turn them over, the selection has moved up or down. This can be done so slowly and is really mind warping. I felt like I was watching Inception again when I first saw it because I replayed that part five times because it was just so entertaining. There is also a nice grasshopper card segment. The routine ends clean and everything can be examined. This is really fun. 8/10
Chap Wrap:
This is a routine in which a rubber band is vanished and reappears wrapped around a Chapstick which was held in the spectators hand. I saw this on the demo and thought it wouldn't play well in the real world. I tried it out at youth group and it absolutely fried everyone in the room. I didn't need to perform any more effects. The set up is minimal and impromptu (if you will). It is very easy to do and is so effective if you build up the suspense. I really like this. 9/10
Pen Possible:
This is by far the gem of the series so far. The first phase is fairly common, pen lid taken off, vanished and thrown back on. The second phase however. The spectator holds the pen vertical from both ends securely. A rubber band is placed behind it and visually pulled through. The method is so easy to do and well taught. This is like Crazy Man's Handcuffs on steroids. The reactions I got from this were insane! I will be using this at school frequently as pens and rubber bands are everywhere. 9.5/10
VOLUME 2:
Phone Be Gone:
This is an effect in which a phone vanishes from the phone case and reappears within a rubber band. Straight up - this isn't a magician cooler. However this routine is fun to play with and I personally liked the reappearance using the rubber band. The one downside is you need to find a phone with a soft case which is hard to do in my area as they are mostly hard designer iPhone cases. But other than that, this is kinda cool and can see some people getting some use out of it. 7/10
Quick Clip:
This effect is simple - a borrowed ring links onto a paperclip and can be handed out still linked. You can borrow a ring or use your own. This is very clever and very clean looking. He also teaches a linking paperclip routine utilising the same principle. This is very fun to practice as it is so simple in method yet so effective in performance. 8/10then
Billy:
This is a bill transpo effect. A card is signed and placed on the table. A bill is borrowed and signed. The bill is then placed in the card box. The bill then appears wrapped around the card, then vanishes and is found to be gone from the box. The signed bill then reappears inside the magician's pocket. This is quite cool but it does use a gimmick. He also teaches a really cool in the hands version in which at the end of the routine, the bill appears inside the Sharpie lid that the spectator was holding the entire time. Very fun and the actual gimmick is very clever. 9/10
Overall, this series is very cool. All the effects are very organic and different from things laypeople have seen before. Most of these can be performed on the fly. As a teenager, my main stomping grounds for performing is school. Rubber bands, paperclips, pens etc. are everywhere so these routines will work great with my performing style. The downloads are shot well and he goes over everything in detail. Overall this is a great purchase for $5 each and the cool thing about each download is each effect is different so there is a lot of variety. Really good. Well done Jibrizy! 8.5/10
VOLUME 1:
Gone and Back:
This is a great sandwich routine with a few visual elements. There is one moment where the selection is face up between two cards and as soon as you turn them over, the selection has moved up or down. This can be done so slowly and is really mind warping. I felt like I was watching Inception again when I first saw it because I replayed that part five times because it was just so entertaining. There is also a nice grasshopper card segment. The routine ends clean and everything can be examined. This is really fun. 8/10
Chap Wrap:
This is a routine in which a rubber band is vanished and reappears wrapped around a Chapstick which was held in the spectators hand. I saw this on the demo and thought it wouldn't play well in the real world. I tried it out at youth group and it absolutely fried everyone in the room. I didn't need to perform any more effects. The set up is minimal and impromptu (if you will). It is very easy to do and is so effective if you build up the suspense. I really like this. 9/10
Pen Possible:
This is by far the gem of the series so far. The first phase is fairly common, pen lid taken off, vanished and thrown back on. The second phase however. The spectator holds the pen vertical from both ends securely. A rubber band is placed behind it and visually pulled through. The method is so easy to do and well taught. This is like Crazy Man's Handcuffs on steroids. The reactions I got from this were insane! I will be using this at school frequently as pens and rubber bands are everywhere. 9.5/10
VOLUME 2:
Phone Be Gone:
This is an effect in which a phone vanishes from the phone case and reappears within a rubber band. Straight up - this isn't a magician cooler. However this routine is fun to play with and I personally liked the reappearance using the rubber band. The one downside is you need to find a phone with a soft case which is hard to do in my area as they are mostly hard designer iPhone cases. But other than that, this is kinda cool and can see some people getting some use out of it. 7/10
Quick Clip:
This effect is simple - a borrowed ring links onto a paperclip and can be handed out still linked. You can borrow a ring or use your own. This is very clever and very clean looking. He also teaches a linking paperclip routine utilising the same principle. This is very fun to practice as it is so simple in method yet so effective in performance. 8/10then
Billy:
This is a bill transpo effect. A card is signed and placed on the table. A bill is borrowed and signed. The bill is then placed in the card box. The bill then appears wrapped around the card, then vanishes and is found to be gone from the box. The signed bill then reappears inside the magician's pocket. This is quite cool but it does use a gimmick. He also teaches a really cool in the hands version in which at the end of the routine, the bill appears inside the Sharpie lid that the spectator was holding the entire time. Very fun and the actual gimmick is very clever. 9/10
Overall, this series is very cool. All the effects are very organic and different from things laypeople have seen before. Most of these can be performed on the fly. As a teenager, my main stomping grounds for performing is school. Rubber bands, paperclips, pens etc. are everywhere so these routines will work great with my performing style. The downloads are shot well and he goes over everything in detail. Overall this is a great purchase for $5 each and the cool thing about each download is each effect is different so there is a lot of variety. Really good. Well done Jibrizy! 8.5/10