Sparks is JC James' debut DVD release with Murphy's Magic. It consists of 13 sleight of hand based effects. I had very high hopes for this as I LOVE sleight of hand and I practice as much as I can in my spare time. This DVD however left me cold. The material just wasn't that great. I will outline a few good effects and a few not so good.
Here were some good effects/moves on the project:
Spin - if you watch the trailer, this is the first effect shown (the pen vanish). I quite like this as it is a nice alternative to the well known Flipstick move. I like the flourish-y spin which accompanies the move, however it is a little knacky to get down. The vanish is quiet and I prefer to perform this slowly and without the "jerking" motion at the time of the vanish (as he does in the demo". However, this does require a reappearance which can be a little tricky from the position the pen ends up in.
Fan Change - this is a really visual way to change a card in a fan of cards (four of a kind, etc.) This would work well with Shin Lim's Shin Splint (if you could add it into the handling). The move however is very difficult and took me a few hours of repeated execution to get it down. The explanation for this wasn't very good and it was more of an overview. Although difficult and not very well taught, this is a very cool move and I love practicing it :)
Fake Tilt - this wasn't shown on the trailer however this is a great move. It is basically a Marlo Tilt (or depth illusion) in complete reverse. This made me smile and I instantly fell in love with this. Fairly easy and a lot of fun.
Most of the other material wasn't very good, here are a few:
Latex Slydnini - this was one of things that excited me from the trailer. Basically it allows a transformation of a rubber band to any small object (folded playing card or bill, coin, key, etc.). However, you do end clean but not in the way you'd think. I wish I could say more but just know that you probably won't like the method behind it, i didn't. But remember this is just my opinion and you should make your own.
POG Production - this was spoken about a lot (especially on the Cafe). The magician just touches the edge of the deck and any four of a kind jumps out. I loved this instantly. However when the explanation came along, this is difficult on another level. Even JC was having trouble performing it whilst explaining. I am yet to correctly execute this and I have been practicing for at least a week. This is all about chance really.
Clean Transpo - this was shown on the trailer and is fairly easy to execute. However the routine requires too much switching hands and funny movements for it to really be a "clean transpo"
I don't like criticising much but there really wasn't much meat on this DVD. The production quality was excellent, as are most products from Murphy's. The teaching wasn't excellent and more detail should have been put into some of the explanations.
Overall, I was disappointed with this. I really wanted this to be good. There were a few good things on this DVD (as previously mentioned) but most of the stuff on here wasn't really that great. For what you are getting $25 is a decent price if you enjoy the material taught. There were some great ideas put forward but this needs more work. 6.5/10
Product information:
http://www.murphysmagic.com/Product.aspx?id=54295
Here were some good effects/moves on the project:
Spin - if you watch the trailer, this is the first effect shown (the pen vanish). I quite like this as it is a nice alternative to the well known Flipstick move. I like the flourish-y spin which accompanies the move, however it is a little knacky to get down. The vanish is quiet and I prefer to perform this slowly and without the "jerking" motion at the time of the vanish (as he does in the demo". However, this does require a reappearance which can be a little tricky from the position the pen ends up in.
Fan Change - this is a really visual way to change a card in a fan of cards (four of a kind, etc.) This would work well with Shin Lim's Shin Splint (if you could add it into the handling). The move however is very difficult and took me a few hours of repeated execution to get it down. The explanation for this wasn't very good and it was more of an overview. Although difficult and not very well taught, this is a very cool move and I love practicing it :)
Fake Tilt - this wasn't shown on the trailer however this is a great move. It is basically a Marlo Tilt (or depth illusion) in complete reverse. This made me smile and I instantly fell in love with this. Fairly easy and a lot of fun.
Most of the other material wasn't very good, here are a few:
Latex Slydnini - this was one of things that excited me from the trailer. Basically it allows a transformation of a rubber band to any small object (folded playing card or bill, coin, key, etc.). However, you do end clean but not in the way you'd think. I wish I could say more but just know that you probably won't like the method behind it, i didn't. But remember this is just my opinion and you should make your own.
POG Production - this was spoken about a lot (especially on the Cafe). The magician just touches the edge of the deck and any four of a kind jumps out. I loved this instantly. However when the explanation came along, this is difficult on another level. Even JC was having trouble performing it whilst explaining. I am yet to correctly execute this and I have been practicing for at least a week. This is all about chance really.
Clean Transpo - this was shown on the trailer and is fairly easy to execute. However the routine requires too much switching hands and funny movements for it to really be a "clean transpo"
I don't like criticising much but there really wasn't much meat on this DVD. The production quality was excellent, as are most products from Murphy's. The teaching wasn't excellent and more detail should have been put into some of the explanations.
Overall, I was disappointed with this. I really wanted this to be good. There were a few good things on this DVD (as previously mentioned) but most of the stuff on here wasn't really that great. For what you are getting $25 is a decent price if you enjoy the material taught. There were some great ideas put forward but this needs more work. 6.5/10
Product information:
http://www.murphysmagic.com/Product.aspx?id=54295