What the hell is that thing I found advertised in big letters over at the green monster? 35 bucks for two DVD's on the Elmsley Count? Has the Big Blind Media gone mad? Or is it just me? Selling just one move and it's applications?
What's next? An in depth study on the Biddle Grip with an optional discussion on it's biggest rival, the Mechanics Grip? What I would like to see would be a whole series one the "Break". 5 DVD's with several ways of holding the break with your pinky and of course a bonus disc with a few card tricks using the break technique. I want to have the issue covered from all sides. And alternatives would be nice too. What if my pinky is missing or not even pink. Can I hold the break with my ring finger?
Just watch the video:
Interestingly the video has some funny moments. When we get told, that we learn an "invisible" Elmsley Count (0:36) the video shows us a count where I actually see that the first card is stolen back. According to the video we will learn how to count 2-3 and even more cards as four cards. We learn to hide faces and backs of the cards via the counting. Makes it sound like several different techniques. We all know it's just the one sleight.
This project might be useful for beginners, but seriously I cannot help myself but to think that this is just a quick way to make a buck. 35 bucks to be precise.
PS. Happy New Year suckers.
PPS. What's up with the towel on the head?
The beanie? All the cool kids are doing it. I think Easy to Master Card Miracles is the way to go to learn the Elmsley count. I think vol 2.
ReplyDeleteThis is what magic is about now: technicians and not magicians. Magic has been broken down in pieces and they only teach what can be sold: isolated sleights and tricks with no context.
ReplyDeleteTummers and I last week were talking about contentment in product, and ourselves without being foolish about practice.
ReplyDeleteThis is the kind of video that is the polar opposite of what we know is true. I mean Tummers has a killer second deal. I doubt he will run and buy any video on the second deal even though I'm sure his adventure into learning and mastering it will be life long.
Just some irony.
Happy new year, git.
ReplyDeletewell I liked the roadrunner cull and the master pushoff sets.
ReplyDeletebut the ghost count is a bit too simplistic for a 2 dvd project on one technique
Second to what Watkinzez said, Ammar's CTMCM vol. 2 is basically the mostly wide spread video tutorial of the Elmsley count in the last 15 years or so, other than the late Elmsley collection out of print $300 book / early manuscript.
ReplyDeleteSince I just target local failure, that kind of product WMF just pass by my head last week. Don't even bother to click into the demo at all.
Stink product made stink magicians. The only way to prevent become a stinky magician is to stay away from these products. Stick to books and good DVD set. Practice and perform.
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@ Darkstar
ReplyDeleteI wont buy any DVD about second dealing indeed ;)
But, to be fair, the second disk contains several pretty good effects using the count. They really are good. But I think the set should cost $19.95, not $35
ReplyDeleteHonestly, I bought this as a sort of experiment to see if visual media could give me a better handling of a classic technique. I picked it up without seeing any trailers, wooed simply by the prospect that it would be a sort of go-to resource for false counting...
ReplyDeleteAnd it didn't really even help my Elmsley count, because the chap on the DVD, Liam Montier, does the count in a way which is totally different to how I learned it, so I couldn't use it even as a reference to compare myself to.
As far as I can tell he invented two fairly interesting routines which happen to use the Elmsley count and this DVD set is an attempt to sort of... pad it out.
The nature of DVD magic now is that everything is taught for absolute beginners, and Liam probably realised that he'd have to teach the Elmsley count (and a couple of others like the bafflingly specific Bullet Party Display) so made that the focus for getting his trick out there.
I guess I only have myself to blame as someone who can already do an Elmsley count and bought a DVD on how to do an Elmsley count.
Inspired me to rewrite my presentation of Twisting the Aces though, so not all bad (even if it was along the lines of "Oh I HAVE to be able to present this trick better than he does" ).
Interesting how a beginner's product is marketed as a masterclass for improving technique.
-Stacy