Frozen

If you watch the demo video for this, you're going to immediately freak out and think this is real magic. Hey, it's about as real as you could hope for! You borrow a spectator's quarter, and proceed to freeze it with your breath like Superman.

In theory this is one awesome effect. It's a lot better than the other "Frozen" effect out there that came out years ago (the signed coin appears in a block of ice in the magician's hand), but both fall victim to the same problem: impractical set-up.

This is not an effect you are going to do impromptu. As a matter of fact, there is a very tight window between setup and performance of the effect. You can't leave home thinking you'll do that trick today and wait an hour to actually try it. You've got at most 15 minutes to get it done after you set up, and that's pushing it. Adam Grace does give some pointers on packing it to go, but it's going to require fairly roomy pockets.

There is another setup he shows you that does allow you to do this the trick impromptu. Truthfully, I doubt he ever does this himself though. You might love the idea, but it didn't seem practical to me.

And finally the biggest problem: I've never gotten the effect to work. I use the exact same items he does on the video, I set them up the exact way he describes, and I've never had the effect work once. Forget 15 minutes, I'm trying it within 2 minutes of the set up and it still won't work. That may be just me, but I can't remember the last time I couldn't get an effect to work at all no matter what I tried.

You may get it and you may love it, but for me it's just too limited to be practical. I have to say though that if it works for you like it did on the video, you'll blow the spectator's mind.

Silver Dream

If you watch the demo video for this, you're going to immediately be thinking this is done with gimmick coins. You would be incorrect. What you see is done with 3 coins, and only 3 coins, and it is done in such a way as to make it completely clean when you are done.

Justin Miller has created a symphony of coin manipulation with this routine. Watching it performed is like watching some piece of fine art being sculpted from nothing. You think it's amazing when you see it? Wait until you see what it takes to make it happen!

Miller gives you a wonderful play-by-play breakdown on how to accomplish this miracle. His work on sleeving is incredible, and the moves are so smooth you'll never get caught once you get it down pat. The only "iffy" move was the final vanish which you'll probably catch right away when watching it. Every other movement is perfectly subtle and impossible to catch, but that final vanish is a little obvious. Granted, the spectators will probably never catch it though.

If you decide to do this in a warmer climate using short sleeves, you can still make the magic happen if you use an expanded coin shell. This will give you some angles to worry about that the long-sleeved version doesn't have, but it's more practical in some situations.

This will take practice, and lots of it. The sleeving moves alone will have you picking coins up off the floor for quite a while, but once the move is smooth it can even amaze you when it happens! Major props to Justin for sharing the work on this incredible routine!

Believe

For a visual card change, you would be hard-pressed to come up with something more impressive than "Believe". The spectator chooses a card and signs it, the card is lost and another pulled out. After tearing a corner off and placing it on the table, the magician suddenly changes the corner of the indifferent card into the corner of the chosen card--without ever apparently touching it! The torn card is turned over and it is seen to be the signed card...even though the spectator saw it as a different card just before it was laid down.

I'm not usually very high on one-trick DVD's that cost $20 or more, but I have to make an exception here. The change is so visual that there's a good chance you'll hear your spectators actually gasp when it occurs.

Joel Paschall does a great job of teaching this effect and the moves involved. Even the clean up is relatively easy and of course it's ready to go at a moment's notice. Understand something: this will take practice. There are 2 key moves you'll have to have down pat before considering this, and Joel's one-handed double-lift (yeah, you read that right) alone will take some time. Once you have it down though, I guarantee it'll be the only double-lift you use.

This will require a table to perform properly, so this isn't really a stree magic effect. If you're into table-hopping though, this is something you seriously need to consider. Actually, it's something every serious card worker should consider.

Simply Psychic

I was hesitant to purchase this video since it was so cheap and I'd never heard of Ross before, but I'm so glad the salesman at Tannens talked me into it. This is a wonderful video and goes into the theory of mentalism and doesn't just show you effects and moves on.

I have to say the first few effects aren't that great. They're more demonstrations than any kind of mentalism. Stick with it though, because things really get good as it goes on. I found five routines I used almost immediately, and that's almost unheard of for me! Most of the time I'm lucky to find 2 effects on the same DVD I actually want to use, but Ross has put together some incredibly simple mental magic that is easy enough for a beginner but that blows away even seasoned magicians if done properly.

Don't get me wrong: you aren't going to fool everyone every time. And since this is mentalism it's going to depend on you to be the showman and sell the effect, but for the amount of practice and effort you have to put into them (not to mention the fact that ALMOST all of these have no chance of failure if done properly), you can't beat it.

The only major change I immediately saw was Omar's Prophecy. As Ross does it, there is that chance of messing up at the beginning just to prove a point...but there's no reason for it. If you apply the last two principles to the first one you have zero chance for failure. He even mentions doing this in his explanation, but still feels his way works best to show the "1 in 3" on the paper. I adapted the handling for parts 2 and 3 into part 1 (which eliminates the chance of missing with your prediction) and have never had anyone question it. Other than that, you're pretty much ready to go out of the box with this video. Awesome magic at an incredible price!

Digital Dissolve

While the Copper/Silver Transpo isn't a new effect, "Digital Dissolve" add an element to it that makes this version stand out among the rest. Steve Dusheck has tweaked this effect to turn it into an instantaneous miracle in your hands.

Watch the demo video and you'll see how fast this happens. Literally in an instant the English penny becomes the half dollar right before the spectator's eyes. And as soon as the transformation occurs you can drop the coins into the spectator's hands and they can examine them all they want to. There is only one move involved and it's really easy to learn. Once you get it down you'll be performing this effect over and over again.

I keep this one close, and I often just do the effect for myself--and it still gets me even though I know how it's being done! That doesn't happen often. It's so strikingly visual that is just begs to be performed.

The coins are high quality, and the gimmick needed looks like it will last forever if treated right. The instructional DVD gives you everything you need to know about the effect and the move involved. It also helps with ideas for the clean up at the end. If you're into coin magic or just want something to sprinkle into your routine that's different from cards but you don't want to spend days learning the sleights, this is something you must own.