Issue 25 - March 09
Night And Day
Alan Rorrison
Available from: www.full52.com
Price: £14.99
This is the first time I have come across anything from Alan Rorrison and when I read the 'trailers' on the back of the DVD I was intrigued to say the least. Essentially this DVD looks to teach you two penetration effects - a coin through glass tumbler and a coin through a glass topped table. There are also a couple of Bonus effects - a card through glass table and a coin through hand routine - but I'll comment on those in a moment. Let's first concentrate on the main DVD contents.
First up is the coin through glass tumbler. I thought this was great. It looks like real magic would look if you could really do it! You pick up a tall sided glass and show a 10p coin. The coin is genuinely placed under the sealed end of the tumbler and is pressed against the base. The hand is then taken away and the coin stays in position! The glass is then shaken slightly and the coin can be seen moving around on the glass base. Then the glass is shaken between the two hands and the coin can be seen to be genuinely on the inside of the glass. In fact the glass can be handed to a spectator for him to tip it out.
The handling is well thought out and uses a coin gimmick (not supplied, but you may already have one. If not you can certainly get one) in an unusual way. Visually this is very strong and technically, while it will need practice, it is not overly taxing. There are some slight angle problems but nothing that an aware performer can't cover. All in all this is a very elegant solution to making a coin penetrate into an unprepared glass.
The second main effect is a coin through glass table. Again this is nicely thought out and Alan has clearly gone for maximum visual impact with minimum sleights. There are more angle problems with this than with the glass tumbler routine, and you would need to control where your spectators were sitting and at what angle they were viewing the trick. It's not such a clean effect either, as depending on the type of glass table that is being used, you will need to adapt the handling. Also, it relies on you having access to a glass table in the first place!
The two Bonus effects I didn't feel were much of a bonus! The card through glass table is OK but to a certain extent it lacked the more visual elements of the coin version which I must confess I preferred of the two. And the final bonus routine, the coin through hand, I didn't like at all. I have always felt that trying to convince a spectator that you are able to push a coin through their hand is a non starter. They simply know that it is not possible, and therefore right from the start I feel they are looking for the method and the handling. This can only be done on one spectator at a time because of the horrendous angles, and quite frankly with so many other good tricks to choose from, I personally wouldn't waste my time with this.
One trick DVDs are becoming increasingly prevalent and I think you always have to try and assess whether the product justifies the cost. In this case, although there are four routines provided, the main two effects just about provide value for money, especially the coin through glass tumbler which I did think was really good. So, if you want a clean version of that particular effect you may consider it worth the entrance fee alone, even though you will have to have/get a coin gimmick separately. ML
What's Hot: the coin through glass tumbler handling is great
What's Not: questionable value for money given that the bonus effects are
perhaps not the greatest
Star Rating: ***
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