|
|
cardguy Inner circle Queens, New York 1171 Posts |
I just picked up this book yesterday. I have never heard of it until I saw it. I was at Michael Cannick's book store in Manhattan and was browsing until I came upon it and flipped through it. I liked what I saw so I purchased it, and started reading it last night and today.
All I can say is WOW! This book is filled with super visual magic. I have never seen ideas like this before. It is mostly card and coins stuff, with a bending spoon routine thrown in for good measure. I haven't read the whole thing yet, but all the effects I have read are winners so far. How about starting your Matrix routine with a bang? "4 Corners" is a visual flash production of 4 half dollars at the corners of your matt. I love it! How about animating a playing card so it slowly curls at your command? It's ingenious! It's called the "Gellar Card" and his routine "Divine" utilizes it perfectly! How about causing a joker to visually change into a selected card while being held face-up directly under your spectator's noses, under an impossible condition? Another great one! It's called "Foto" and the routine is kind of like an impromptu printing routine, in which a joker prints itself into a selected card. It utilzes a variation of Harris's Fandango move. Very visual, practical, and fun to do. I was amusing myself with this all night. This book has about 20 routines. All have the potential to slaughter your audience, whether they are laymen or magicians. I highly recommend it. It may be hard to find. It was published in 1989 by Tannens.
Frank G. a.k.a. Cardguy
|
Ed Oschmann Inner circle Lake Worth FL 1011 Posts |
Pyrobox is a very *****in' effect. Try it...you'll like it.
|
cardguy Inner circle Queens, New York 1171 Posts |
Pyrobox looks like a crazy effect, thanks for the recommendation. I don't know if I have the guts to try it (it is rather bold), but it has to be the quickest card to impossible location I've seen. Ben Harris really thought "outside the box" in order to get the card "inside the box".
Frank G. a.k.a. Cardguy
|
mattpuglisi Veteran user New York 321 Posts |
Cardguy showed me the "Fandango" move on our ride back from Canick's - its beautiful. I'm anxious to see the other effects!
Lack of invention is the mother of necessity - Robert Nozick
Instagram: @matthewthomas00 |
Ozer4 Veteran user NYC 329 Posts |
So you ended up liking that book, Frank. I haven't had enough time to go through the book fully, but so far your recommendation for Carneycopia is paying off. I like a lot of the effects I've gone over so far. I'll have to take a look at some of the routines in that Off The Wall notes next time we meet up.
-Oz |
Scott F. Guinn Inner circle "Great Scott!" aka "Palms of Putty" & "Poof Daddy G" 6586 Posts |
I have Off the Wall, and I agree it's excellent. IMO, this is Ben's best book as far as the quality of the material from top to bottom.
"Love God, laugh more, spend more time with the ones you love, play with children, do good to those in need, and eat more ice cream. There is more to life than magic tricks." - Scott F. Guinn
My Lybrary Page |
Ben Harris V.I.P. The Land Down Under 2126 Posts |
Wow,
It's a thrill for me to see these sorts of comments so many years after this book was published. Fandango and the SFUC stuff are my faves. Cheers guys Ben Harris
+Inventor of the world famous Floating Match+
+Author: Machinations (Vanishing Inc, 2020)+ EVERYTHING BEN HARRIS |
montz Special user 576 Posts |
I've had a copy for a while. David Acer has something pretty much identical to the fandango move... Independently created?
Four corners is excellent, a brilliant opener, and Foto was exceptionally good. Creations of which to be proud. Liam. |
mattpuglisi Veteran user New York 321 Posts |
I agree - "Four Corners" is excellent!
Lack of invention is the mother of necessity - Robert Nozick
Instagram: @matthewthomas00 |
The Magic Cafe Forum Index » » Books, Pamphlets & Lecture Notes » » Ben Harris - Off the Wall (0 Likes) |
[ Top of Page ] |
All content & postings Copyright © 2001-2024 Steve Brooks. All Rights Reserved. This page was created in 0.02 seconds requiring 5 database queries. |
The views and comments expressed on The Magic Café are not necessarily those of The Magic Café, Steve Brooks, or Steve Brooks Magic. > Privacy Statement < |