Product: Scribble
Released by: Blue Crown
Creator: Jeff Prace
Price: $9.95

Disclaimer:
I received a review copy, so I did not pay for the download. I do not know Jeff Prace personally, and have only been acquainted with his effect, Fuze, which came out some time ago and a few of his other effects.

What you get:
You get information on a specific NON-MAGIC app you download for FREE. This is iPhone ONLY as the app only exists on the iPhone (that said, I would surely believe someone has produced a similar app that works on Android, but since I don’t own an Android phone, I can’t confirm that. In that case you’d have to do some research).

Please note that one effect, Power, on the download requires you to get a paid version of the app, which costs you $0.99.

Quality:
The quality is very typical of other Blue Crown videos and downloads, which is to say it is very crisp, clear and pleasant to watch. The download is broken down into an introduction, basic explanation of the app, and some of the ideas/routines that Jeff has come up with since he started working with this concept over 3 ½ years ago.

Instruction:
Jeff does a great job, as he has in the past, explaining how each idea with the app works. I will note that if you are looking for a full routine, you’re not really getting a full “routine” per se, but rather the reveals and concepts using the app that Jeff has come up with. This means you’ll have to supply your own f*rces, patter, etc. and get creative (which, imo, is a good thing).

Effects on the DVD:
This has been reviewed already here:

http://www.themagiccafe.com/forums/viewt......um=159&0

I’ll keep mine brief. What I will say is that I agree 100% with everything said in the review above. If you’ve seen the trailer, you’ve got an idea of some of the visual stuff you can do. Here’s a list of ideas involved:

-The original Scribble – A reveal as per Scribbles of Destiny (which, as noted, was published earlier by Jeff). This reminds me of an iPhone version of Richard Sanders’ Identity

-Rising card reveal

-Snow Globe reveal – Similar in effect to a Jay Sankey’s “Snowstorm” where a card would be revealed on the back of a card drawn inside a snow globe, but with the iPhone. Great idea here as shaking the phone visually actually makes sense and is justified.

-Rorschach – This is one of my favorite ideas on the download. One spectator chooses a card and scribbles on the phone to etch in their subconscious thoughts, which another spectator reads out of their scribbles.

-Coin/Sponge Ball production – A great subtlety here allows you to produce a drawn coin or object on the phone into reality. Very visual, and the subtlety really sells this, imo.

-Power – Make it look like you can wake you phone up from sleep mode without touching a single button and seemingly no moves whatsoever. This is by far my favorite effect on the download. Please note this requires an app store purchase to perform.


Final thoughts on the product:
One of my biggest gripes with much iPhone magic is that it is difficult to cloak the fact the app is part of the magic. Sometimes, even if the phone has nothing to do with it, spectators will try to explain the effect away by putting blame on the phone.

For that reason, I’ve typically steered away from magic using my own phone, especially apps like Ellusionist’s rising card app, etc. and focused more on borrowed phone effects. The few I have used are the type that are never “seen” such as 101 deck, c2p, etc. as these have a much more organic feel to them and spectators have less of a chance of suspecting an “app” is behind the workings of the effect.

However, Scribble is NOT a magic app. It just so happens to have the perfect properties to perform magic with it, and the workings are simple. Jeff’s ideas with this tool are great. Some are visual, and some are subtle. Ironically, the simplicity of the visual reveals seems to not bring any heat onto the phone, which means that my initial fears with an app-based reveal such as in Scribble were overblown, and it has worked great on the few people I’ve tried it on so far.

Still, I’ll probably avoid the visual change effects in favor of the more subtle effects that can be done with it, such as Rorschach, as I think there is real power in that fact that it seems like the magician isn’t even involved in the effect. Another great thing about Rorschach is that it can be used as a simple way to test if a particular spectator might be willing to try some more “risky” material later on in a set, and this is the reason I’d see myself using this idea.

My definite favorite, however, is Power, as the app is never seen in play, ends clean, and can be a lead in to further effects. In terms of effect, it is powerful because it seems to solve a real life annoyance we all have to deal with: waking up our phones from sleep mode.

Overall, I think there are some great ideas here, and it is likely at least one of them will appeal to you. If not, the principle used in this download can be applied with some creativity to come up with some other great ideas.


Recommendation:
If you like what you saw on the trailer, or want to perform one of the aforementioned routines and want to learn it, Scribble won’t disappoint!

If you have any questions, please let me know!

PLEASE HELP ME! - If anyone knows an ANDROID APP that will work for this effect. Please send the name of it to my PRIVATE MESSAGE INBOX so I will see it for sure. Iv seen this effect and it's pretty *** cool.

THANKS!!!