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The Magic Cafe Forum Index » » Ebooks, PDF's or Downloads » » Review wanted for: COSMOS!!! » » TOPIC IS LOCKED (0 Likes) Printer Friendly Version

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slydini62
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My view:

This was the wrong medium to distribute this trick because this marketing choice literally TARGETS mostly impatient and highly impulsive magicians. These magicians want to find the "one" trick RIGHT NOW that will make them a star in lights! They thought Cosmos would be that one trick but ANY trick would fail these conditions. I would highly suggest that one would evaluate his/her target audience before they start to promote and sell their product. As a marketing person, I would suggest consulting with a marketing consultant before diving into uncharted waters. I personally would have published this effect as a manuscript or created a DVD and had HP sell this effect online to other magicians. The selling/waiting for Cosmos was like a "feeding" frenzy among these "impulsive" magicians. In summary, a marketing medium and target audience that was picked poorly but the product was awesome!
PsiDroid
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And yet, if it was not for those "impulsive" magicians buying that "awesome" product, maybe sales would have been very low.

Not mentioning the fact the those "impulsive" magicians were probably an accurately selected target for the hype Mr. Rostami generously sprinkled around here and there right from the start.
slydini62
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The feeding frenzy was caused by these "impulsive" and "wantabee" star magicians waiting to buy the trick that will make them a STAR! Don't blame the bait, blame the frenzied fish!
Platt
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All Greg had to do was group the conditions to show that they are not all working in unison. That would not give anything away. It would just be an honest representation of what's being sold. He still can redeem himself and take the two minutes it takes to simply group the conditions to each effect.

At this point I think he did what he did on purpose. Believe me, all this talk, as negative as it is, is only helping his sales. Fortunately I've held off.
Sugar Rush is here! Freakishly visual magic. http://www.plattmagic.com
Greg Rostami
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Hi Chuds, Hi Platt,

From the first day, on my website, the conditions of COSMOS (and only COSMOS impromptu) are listed under the "Conditions" button. If you look under the "The Effect" button you will find both the "Effect:" and "Conditions:" for "The COSMOS Kicker" and "Let It Ride!" . . . each listed totally separately.

cheers,
Greg Rostami

P.S. Slydini62 . . . I love ALL of my customers. Smile But thank you very much for your support.
Platt
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Then why is absolutely everybody confused? It seems everyone agrees, whether they like the effect or not, that they've been mislead.

Greg, I love the fact that you've created something new. And it seems you're a nice and honest guy. Otherwise you wouldn't be answering all these questions. But the members of this site are not idiots. I think you're going to have to be a bit clearer with what conditions fit what effect.
Sugar Rush is here! Freakishly visual magic. http://www.plattmagic.com
Winnes
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Well, I like it.

Shoot me.
kipling100
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Since there is still some confusiong regarding the conditions, I'll try to indicate which conditions are true or false. It may be vague, bc I don't want to tip anything, but if someone agrees or disagrees with a certain condition, feel free to pm me.

This is for the impromptu version:

* On average, it takes about 3 minutes to perform COSMOS
Haven't tried timing it yet

* After you've learned the METHOD you will be doing it INSTANTLY
True

* There is NO sleight of hand and NO memorization
True

* The deck of cards can be borrowed
True

* The trick RESETS INSTANTLY
True

* There are no other props involved
True

* Can be performed totally SURROUNDED
True

* You don't have to have a full deck
True

* The cards can be fully examined before and after the trick
True

* The cards are not marked
True

* If you scan the backs into a computer the difference would be ZERO
True

* No shiners are used of any type
True

* It's not a Stripper Deck
True

* The cards are not a "ONE WAY" deck of any form.
True

* The spectator can shuffle the cards FACE UP if they wanted to
True

* There is absolutely no deck switch of any type
True

* The spectator chooses ANY indicator cards from their shuffled deck.
True

* There is no lapping of cards
True

* The magician NEVER alters the order of the cards after the spectator has shuffled them
Sometimes true

* The magician and the spectators NEVER look at the faces of the cards during the separation
True

* There are absolutely NO peeks used.
True

* The cards are always kept face down on the table
True

* The spectator is handling the cards DURING THE SEPARATION
True

* The spectator can put as many cards on a pile that they like
False; if a spectator puts only 1 or 2 cards in a pile, it may cause a huge discrepancy in the final reveal.

* There is absolutely NO EQUIVOQUE
True

* The spectator can put an uneven number of cards in front of the indicator cards
True

* The magician NEVER stops the spectator to change piles
True

* The magician NEVER counts cards
True

* At any time, the spectator can look at the faces of the remaining cards to see the cards are shuffled
True

* The spectator can STOP at ANY time or go through the whole deck
True

* If the spectator stops without finishing the deck, the rest of the cards are SHUFFLED
True

* The trick is very fast to perform since the spectators can choose to stop whenever they get bored
True

* At the end, the cards in front of the red indicator are red, and the black indicator black!!
True

* When the cards are revealed to be 100% correct, the COMPLETE faces of the cards can be shown
True

Platt, the only thing that I was misled about was the # of spectators required, since it has no mention of it on the website. I think something like this should be mentioned or at least addressed in the video.
Hope this helps...
Winnes
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The fact that the demo video is actually showing the gimmicked version doesn't really matter to be honest, as the effect is (pretty much) the same - as stated the only thing that should have been clear was that it uses two spectators. I don't personally find this a problem, and EVERY condition that Greg stated has been met. With the exception of the number of spectators being used, I cant see why theres such a fuss.... anyways, I quite like it..
Greg Rostami
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Hi Craig,

I'm glad you like COSMOS. Thanks for also pointing out "The fact that the demo video is actually showing the gimmicked version doesn't really matter to be honest, as the effect is (pretty much) the same".

Dear Platt,

You said . . . "Then why is absolutely everybody confused?"

To be honest with you I don't know WHY SOME people are confused! I don't think I could have made it any more clear without tipping the method.

take care friends,
Greg
Tony Noice
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I’m enjoying this thread because I love vigorous debate. (I'm a sucker for courtroom dramas.) There is one point has does not seem to have been addressed. I don't believe anyone can successfully argue that the Cosmos banner ads are deceptive. We are all used to "dealer speak" and we should know how to parse advertising claims. When we read that a trick can be done with a borrowed deck, we should immediately realize that the literal phrase may not eliminate the notion that we first must set up or put some work in on the borrowed deck. Also, when an ad says that the spectator may shuffle, we should realize that it does not say the spectator may use any type of common shuffle, just that the spec can mix up the cards providing we prevent any type of shuffle that would disturb the work we put in. These are normal magic advertising devices and magician-consumers should take care to parse each sentence to see what it really says. So, I believe the banner ads are no more deceptive than many (possibly most) dealer claims. The only problem I see is that the conditions of use were not originally put forward in paid ads but in a thread asking for advice. In that "magicians helping magicians" forum, one would normally take a magician's word at face value and consider that when he says you can have a spectator shuffle a borrowed deck, he means what the statements clearly imply – that it is a Paul Cummins type of effect that can be done “From a Shuffled Deck in Use.”

Another frequently offered opinion is that magicians are always looking for the great trick that will make them stars. This is probably true in many cases, but I believe that a large number of us are always on the lookout for great blends of practical “under almost any conditions” methods and impossible effects that suit a wide variety of presentational styles (e.g., Jazz Aces, Triumph, Daley’s Last Trick). If the OOTW plot could be done with a borrowed shuffled deck without the performer looking at each card and without apparently switching packets, we would all jump for joy. Steve Draun’s version comes close but requires a set-up.
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