Sounds like some great stuff. I'm getting very tempted.

I've gone through all three dvd's! There is a lot of stuff shared within 6 hours.

It should be emphasised to those who are interrested in these dvd's that the tricks Dan presents are not your typical instant magic tricks. These dvd's will appeal more to those who are willing, and have time to build gimmicks. None of them are hard to build, and they are very workable. Most of them are very clever!

However, if you don't like, nor have time to build your own gimmicks, these dvd's may not be up your alley. And, if you are looking for well polished material that comes with a strong routine all neatly presented, then these dvd's may not be for you.

If you like to create, or have been wanting to learn how a seasoned pro creates, and are always looking for fresh original idea's, then these dvd's are what you are looking for. I found my creative juices flowing many times while watching the DVD's. I don't regret my purchase one bit.

"If you have ever suffered, or suffer from being magically constipated, these dvd's will surely get your creative juices flowing!"

I believe that Dan has accomplished what he wanted to do, which was allow you to go inside of his head and pick his brain. He did a great job, and I applaud him.

Not everything he presents are great, but there is a lot of stuff on these dvd's. No one should be expecting that everything is going to be great. Dan opens his head to you and says, " Here is my brain. There's a whole bunch of stuff in here so feel free to help yourself."

Some of the stuff that isn't so great are still very clever idea's that can be built upon with a little effort on your part.

I won't go into reviewing every trick, because some are good, while some might seem not so good, but you really have to take it all in to really appreciate the value of these DVD's. These dvd's give you six hours in the mind of Dan Hauss that is unlike any dvd set I've seen on the market.

My over-all opinion? Well worth the asking price. I found it educational and inspiring. Dan does a great job explaining himself, and showing you how to build the gimmicks. The only negative thing I can say is that there is so much material on these dvd's that someone might find themselves becoming over-whelmed with all the idea's contained in the 3 dvd's.

Here is a really detailed review of Vol 1 that I saw on T11

RESTLESS - dan hauss

what.IS RESTLESS

Back in 2007 Dan Hauss brought up the idea of doing a massive film project unlike anything else on the market. The idea was simple, to make a multi-volume DVD set packed with effects that could be released on their own. Over three years have passed and the dream has become a reality.

Restless is the result of many sleepless nights where Dan created some truly unique and sometimes bizarre magic. On these DVDs there is magic with shoe strings, gum, name tags, water bottles, matches, straws, candy, coffee creamers and many other ordinary everyday objects. Plus fans of Sleeping Queen and Lit will get a deeper look at the visual and unusual card magic of Dan Hauss. We are extremely proud to present this set of unique, practical and unforgettable magic from one of magic's fastest rising stars.

my.FIRST IMPRESSIONS

When I first learned of Dan Hauss's RESTLESS I couldn't wait. After viewin the downloads, this is all I had to say:

"There are no words to describe the creative force before Dan Hauss. His out-of-the-box thinking, and his out-of-this-world workings behind his effects makes him like no other out there. He's like the prize in a cereal box, you don't know what you're going to get, but you know it's going to be good!"

NOTE: Now, this isn't going to be a traditional review, but I wanted to post my inital thoughts on Volume 1 to begin with. I'll be updating this weekly with each Volume, when I get to play around with everything more. But the REAL POINT as to why I'm posting this is because some effects on the downloads suited me better then others. I want to post a COMPLETELY HONEST review about my thoughts on RESTLESS so far.

So, let's begin...

the.TEACHING

Dan Hauss goes REALLY in-depth with everything. I was also glad to see Dan Hauss in action when he performed some of the effects. He explains EVERYTHING you'll need, and he takes you step-by-step with the construction of the gimmicks, and set-ups you'll need to get into each effect. Dan Hauss also throws in a few tib-bits of humour throughout the video.

the.VIDEO

RESTLESS is all put together in Papercrane format, which is FIRST CLASS. I also wanted to note that I am a fan of the music that runs throughout the download. Also, I wanted to say that Volume 1 runs at 2 HOURS.

the.EFFECTS

Box Prediction- Dan's ultra clean change of one card for another uses an incredibly simple gimmick that you can use for many different routines. This is one of the most convincing in the hands change your spectators will ever see.

*Box Prediction is one of the effects that I REALLY like so far in Volume 1. You'll need a few items in order to construct the gimmick for Box Prediction, but it will only take you around 5-10 minutes. The advantage that I REALLY enjoyed in Box Prediction is the fact that EVERYTHING is self-contained. I also like the fact that you can show the inside of the box before and after the change begins. Dan Hauss teaches you 2 versions; one with the cellophane and one without the cellophane needed. I prefer the former. The version that doesn't include the cellophane is too "risky", while with the one with cellophane is a lot easier, and cleaner in my opinion.

Blurred- SPECTATORS WILL NOT BELIEVE THEIR EYES... seriously. In this routine a spectator concentrates on a bottle and stares at the label. Shortly after they begin to look the label becomes blurry and then back to its normal state. Unbelievable.

*Blurred sparked my interest while I saw a glimpse of it in the demo. The ad is write when they say it's unbelievable. This looks unreal in reality, than it does in the video. The only disadvantage I find in Blurred is the fact that the bottle isn't examinable, but there is a time and place for this, though. This effect will work wonders in any enviroment; street, parties, on-the-go, so that makes up for the fact that it isn't examinable. The idea behind Blurred is very clever, and one of those ideas where you say, "Why didn't I think of that?" Dan Hauss also explains that this will work great alongside Flow, another effect released by Dan Hauss, which should also definitely be picked up. The 'gimmick' for Blurred should only cost you a few bucks, but for an effect like this, it's worth it. And the fact that Blurred is sooo easy to perform, you'll be crazy not to check this out.

Tourist 1- Awesome souvenir routine, a corner of a card is torn, the card is signed as well as the one below. The restoration happens in the spectators hand and the signed card now has half of the other card permanently attached.

*I am a fan of the T&R plot, and I like the direction that Dan has taken with it. Tourist 1 will require you to obtain a few gaff cards, but the fact that the card is signed by TWO spectators makes Tourist 1 very powerful. I probably won't perform this as much as Dan Hauss, but I do see myself performing this sometime in the near future. The 'gimmick' for Tourist 1 is very, very clever, and one of those, "LOL-That's ridiculous" thoughts, but this fools. The subtleties that Dan also includes make this T&R workable, and believable.
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Unmatched- Eric Jones stops by to help us out with a great handling of Dan's awesome effect with a pack of matches. A empty pack of matches is shown very clean, front and back. The magician closes the pack and opens it to reveal that the pack of matches is now full.

*In the beginning, you see a performance clip of Eric Jones performing this, and WOW! this is GOOD. The effect in performance is beautiful. One second you see NO matches, and just in a snap, there's a matchbook FULL of matches. It certainly plays our like it's written. You'll need a few items, whcih are easily avaliable. In order to construct the matchbook in order to perform Unmatched, it will average around 10 minutes, or less. The workings behind this is very ingenious.

Dan teaches you a few versions, one being a straight forward and direct performance, which has a slight angle problem. The other version Dan teaches, is quite similar to the first, just the matchbook is held at a different angle, but still has the angle problem. Dan also includes two versions where the last reamaining match is taken from the matchbook, lit, and waved over the matchbook, to show it has become a full matchbook again. The other version plays out something along the lines of LIT, the last remanining match is taken out, lit, settled to burn, eaten, and when you open the matchbook, not only do you find the matchbook full again, but with the burnt match inside. The last version Dan teaches you is a Wipe Vanish; you show a full matchbook pack, wipe the matches with your hands, and all the matches have vanished.

We then see Eric Jones teach his handling. Eric's handling allows you to perform Unmatched with you facing the audience and holding the matchbook in a natural aspect. The handling is very easy and allows you to show both the front and back of the matchbook, also. I favor Eric's handling at the moment, but I enjoyed Dan's Unmatched.

Billiard- A wager is offered of a dollar that you will be able to find their card. After an unsuccessful attempt to find their card you change the wrong card into a dollar bill. This is a great, visual way to introduce money into your close up routine. Dollar not included. 2 great versions of this effect are explained.

*This is essentially a "bet you a dollar" effect. This was also another that sparked my interest in the demo. Along with Box Prediction, and Unmatched, Billiard is my third favorite. You'll have everything in order to perform Billiard, and it will only take you around 5 minutes in order to construct everything. It's pretty simple, actually, and the set-up will take only a matter of seconds. Dan teaches you 2 versions; one where you flip the card on a surface and it changes into the dollar bill, and a second version where you throw the card in the air, and once you catch it, it changes into the dollar bill. Both had A LOT of potential. I enjoyed both versions taught; while the flipping version will only take a few seconds to master it, the air version will take some practice to get down perfectly, but it's visually impressive that it smacks the spectators in the face... it's very unexpected, and that's what makes Billiard so good. The clean-up is very easy, and you're left very clean.

Hello My Card Is- Super clean; super commercial routine. A signed card is found in a completely impossible location, under your name tag.

*While this a nice, and commerical effect, this one fell flat for me. I feel that there's too much involved in order to perform this. I feel that the justification for the effect lacks a bit, and the set-up and construction involved doesn't do this effect a lot of justice. I like how their card appears under the nametag, but it's not for me. I'll leave it at that.

Pack Attack- A piece of gum penetrates an unopened pack of gum in the most visual way.

If you own Sleeping Queen, the you'll know that Dan is a fan of magic involving gum. I like the visual, and casual aspect to Pack Attack. The set-up will only take you around 60 seconds; nothing to hard. I also like the fact that once you penetrate the pack of gum, and take the gum back out, you open the pack to show that it's free of any slits, and the gum inside is completely ok. Very easy to perform, also. And magic with a normal everyday and common item, Pack Attack works perfectly.

creating.MAGIC

This is a section where Dan Hauss talks about creating magic. He admits that while he is one to create good magic, he isn't always the best at creating patter, and routining the effect perfectly. But the reason as to why Dan creates his magic is to see how everyone differs in the way they improve or perform one of Dan's effect, and that's what really matters to him. A nice, and very short listen.

the.CONCLUSION

Well, those are my initial thoughts on Restless-Volume 1 so far. 3 years behind-the-scenes and I have to say, this was worth it! At the end of the video we see a few funny scenes with Dan and the Papercrane crew. Like I said before, I'll be updating this weekly. So, out of V1, I enjoyed Box Prediction, Unmatched, Billiard... and I'll throw in Blurred. So 4 out of the 7 effects included, not bad at all. As you can see, I got more out of V1 than I woulnd't have. To go inside the crazy, and creative mad-man mind of Dan Hauss was a very nice treat. I'll give V1... 8/10.

the.LINK

http://papercranemagic.com/restless.htm
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I just wanted to follow up something Gospel Dan said. Many of the effects do require you to build gimmicks, these gimmicks almost also consist of things around the house and take very little time and expertise to construct. Dan is no engineer when it comes to building gimmicks so you can be sure the methods are easy and extremely clever. Usually you can come with alternate uses than what they were originally created for.

Very promising and tempting material.
Dan Hauss is a very innovative thinker.

They sound just like Cory Chapin's "Artistic Street Magic" DVDS that Ted French ( a.k.a. Shaun Dunn ) of Papercrane turned us all onto:
http://www.themagiccafe.com/forums/viewt......orum=218

That's very exciting for the magician that's looking for fresh ideas and ways of doing things.

Thanks, Gospel Dan ( and Papercrane ). Looking forward to more great reveiws!

P.S. I went to http://www.artisticstreetmagic.com and can't get it to load. Anyone else?

Theory 11 doesn't have a new review from "Public.Enemy" yet ( he did that great, detailed review that Ted French posted for us above ). I wonder if Public.Enemy is someone famous in the community? Sheesh, I hope it isn't Flava Flav or Chuck D. lol.

The demo clip for Restless is fun to watch! Thanks for posting that on the site for us.

Cory closed down the site if I'm not mistaken.

Oh, too bad. The tricks sounded incredible.

Alrighty, I've made my way through all 3 volumes.

Overall, I feel similar to Gospel Dan about this set. You're getting a peek into Dan's brain, complete with the good, the bad, and the ugly.

There are a lot of interesting ideas in here, some of which I love, and some of which I don't care for as much. However, even the effects that I don't think I'll perform sparked an idea, or opened my mind to a new method.

As previously mentioned, there are a lot of 'craft' projects on here. So if you're strictly an improptu kind of person, the material probably isn't for you. Non of the gaffs or gimmicks are particular hard or fancy. They'll just take a few minutes and some household items.

Some effects are performed for audiences, some are performed just for the camera, and others are just explained. Some are presented as ideas for you to play with and develop, and others are presented as full effects/routines.

Some of my favorites across all 3 volumes are Unmatched, Laced, Puff/Smoke, Coin and Marker Transpo, Footloose, and Fake Take from Box. There are some other solid ideas, these just stand out as some favorites. I've already made the gimmick for Unmatched and tried the effect out for several people, and the responses have been strong. So it's definitely a winner for me.

Footloose is an amazing effect, with an equally clever method. This easily could have sold as a single-trick release and been worth the $20-30 it would've sold for. I was glad to see it in here.

There are sections on all 3 DVDs where Dan talks about his inspiration for an effect, his creative process, etc. I always enjoy getting some artist insight beyond just the effects and methods.

For those who can only go for one volume right now, I'd suggest Volume 3. For me, it had the most amount of material that I think I'd actually use.

If you purchase the set, I don't think you'll be disappointed. You'll get some effects you'll want to use immediately, some that you'll probably never use, and others that will spark your own ideas. Dan will certainly impress you with his out-of-the-box thinking and get your creative wheels turning.

Kevin

Such great ideas and so much food for thought!! I love brainstorming with Dan and the way his mind works, he can look at anything and make it into an incredible effect and this set shows it! Being a close friend of Dan's this might seem biased, but I can assure you its not! He is the first person I call when developing an idea and I always look forward to his out of the box approach.
His creativity has a way of being contagious and although I've talked with him about many of the effects on here in the past, I couldn't help but revisit the ideas and explore new possibilities after watching the DVD's. Great job by Dan and Papercrane for putting together a unique and inspiring set.

bSmith

pS F#@$ing hilarious out takes!!

Per Dan's request we sent the Restless set to a few people in the industry that Dan respects. Here are the qoutes

"Dan Hauss reminds me of one of the main influences on my early career, Paul Harris. He thinks so far outside of the box I doubt he can even see the box. Footloose is like Dali doing magic on steroids, I loved it. So much variety that not only provides routines but also that spark to create further." - Marc Spelmann

"Dan Hauss is a monster when it comes to creating magic. Restless is a collection of magic and ideas that you'd be a fool to miss. Get it. Got it? Good!" - Luke Dancy

"Dan's my buddy so I can't be objective here." - Paul Harris

"I'm blown away - The quality of this set surpasses most everything else I've seen released in the last year! Dan's magic is renowned for the creative methodology and the crazy visuals he paints. In the 3 DVDs, Dan provides 21 KILLER effects taught step by step just waiting to become your new workhorses." - Dee Christopher

"Dan is possibly the most creative thinker of our generation, he has a natural ability to create hand-held miracles and with every effect he proves that there is no such thing as the impossible. Dan is a truly unique mastermind who settles for nothing less than astonishing and I'm yet to be anything less than amazed by his artistry." - Daniel Madison


"Dan Hauss' Restless Project isn't your typical DVD set. It is a virtual toolbox for the Modern Conjurer." - Eric Jones

Just a word of advice: You can't use flat shoelaces with Footloose, and so those who wear skater shoes can't really perform this because flat laces are the only laces that looks good on those shoes. What a disappointment; the one thing I really liked and I can't really perform it.

PatrickGregoire,

It looks like it comes down to how much you like the laces trick.

You could always sacrifice the good-looking laces for some less-appealing ones. Or use a different pair of shoes for the trick. I'm sure you have some other shoes lying around your home.

That's why I said "I can't really perform it" and not "I can't perform it". It was my way of saying I probably will never perform this because I wear the shoes I like to wear and only flat laces look right on skater shoes. I would only ever be able to perform this while wearing my dress shoes, which is only when I'm wearing a suit and this effect isn't practical enough to be used while working (You could use it once, the reset isn't long but it's not something you can do with people around) and so the situations for Footloose are slim to none for me.

What about using fat laces? They look great in skate shoes and they are flat they are the kind Dan uses and they are what I have in my vans shoes.

I was under the impression that those didn't come in the type of laces you needed. I'll pm you Ted.

It would be great if Restless became the biggest selling DVD set of all time. I'd like to see this because I loved Dan's FLOW DVD. May I make a suggestion?

People get turned off by friends or colleagues of the creator saying over the top comments. That's a big problem on The Café. What we like to see is real, objective reviews.

Gospel Dan and Mercury 52 liked the set and were objective enough to say it won't be for everyone. Some things they liked, some didn't care for, etc. That's understandable with 6 hrs. of footage. I appreciate they're objective reviews.

Not everything can be over the top killer, but friends and colleagues give you the impression that there has been nothing like this in the history of magic.

Any chance sets could be sent to Magic, Genii and http://www.mylovelyassistant.com for reviews? I'm sure they'll love the set, but they will give a greater breakdown of what's killer and what needs more development.

Just a suggestion. Hope I didn't offend anyone by asking.

Joe,

You surely did not offend me. I like your idea, and it definitely seems fair to me.


Thanks,

James

Joe,
It is standard practice for Paper Crane Magic to send out review copies to the top review outlets (magazines, blogs, etc.), to a random selection of our customers and to known magicians at the creators request. The problem is that many times magazines and blogs do not review everything that is sent to them.

We posted the comments of the magicians that Dan asked us to send review copies to so that you can see what real workers think of the material. You've gotta realize that these guys are not going to stake their name on someone else's product.

At the end of the day reviews are just opinions. Find the person that you usually agree with and go with what they suggest or wait till they review what you are looking for more info on.

Mandy Hartley