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ollybollydobdob New user UK 80 Posts |
Right, No idea where to begin with this . . There is a ridiculous amount of incredible material within these 2 volumes, I think I will start with my most favourite effects and see how it goes from there, yeah, that sounds good to me!
Firstly, It may seem expensive at around £100 ($150) I was actually discussing these books with a few magic buddies of mine and they ALL said they would NEVER EVER spend £100 on a book!! Well, let me tell you, as I told them, They are missing out. I have lost track of the amount of times I have spent £20-£30 on an effect that only does one trick that I have NEVER USED, it's either gone to the great cupboard in the sky or sold at a magic auction for about a fifth of what I paid for it! And I know I am not the only one. Within these 2 volumes you are getting OVER 100 tricks/effects/routines and no matter what type of performer you are you will find something in here that you will like, Gaetan covers everything, Cards, Close-Up, Stage/Cabaret, Illusions, Children's, Mentalism etc. It's all in here!! You don't just get trick after trick, you get insights, idea's, full routines, some REALLY original thinking here, you could easily put together 2 45 minute shows that would be totally unique that no one else would be doing! Ok, Lets start with volume 1, as I said, just some of my personal favourites, I can't review every effect, there are just too many. All of these effects I am reviewing now, I have been out and worked, most of them I perform on a regular basis. REMARKABLE You write the numbers from 1 to 10 on a Pad/Post-It-Note. Spectator (lets call her Maria from now on) Thinks of her favourite movie and writes it next to any number (you turn away), then writes down 9 other movies next to the other 9 numbers in any order she wishes. You then read the list back to Maria and ask her to say YES every time you ask her "is this your favourite movie" You can tell Maria which is here favourite movie! This is really good, You only need to carry around with you a Sharpie/Marker that has been gimmicked (takes about 1 min and will cost you nothing)and your good to go, you can use any Pad/Paper and obviously you don't have to use movies, you can use food, songs, Holiday destinations etc, and you can just use 5 numbers if you wish or 20!! up to you? CLEARLY CLEVER This is a way of using a Clear force bag that starts out empty!! Just think about that for a moment . . Every time you use a Clear Force Bag on Stage, you always start with the slips of paper already in the bag, how nice would it be for the bag to start out empty, all the slips of paper/billets etc. are wrote on by audience members and placed into the force bag, you don't ever touch any of them, yet when Maria removes a slip of paper, it will be the force item! I wasn't sure if this would work when I read it, I tried it, and it does, every single time, it's so simple, if you use a clear force bag you might as well do this rather then starting with the slips already in the bag, it adds just another layer of deception. SILKSACK You show a clear bag with a red silk inside. You ask Maria to place the bag behind her back, take out the silk from the bag and then roll up the bag. You then vanish the silk, when Maria brings out the bag from behind her back, the silk has reappeared inside the bag. I tried this on Maria (my girlfriend) I was thinking surely this wont fool her? How wrong was I !! When she bought the bag out from behind her back, she did a double take and said "WTF!? BUT I took it out, I could feel the bag was empty"!! I tried it at a friends Birthday party, there was about 10 kids and 30 adults, it fooled all of them!! (I like to try stuff out on family and friends before it goes into my paid shows) THE LASSO CARD Maria chooses a card, novel eh! But wait!! The card is signed and shuffled back into the deck. The deck is thrown into a hat, the hat is given a good shake to mix up the cards. You take a piece of rope, dangle on end of the rope into the hat(as if you were 'fishing') and when you remove it, the end of the rope has tied itself around a card, and guess what . . it's Maria's signed selection, NO WAY . . . YES WAY!!! I LOVE THIS! I use it close up, Stand up, Cabaret, Kids show. I don't use a hat, I use a McDonalds bag (other fast food restaurant bags are available) and I use some 'IPOD' earphones (it's part of a 10minute McDonalds routine I do) using the earphones is a little more difficult to do this, but I feel it's worth it! And get this, EVERTHING can be examined, there are NO gimmicks, it can be a borrowed deck, you can borrow someone's earphones(I always ask if anyone has any)and as long as you do something at the end of the routine (if you have the book or know the trick, you will know what I mean, I think)? You can hand out the McDonalds bag! please pm if you need to know more. It does take a bit of practice to get it right, but it's like L'oreal, Because it's worth it! TOP CHRONO In your right hand you hold a rope. You take off your watch and hold it your left hand, you say you are going to tie, one handed, the fastest knot in the world! and to prove it your going to time it with your watch. you count down, 3 . 2 . 1 and Bang! in less than a second, the watch has gone, the and is securely tied in the knot in the middle of the rope!! A great 'quickie' or opener or compere bit, takes a bit of preparation, about 10 mins, and a bit of practice to get the timing, but it's a lovely surprise because the audience really don't see it coming, they think you are going to do just that, tie a knot in a piece of rope with one hand!! THE MAXFIA BASICALLY (will go into more detail in a bit) You have a box, In the box are 5 crumpled pieces of paper, 4 with nothing on them, 1 with a black ball drawn on it. 5 spectators, one at a time come up and take out a piece of paper and hide it in their hand. You 'guess' which spectator has the paper with the black ball on it!! Nothing new here I hear you say, but just wait my friends, listen to this . . This is EXACTLY how it looks and how I perform it: I have a cereal box on the table on the stage (Weetabix or Shredded Wheat) I explain in the box are 5 identical little black bags, 4 of them are empty, 1 of them has a £50 note inside, if I get this wrong, whoever has the £50, keeps it!! They come up one at a time, take out a bag, when they get back to their seat, peek into the bag to see what they have got (the bags are hidden in their hands the entire time, (you can have your back tuned/blindfolded/be in another room) after 3 spectators have done this, the 4th spectator comes up, takes the box, gives it a shake and takes it back to his seat and lets spectator 5 reach in, grab a bag and then he takes the last bag for himself. At this point he can keep the box, examine it, rip it open, Whatever, it is completely ungimmicked! I then talk a about a TV show called LIE TO ME about a guy who can read 'micro expressions' on peoples faces, to see if they were lying or telling the truth, I thought it was a load of ********, but found out that it was based on a real person who worked for the FBI and could actually do this and he has a book out that tells you how he does this, so I bought the book and learnt this technique (this IS actually ********) Anyway, I ask each of them if THEY have the £50 (I ask all of them to say YES) do a load of 'comedy MICRO EXPRESSION reading' then tell them who exactly has the £50. You NEVER touch anything, EVERYTHING can be examined, the box, the bags, the money! you never SEE anything, the spectators can come up in any order they want, there is NOTHING to go wrong, No electronics, No magnets, NOTHING. You will ALWAYS know with 100% accuracy who has the £50. I am sure if this was on a dealers website, advertising this trick as above and they were charging £60, loads of people would buy this. I know there are electronic devices out there that can do this that can cost upwards of £300. This will cost you about 50p to make the gimmick and about 2 minutes of your time. BLOODY BRILLIANT Mr BLOOM!! MAC FAST BLOOM This is about fast food in the future! you explain how McDonalds or Burger King will sell food in the future. you buy an empty fast food bag for £10 (it is shown empty)place the £10 inside the bag, spectator chooses an item from off a menu and works out how much it will cost, then wait . . in 5 seconds you reach into the bag and firstly, you have the exact change from £10 for whatever you have ordered, secondly, THAT very item appears inside the bag, the spectaor can take it away and it if if he wants to? This is a lovely routine, so commercial, you can add whatever you want to it, plays really well for kids or adults and the force of the item from the menu is brilliant!! THE KNOT MACHINE You tell the audience you have invented an amazing, Indispensable machine, the KNOT MACHINE!? you show a tube (I use a Pringles can) attached to the side is a crank handle(one of those that when you wind it lets out a loud kind of cranking noise) You drop one end of the rope in, crank the handle, when it comes out, there is a knot in it! you repeat, drop the rope in, crank the handle and TADAA, Another knot has now appeared on the rope! You let Maria have a go, but she turns it about a dozen times!!!! when you pull out the rope, there is one enormous knot tied in the middle of it!! Again, a lovely routine, and great for the kids entertainer, so easy and chaep to make and plays really big! |
ollybollydobdob New user UK 80 Posts |
Will continue with this as soon as I get another chance, but right now kids are pestering (as kids do) that they NEED to go to the park . . .
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Juble Veteran user 363 Posts |
These books have been on my buy list for aaaages. I haven't had the guts to buy and tackle them yet. The potential number of great quality effects is scary - you're a brave man Darren!!
Great review thoughc( really enjoyed reading it); however, you're starting to cost me a lot of money Best Justin |
videoman Inner circle 6732 Posts |
The first two routines you mentioned sold me on it.
Thanks again for all your sharing! |
Xiqual Inner circle Upper left quadrant 4935 Posts |
Such an incredible set. I made up his monte routine right away. So easy to make and its a marketed $30 effect. You actually save money! Ok, that's what I told my wife anyway, lol.
James
Still with the Chinese circus
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ollybollydobdob New user UK 80 Posts |
Right! where were we, AH, Yeah, Full Bloom vol.1 here are a few more of my favourite effects . . .
THE CONFETTI BAGS 3 clear Zip Lock bags, Each one is filled with different coloured confetti, say, one Red, one Blue and one Yellow. You turn away/Blindfolded/leave the room and Maria picks up any bag, mixes the confetti and removes one piece. Repeats with a second bag, but this time removes 2 pieces, and same again with the third bag but this time 3 pieces, all the pieces are hidden in her hand. You turn round and apparently 'weigh' each bag and can then tell Maria how many of each piece of confetti she is holding! Nothing amazing here, but a very good lead in to a stronger piece of Mentalism, it adds a bit of colour and you can get some comedy out of 'weighing' each bag, getting out a calculator , pulling absurd faces as if you are working out some mathematical formula!!? and the method is absolutely genius. This is one of those nice effects that is soooooo different! LITERACY CIRCLE Maria inserts a playing card into a book to select a page. The book is handed to another spectator to look at the page where the card has been put in. This page has been forced. OK, I know, at first this sounds similar to other page forces BUT, Maria can put the card in ANYWHERE,the card NEVER leaves sight of Maria or the audience, it is the SAME card that Maria put into the book that the second spectator looks at, it has not been switched, the second spectator can keep the card and book to examine, there is nothing to find, no extra cards, it's all completely self contained, there is nothing to add or get rid of . . good eh!? Again, I wasn't sure if this would work, it can't be done close up and you must have 2 spectators assisting you, other than that, this does work and it fools everyone. The book is prepared, it can be any card, but everything seems so fair, nobody questions anything. CARDS IN THE BAG Maria shuffles the deck, Cuts it into 3 piles, chooses a card from one pile, then 2 more spectators each choose a card from each of the other 2 piles. You then take out a bag/hat/cap and place the 3 piles in, one at a time, then Maria places the 3 selected cards in and shakes the bag to mix up the cards. Each spectator can shake the bag. You reach in and remove the 3 selected cards. Love this! it's SO simple!and I think this is what fools people. EVERYTHING can be borrowed, can be a borrowed deck, you can grab a McDonalds bag, EVERYTHING can be examined, the deck is shuffled, each pile can be shuffled, you can be blindfolded, nothing added, taken away, and works 100% ON THE ROCKS you show two clear plastic cups. The first one is full of ice cubes, the second one is full of Cola (or Whisky) You pour the Cola onto the ice cubes, then pour the contents back and forth a few times, showing both cups full of the mixture. Finally, you pour everything into one cup, leaving the other one empty.Your hands approach each other, then immediately separate. Once again, one cup is full of Cola, and the other has all the ice cubes!!!!!!!!!!!! Amazing quick trick, so visual, kids or adults (I use this in my McDonalds routine) Easy to make up and easy to perform and it's so unusual, it's unlikely the audience ill guess what's going to happen. STANDING OVATION Not a Magic Trick as such, but a good fun interlude or ending to a Compere bit or Comedy set. It's a lot of fun, Guarantees you will get a standing ovation BUT everyone will be wondering why everyone else is giving you a standing ovation, if you see what I mean? Fun, Comedy bits are hard to come by, this plays massive, I Compere at a Holiday park every month, I have used this the last twice, and it gets amazing reactions, the whole Club is giving you a standing ovation (which looks good for me) then you can see the puzzled looks on everyone's faces when they realize everyone is stood up applauding you? I don't want to say too much. It doesn't read so great, I thought I will try it out once and see what happens, now I will do this all the time. As I said it's not Magic and wouldn't really be the grand finale of an act, but as I said, for Compering a a small 10-15 min comedy set, this is very good! A FISHY GAME This routine features a game you play with two volunteers. On the table is a sort of rotating turntable. On the platform are 9 transparent boxes, each with a tiny prize inside wrapped in silver foil. Each box is sealed with two rubber bands and has a metal hook attached to the lid. You hand each of the spectators a toy fishing rod, with a simple string loop at the end. Now you switch on the turntable. As the prizes rotate, the spectators attempt to catch as many boxes as possible but you get to keep the last one. You stop them when one box remains. The results can be different every time one volunteer catches more prizes, sometimes it's a tie etc. At the end, the spectators open the boxes and remove the prizes. All the boxes contain pieces of candy. Now you open the remaining box, which is yours. It's full of cash!!!! This is so simple, it's a great routine, can be very funny, The hardest part for me was finding a rotating table, I couldn't find one, so I got a Lazy Suzanne from a car boot sale for £3 and get a third spectator to spin it, this just adds a bit more comedy. It so simple but so clever, no magnets, electronics or anything like that, it works every single time! Well, that's it from Vol.1 I will continue with the second volume as soon as I can, Promise. As always, just ask if you have any questions, Enjoy, Darren |
Al Straker Grammar Host Australia 1129 Posts |
I had the pleasure of spending a little time with Gaeton at a convention. His props had all been lost on the flight and he had to do a stage act as part of an all star line up including many international greats such as McBride, Green, Ogawa etc. In true Bloom style he came up with a phenomenal routine with items he bought at a grocery store, had the audience in stiches and having riotous fun throughout his act AND FLOORED EVERYONE magicians included!!! IMHO Bloom is one of the most creative genius magicians of our era. These books are an absolute steal and full of outstanding practical material. Hardest thing would be making up some of the props but well worth the effort.
Al Straker
Resident Mystery Entertainer at Multiple Venues Music & Mentalism Specialty Act 'Completely Mental' https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gyGhApqnG7I (Old clip, show has changed quite a bit since then!) Jazz & Contemporary Musician/Composer https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KnN3JNmeKns https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sU_zfOvpneA |
ollybollydobdob New user UK 80 Posts |
Here are some of my faves from Vol.2, Please ask away if there is anything else you want to know . .
AT THE BAR Maria chooses a straw from a glass full of drinking straws, signs it(?) and returns it with the rest of the straws in the glass, then gives it a bit of a shake to mix the straw in with the rest! You then make the chosen straw rise from out of the glass!! Everything can be borrowed, Everything an be examined! A nice twist on the rising cards, you can use this just about everywhere, McDonalds, Costa Coffee etc. There is a bit of a set up attached to yourself, but wont hinder you and your ready to go anytime. STRAW,COKE AND GLASS You pour Cola into a clear plastic beaker, put a straw in to take a sip, but then let go of the beaker with your hand, the beaker is suspended on the straw, you can even open up your hand holding the straw and spread all your fingers, the straw seems to be just adhering to your fingers by magic! Nice quick stage/Compere bit, or great for a Kids Entertainer, I love these quickies using everyday items, sneaky method too, self contained nothing added or taken away or any external hook-ups. BROKEN WANDS This is a load of ideas(it's written as a conversation between Bloom and Dominique Duviver) there are several 'unfinished' ideas here that Gaetan hasn't quite finished and is asking Dominique for some extra ideas to complete them. One of these is a way of producing an Orange or a large ball at the climax of a cups and balls routine or chop cup, without 'loading' it in? Making it self contained, this is really clever, I could imagine someone using this in a magic competition. Another idea is you have one of those red spongy noses that clowns wear, you put it on your nose to show it, then give to a kid to put on his, but no matter how he tries, he cant put it on his nose!! a great lead in to a sponge ball routine. There are loads of other bits and pieces in this section. THE ALL PURPOSE TUBE This is a utility prop that can be used for switching or making things appear or disappear! it's very clever. It's a kind of three fold screen but made out of thin translucent plastic that is ALMOST see through. you can show ALL sides of the panels, and you really show all sides, no hidden flaps or anything like that, form it into a triangle, show right through the triangle, then place it down over a glass on the table in the triangle shape. because of what the panels are made out of, you can see the shape of the glass through the triangle. You can then reach in and produce loads of silks from apparently out of the glass, or move the triangle away and the glass is full of silks, or the glass could start full of silks and you put the triangle over the glass, when it's removed the silks have gone, switch items in the glass, billets for mentalism etc. This is really clever, no double walls, flaps, extra panels, it can be folded flat to start, shown all around, opened out, shown all around, formed into the triangle shown inside and out, wafer thin almost see through panels, and still you can produce stuff from it. I made one up and I use it all the time in my kids shows! BILL IN CARROT You borrow a bill from Maria, vanish it, then perform a Guillotine, Slicing through the persons wrists and some carrots placed in the Guillotine (?) the bill then appears inside a carrot that Maria has been holding throughout the routine. This is nice, just a combination of Guillotine and bill to impossible location, but there is so much comedy and of course, A logical conclusion! THE GIFT BOX You have a spectator come on the stage and give him a chance to win a prize! On the table is a large gift box wrapped in ribbon, After some comedy questions, the spectator grabs the ribbon with one had and easily lifts it off the table to try and guess how much the box weighs and what the prize could be, if he gets it right, he keeps the prize!! he will be wrong, whatever he says, because out of the box, your lovely assistant appears!!?? A massive stage illusion that will cost you a few quid to make. My dad is a joiner and he made this in about an hour, it's not difficult at all and all you need is an old table, a large box(cardboard) and a couple of other items that are easy and cheap to get hold of. I used this as a closer in my Residency at a Holiday Park up in Scotland every other week for 6 months, and the reactions were just brilliant!! can be done surrounded, in any lighting. Its the look on the spectators face, who has just lifted the box with one hand and guessed it weighs about half a kilo and contains a teddy or something, his reaction says it all!! HOUDINI'S SHIRT Wearing a jacket and tie, you stand in front of a Two-fold screen. Several spectators sign your dress shirt with a Sharpie marker, making marks so they can positively identify the shirt. They can even spray paint the fabric if you like. Your shirt ends up covered with several signatures and marks. You open your jacket and display the shirt to the audience, then walk behind the screen. A few seconds later, the audiences sees your shirt fly over the screen. You immediately emerge from behind the screen and catch the shirt in mid-air, but the audience sees that under your jacket, you're now left with only your tie over your bare chest. You invite the audience to watch once more. This time, you throw the shirt over the front of the screen, dart behind, catch the shirt, and immediately come back out to show the audience that you are once again wearing the signed shirt, with your tie knotted neatly in place. I haven't tried this, but I will soon. I just think the method is diabolical and the effect and routine is so original, nobody else will be doing this! Just not sure how practical it is, going to tweak it a little and see what I can come up with, but it has so much potential. THE PIRATE You tell the story about a pirate who had nothing to do on the boat all day long, so he started performing card tricks. He was very famous because he would have one card chosen, hold the pack, take his gun, and shoot at the pack, and one card would have a big hole in it, and it was the chosen card. Then, one day he performed his trick, and he was drunk, you tell the audience. "He said (Sounding intoxicated), ''Watch me do my card trick.' And he shot his hand off. Ever since that day, he wore a hook like this one. Then he started wearing the hook, he had one card chosen, and all his friends said, 'You can't do your card trick because you have a hook.' He said, 'My eye'(Point at lour eye with the hook, then squint.) And since that day, he's worn a black eye patch. You've seen this pirate." Now you have one card chosen, then throw the cards in the air and You catch it on the hook a la the Card Sword!! Ok, nothing really new here, just a great comedy presentation for the card sword. I use this whenever there is a pirate theme night wherever I am working, always gets a good laugh and good reactions. COMEDY SPOON BEND An array of six spoons and forks cover the table. The spectator selects a spoon, and you throw the others into a champagne bucket. You then attempt to bend the spoon, but your finger instead ends up bent at a crooked angle. You bring out some pliers to bend the spoon, but the handles of the pliers have become bent. Apologizing to the audience, you pour out all the spoons and forks from the bucket. The spectators see that they are all now bent. Finally, you succeed in bending the spoon, but one of the table legs bends as well! Typical Bloom in this routine, he has taken a simple spoon bending plot that everyone does, and then added this complete, hilarious and unpredictable routine to it that makes it just brilliant. I use this all the time combined with a TOM PETERSON effect and it gets some amazing reactions, honestly, if you saw this performed, you would want to add it to your act straight away!! I have just scratched the surface with these few effects, there are so many items in these 2 volumes, I can't recommend them highly enough, as I said, you could easily get 2 full cabaret acts from these 2 books, put together some illusions on the cheap and put a magic competition act or audition piece together (I will be using the comedy spoon bend in my next audition) Please feel free to ask any questions about any of the effects I have covered or any which I haven't mentioned, Thanks Gaetan for sharing all this, Darren |
wally Inner circle 1828 Posts |
I'm thinking of buying the Gaeton blooms DVD with the lasso card, but which DVD should I buy, I also want his gypsy thread, I'm a children's entertainer,
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Dr. JK Inner circle Sandusky, OH 1191 Posts |
I'm several years behind on this one, but I finally got around to buying, reading, digesting, and reviewing this awesome compilation of Gaetan Bloom's creative magic. What a great set of books from The Miracle Factory! 🤯
https://youtu.be/Zwv3sk6FEgc |
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