Saw this vanish on the ellusionist.com was wondering if anyone has purchased this and would like to know his/her thoughts on it.

http://www.ellusionist.com/order/Revolution-Coin-Vanish.htm

http://www.themagiccafe.com/forums/viewt......9&17

Good effect, not too expensive. The only downfall is that it is download only. I like to have my hands on physical media.

The download is extremely non-user-friendly. You also have to download a specific viewer, the movie cannot be transferred to a different pc, etc. etc...
Someone got a little too hyped up on the whole security thing. I hate when they make buying and downloading a movie like trying to get invited to the White House. There are other, simple ways to secure a file.

I downloaded it but haven't had time to watch it yet. but I'll toss out my thoughts when I do get a chance to see it.

Well, I took a lunch break today to view the video. I'm mixed on my reactions, but I'll tell you all this:

1. It's basically a good vanish / switch method

2. The method is not anything new, but perhaps something we've all thought of and tried at one point, but may have discounted as impractical.

3. The video does contain some good handling and scripting ideas and advice, which makes it an overall good purchase.

4. I'm not sure that I needed to pay $17 for someone to tell me that I could vanish a coin in this way. But, again, the scripting, performance, and handling ideas and concepts are valuable.

All things considered, I'd use this method as an icebreaker... a quick vanish or switch to get the ball rolling for a group or individual that I specifically approached. It would have it's problems if you tried to rematerialize someone's signed coin, so I'd use it as a one way vanish, or one time switch. Maybe a quarter for a half dollar (or for a few half dollars), and then go into something else right away.

All the Best,

Mike

How are the angles on this?

Very good. No one can be behind you or 90 degrees to your left (if your right handed), other than that, you're fine.

Plus this is not limited to coins (although we are in a COIN forum). You could vanish/switch small objects or do penetration-through-the-hand effects. Some things I've tried in the past: vanish lit cigarette butt; vanish/switch small insects (or do a metamorphisis effect); ice cube routine where you have an object frozen in an ice cube, w/ a wave of your hand, ice cube mysteriously disappears leaving behind the object; torn & restored business card; coin-bending routine.... There are endless possibilities, just use your imagination. There are limitations as well as potential for abuse (as w/ many sleights), but used sparingly, you'll get great results.

It's known amongst the older sleight-of-handers in Asia (Philippines is where I learned it, over a decade ago). I also have a friend from Malaysia who knows it.

Unfortunately, I wouldn't know if it is or was ever published elsewhere. In that area of the world, it's more of a sleight that is passed down from your uncle or grandpa

RE: "...it's more of a sleight that is passed down from your uncle or grandpa."

Yeah, that's exactly the way to describe it. Good analogy jli.

From watching the demo, I don't think the moves are logical. Why would you put a coin in the back of your hand to display it? I'm gonna pass on this one.

I admit the vanish does look clean, but I definitely would not pay almost $20 to learn to vanish a coin as a stand alone effect (unless it can be applied to other routines but it sounds like it can't be to certain routines).

I have never seen anything new on ellusionist.com

$17.00 for one sleight (and what looks to be a restrictive one at that) seems like an unwise use of money. I mean, for a few bucks more you could get a video (or book, for that matter) with a lot of sleights and routines. Given my past experience with ellusionist (which was a disappointment), I'll pass on this one.

Mike

I think it just looks like a upgrade of the Melt trick sold at expert magic, correct me if I'm wrong.
Jack.

In the Melt situation, the coin does not completely disappear as with the ellusionist video so maybe the method is different.

Regards Nitram

If this is what I think it is, I offer the following comments:

1) The vanish is a great one to perform on video.

2) The setup may be difficult for you to use in a walk-around situation. A certain something is required for the vanish; fortunately, you most likely have it nearby or can access it fairly easily.

Conus, there are no gimmicks, you can perform this impromptu with a borrowed coin

I got an unsolicited e-mail from ellusionsist.com in response to my previous posts, informing me of the various reasons why the movie viewer is needed, and why it improves the ellusionist movie-viewing experience. The more I've thought about this intrusion into my personal e-mail system for the purpose of damage control and post sales marketing, the more annoyed I've become. I'm reminded of George Orwell's 1984, and feel as though big brother is watching me. Since ellusionist did not feel compelled to respect my privacy, I feel no need to respect theirs. So for anyone interested, here's a cut & paste of that e-mail exchange exactly how it happened. Please, be my guest. And, enjoy the free publicity ellusionist:

JB@ellusionist.com WROTE:
As you raised many questions regarding our download process in the Magic Café, I thought I’d take the chance to explain the new procedure and it’s purpose. The TroubleMaker serves a HUGE variety of uses.

1. Security-- it allows us to secure and protect our downloads. Without these security steps, we simply could not protect our productions from those who wish to steal from us and everyone via illegal trading and unauthorized distribution. Without the security measures that the TroubleMaker allows, we would have no protection and no way of safeguarding our productions from those who wish to trade, duplicate, and distribute our productions illegally. Think this was a minor deal? No way— trading was a huge and growing problem until we developed measures to decrease the scale and protect our work.

2. Ease of use-- 99 times out of 100, the TroubleMaker allows for a seemless, easy download process-- especially when you consider the size of the files downloaded and the complexity at which the program works.

3. Navigation-- with our larger videos (such as Ninja 1/2, Crash 1/2, InsideMagic, Kard Klub, etc), the TroubleMaker allows users to see the different sections of the video easily and quickly, and to have the capability to switch sections (like a DVD) with ease. Sweet!

That said, we’re the first to admit that it does have its faults and there’s always room to improve EVERYTHING— we’re constantly taking feedback (such as yours) and working with suggestions from our members to improve things— from the videos to the site to the downloading procedure, in this case. Thanks for the feedback.

Please let us know if we can be of further assistance.


** Even this e-mail was a commercial for ellusionist, and the other movies that they sell. Chill out! I already bought a movie, stop trying to hammer more down my throat already! And... I don't recall giving ellusionist any direct feedback, or asking for any assistance to begin with!

My RESPONSE:
I see the value of the trouble maker / secure file methodology, as it applies to the owner of the rights to the movie, but allow me to share a few additional thoughts from a customer standpoint:

I noticed the 360 minute license limitation, after I bought the download, not before. That seemed a bit strange. Although the movie doesn't need to be watched 8 times to grasp the method, it would be nice to not have potentially important information like that wrapped up in fine print somewhere. It should be very visible, for those people who may require multiple viewings to "get it".

Trouble Maker has two video modes. Small & full screen. The full screen setting distorts the picture so badly it is unviewable ( I have a Quadro 750 XGL w/128mb adapter and a Sony Flat screen 19" display... so that's not the problem). The small setting isn't very comfortable either. I did see that the movie can be viewed in media player itself, where the picture size can be set to an acceptable level, which is good, however, how many typical home computer users do you figure actually read that tiny paragraph?

The download process is needlessly long and complex, that was my point on the café. We both know that the viewer is a marketing tool used primarily to advertise other Ellusionist downloads and products. The file itself could be secured in one of dozens of ways, and could be viewed in many standard DivX players.

Don't get me wrong, as I said in my post, it's basically a good vanish, and worth the money to learn. However, my other, less positive comments and observations are no less accurate because of that.

As an IT professional with over 16 years in the industry, I'm glad that on-line companies such as Ellusionist.com actively seek customer feedback to better their E products and on line support. Please accept mine in the spirit in which I give it.

Best Regards,

M. Wild

--------------------------------

** I took it upon myself to block all further email from ellusionist.com at my corporate firewalls, as well as my home network. There's 251 people who aren't going to be getting any e-mails about Trouble Maker and its benfits to mankind... or any other ellusionist propaganda for that matter.

Sorry about the rant, but for some reason this whole thing bugged me in a big way.

All the Best,

Mike

There is a post about this in the good the bad the garbage sections so you might want to check it out

ESPeciall magicboi

I saw the video. If this were done with a stack of coins off the back of your hand... maybe interesting... but one coin back there... no thanks.

Have you looked at the stuff in the Downs book?

Text removed by Decker