Happy to see some new ring magic! I personally feel like there's not enough out there and is still an area which can still be further explored.. and it looks like this guy has done just that! The trailer shows some incredibly visual and original ideas.

From the description you can see there's a number of gimmicked and ungimmicked effects. I'm wondering what the gimmicks actually are though. Says that they're available at most magic dealers, but there's only so many ring gimmicks that I can think of.

Anyway, I definitely plan on getting this. I'm happy to see that it's a download too and not something I'm going to have to anxiously await to arrive in the mail. I'm hoping that all or most of this stuff plays just as well in real life as it does on camera. Either way, looks great!

What do you guys think?



Butterfly Ring by Barbu Nitelea (Instant Download)

http://www.penguinmagic.com/p/7658

$29.95

“Ring magic has to be one of the most organic magic and to see it develop further with new ideas is just refreshing.” – Patrick Kun

“Crazy Great Sh*t!!!” – De’vo vom Schattenreich


Welcome to the Butterfly Ring presented by barbumagic. In this project you will learn several advanced ring magic effects using bouth gimmicked and impromptu techniques. 

Impromptu:
Push - Pull Sequence – ring through finger goes to the next level. This sequence consists of these following moves:
PUSH (reverse of Patrick Kun’s Reflex - ring through finger), PULL, CLOSED PUSH, TRANSFER.
TELEPORT – with a wave of the hand, the ring looks like it teleports from a finger to another.
MELT – the ring looks like it melts through the finger, under the cover of the hand.
SLINKY Vanish – very visual retention vanish.
LIFESAVER Vanish – dirty method for a superclean vanish.

Gimmicked:
BALANCE – clean, angleproof balance of a ring on the finger; you can turn your hand also horizontally, the ring looking like it’s stuck to the tip of the finger.
FLOAT – interesting float of a ring, that can be used also as a balance of the ring on a finger and then you can transfer the ring to another finger from the other hand.
OTT Vanish/Change – ring vanishes with a wave of the hand; the ring can also reappear with another wave of the hand.
UG Vanish/Change – you display a ring in the middle of the hand, you close your fingers around it and when you open your hand, the ring is gone.
CATCH - inspired by Garrett Thomas-"The Ring Thing", but using a different method.
BR THROUGH WINDOW – a visual, straightforward illusion of throwing a ring through glass.
BR THROUGH GLASS + variation – one of the most visual object through glass effects.
BR THROUGH TABLE + variation – ring can go, down or up, through a glass table.

Gimmicks can easily be found at most magic dealers.

Wonderful, really. Never seen something like that. I'm wondering though, does it matter if I wear a small ring ? My size is 8, and I have a preference for 6mm thickness. I hope the characterics of the ring wouldn't affect the outcome so much. I say that, because now I'm performing some wonderful moves taught in Night Crawler and Circuit, and I found that thickness of the ring really matters. Less thickness is better (although it seems to me that the most important factor is the performer itself rather than the ring, I think the characteristic of the ring still affect the outcome to some extent). On the opposite, one move I like from De'Ring should be done, preferably, with rings that have larger thickness.

I agree completely, mh1001. It all depends on what the effect is and your preference. As for this, I haven't bought it yet so I don't know what's best. I'll be picking this up soon though and will report back with a review when I do.

The shape, size and thickness of the ring definitely plays a factor though when it comes to ring manipulation. I have circuit, de'ring, reflex, Ringja, ring thing and a few others. I have found that different rings will provide different benefits.

For example with circuit.. of course the ring that comes with Circuit is the best type of ring to perform the routine with and makes it easier to do the moves. It can be done with thicker rings, but is much harder to do and doesn't provide the same visual jump that a thinner ring does.

I've tried doing the moves on de'ring with the ring you get in circuit, and it can work, but not as well. Same with the ring thing, you can do it with a thin ring like the circuit ring, but doesn't give off the same effect.

As a general rule of thumb, I've found that thicker rings are more visual, but are a bit harder to manipulate. Thinner rings are less visual yet easier to manipulate. I mean you can still create visual magic with thinner rings, and manipulate larger rings, but I find that is generally the case.

I myself have found a happy balance to do most ring sleights. Nie Te (from Ringja) has a good way to determine what size works best to do his stuff. That is, the ring should be big enough to fit on your middle finger, but tight enough so it won't fall off if you hang your hand upside down.

Btw, how did you like Night Crawler? I was thinking of picking that up as well. But I was wondering what else is taught. Does he just teach the ring jump and how to catch a ring on your finger or are there other moves he teaches too?

I will be doing a youtube review (and performance) of Night Crawler and Odyssey, I will post the link in the Night Crawler thread. To be honest, I didn't understand Circuit first when I got it. But I mastered the move in Night Crawler the same day I got it. Although it's only one week later that I was able to master variations of this move (index to annular, annular to middle, middle to index, annular to index : it's not what is taught but these are my own variations of the move, and if you understand the principle, it's not that hard to figure out new moves, as I did). It's so easy to understand, although there is no talking. Only music and text. But unlike Circuit, there is a big zoom and big slow motion (very slow...) so it's very easy to understand exactly when to do the move and how. For $25, it's not quite expansive I think, because like I said, it's very easy to understand and to do. Also, as a bonus, Yuen at the end of the tutorial, teaches you how to make the ring jump from hand to hand when both hands are joined together, with fingers spread apart. I like both moves. Finally, what the trailer says about being angle proof is entirely true (if you do the move at the right moment of course).

For me the videos that were the most helpful and important to me are Ring Thing and Night Crawler. I like De'Ring and Circuit and Reflex, but these come next. And finally, I'm not a fan of Ringja, not just because it's very difficult but also because the moves are less clean than the other moves in my opinion and the movement of the wrist feels like it's fiddling. But this Butterfly Ring seems to be like anything else. Impressive.

Concerning ring characteristics, of course you know I agree with you. I feel that it matters. I'm somewhat lucky because my ring size is 8, so most people have bigger fingers than, so when I borrow a ring, it's generally loose, and not tight. If it was tight, most moves would prove quite difficult.

Oops, I cannot edit my comment anymore. What a bother. I just wanted to say that by "annular" I meant "ring finger".

At least you didn't say "Ligamentum anulare digitorum" then we would have been really lost.
James

Thanks for the info on Night Crawler, I'll have to pick that up soon. Looking forward to your video as well.

Circuit took me a little while to get used to as well, took a few days of practicing the movements and exercising my fingers. I like a challenge and all, but glad to hear that Night Crawler is easier. Also nice to know that there are variations besides index to ring finger. I've been working on my own ring routine so I'm looking forward to learning some new moves, Night Crawler looks like a great addition.

Regarding Butterfly Ring, after watching the trailer a couple of times, I noticed there was a move he kind of flashed on. So I believe I figured out what gimmick he is using. If he's doing what I think he's doing, you'll need a light weight ring. I could be wrong, but I'm about 80% sure. For size, I think you'll probably just need to make sure that you can comfortably slide the ring on and off of each of your fingers.

Regardless if I'm right or not though, I still think I will be picking this up. Looks like there's a lot of creative ideas and I'm sure there are a lot of details and subtleties that I wouldn't have been able to work out on my own. Plus there are a lot of other interesting ideas, both gimmicked and ungimmicked. Plus that complete vanish where he shows both hands front and back has me stumped lol.

So yeah I will still get this, but something else just came out which I think I'm going to pick up before this. So I might wait on this one til my next paycheck in another week or so. But I'll get this sooner or later and will review it when I do.

Unless I'm completely mistaken, I'd bet this is a similar method to the vanishing nickel: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5fhgSs_I1fI

Not that it's a bad thing - his effects are extremely visual and well done, it's just that I'm pretty particular about when and how I use that tool. I agree with jamo that it probably has to be a pretty light ring. When you look at the list of the impromptu vs gimmicked effects, it's a pretty stark difference.
I'm also amused by the description "LIFESAVER Vanish – dirty method for a superclean vanish". It's clean and dirty?"

Who knows - I may get this, but I'd definitely like to read some reviews first.

Tonsofquestions, I think you're right. I have seen this product before in video (and I'm about to purchase it) but it never crossed my mind when I watch Butterfly Ring. But now that would totally make sense. There were some super clean vanishes that I thought he did without gimmicks.

jamo425, Night Crawler is indeed much easier than Circuit. Using the method taught in Circuit, I succeed 40-50% of the time, although my hand and fingers are very natural (no fast or strong motion of the hand). Using the method taught in Night Crawler, I succeed 99% of the time (after few days of practice, about 40-50 minutes per day, more or less) : too easy it's ridiculous. I hate fast movement because it gives the impression you're using sleight of hand, or that if you do it fast it's because you're hiding something (e.g., doing a little secret move). With the move in Night Crawler, what's important is the timing of the move (no need to do it ultra fast).

I like what Barbu does with the ring, although I think some moves (notably the ones that seem to be done with a non gimmicked ring) are done a little bit fast, which I don't recommend. He's still very, very good though.

Also, if you think what he does requires preferably a light weight ring, that's good, because for me, Circuit or Night Crawler should preferably be performed with light weight ring. For me, it's more comfortable and I feel the ring passes through fingers way faster when it's lighter in weight.