A review of a magic DVD can be short. It can be long. The short review of John Bannon and Big Blind Media’s DVD, MOVE ZERO (Volume 1) is as follows… Excellent! Highest marks!! Get it!!!
Move Zero exceeded already high expectations.
First let me start of by stating that the production value of this DVD is of the highest caliber. It is the best. The cinematography is excellent. There is footage shot from numerous camera angles and the editing is top-notch. There is Bannon’s insightful narrative dubbed over video at certain times as well. The DVD menu is organized in a way that makes watching the project easy and it flows seamlessly from one section to the next. Even the music fits perfectly. The rights tracks are inserted at the right time for the ideal length of time. Clearly a tremendous amount of thought and production hours went into devising and creating this uber professional project.
Not only does it teach eight tricks (seven cards tricks and one mentalism coin trick), but it teaches various cuts and controls with Bannon’s added touch. The DVD also contains segments of interviews with Bannon which are very interesting. I would not have minded to hear more.
Each trick is performed by Bannon to a spectator in a studio setting in either a home or restaurant. After the performance, Bannon teaches the trick with the subtleties and the steps needed for a finessed performance. Often it is a discussion of the trick with another during the explanation. In between the various tricks, there are the “trickbag” instructions that teach the forces and controls I mentioned before. Bannon offers some techniques that make some basic cuts very fooling. I immediately added a few of his touches to my arsenal.
During the DVD, Bannon makes much of the cross-cut force. His take and deployment of the cross-cut force may make you re-examine the force in the event that you have moved onto other methods in your card handling. Bannon is the master of disguising cuts and controls that may otherwise be detected. He enhances a standard Gemini Twins trick in Collusion and also teaches another variant in the Four Sided Gemini. For those that are not familiar with equivoque, he teaches a crash course in the “magician’s choice” and then implements it in a few of the tricks. He also teaches a trick that cleverly sets up the magician to do a four card production after that trick’s conclusion. Some of the trick are impromptu and some are not. Some require minimal set up which can be accomplished on the fly or in advance. I was completely slayed by Sort of Psycho which can be done impromptu with a borrowed shuffled deck.
Throughout, Bannon takes bits and pieces of inspiration from magicians and then adds and subtracts his own “stuff” to come up with his unique Bannon handling and version. He does this extremely well. He fastidiously credits the magicians before him.
The tricks presented herein are easy to perform. They are easy to learn. They evoke very strong reactions. This DVD is not just for beginners because they are easy to perform. And, anyone could learn these tricks and head out with a solid set of entertainment. There is nothing noteworthy about the promotional video or ad-copy, which is a good thing.
As stated above, this DVD is Excellent! It gets the highest marks!! You should get it!!!
We are anxiously awaiting Volume 2.