Issue 19 - Mar 08
Perfection
Oz
Pearlman
Available from: www.penguinmagic.com
Price: $19.95 (approx.£15)
In the
right setting Perfection is a strong effect.
A spectator takes and shuffles a bundle of cards. As the magician
shuffles the remaining cards the bundle is passed from spectator to spectator to
be shuffled again and again. The spectator is invited to deal cards from their
bundle one by one face up on the table as the magician deals from his pack. One
by one, card by card, every card dealt is a matching pair, red queens, black
twos and so on. Pretty strong.
What
you get on the DVD are four performance sequences mostly filmed in a corporate
meeting room, followed by a detailed explanation and a ‘bonus’ effect. Some
of the explanation is repeated unnecessarily. For example, how to make a short
card by cutting off one end is explained twice!
The
sleights required to perform Perfection are not too difficult. Pearlman teaches
a good false shuffle and explains clearly a necessary packet switch, none of
which should be beyond a reasonably competent performer. I think what is more
difficult is the context in which the key sleight is made. Like a top change it
is performed more or less in the open, relying on good technical competence,
timing and misdirection for success.
Pearlman
spends some time talking about the importance of making this pivotal move ‘on
the offbeat’ and emphasizes the verbal misdirection he uses to cover his
tracks. Many routines have a natural plot inspired moment, a card is revealed or
whatever, to cover the key moment. Pearlman covers the moment with a series of
patter linked animated gestures. It may be that I watched with a magician’s
eye but that key segment looked not so much wrong, as out of context with the
rest of the performance.
It is
a strong effect but with some limitations. It ties up one whole stacked deck,
but can be reset easily. It would have to be performed in situations where both
the spectator and the magician can deal cards that can be seen by the rest of
the audience. It probably would work in a close up show, in restaurants and, as
in the performance segments, with small groups. Most importantly, if I were
using this effect, I think I’d have to find an alternative way of covering the
key switch.
So, in
summary, Perfection is a nice effect with some limitations. If you perform in
settings that suit you could get to like the audience participation, the
opportunity to relate to individuals and the strong effect. It is not too
difficult but you might want to adapt the presentation and misdirection to suit
your own style. In the main the DVD is fine though the performance sequences and
the explanations are stretched to fill space. The whole thing could have been
explained in half the time, but then the DVD would have been very short. SB
What’s
Hot: Good effect
What’s Not: Material does not justify a
single DVD
Star Rating: ***
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