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This is for the complete Set
Here is the scoop on the New thread magic videos that just came in, Kind of a lot of information, but you may find it interesting. Had you purchased all of the effects on these three video’s individually, you would have easily spent well over $1,000.00 for the information. I was lucky enough to be a guest on the video's with Michael Ammar;
"The effects in which an inanimate object moves without any visible cause are perhaps the most magical and effective in all magic." - Al Baker
Let The Master of the Easy To Master Video Series Unlock the Mysteries of Close-Up Animations and Levitations with this Brand-New 3 Volume Set on DVD and VHS
There is more powerful potential in just a few feet of invisible thread than almost anything else in magic. This is magic that becomes the stuff of legends. No matter what type of magic you perform, from the purest sleight of hand to the largest grand illusions, this is the type of magic that creates conversations and reputations.
People vividly remember the moment they saw something levitated and animated just inches away from their eyes. Continuing in the Easy to Master tradition, this new set of videos is organized in a very structured fashion. Taking the viewer from simple animations with short lengths of thread that can be easily set up and managed through intermediate effects that are a bit more involved and finally ending up with elaborate effects that are truly mind-bending. Each video in this series also contains valuable supporting information on lighting, concealment, and theory that will stimulate your thinking well beyond the featured magic.
Our journey begins with one of the newest, most fascinating genres in all of magic-the incredible invisible elastic thread created by DuPont and patented in 1959.
You'll discover what it is, where to find it, and the amazing things you can do with it, including Finn Jon's killer application-the invisible elastic loops.
You'll create truly astonishing animations and levitations almost anytime, anyplace using this and other applications featured on this video for the first time.
Following this we look at the close-up animating ability of visible, but hidden threads. This section contains the most practical, commercial method for performing Stefan Schutzer's Self-Folding Bill ever revealed.
Then after learning the best of the classic magic for the stand-up performer using the Traditional Reel, including an amazing, visual penetration of the mike stand, James George joins Michael for an overview of one of the most compelling inventions of the last 50 years-The Invisible Thread Reel.
You'll see a complete comparison of the wide range of I.T.R. gimmicks, featuring full screen close-ups of exactly how to work with and reload this powerful gimmick.
Volume One
Section One - Introducing Elastic Thread
Section Two - Accessing the Threads
Section Three - Magic With Invisible Elastic
o Tahoe Tessie and the Magic Postcard
o The Rising Business Card
o Whirling Business Card
o Dan Harlan's Financial Attraction
o Ammar's Portable, Permanent Wallet Hookup
Section Four - Finn Jon's Elastic Loops
o Phenomenon Fork
o Finn Jon's Bill That Falls Up
o The Floating Bill
o Electrostatic Straw
o Things That Affect Thread Visibility
Section Five - Visible but Hidden Threads
o Stefan Schuster's Self-Folding Bill with Kicker, featuring Ammar's Self-Contained Wallet Hookup
o Acrobatic Matchbox
Section Six - The Traditional Reel
o Knot Absolutely Instant
o Knot Automatically Undone
o Clearly Penetrated Mike Stand
Section Seven - James George Interview
o Comparing Every Available I. T. R.
o Care and Management
o
Volume Two
We begin with amazing ideas and applications of the James George Invisible Thread Reel, which includes marvelously deceptive methods of passing a solid hoop over and around floating objects.
Also included are methods for working with threads from 6 inches to twenty feet long that create magic that people will talk about for a lifetime.
Section 1 - Magic Using the I. T. R.
o Finn Jon's Mystery Nut and Bolt ala I. T. R
o The Chop Cup Application
o Dave Nelson's Dollar Bill Flight
o I. T. R. Floating Bill
o The Perfect Practice Hookup
o Open Face Hookup
o Z Grip to Lock the Thread
o Hoop Pass
o Rotating Hoop Pass
o Bloom's Balancing Card
o Robert Henry's Ashra Coin
o I. T. R. Whirling Card
Section 2 - The One-Hand Hookup
o Al Baker's Erectile Bill
o Socrate's Personal Chi Power
Section 3 - The LeClair Hookup
o Floating Bill
o The Whirling Card
Section 4 - The One Point Hookup
o The Animated Straw
o The Coin in Beer
o Baker's Card from Hat
o Whirling Card
o Baker's Ring on Pencil
Section 5 - John Kennedy's
o Stealth Retractor
o Ammar's Threading the Needle
o Care and Feeding of the Stealth Retractor
o Rising Business Cards
o Rising Card
o Self-Turning Page
Section 6 - Bonus Guest Star James George
o The Floating Pencil
o Tips & Theory
o Why Threads Break and How To Avoid
o Practicing with Threads
o Controlling Your Space
o The Hierarchy of Astonishment
Volume Three
This is the real work on storing, transporting and accessing the invisible threads you'll use for any type of effect. The majority of this information is being revealed here for the first time in any format, and represents ideal solutions for almost any close-up, stand-up, corporate, bar or restaurant performer.
You'll also find sources for invisible thread well worth the price of the video to anyone seriously interested in performing magic with thread. You'll see what types of thread are strongest, ranked in order of strength according to similar dimensions, and how to separate and secure individual strands of the finest invisible thread.
Some of the information featured here has previously been sold individually for large sums of money. You'll learn the exact method Ammar used to perform the Floating Bill on The Tonight Show, as well as the Steve Fearson Hookup, which creates what some of our greatest minds have called the most amazing magic they've ever seen!
Performance
o Floating Bill
o The Super String Theory
Section One - Thread Strength According to Similar Diameters
Section Two - Securing the Ends, Separating Individual Strands
Section Three -Storing and Transporting
o Simple Playing Card
o Finn Jon System
o John Kennedy's Z-Webs & Mini-Z-Webs
o The Pin & Straw System
o Sticky Mat Solution
o John Haar's Deck Gimmick
o Clear Plastic Sticks
o Lifesaver Holders
o Wine Bottle Hookups-Corks, Ribbons, Clear Tubes
o Under-Bar Bobbins
o Mike-Stand Holders
Section Four - The Horizontal Two-Point Hookup Explanation
o The Floating Bill
o The Super String Theory
Section Five -The Steve Fearson Hookup
o The Floating Lifesaver
o James George's Floating Spinning Ball
"Those effects in which an inanimate object moves without any visible cause are perhaps the most mysterious and effective in all magic. Such a trick more than any other seems like real magic, especially when it is accomplished...at close range directly under the noses of the spectators."
And, with these words, which introduced a key chapter in his classic book, Pet Secrets, Al Baker began an entirely new sub-genre of magic. His work in the area of magic with fine threads and hairs has been continued by such modern masters as Finn Jon, Socrate, John Kennedy, Steve Fearson, Jon LeClair and, of course, Michael Ammar.
It makes sense that Ammar would be the one to synthesize just about all of the available information on thread magic and rearrange it into a comprehensive whole and this is exactly what he's done in his brand new set of videos, Easy To Master Thread Miracles. His past projects of this type, notably the Cups and Balls videos along with the companion book and the Easy To Master Card and Money video series, all met with enormous success.
What's more, thread magic, particularly the Floating Dollar Bill has been a part of Michael's performance material "A" list for quite some time. In fact, one only has to recall the double take Johnny Carson did when Michael moved his hands away from the floating bill momentarily when he performed the piece on The Tonight Show to be convinced that Al Baker's words are true.
Perhaps thread magic, when performed correctly, does seem to be real magic.
I say "correctly" because the double-edged sword here is that thread magic, when performed haphazardly with no attention paid to the performing conditions (particularly lighting), amounts to little more than exposure of a potentially powerful methodology.
In my own experience, I recall working at a restaurant some years ago and when I reported for work on a particular evening, the bartender said, "There was some guy here last night doing tricks." "Was he any good?" I asked. "He was trying to do some card tricks," the bartender replied. "And, he was making a dollar bill float." He continued, "The only problem was that everyone could see that he had some stuff that looked like a spider web that he was hanging the bill from. We all kind of lost interest after that..." I knew two things right away.
I knew my job certainly seemed secure but I also knew that I could never do any thread work at that restaurant, at least for some time.
The road to the successful use of invisible thread-that is, accomplishing the illusion of animation or even levitation-is fraught with pitfalls. In most effects of this kind, whether it's a dollar bill floating in the air or David Copperfield flying across a stage, the best guess as to how it's done by any modern audience is likely to be pretty close to the actual method. As the great Carl Ballantine was fond of saying, "How else...?"
So, while the use of invisible thread may be easy to master, convincing the audience that you're not simply hanging an object on something they can't see isn't quite as easy. However, in the three volumes of Easy To Master Thread Miracles, Ammar not only teaches the mechanics of thread magic but also spends quite a bit of time on its presentation and the psychology behind diverting the audience away from the methodology. For example, in his now classic handling of the Floating Bill, the bill really only free floats for a moment and by the time the audience realizes that they've just seen the impossible, the moment is over, leaving them wondering whether their minds or eyes were playing tricks rather than the magician.Attention is also paid to the proper conditions for thread magic to be deceptive.
As with past Ammar projects, this new set of videos is organized in a very structured fashion, taking the viewer from simple animations with short lengths of thread that can be easily set up and managed, through intermediate effects that are a bit more involved. Then finally ending up with elaborate effects that are truly mind-bending. You'll make the journey from small yet effective miracles such as "Tahoe Tessie and the Magic Postcard," Ammar's take on Ben Harris' "Cosmosis," to awe-inspiring moments such as "The Floating Lifesaver."
Great effort was made to be practical with these videos, also. I understand that practical is not a word usually associated with invisible thread work but you'll soon discover that thread can be used in walk-around situations as well as parlor and platform with just a modicum of care and attention.
It's one thing to learn how to perform with invisible thread and it's quite another to figure out how to get it to your performance venue in some kind of workable form. Thankfully, Ammar uses a portion of Volume 3 on just the subject of storing and transporting thread.
Ammar also spends quite a bit of time on the various gimmicks and gadgets that have been and are currently being used to dispense invisible thread, including John Kennedy's Stealth Retractor and James George's various invisible thread reels. In fact, it was a pleasant surprise to see George as Ammar's special guest on these videos and if you own any of the various models of the ITR, you'll be especially appreciative of George's exposition of how the ITR is constructed, how it can be repaired and of course, how best to use it.
I was also very happy to see that some attention was given to magic with a traditional reel. The thread isn't invisible but the miracles a good old-fashioned reel can create are still effective. Even the old gag of passing a silk through a microphone stand is given a fresh coat of paint here and makes one realize just how strong a piece of magic this bit really is. Seeing it again made me start wondering which drawer my old Kirkendall reel was in.
The bottom line is this: if you want to do thread magic, it's all here -all of the hookups, the various kinds of thread, elastic and non-elastic, the different gimmicks and anchors, and even how to make your own invisible thread. Combine all of this information with dozens of powerful effects and you have the most complete resource for thread magic ever assembled.
Spend some time with this set of videos, master the techniques that suit your style and venue, and you'll be a part of Al Baker's exclusive club in no time-a magician that audiences will swear performs real magic.
From L&L Publishing Presents, Special Issue Number 18
Article Written by Jim Sisti
I can't tell you how many times my old friend and mentor, the late Bill Smith, came to mind as I worked on this project. In 1976, Bill took me to my first magic convention in Philadelphia, where he bought his first Wonder Bar from Steve Duschek himself.
Bill dearly loved thread magic, and instantly bought any new effect that used them. I'm sure he must have spent hundreds, if not thousands, of dollars on his obsession with animations and levitations, and I'm sure his giddy passion played a part in my own love for the topic. I truly wish I could have watched these videos with that dear friend. He would have giggled with delight so many times that it breaks my heart to think of his absence, and if this concentrated dose of thread magic doesn't turn you into a thread head as well, then nothing probably will.
If you are familiar with the Easy to Master series, you'll notice we've approached this topic a little differently than with previous videos. The cards, coins and currency used on those videos are not only more common than invisible threads, but the genre of thread magic itself is, by comparison, in its infancy.
Threads more invisible than human hair have only been around about 40 years, so it seemed logical that I should give much more supporting information than I did with established topics such as cards and coins. So these videos present an overview of thread magic that includes details on what threads to use, where to find them, comparisons in terms of strength and visibility, the various hookups used in thread magic, and details on a wide range of gimmicks used to accomplish different things.
I realize some people might question the very idea of thread magic as an Easy to Master topic. Isn't invisible thread another way of saying fragile and difficult to manage? And doesn't something that's expensive and invisible carry a built-in frustration factor making its use impractical? Good questions, and you'll find answers to those questions on these videos.
You'll learn how to find invisible thread at a fraction of the cost you're probably used to paying, as well as how to rehearse thread magic in ways that make the most sense. In fact, anyone who has an Invisible Thread Reel, or I.T.R., is going to find a method for rehearsing that is, as they say, worth the price of the videos.
I suppose the main contention would revolve around the term "Easy" in the title. Over the years I've learned that "easy" is a term that can mean something different for every person that uses it. Card magic has such a broad range of techniques and methods, that you can feel safe drawing a line dividing those that require countless hours of practice from those that are comparatively simple. But can you do the same when it comes to the techniques used with invisible thread? Frankly, I think it can be done.
Many thread techniques require less time to learn than a card routine of any length or complexity. When it comes to thread magic, most of the difficulty revolves around the idea of handling the threads, rehearsing with them, carrying the thread around with you, and then accessing the thread for performances in real world situations.
I'm happy to say these videos contain lots of information about how to do that, much of which has never been revealed anyplace. Beyond that, it would probably surprise you to learn how simple it is to animate and levitate objects using invisible thread. Why it's downright easy!
In fact, most of it so so easy you might feel guilty about how the powerful impact thread magic will have on an audience. Try it a couple of times and you'll know exactly what I'm talking about.
Of course people have been using silk and even human hair for many years to create magic. The Floating Bill, for example, is printed as The Floating Paper Ball in the June 1901 issue of Stanyon's, only instead of the primary anchor being in the mouth, it's attached to the back of the ear. The irony is that over 100 years ago, this effect is referred to as an "old chestnut."
Consequently, historians might take offense to the reference of modern performers in titles such as the LeClair Hookup, but this is certainly not the first time that has been done. Bobo did a similar thing with the Goshman Pinch in Modern Coin Magic, but even closer to home, the LeClair Hookup was used by Marvelli and Joro of Germany to float a cork years before Bruno Hennig taught his modifications to Fred Kaps.
Yet we still refer to that routine as The Fred Kaps Floating Cork. So the established pattern is that when a current performer does such an outstanding job with a specific technique, it's simply easier to reference that performer when discussing that technique, and I think that's OK as long as you make it clear when teaching the technique whether the title refers to the creator of that technique or just its most prominent proponent; a distinction which was made in every case on these videos.
In the end, these videos represent the most condensed synthesis of contemporary thread magic, methods and concepts in any form. Anyone with experience using threads will probably agree that there is more magical potential in a single length of invisible thread than in almost anything else. It has the potential to create lifelong memories and carve legendary reputations. So if the idea of moving to a higher level of astonishment appeals to you, maybe now is the time to see why thread magic creates the excitement that it does. I just wish I could be there with you when you do it, because you, too, will probably laugh with delight, just as Bill used to do, and that would make it all worthwhile!
From L&L Publishing Presents, Special Issue Number 18
Article Written by Michael Ammar
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