View Full Version : Mark's "Bertram Shadow" by me
Like all my card magic it's early days with this, but given a bit more time I think I might crack it. What do you think guys? Got any tips for me Mark?
I wish my hands were just a little bigger. I used the camera angle to my advantage to reduce the chance of flashing but at the moment live performances would suffer so I don't think I'm quite ready for a street test, lol. But still, I hope this shows what can be done with a bit of good practice. With a bit more, who knows! ;)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Cf2yJoRBquo
TheMisdirectingHand
06-09-2011, 02:57 AM
Good job! I also see that you're taking the fight to The Magic Cafe to defend Mark! Way to go!
Thanks dude. But it's not so much about Mark; I'm more defending myself... since I've stated several times that the products I have bought are genuine and more than possible with enough practice yet I've been called a sucker and told the bertram is impossible!! So when I said it is possible I was just lying was I? My video suggests otherwise. There are some interesting characters in The Magic Cafe.. I shall leave it at that. lol
TheMisdirectingHand
06-09-2011, 03:16 AM
I am extremely proud of you, dude. I should grab myself a moneypak and buy the change...
Well now over at the Cafe I'm being told my vid could be revealing stuff it shouldn't be...! Mark, if you don't like any part of this video please tell me and I will edit/remove it. The last thing I want to do is reveal the secret!
Kieran Oloughlin
06-09-2011, 05:32 AM
Really really good
TheMisdirectingHand
06-09-2011, 06:22 AM
There is nothing wrong with the video. They're just saying that because they have something against Mark. Your performance is slow, but does not give anything away.
la0o9
06-09-2011, 06:38 AM
people hate being proven wrong, and will take measures if that happens, now, when people completely change their direction of attack( like they stop saying that you are lying and resort to undermining your skills), it means they've lost.
Thanks guys. It is quite slow isn't it, but hey.. Practice, practice, practice... :)
TommySteal
06-09-2011, 10:51 AM
It is a little slow, and I don't know what it is..? Although you never flash and you end up with a clean result, there's something rigid and unnatural in the way you move. I don't think this has anything to do with your technique at card handling, it's more to do with the practicalities of the effect itself. With that said, I have no idea how the change works - but I can't help being skeptical. I think your video performance shows that the angles in a live situation would no doubt be more sensitive than a root canal.
Well done, but there is an easy way you overlooked in making this a lot faster and more visual. I'll PM you.
But you did an excellent job and you definitely got the technique down. Now it's time for smoothing it out and mastering it. :D
Tommy I couldn't agree more. The movement and posture of the cover-hand do not look anywhere near as natural as I would like. I have a big problem in that my hand is not quite big enough to cover all the "action". This is why I had to use the camera angle to my advantage so that my hand could hide everything it needed to. Yunno you can hide the moon behind your thumb? It was kinda like that! lol.
Mark I'd love some tips as I'm getting smoother at the main move every day. Just got angle issues that need working out.
---------- Post added at 03:36 AM ---------- Previous post was at 02:23 AM ----------
I just had an amazing chat with Mark and he showed me some ways that will definitely help me to clean this up and hopefully make it sparkle... so watch this space peeps!
Thankyou so much Mark for taking the time out to give me some pointers. I learnt more in that 20 minutes with you than I've learnt in weeks of watching tutorials. Am gonna find it hard sleeping tonight! Anyway; next stop.. THE PASS! :O
TheMisdirectingHand
06-10-2011, 04:10 AM
I tried working with the Classic Pass... I could never get the transpositions fast enough to look perfect. I looked into alternatives and I now work with those. =)
Which tutorials have you watched? I learnt it from several videos and some of them are really awful! It's well worth putting the time into and not half as difficult as some people make out. You'll here some people say "it took me 3 years before I was ready to take my pass out on the streets" !! That is rediculous. If taught well its not that tough. However having said that I'm not ready to film mine yet, lol!
TommySteal
06-10-2011, 10:06 AM
I think the reason it looks suspicious is because at the moment you don't really have a motivation for your hand being over the deck, other than simply to hide what you are doing. I think that's why changes like the classic erdnase (done well) and the sideways erdanse work so well - there is motivation for the hand cover i.e a magical rub or wave. Maybe you could eventually have something, all the best with the practicing!
Kieran Oloughlin
06-10-2011, 11:28 AM
I learnt the pass form ninja 1 and after a couple of months I was performing it but it needs covering which is not to hard
la0o9
06-11-2011, 01:13 AM
practicing the classic pass is one thing...( i can do it quick enough for it to look like a real color change if you look at it from above) but for some reason i couldn't cover the break up no matter how much i try...
TheMisdirectingHand
06-11-2011, 03:08 AM
I learned the Classic Pass from a friend over the internet. I can't get the transpositions fast enough to the extent of the audience burning my hands. If I use my own covering actions though, I can get it to look like a good colour change.
Thanks for the insight Tommy. I definitely need to speed it all up so that it just looks like I'm waving over the card rather than obviously "hiding" what's going on. With the tips Mark gave me I'll definitely improve it alot, so watch this space.
mtsmartins
06-11-2011, 11:59 PM
Well done Fin, this change is beautiful haha...
I'm practicing it , when i think it's good enough i upload on youtobe (:
Well done Fin, this change is beautiful haha...
I'm practicing it , when i think it's good enough i upload on youtobe (:
Looking forward to seeing it :)
Alexander
07-22-2011, 12:59 PM
You, actually, are the only person who does it really well after Mark. But, it needs a bit of practice. The first point you should care about is a getting a break (use the Pinky Count). The second point is that the card you've changed the previous one into has moved a little bit to the side, it should NOT happen. And the third point is that the cleaning up should be as fast as possible. Good luck!
All very good points that I shall continue to work on Alexander, thanks alot for your input. Sometimes the clean-up is obviously taking waay too long (doh!) and this is something I'm constantly working on. I agree about using the pinky count; its my favourite method and I use it alot so its improving all the time. I should do another video of my Bertram Shadow soon to see if its improved; but I better first give it a couple of intensive practice sessions and make a good dent.