I do not see how the argument is illogical. No-one said you had to follow Oz's patter. If I did so, please kindly point out where I did. However, any and every good routine bases its sleights around its presentation. Now, two points. Firstly, I object to the selling of an effect which in my opinion clearly is not up to standard given the little amount of thought Oz has put into the presentation. Essentially you're left with paying however much the price is to learn to *****. In the hands of Ricky Jay, I'm sure it would be an amazing piece; however that would be due to the performer, not the trick. Hence I'm not saying that a performer could not do well with it. However I still do maintain that the trick is not nearly up to standard - the two are not mutually exclusive.
Secondly, the idea of providing a presentation along with a trick in a DVD is that you provide the optimum presentation to present the trick. Clever presentation misdirects, it helps to create impact, it helps magicians achieve their purpose of astonishment. This is true of just about any good routine - if you read Jack Parker's routines, he does not provide a full script. What he does provide is the basic outline for a presentation, which intertwine with the sleights to cover them up. Considering that completely changing Oz's presentation is a must, that leaves a lot more work for most magicians who don't know enough about presentation to bring it to the required level of competency to get a good effect out of this trick. That leaves most magicians essentially needing to completely re-evaluate their goals and create a presentation from scratch that suits them. This is not a bad thing - but for a marketed effect, this amount of detachment is unacceptable in my view.
So I am not saying that you must use it, or that you have to use it exactly. I am merely saying that yes, I'm sure Paul Brookes was amazing, but evaluating the effect as an effect, I feel that it is inadequate, and that there are a LOT better things to spend your money on than this. And in comparison to any good book, this is truly rubbish. I get the same reactions with two or three of my Jack Parker routines - and I've only learned four out of fifty two so far!
Secondly, the idea of providing a presentation along with a trick in a DVD is that you provide the optimum presentation to present the trick. Clever presentation misdirects, it helps to create impact, it helps magicians achieve their purpose of astonishment. This is true of just about any good routine - if you read Jack Parker's routines, he does not provide a full script. What he does provide is the basic outline for a presentation, which intertwine with the sleights to cover them up. Considering that completely changing Oz's presentation is a must, that leaves a lot more work for most magicians who don't know enough about presentation to bring it to the required level of competency to get a good effect out of this trick. That leaves most magicians essentially needing to completely re-evaluate their goals and create a presentation from scratch that suits them. This is not a bad thing - but for a marketed effect, this amount of detachment is unacceptable in my view.
So I am not saying that you must use it, or that you have to use it exactly. I am merely saying that yes, I'm sure Paul Brookes was amazing, but evaluating the effect as an effect, I feel that it is inadequate, and that there are a LOT better things to spend your money on than this. And in comparison to any good book, this is truly rubbish. I get the same reactions with two or three of my Jack Parker routines - and I've only learned four out of fifty two so far!
