Title: WindowPain
Artist: Blake Vogt
Producers: Paper Crane Magic
Link: The link on the website does not go to product. It links to another product called “wave” also by Vogt.
Retail Price: $9.95 USD
Learning Difficulty: Easy
Length of DVD: 17:52 min
Notes: This is a Torn and Restored effect.
Includes:
• Instructional Download
• Introduction to WindowPain
• Performance
• Tutorial
• Gimmick Variation
WindowPain is a visual torn and restored card plot where the card slowly and visually restores itself piece by piece within the frame of a “window” drawn on the cards by the magician.
My initial reaction to this video was dear god magic has gone hipster! Blake, one of Copperfield’s creative team, has created a visual torn and restored plot with the weakest excuse for patter I’ve ever seen. In WindowPain Blake talks about the subject of Voodoo, but forget about the creepy dolls, animal’s blood, or chickens feet this effect fumbles around the plot line like a deaf kid fumbles around playing on a recorder. Obviously Copperfield is paying Blake for his technical ideas, and not his story telling skills.
Blake’s horrible excuse for patter and awkward performance style aside, this effect is pretty neat to perform! The basic idea has the spectator selecting a card, and signing their name across the top of it. The card is then folded then ripped into fours leaving the spectator to hold onto a corner. The magician draws a “window” on the deck. The window really is more of a pair of lines bisecting the card in the middle both horizontally and vertically. The magician instructs the spectator to look into the window, and with just a few shakes one corner of the torn card appears in the window. The process is repeated three times until the card is restored with the exception of the one corner the spectator holds in their hands.
Learning to perform WindowPain is pretty easy. Blake spends the majority of the video time walking you through the handling, and how to perform the sleights necessary to do the trick. There is a gimmick involved, but they are fairly easy to find considering most custom decks of cards come with one as an “extra”. Preparation of the effect should only take you a few minutes. Blake also teaches you how to make the gimmick in case you don’t already have access to one.
The effect is fairly practical and would be great for any kind of close up, or walk around situation. I highly recommend developing your own patter and need to justify drawing the window on the cards though. Overall I see a lot of potential for this effect. It’s certainly something I’d use up close. The TNR is visual, which is always a plus. There is no doubt in the fertileness of Blakes creative mind, I just wish he would have spent as much time developing a decent patter as he did developing a decent trick.
When I give my product scores below I am measuring them on a scale of 1 to 10. 1 Being absolute the worst score possible, and 10 being the absolute best, making a score of five average. The four points that I grade upon is Product Quality, Teaching Quality, Sound & Video Quality and Overall Quality.
Product Quality: 6
I believe in the effect, but I hated the presentation. Both are reasons why the score is six, and not higher or lower.
Teaching Quality: 7
Blake’s tutorial is complete. He also teaches an alternative way to create the gimmick if you don’t already have what’s needed.
Video & Sound Quality: 8
Nothing is wrong with either the video or the audio quality of the effect.
Overall Quality: 7
I liked the trick, but not the patter. For someone so young to be working for David Copperfield I just expect more from him.
