Exo.Rant-Review of "Extreme Burn" by Richard Sanders

[JKDragoon]

Heya!

Usually, I base most of my reviews on card magic. I know this isn't everyone's particular niche... But it's my field of work. I've come to notice that if you begin as a card worker, you stay on as a card worker. This is the same for coin workers... It's all about specialisation. Yes, every good magician should have knowledge about both fields, but, let's be practical... We tend to like one over the other.

Every so often, a trick involving money does catch my eye. Though I do carry cards with me all the time, people will eventually get tired of seeing card tricks. Spectators like variety... Thus, a splash of tricks involving money always seems to work! The last trick I was quite fond of was "Hundy 500" by Gregory Wilson. This involved a bill change which I thought was relatively 'clean' and easy to do. My only issue with that trick was the change... It was just... Not visual enough.
In a nutshell, "Extreme Burn" has solved that problem...

Exo.Rant-Review of "Extreme Burn" by Richard Sanders...

Firstly, I want to address and issue that has 'plagued' the bill-changing community with respect to a few recently published bill-changes. Many have commented about the similarities between "Prophet" by Tom Isaacson, and "Slow Burn" and "Extreme Burn" by Richard Sanders. The effects ideally accomplish the same thing, 5 low-valued bills are switched into 5 high-valued bills. There were many issues regarding the similar methods and who was snubbing who.
My final point... I don't care who's snubbing who... I'm interested in a trick that's been well thought out and is workable from my point of view. To whichever magician gives me that effect, I will give credit to. Original ideas are hard to come by these days, but I think Richard Sanders has achieved just that with his new release of "Extreme Burn".

Tudor-esque Explanation of "Extreme Burn"...
5 US$1 bills/Magazine leaflets are shown cleanly front and back. Execute smack/twist/drop/turnover change... Bills/Leaflets become US$100 bills (or whatever currency you wish). Again, display bills cleanly, front and back.

Diving in depth: "Extreme Burn" broken apart...
I think everyone has an understanding by now that ALL bill switchea of this 'visual' nature will require a gimmick. And yes, it's come to my attention that this 'gimmick' has become quite standard... Only handling has changed. For "Extreme Burn", an additional 'part' to the gimmick is provided with the puchase of the DVD. This extra bit is what makes "Extreme Burn" so much cleaner looking than the other effects. By 'clean', I'm referring to the bill change rather than the fact that the gimmick is now more complicated.
Richard Sanders takes time to go through construction of the gimmick at the beginning of the video. Once again, bills of the same size have to be used... For foreign currency, he suggests using magazine clippings or trimmed-down similar views. He has quite a nifty collection of gimmicks of different sizes and currencies, which he shows at the end. All, however, require the extra 'part', though I'm sure you could substitute other stuff for it.

Handling of Extreme Burn is taught in 7 'installments' with 2 bonus effects, one of which is "Slow Burn". Richard leave no stone unturned... He's given the best value for money in "Extreme Burn" (excuse the pun, considering the fact that you are gaining value with money...). Each of the 7 changes are equally visual and whichever one you choose to learn and perfect is entirely up to you and your natural handling. I haven't found one I didn't like, though I prefer either a quick change ("Smack Down") or a slow, melting one ("Slow Burn").

In comparison with "Prophet", I like "Extreme Burn" better because the change is so much fairer, esp. with the gimmick. However, it is this gimmick which is the down-side of the trick... Supporters of "Prophet" will be saying that Tom Isaacson's gimmick is simpler. To those of you who say that, I'm going to have to be quite frank... It isn't very original is it? So stop arguing about the gimmick... Focus on the handling.
Both Isaacson's and Sanders' version are good, but whichever one you end up performing depends on what you see and what you want to achieve. For me, I prefer Richard Sanders' version of the change, both "Extreme Burn" and "Slow Burn"... They just seem nicer to watch. I do need to comment though... "Prophet" is a nice one-handed version of the switch... So it's something to think about if spectators are getting suspicious.

*Special Tip*
What if I told you to do "Prophet" first... A fast, visual change.
Then, perform "Slow Burn"... With the idea being that you want the spectators to see the change in 'slow-mo'...
You end up with the final idea from "Prophet"... The change was merely an illusion (in case spectators ask you to do it with their money)!
(Apologies if someone has already thought of this, which I'm pretty sure has happened... To whoever, I give due credit if I knew who you were...)

Bare-Bones Bottom Line...
For the contents of "Extreme Burn", I'd say it's well worth the purchase, esp. if you're too lazy to buy the gimmick. Currently, I don't have the $$$ to get the DVD, but in future, I prb. will pamper myself if there is no other card effect I strongly want. Do also take note of the possibility of combining "Slow Burn" with "Prophet"... You might just amaze yourself.
On Exo, we're looking at 7 RapidShare links... This one's pretty recent too...
How this stands on your 'To-do' list depends on whether you're really into this kind of bill change and whether you'd like to add it to your repertoire. For "Prophet" owners, I recommend you see this version too and open up your possibilities, rather than blindly commenting on how much 'better' "Prophet" is...

Hope you liked the review!
Feel free to comment or 'spar'...
J

P.S. Not meaning to be so forthcoming, BUT... For those of you who think that my reviews are simply to add to my post count, I'd like to remind you that I actually take time to write these things and update them constantly with any new ideas I have about them. This is something I like doing and something that I take effort to do... So stop thinking as if I'm just writing a whole chunk of nonsense.
This is my way of giving back to the ExoMagic community as I usually don't have the time to obtain new material for the site. Even so, I always end up posting a little too late... Someone always has the effect up and going before I even get a chance to put it up. However, I'm not annoyed by this because this means that other community members can get it faster...
With respect to my reviews, you are likely to have different views of the effect, and if so... I encourage you to leave comments so that others can have an idea about them too!

[MoonlightKnight]

Very thorough review. Thanks friend.