"Covert Magic" DVD by Iain Moran
Suggested Retail USD$35.00
Available from your favorite dealer
In a Blink: 9 Out of 10

"Covert Magic", a DVD by Iain Moran, is packed with commercial, mind-blowing magic that really has to be seen to be believed and that's about as profound a compliment as you can give a magic video.

That's not hype, either. Moran's material here is purely wonderful stuff. It's hard to find much fault with anyone of the ten jewels Moran teaches here.

Moran leads off with "Snap, Crackle, and Pop", his version of "I dream of Aces". In this one, the four Kings are placed, one at a time and face-up, between two face-down cards and placed on the table in four packets to form a square. One at a time, the Kings appear visually -- visually, mind you -- in the middle of the square. This one blew me away, even as I saw what was going on. That's what you call "good stuff".

"Covert Card" is next and it's impressive as well. A random card is dropped face down on the table and left in full view. A card is selected and signed. The selection is placed in a packet of four Queens and, as quick as that, it's gone. The card on the table is turned over, revealing it to be the signed card. Quick, easy, and powerful.

"Birds of a Triumph" was one of those things I just knew was going to be disappointing -- after all, haven't we seen enough Triumph effects? -- and was pleasantly surprised (that's a nice, face-saving way of saying Moran got me with this one). This one starts with the typical "Triumph" plot but the cleanliness and the instantaneous righting of the deck makes this one special. Then the kicker hits: the selected card is placed face down between two noted cards, the deck squared and spread and that quick there are four face down cards between the two cards: the chosen card and the three mates to it. This one is just plain pretty to watch.

"Kick to the Head" is one of my favorites. In this one, two cards are selected and lost in the deck, only to be found by two Aces. Okay, so that's pretty pedestrian -- no, that's really pedestrian. The deck is put aside, the two cards given to the spectators and the performer retains the two Aces. One blink later and the spectators turn over their selections to reveal the Aces and the performer is holding the chosen cards. This is one you really have to see to appreciate.

"Altered Aces" was the first one I learned from the video because I love the "Jazz Aces" routine. Moran's handling is solid, but the kicker here is what gets the job done: the Aces change to Jokers in an instant. This one quickly because another of my favorites.

"Triumphant" is another "Triumph" variant, as is evident from the title. Now, normally I'd complain about two variants of the same theme on a disc, but Moran does a dastardly deed with this one, ending with the deck changing color. The straightforward appearance of this one, coupled with some great visuals, make this one worth a serious look.

"Selection Erection" -- originally entitled "Surprising Arising" if one is to believe this collection of lovable goofballs, namely David Forrest, Owen Packard, and Moran himself -- has rapidly become my favorite rising card handling. It's a "rise" from a tabled spread, but Moran's handling and clean-up make this one a keeper. Oh, and the gimmick will last a lot, lot longer than the expensive loops of you-know-what.

"Card Highway" killed me .Essentially, it's a card-to-pocket plot, done with four signed cards, but that's an understatement. It begins with eight cards -- the four Aces and the four Kings -- and the Aces are signed while the Kings are placed in four different pockets. The four Aces are counted and, one at a time, change to Kings. The Aces are then pulled out of the pockets, one at a time. This takes a lot of work -- the structure is the hardest thing to get down -- but it's a mindblowing bit of magic.

Right when I was bored to tears with sandwich effects, Moran hits me with "Sandwich III", the next offering on the disc. This is a three-phase sandwich effect with the two Jokers repeatedly finding a signed card. Right when I was reaching for the remote, the signed card cleanly vanishes from the Jokers to arrive face down in the face up deck. I still reached for the remote but that was to rewind so I could watch this baby again. This is very, very slick.

"Coin-ageddon" is the last effect on the disc, and it's a good one. Moran drops the deck in favor of three coins and we all know what that means: "Three-Fly". Moran's routine is clever enough and pretty enough, and the vanish of the coins under a handkerchief makes for a theatrical presentation and a nice end to things. It's going to be costly to get together, but it's a good routine nonetheless.

Okay, so that's the low-down on the material, but to sum things up it's all professional, all as practical as you can ask for, and defines the word "commercial". It's almost guaranteed you'll find at least one piece on this disc that will make it worth its weight in gold for you.

But Moran doesn't do things halfway. In addition to what you expect of a video -- you know, the round shiny thing and the plastic box to keep it in -- Moran has also included the gaffed cards you'll need to pull of some of the material. Considering some of the combinations of gaffs needed, this is a most welcome thing and Moran gets my respect for doing it.

There are more gaffs used than just these, though, so be prepared to make up some of your own (or pick them up from a shop; they're all common enough). For a couple of the effects, you'll need to make a side-trip to a fabric shop to pick up a certain something and in one case you're going to shell out some big bucks to get a that special extra thing. Still, none of it is impossible to get or difficult to make; I mention it only for the sake of completeness.

You know, with all this talk of gimmicks and gaffs, it's easy to get the impression they do all the work, or at least a good part of it. Nothing could be farther from the truth. I happen to be of the school of thought that the best card magic is produced by the careful mixture of sleights and gaffs. It's a school Moran must have attended because his material employs, if not difficult sleights, certainly sleights more advanced than an Elmsley Count and an under-cut. Cops, palms, culls... we're in interesting territory with Moran's material, but he certainly proves the old adage about gaff and sleights in spades. Be prepared to work on these babies, but also be prepared for some spectacular reactions as a reward.

And I have to say, I'm impressed with how Moran (with second bananas Owen Packard and David Forrest -- I use that term in only the most affectionate of ways) cover the material. Nothing but nothing is left unexplained. It's almost as if Moran thought that if there was one person that didn't know how to perform a move, he became determined to teach it. The result is as thorough a job of teaching as you'll get anywhere and yet without bogging things down for the more advanced worker. The addition of Messrs. Packard and Forrest to the mix, sometimes as foils but mostly as teaching assistants, keep things entertaining but also do their job: helping Moran wring as much instruction as possible out of things. All in all, that tripartite team is something to watch.

If it sounds like I'm really high on "Covert Magic", it's because I am. This is a grand collection of magic that shows some delightfully clear and wonderful thinking. If you've read me rambling before, you know that if I find one piece on a disc or in a book that I will use, no price is too high. With "Covert Magic", the problem much too rare nowadays: which pieces do you not add to your repertoire. And that's a problem I love dealing with.

"Covert Magic" is a definite keeper.

"Covert Magic" by Iain Moran
In a Blink: 9 Out of 10

Material: 10
This is a positively stellar collection of magic. Most of it is cards (there's a single coin trick taught here) and some of them gimmicked (Moran includes the necessary gimmicked cards with the video), but the power Moran wrings out of these things is simply gorgeous.

Practicality: 9
Moran's a worker so his magic has to be as well. Here, resets are usually quick and easy, angles are scarcely an issue, and the gimmicks quite manageable. All in all, these are very practical pieces.

Quality of Production: 10
Everything here is perfect. Great sound, great camera work, excellent mic work, great direction... big thumbs up for the attention to detail on this one.

Quality of Instruction: 10
Moran does as thorough a job of teaching his material as you could ask for, covering the slightest nuances and the necessary sleights as well as the meat of the work. Moran gets a gold star.

Presentation: 10
The presentations are usually as narrative as you can get -- Moran's style is decidedly low-key and gentle -- leaving the visuals and the themes to carry the weight and, brother, do they ever.

Shane

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