"iVanish" DVD by Ben Seidman
Suggested Retail USD$25.00
Available from your favorite dealer
In a Blink: 10 Out of 10

"iVanish", a DVD by Vegas underground sensation Ben Seidman, is a gorgeous vanish that is unbelievably clean and striking. It may be the best small-item vanish you never do.

Sounds like a contradiction, doesn't it? Usually, it would be but those statements describe "iVanish" completely.

First thing's first: the vanish.

I'll drop all pretense of professionalism here and say it point-blank: man, does this one look good!

The vanish is slow, with no hurried movement at all. It looks as open as you could reasonably ask for: only actually seeing the coin melt into the eye would be better than this. It can be done with pretty much any size coin or similar object (think "coin-like" objects for this one). It's also easy to do: in the basic version of this, and probably the one that will be done the most, there are no sleights in evidence except for the method behind "iVanish". Because of this, "iVanish" is smooth and clean and slick and floors spectators. To sum it all up, "iVanish" just looks incredible without a a bit of knuckle-breaking going on.

But it's the method that will make or break this one for consumers, no matter how great "iVanish" looks or the reactions it gets.

There's no way of going into details about the method, of course, without tipping things all over the place. And there's nothing specific about the method to point to and say "That's what makes this bad", like say with a silly clothing requirement (there isn't one) or a need to do this one for only one spectator (do it for a roomful or a table-full for that matter). No, the method is just one of those things we'll have to leave alone pretty much except to say that you're either going to like it and have no problems with it, in which case you end up learning a great vanish, or you're going to hate it and feel you've wasted your money.

That makes the buying decision about "iVanish" a tough one, as tough as it is to review. So rather than concentrate on that which we can't reasonably discuss, let's focus on the method as a more of a mechanical thing and less of a personal thing. Maybe that'll help.

"iVanish" isn't angle-proof, but it's very, very close. There's only a tiny window you need to worry about and it's dealt with easily. There are no gaffs or gimmicks -- doing this with borrowed items can be done with a little hygienic care (do you really want to go placing things in your eye when you don't know where they've been). There is no reset or set-up; repeating this is not a problem and, thanks to Seidman's inclusion of three different versions, each just a little bit different from the others, they can "cancel each other out" and leave the spectators clueless as to the method. As I said before, the method is quite easy, requiring no sleights to speak of in the majority of cases. In other workings, some sleights are used but they are basic (we're talking "classic palm", "finger palm", and "Finch grip" here, all three of which are taught extremely well by Seidman).

And that, really is what can be said about the method behind the magic. Now comes the tough part of this.

As much as I love the way "iVanish" looks, as much as I respect the power the thing packs in its presentation and method, I'll never do it. Oh, I learned it -- part of doing reviews is learning the stuff and taking it out for a walk to make sure your comments are going to hold water in a bucket of real-world experience -- but I don't like it. So it'll sit there on my shelf, I'm afraid, as one of those things that just isn't me.

Is it "you"? There's no way of saying without stating the method flat-out. Now don't get me wrong; the method is a good one, a great one, based on old ideas and brought solidly into the 21st century with perfect additions and handlings and psychology. But it's also one of those things that you'll either love or hate and that's all there is to it.

So should you buy "iVanish"? Do I recommend it? I do, even though I don't care it for personally. Look at it this way: if you don't buy it, you're missing out on a killer vanish you may love or you may hate, but you'll never know. As beautiful as "iVanish" is, and as cheap as it is, it's worth the risk of buying it and not liking it just because the pay-off could be your learning a powerful piece of magic you'll love doing. And powerful pieces of magic we actually like are too few and far between right now not to risk the shekels on Seidman's work.

Normally I don't recommend rolling the dice like that, but "iVanish" is worth the gamble.

"iVanish" DVD by Ben Seidman
In a Blink: 10 Out of 10

Material: 10
The various techniques are beautifully in their simplicity, easy to do (other sleights you may use, depending on which "iVanish" technique you go for, are also easy and basic), and startling. In short, they look great and that's an understatement.

Practicality: 10
Angles are the biggest problem with "iVanish", hence the different methods, each with different levels of angle protection (among other things). All in all, though, this is a very practical piece of work.

Quality of Production: 10
Bob Kohler produced this one. I think that says it all.

Quality of Instruction: 10
Seidman does a beautiful job of teaching this (something that is more of a task than you'll know unless you buy it) and covers all the bases. A big thumbs-up here.

Presentation: 10
It's a vanish you can use standalone to knock people for a loop or add to an existing routine to knock people for a loop. This is so visual, so unsuspected, that you'll get solid reactions from it pretty much without regard of what you do with it.


Shane

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