"Q!" Video by J.P.
Suggested Retail USD$34.99
Available from your favorite dealer
In a Blink: 8 Out of 10

"Q!", a video on CD by J.P., is a quick, clever, and charming high-tech version of "CardToon" that takes advantage of the technology quite well to produce an entertaining piece of magic.

"Q!" follows the line of Harlan's original straight enough, what with the little stick figure magi doing the work to find the spectator's chosen card. In "Q!", a chosen card is revealed courtesy of a stick figure that magically produces the wrong card, gets an idea (complete with appearing light bulb over the head), dips it into a "magic hat", and the wrong card changes to the correct one.

Hey, it's cute. Maybe not earth-shattering, maybe not a "religion-starter", maybe not Astonishing (with a capital-A). But it's a quick piece that's entertaining. That's often good enough.

It's also portable. If you've got a phone or a PDA that will store files in file folders, you're probably good to go with this one. Load it into the device and you're always ready for this one.

Before we go much further, let's look at the technology on this one. That's what, really, makes or breaks "Q!" for us.

First, as I said, you have to have a device that stores files in folders, that is, within a directory structure. This is a fifty-fifty proposition for me, meaning that with two phones in the house, one does that and one doesn't. My PDA does fine with it but needed a piece of third-party software to do it. So if you're not sure your device can handle file structures and folders, check your documentation. You won't be able to perform "Q!" without that ability.

Second, phones and PDAs all play video and display graphics differently. My PDA does just fine, but my phone resets the video immediately after play, going back to a menu as soon as the video is done. This translates into a very quick -- as in less than a second -- display of the chosen card in the stick figure's hands. This is not good; you want the final image to stay up for a bit to make sure the spectator sees it. I seriously doubt any documentation for devices is thorough enough to point this out, so play with yours first before going after "Q!".

Third, J.P. gets a huge thumbs up for being thorough. When it comes to file formats for the animation, he covered the issue quite well by including them in WMV, GIF, and 3GP. This widens the spectrum of devices that can be used with "Q!" considerably and is very much appreciated. Great thinking ahead there.

Fourth, the technology goes beyond the device and the animations: the documentation on this CD is supplied as a WMV video on a PC disc. That eliminates Macs from the equation, as near as I can tell. As I write this, there is no Mac version available.

Okay, so that's all you need to know about the tech. What about the trick?

It's very easy to do in its basic incarnation, though a bit hokey (having a card picked from a face-up deck is never that magical when you're going to reveal it later). However, other versions are given by J.P., all of which are still simple and more baffling. There is no forcing -- the tech provides that little feature -- so repeating this with different outcomes is quite simple. There are no resets to worry with, either. And if your device supports the function, you can send the animation to a spectator's phone as a souvenir (with your contact information in a message, perhaps). In other words, it's a good little trick.

If you're looking for something different, something offbeat, that may not be a powerhouse of magic but is cute and entertaining, and you have a device that can handle it, then "Q!" is definitely worth a look. It's good stuff.

"Q!" Video by J.P.
In a Blink: 8 Out of 10

Material: 10
It's an updated "CardToon", taking full advantage of ubiquitous technology to pull off a cute little effect that may not leave your spectators bowing low before you, but will entertain and charm them.

Practicality: 10
As long as you have a device that will play the mini-movie correctly, be it cell phone or PDA, you're good to go with this one. Be warned that not all devices will work well with "Q!", though -- much depends on how your device functions with the video files.

Quality of Production: 5
It's a bargain-basement production, saved on disc as WMV. This is not so bad a thing, though there are some sound issues here and there. All in all, you won't find much to detract from the material here or cause undo problems learning the effect.

Quality of Instruction: 10
J.P. does a very good job of teaching his material. There's really little to it, but going into extra workings and presentational ideas was quite welcome.

Presentation: 7
This isn't a jaw-dropping, knock 'em into the middle of next week, get them to start a religion kind of effect. It's a high-tech "CardToon", after all. It's cute. It's charming. It's a tad bit silly. That makes for some quick, quality entertainment and that's not too bad at all.


Shane

Available direct from your favorite dealer. Dealers, please contact Murphy's Magic Supplies, Inc. toll-free at 1-800-853-7403 or visit Murphy's Magic Supplies website.