The Rice Papers - Homer Liwag

[AsherF]

I recently won the dvd in a Saturday Night Contest, so I thought I would post my review of it. I think the beauty of this dvd is that each of the three effects is really left for interpretation. There is so much room for originality, that there is not reason in the world why you should copy.

Body Contact. Produce a giant contact at your fingertips, later produce a pair of glasses. I didn't care too much for the effect itself. But that doesn't mean there wasn't anything for me to take from it and learn. I did learn some new techniques which I definitely see myself using. And a subtlety that is brilliant. Even after he talked about it, then went in to using it, I was still fooled. But anyway, the effect itself seemed somewhat pointless. but still a lot learned.

Fogged. A card from a deck is selected. The performer fogs up the card with his breath. Slowly and visually, the card is rubbed and portions of the card reveal. Absolutely beautiful effect. I definitely see myself experimenting with the ideas. Presentations can vary from comical to serious. Can't say enough about this. No, you don't need to buy blank cards. That's as much as I'll give away, but I have heard people asking about this. There is some set up of course. But, well worth it in the end.

Marksmanship. A pen is extracted from it's cap. Then jammed back inside. Then transforms into a completely different object, like a phone. I learned a lot from this effect. Again, another effect with many directions you can go with it.

As with all the effects, you can take what you learn in each of them and build your own original routine. So, even if you aren't attracted to the effects themselves, don't throw out the dvd right away. Dissect it. All together, it's a beautiful dvd. The menu is wonderful. And it's beautifully shot. So, gets my recommendation.

 

[romeo sierra]

I actually just watched the download version of the video for the first time, and I wanted to share my initial thoughts.

First and foremost, I found Homer Liwag to be a very personable character. Having my exposure to his work limited to his few (non-speaking) commercial releases and some underground videos on YouTube, I never had the pleasure of seeing his personality shine on camera. He was surprisingly very humorous and engaging throughout the video. He has the type of persona that makes viewers feel really comfortable learning the material from him directly as if he were mentoring them personally, one-on-one. I believe that's a quality worth mentioning in a review. His style of instruction is very casual, thorough, and succinct. It is very easy learning from Homer.

Secondly, the magic in this video is refreshingly unique and original. Deeper than that, however-- not only is the material straight-up eye candy, it focuses on choreography and economy of motion. These days, a lot of magic releases condone visual noise, poor presentation, and impractical gaffs and gimmicks. In The Rice Papers, Homer details some raw sleight-of-hand, and demonstrates how to use body language, positioning, and motivation to render moves and concepts absolutely invisible in performance. The magic looks and feels so natural because Homer puts a major focus on choreographing his movement to hide sleight-of-hand. The presentation is playful banter and the magic is solid. In essence, Homer demonstrates what traditional manipulation and sleight-of-hand is supposed to look like. It was awesome to see...

AsherF accurately described the individual effects and their practicality. The overall routines in this video are so creative and offbeat, I think they will get a lot of juices flowing and inspire others to think more about the magic they do. When you see a unique magician do what he does best, you can't help but be inspired by it and allow yourself to open up and adopt new ideas and concepts you normally wouldn't. Homer Liwag's magic definitely has the potential to do that, because he offers so much more material and hidden gems within the routines he offers. The routines, as AsherF said, are very versatile and can be modified in various ways to fit any performer's repertoire.

Granted, I've only watched the video a single time, but I look forward to repeat viewings. I really plan to study this material and use it in my work. I'm looking forward to playing with it and seeing where it fits in what I perform regularly.

RS.