London Collection and Devel's Picture book.

There are many genuiuses when it comes to card magic. Eugine Burger bounds to mind and Daryl is a walking compendium of the sum of card magic. However, when it comes to perfoming with style I think Guy Hollyworth and Derren Brown leave all others standing in the dust. Derren Browns 'The Devil's Picture Book' was made just after he began appearing as a psychological illusionist on our televisions. He explains in the video how he has moved on to pure psychological effects now but still enjoys card magic. His skill is breath taking, but his presentation is something to be truly admired. The way he takes a very old classic trick 'Out of this World' and adds his own elements of mis direction really shows us the benefit of working on a effect over and over again adding and subtracting until it feels right. As with other instructional video files it follows the classic 'Show a trick explain a trick' format. The explanations often punctured with conversations with a fellow magician where they occasional talk of their own philosophy of magic.
Guy Hollingworth's 'The London Collection' follows a different format. It follows Guy through the streets of London at night where he performs tricks for the camera (no spectators insight). For 30 minutes the viewer is treated to delightful magic with a charming presentation against a the wonderful backdrop of London at night with a quite subtle piano playing in the background. When the camera follows Guy into his home he explains each trick in great detail. The benifit of this different format of all the tricks displayed first means that if You just want to relax whilst watching the definition of perfect card magic you don't have to watch the explanations on fast forward whilst feeling guilty for not wanting to learn everything at once.

So why have I mentioned these now. Both videos have been in my collection for a long time. I bought 'The Devils Picture book' long before I bought Mark Wilson's Course (putting the horse before the carriage maybe). It's to do with inspiration. Both videos can really stir a sense of inspiration in us, however they both can show how far we have to go as well. I highly recommend watching them, but do so knowing you are watching two masters at the top of their profession.