Fire In The Hole By Huron Low REVIEW
:O Excitement to the max! At about 4:20pm, my mum came in my room with a package for me! I rip it open and inside was my TnR Project DVD from Huron Low. I pop it open an inside fell out "0630".
The first DVD I pop in is FiTH. Menu loads up. Heres what you can select (-> what comes up after you click on it
*Introduction --> Intro, Advice On Learning, What is Fire In The Hole
*Performances -->Fire In The Hole, No Fire Restoration-> No Fire V1 and 2, No Cover Restoration
*Explanations --> Gaffs, Front View Explanation, Back View Explanation. (Note, there are 4 gaffs altogether, Time bombs, Basic Gaff, Advance Gaff 1, and Advance Gaff 2)
*Ideas and After thoughts
*Extras -> Trailers, Credits, Thank yous
:O excitement, but I came across my first bad point, there is no "Play All Button" So after every scene you have to keep starting and stopping. Another thing as well (this is my last bad point, I think) There are no street performances of this, except the bit we see in the trailer.
Ok, Now I have watched the DVD I can now go into a little more detail.
What you will need to perform Fire In The Hole
A Deck of cards, A Pen, A craft/pen knife, Tape, Glue Optional: Flash Paper, Cutting Board.
Basic Gimmick
The construction of this gimmick is extremely easy, I dont think there is anyone on the planet who cant make this. Huron doesn't go into to much detail because, well its that easy to make. Not much more I can say about it until the method of Basic FiTH. (For this one, only one spectator can sign the card on the back, and then you sign the other signature)
UPDATE: I made my first basic Gimmick today, it was easy to do, no troubles, I just need to practice doing the RSM move with this gimmick.
Advance Gimmick #1
This gimmick is slightly different from the Basic Gimmick, but again very easy to make, the reason it is different is so the effect is more convincing. The only downside to this gimmick is that it might not last as long as the basic one. But it can still be put through a few performances (It all depends on how well you look after it really, like I guess the Distortion Gimmick)(For this one, only one spectator can sign the card on the back, and then you sign the other signature)
Advance Gimmick #2
This gimmick is (accordingly) the magician fooler one, it is pretty much exactly the same as the AG#1 but it has 3 small differences. Again, very easy to make, have I already said that? (This is the gimmick which allows 2 spectators to sign the card, and they choose which signature to cut out.)
Handling/Method
Ok, for the handling/method, on the DVD there are two ways to watch it, from the front, or from Huron's Point Of View. Each view basically goes over the same thing, but there are some things that are only said in one of the view (like small tips) and also things that you might not have been able to see. As Huron says in "Advice on Learning" it is wise to watch both views.(Of course, the 3 different non-fire methods are included as well as the 3 fire methods, so there are 6 methods of FiTH )
Basic Handling
The basic handling goes over the set up, going into the routine and how to do the move (Reverse Spider man). This section of how to do FiTH is the most detailed so you might be watching this a few times, even if your doing the other 2 fire methods. Yeah, basically this goes over everything to perform this effect.There are no major sleights accept for the RSM move. At the moment I cant really do it well, but I think its cause I'm using really old cards, so I need to whip out a fresh pack.
UPDATE: I spoke to a friend who also go this today and told me how he does the move, and now I can do quite easily, if any one need any help PM me.
Advance Handling #1
"This handling is more of a subtlety with a really nice convincer, rather than a change in handling". This handling is very, very nice. For this one, you actually get to see the piece being pulled out from the card. Basically, the method is exactly the same as the basic method, but with the extra bit of holding up the card and taking the piece. This handling also uses the RSM move.
Advance Handling #2
"This is the thing that fools everybody, fools all the magicians" This is the hardest handling, but it allows you to let 2 spectators sign the card and let them choose which signature they can cut out. The beginning of the trick is the same, until it gets to the signing part. Its pretty easy until just after you ask which signature they want to cut out. There is a certain move that you have to do so that they can check that the cut out piece is their's. The move can be broken down into to parts, the first is really easy and doesn't take much effort, the next part will require a small bit of mis-direction. The move isn't obvious as it is hidden under the misdirection, I highly doubt you will get caught doing the move. (Its really hard to describe this move without exposure, but before doing this method, you will need to try something out on your friends/family first).
Lets move on. Once you do this move, after that it is exactly the same as the other advance method. Not much to it besides that move up there.
Cleaning Up
As you know this effect needs a gimmick and yes you will need to clean up. The clean up is done in 3 simple moves. The Fold. The Brush. And The Ditch. (Huron doesn't call it that, but I do) Their not hard moves to do, although it will require some work, lie checking in the mirror, video camera, or how ever you check a sleight when you practice it. Anyone who owns a card gimmick will probably not have much trouble with this as Ive seen this clean up/moves in some other routines.
No Fire Methods
No Fire Method #1 (With Cover)
This is extremely easy to do, this is the easiest handling of FiTH. The only thing you will really need to practice is the clean up.(see above). So basically its the same start as what ever method you choose to use, until it gets to the fire bit, then you do the one extremely easy move, then you do the clean up and thats it.
No Fire Method #2 (Less cover than #1)
If you can do the RSM (Reverse Spider man) then your pretty much sweet for this routine, again, same start up and same clean up.
No Fire, No Cover Method
This is what you see right at the end of the FiTH Trailer. This method uses the Advance Gimmick #2 , but there is an extremely small change to how the gimmick is made. Extremely easy is you have the stuff I said to get. So basically, go into the same start up as Advance Handling #2. So you show the piece with the spectators signature, and then very slowly fuse it to the card. How is this done? It uses the same move in the No Fire Method #1, easy. Then the clean up is slightly different from all the others, and Huron reckons its slightly harder. The change is in the Fold Move (See Clean Up), its not a big change, and you should be able to cope. After that, do the clean up as normal.
Ok, so that pretty much it from me for this review, I will keep updating the FAQs and tell you how I'm going with my practice. I cant really give it an overall rating yet because I haven't performed it yet, but if your looking for a TnR, this is the way to go. Why? Because its so much more visual and different from all the other TnRs, it steps over that creation line. All the TnR out there look the same, but just rely on different methods.
Stay tuned for my FOUR review and 0630, plus updates on FiTH
Cheers. Tom
