400 Lux by Kyle Littleton - DVD

Customer Reviews:

Displaying 1 to 6 (of 7 reviews)

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Date Added: 05/26/2016

“Flash Cash,” or as it’s more popularly known, “Hundy 500,” is a wildly popular and powerful effect found in the repertoire of countless professional magicians. And why wouldn’t it be? After all, what audience wouldn’t be impressed seeing someone instantly change five one dollar bills into five one hundred dollar bills? The popularity of the effect has lead to the creation of a number of approaches, each of which has used the same basic method, but attacked the handling from a different angle. That is, until now. Instead of changing the handling, Kyle Littleton got rid of the gimmick. His approach, “400 Lux,” is a way of performing “Flash Cash” with ungimmicked bills. His various handlings allow the performer to mimic not only the original version, but they can be used to emulate many of the most popular versions to date.

The method and handling explained on the DVD are quite clever and convincing. While the method is what one would guess (“He’s switching the bills and hiding the switched out ones”), the handling makes it appear impossible for the bills to be hidden. The visible bills are cleanly and fairly shown on both sides multiple times, so the idea of hidden bills seems to be impossible. Interestingly, this is the same principle at play with “Flash Cash,” except with the original method the bills remain hidden inside the gimmick as opposed to being hidden by a clever handling of the bills.

The instruction on the DVD is clear and well thought out. The camera work is simple and done entirely in studio. No live performances are shown, but anyone who has been into magic for any amount of time knows the effect plays extremely well. Several handlings are taught, all of which use the same opening and ending displays to cleanly show just ones at the beginning and just hundreds at the end. The changes taught include an instant change of the bills while fully opened, one where it occurs as the folded packet of ones is rotated around, and a slow change that occurs as the hand slowly waves over the opened bills. He teaches an additional option using an extra bill, which uses camouflage somewhat like the original gimmick, and looks like the change seen in Karl Hein’s “Heiny 500.” He also teaches a very organic way to transport the set up, which also allows for a well-motivated cover to ditch the extra bills at the end of the effect.

The strange thing about this DVD is that at no point does Mr. Littleton actually demonstrate the effect, start to finish. He jumps right into the assembly of the gimmick and then explains the method. To be clear, the instruction is thorough and complete, and it will be easy for the viewer to learn the effect from the DVD. However, one of the primary advantages of video as a medium for learning is to see what an effect looks like in performance, at speed, with no pauses. While it’s clear what the effect should look like, it’s a glaring error that the producers didn’t include at least one full performance, as well as performances of the various changes as they should appear.

The question to ask isn’t if a gimmickless handling is better than the traditional method. The question is, is it better for the individual performer? The advantage of “400 Lux” is that all the bills can be examined and no part of any of the visible bills need be hidden. But it does require holding out, which can be difficult to do casually, without guilt and without arousing suspicion. If you’re comfortable holding out, then “400 Lux” offers a way to emulate most, if not all, of the popular changes, while allowing for a squeaky clean display and to have all the bills examined at the end. Recommended.

Rating: [5 of 5 Stars]

Date Added: 02/04/2016

Finally: an almost impromptu and beautiful, very easy-to-master bill change that can be done "on the fly". Great thinking and top notch teaching! No more mess, no more glue, no more fuzz. This is IT!

The reason I gave it 4 stars is because it is slightly harder to perform with bills that don't have exactly the same size (this is a known problem that applies in many countries, also in mine) - but overall I have to say: Well done, Kyle!

Rating: [4 of 5 Stars]

Date Added: 03/24/2016

I am a huge fan of changing bills. I ha e purchased them all. 400 lux is a winner. Its practical, moderate level slights, can be set up on the fly if needed, and can be handed out after the switch. Buy this and use this.

Rating: [5 of 5 Stars]

Date Added: 02/01/2016

The beauty of this release is it works just as well as other gimmicked versions, the sleights are super easy, and Kyle has figured out the best way of doing the effect without any gimmicks. Every single bill can be handed out for examination, he teaches how to end clean. What more can you ask for? This is a winner.

Rating: [5 of 5 Stars]

Date Added: 01/31/2016

I love the bill packet switches. I have Hundy 500, Handout 500, Extreme Burn and EB 2.0. I currently carry EB 2.0 in my wallet. I've constructed so many gimmicks I should have bought stock in Elmer's. So, when I saw this effect... And how it looked so similar to what I was already performing... Without a gimmick... I had to check it out.

What you see on the trailer is what you get! Totally gimmickless change of bills. Kyle also includes a variety of changes to include his gimmickless version of Hundy 500, Heiny 500 and the slow burn change from EB 2.0. He has obviously put some thought into this. This will take a little practice for the handling (probably on par for the practice required to to perform the other gimmicked methods). Nothing knuckle busting or difficult. Kyle has also provided a practical method for handing out the bills.

One thing to note. Although the effect is gimmickless, it is not completely impromptu as it does require a teeny, tiny bit of preparation (you don't need anything but the bills for this prep and will take you less than a minute).

All said, I'm very satisfied with this purchase and will be performing from now on.

Rating: [5 of 5 Stars]

Date Added: 04/02/2016

THIS IS A HUGE ADVANCE IN BILL CHANGES. Even Jeff Stone gave this a modified Gem status, while complaining about minor things. But these minor things do not amount to anything in a TRULY GROUND BREAKING, CLEAN BILL CHANGE, WITHOUT ALL THE DISADVANTAGES OF THE OTHER VERSIONS. YES I HAVE PLAYED WITH THEM ALL, BUT THIS IS IT. I admit the teaching could be clearer, but you can figure it out by just going over it a couple of times. What Jeff Stone said in his review is that you CAN DO CLEAN DISPLAYS WITH ALL THE BILLS BEFORE AND AFTER YOU CHANGE THEM. What other popular versions can you do this with?
YOU CANNOT DO THIS WITH Extreme Burn. I had EB, but never wanted to Rubber Glue all this money together and have it slowly fall apart. This version is about as hard as EB, just it requires a little more practice, but not much. Again, this is the version you dream about doing--the clean displays with every bill, before they change and after, a clean ditch if you want to, or else a version so clean that you do not need to ditch. Again, do not listen to the negative reviews. This is the BOMB. All the preceding versions culminated in this--clean like EB, no gluing of money, easy to carry, UNBELIEVABLE DISPLAYS OF ALL BILLS, BEFORE THEY CHANGE AND AFTER. If you are not convinced, leave this to a few of us to have the Best Multiple Bill change overall.

Rating: [5 of 5 Stars]

Displaying 1 to 6 (of 7 reviews)

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• • Q. Will I need 4 100 dollar bills to perform '400 Lux'? I don't have much $; so can this be done with 10 or 20 dollar bills?
• • A. You can perform it with any two bills as long as they are the same size. So you can choose to turn $1.00 bills into $5.00 bills if you want. It's just way more impressive if you can afford to use larger bills, because after all, isn't that would a real magician do (turn money into the largest amount possible)? But it's not necessary if you're on a budget.