129 - REAL WORLD WOW VOL 1 DVD BY TONY TWIST

Started by nippy99, November 16, 2014, 09:14:34 PM

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nippy99

Balloon Review 129 : Real World Wow Vol 1 DVD - Tony Twist

Available from http://www.yourpartyschool.com priced £25 including shipping.

A new artist to release a DVD is Tony Twist. I have met Tony a few times at Graham's Care & Share Days but I haven't seen him for quite some time. I spend many hours making balloons for pleasure and that rarely make it to my professional repertoire as they are too time consuming to make in the real world. Tony's first DVD release is all about Real World balloons so I am hoping that I learn several designs that can be used.

Having ordered the DVD from Tony, delivery was very fast. The DVD is professionally made, filmed in high quality video, good sound and with each design accessible via a chapter menu.

A few words about the video itself. Tony looks a little uncomfortable in front of a camera but this doesn't detract from his ability to teach each design. Bubble sizes are quoted in relation to Tony's hands - I am guessing he has larger hands than me so I needed to adapt my designs. I would prefer measurements to be given in inches or centimetres.

The background to this video is solid black which to me is a bad choice especially for one design which I will explain later. Luckily Tony wears a nice white shirt and so on the whole everything is visible. Tony is a good teacher, explains the designs well and is a competent teacher.

The DVD features Miss Ballooniverse - I found her more of a distraction to be honest and would have preferred to enjoy Tony's work on its own. He doesn't need a support act and another one of Tony's real world designs would have been a better choice for me.

Anyway, let's see what we have here...
Darren Atkins
MagicWorks Ltd


Twitter :
@magicworksltd

nippy99

#1
FORMULA 1 CAR

Many of the cars I have seen use tulip twists for tyres and so it was nice to see a variation using standard round balloons. This approach really speeds up the build process. The 350Q red balloons makes a large size car, chunky and sturdy. Quick to make and excellent for the 'real world'.

The only criticism here is with the front wheels. With such a large gap in the front section of the car the wheels do tend to move around and out of position. The wheels could be secured around the front of the car but these leaves them in the wrong position.

A good design and very usable.

[attachment=0:1soysfqb][/attachment]car.jpg[/attachment:1soysfqb]
Darren Atkins
MagicWorks Ltd


Twitter :
@magicworksltd

nippy99

#2
BATMOBILE

Having made the Formula 1 car, Tony explains an expansion of the original design to make a Batmobile. For my version I didn't have a black batman balloon so have used a blue one which clearly doesn't look as good. To make this design you will need to make the formula 1 car first all in black balloons (this part is not explained again). Add a spoiler at the back and you have a Batmobile!

My biggest problem here is teaching how to make an all black balloon against a black background. It makes it very hard to see the design.

The end result is nice but I prefer the red formula 1 version.

[attachment=0:vfcr727p][/attachment]batmobile.jpg[/attachment:vfcr727p]
Darren Atkins
MagicWorks Ltd


Twitter :
@magicworksltd

nippy99

#3
BUTTERFLY

A really good idea for a butterfly using a geo balloon twisted in the middle. You need to make sure the geo is soft enough and getting the centre of the balloon takes a little practice. Very quick to make and perfect for line work. Loads of combinations using different colours.

[attachment=0:2wk3dkg2][/attachment]butterfly.jpg[/attachment:2wk3dkg2]
Darren Atkins
MagicWorks Ltd


Twitter :
@magicworksltd

nippy99

#4
RIDE IN MONSTER

Tony's monster head is very simplistic but looks great made with giant sized 646Qs. The head itself is made of a single 646Q but I must say even stretching and softening the balloons the head is very 'tight'. I found it a struggle to insert the eyes and horns. This is fast to make and certainly has the 'wow' factor for line work.

Tony shows a variation using green balloons and a method of having multiple riders join together in the form of a 'conga' line.

The monster head can be mounted on a hat or as a 'wearable' design.

[attachment=0:1rn0zgmy][/attachment]566-monster.jpg[/attachment:1rn0zgmy]
Darren Atkins
MagicWorks Ltd


Twitter :
@magicworksltd

nippy99

#5
ANGRY BIRD

A nice use of a Q-link for the body of this angry bird. Very quick and easy to do. Perfect for line work and can be adapted with different colours to make the other characters. Not one I will personally use but this is a solid model.

[attachment=0:23vhid7r][/attachment]565-angrybird.jpg[/attachment:23vhid7r]
Darren Atkins
MagicWorks Ltd


Twitter :
@magicworksltd

nippy99

#6
JUMBO FISH

This is a variation of the ride-in monster - it uses the same head design and by adding a body, fins and a tail you get a jumbo fish. The same comments apply to this model. The head section is very 'tight' and even making the 646Q very soft and stretching the balloon it is still a struggle. I'm not sure this should be presented as a separate section and an additional model as it is simply a variation of a previous one.

[attachment=0:1sit9g59][/attachment]fish.jpg[/attachment:1sit9g59]
Darren Atkins
MagicWorks Ltd


Twitter :
@magicworksltd

nippy99

#7
PRINCESS

This section is presented by Miss Ballooniverse (Natalie) - the best part of this tutorial is explanation for drawing the face (before you ask I have drawn a much simpler less effective one) - so if you are not great at drawing this is helpful. The design itself isn't anything new that I haven't seen many times before.

[attachment=0:35btsdkp][/attachment]princess.jpg[/attachment:35btsdkp]
Darren Atkins
MagicWorks Ltd


Twitter :
@magicworksltd

nippy99

#8
ALIEN HAT

Based on the original Hitchhiker Hat design by Ken Stillman (no credit is given) this variation is of a alien which as it is made from 350Qs looks fairly impressive.

The balloon sizing for this design is appalling. As with many of these designs you have to guess how much to inflate each balloon and in some instances you have to freeze frame the DVD just see how much is left un-inflated. In the rare instances balloon sizes are given then usually they are compared against the size of Tony's hands (i'm guessing he has big hands!) - I really struggled to make this design using just two 350Qs and found myself adding an additional one.

Despite the high quality production standards of this DVD the basics are missing (black background, detailed bubbles sizes, how much to inflate each balloon) which will leave many frustrated.

[attachment=0:61e42ue1][/attachment]alien.jpg[/attachment:61e42ue1]
Darren Atkins
MagicWorks Ltd


Twitter :
@magicworksltd

nippy99

#9
COCKATOO

Whilst making this design I am reminded of Patrick Van De Ven's original and brilliant Cockatoo (found in Balloon Magic Magazine) - this design is on a smaller scale but incredibly similar which to me is disappointing. To be honest I find Patrick's original design better, easy to make and faster for line work. This Cockatoo doesn't have any feet.

[attachment=0:b29t2zlq][/attachment]cockatoo.jpg[/attachment:b29t2zlq]
Darren Atkins
MagicWorks Ltd


Twitter :
@magicworksltd

nippy99

#10
RED ARROW / FIGHTER JET

A quick and easy 'red arrow' made using 350Qs - the wings I have made are very badly out of shape. When you throw this one it does actually fly quite well!

[attachment=0:1j5g04km][/attachment]redarrow.jpg[/attachment:1j5g04km]
Darren Atkins
MagicWorks Ltd


Twitter :
@magicworksltd

nippy99

#11
QUICK PRINT HAT

This hat is presented as a way of closing lines or when you are under pressure to leave a gig but still have demanding guests. This hat is very quick and a great way to attach special print balloons or hearts but I really struggle to see this as anything but very basic and something I have seen many many times before. Great if this is new to you but many others will know it already.

The end of this chapter ends with a constant stream of hats shown as examples.

[attachment=0:15pbwv1s][/attachment]DSCF0648.jpg[/attachment:15pbwv1s]
Darren Atkins
MagicWorks Ltd


Twitter :
@magicworksltd

nippy99

#12
SUMMARY

Without doubt a lot of effort has been made into the presentation and video quality of this DVD. The video quality and sound is excellent, each design is split into chapters and there are lots of extra video 'fun' sections. However, in my opinion this really doesn't add anything to the learning experience.

The choice of a black background is poor and with the lack of zoomed in video shots it can be difficult to follow along. The bubble sizes is intermittent and rarely are you told how much to leave un-inflated for each balloon. This is very frustrating.

In terms of originality I am struggling to find anything of significant here and a few of the designs (i'm sure not deliberately) are simply very close re-workings of other peoples designs. Also (such as in the ride in monster/fish and formula 1 car/batmobile) they are just modifications of the base design.

The addition of Miss Ballooniverse is just a distraction in places and it would have been better to keep this DVD just for Tony's work.

Tony comes across as a fun and likeable chap, he is great to watch but I wish more thought was put into the overall learning experience and originality than trying to make the presentation top notch.

Overpriced at £25 - there is better learning material available for the same price.

p.s. I appreciate my comments may come over negative - I hope I have provided a balanced view - but of course if you agree/disagree you are welcome to share your thoughts.
Darren Atkins
MagicWorks Ltd


Twitter :
@magicworksltd