Date: Wed, 23 Jul 1997 11:13:44 -0400 (EDT) From: Larry Moss To: Balloon Twister List Subject: Video Review: Airnimations Airnimations - For Balloon Twisters That Already Know the Basics Written and presented by Bruce Kalver Produced by Top Hat Productions VHS, 80 minutes US$35 Contents: Bruce's setup for carrying his props, Red Tickle Doll, Character Frog, Street Runner, Character Coyote, Neptune Dog, Character Honey Bear, Character Large Bird, Lorna's Beauty Rose, Australian Demon, Character Mouse, Character Mousette As balloon videos go (those of you that have read my past reviews will notice that I usually prefer books), this is better than most that I've seen. The production quality is far superior to the typical basement video. You can see the picture and hear the voice without lots of background noise. You can hear the balloons, but not to the extent that they're masking the more important instruction. Most importantly, there was a script. Bruce was well aware of what he was going to say. In short, I could learn from this tape simply by sitting and watching it in a comfortable fashion. The focus of this video is on teaching just a few sculptures of well-known characters. There was a brief introduction where Bruce described his arrangement of balloons and pump so that they're easy to carry and work with, but that was only a minor part of the tape. From the name alone it's clear that Bruce intended this for "balloon twisters that already know the basics". He is serious about that. All it takes is a rudimentary knowledge of ballooning to follow him. He explains in detail the terms he uses throughout the tape just to make sure there's no misunderstanding about what he means, but not a lot of time is spent doing this. Someone that has just recently learned the basics will probably benefit from watching the whole tape at it's normal speed. Nothing on the tape is especially hard. An advanced balloon twister will probably get some new ideas out of it, but the twists themselves are nothing new and much of the tape will likely be viewed in fast forward. The figures themselves are very usable in a working situation. Everything can be made quickly out of a few balloons. Most of the figures are easily recognizable as the characters they're meant to imitate. They aren't the best or most detailed character balloons I've seen, but I give Bruce credit for his simplicity. If doing popular characters quickly is what you want, give this tape a shot. If exact replicas of your favorite Saturday morning characters are what you're after, you'll be disappointed. Before anyone gets upset with me, that's not a complaint about his figures. It's often hard to be both detailed and quick. His figures are all very similar, built on the same basic principles. This is why I think advanced twisters will watch it in fast forward. Once you see how he makes his tickle doll, you won't need to to see more than a photo of his frog to make that on your own. As for materials used, you won't need much more than 260s. In fact, only one figure on the tape, the honey bear, requires another type of balloon - round. Bruce makes rather extensive use of magic markers. Most of his figures do not look complete without them. I happen to be someone that prefers to make minimal use of markers. If you're like me you'll want to find ways around that after learning his creations. One of the nicest things I've found with this tape is an insert with a list of everything on the video and a blank line for you to enter timer or counter information from your own VCR. I've been suggesting to people making videos for a long time that they have a table of contents with times in the package somewhere. Some have done that. Others haven't. I think this solution is a great idea. No matter the type of counter and the brand of your player, you'll have a reference that you can use. Airnimations is available from Top Hat Productions PO Box 10421 Cranston, RI 02910 (401) 467-8749 FAX: (401) 781-6729 nostalgia1@aol.com Some sample photos of characters from the video are available at: http://members.aol.com/nostalgia1/balloon/index.htm -- Review written by Larry Moss (moss@fooledya.com). My review policy: I'll review any new balloon material sent to me with a request for a review. I make no promises about the speed in which the review will get written. I like to take some time to look at it carefully. I don't believe in bashing any new products in public. If I don't like a product, I'll tell you rather than post an entirely negative review. On the other hand, I'm not writing ad copy. I write what I think. I will give the creator of a new product an opportunity to read and respond to my comments privately before a review appears in public. If you're interested in a more detailed description of how I review things, ask me.