DON CALDWELL

DVD INDEX

MAD HATZ &
WILD WEARABLES Vol.1

MAD HATZ &
WILD WEARABLES Vol.2

LUNGS OF STEEL

BLOW HARD

LIVIN' LA VIDA LATEX

TIE BLOW WORKOUT

THINGS THAT GO
POP IN THE NIGHT

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MAD HATS & WILD WEARABLES Vol. 2

#4761 - pub. 2006 @ 3 Hour 15 minutes

 There's so much on this DVD, it's staggering. It's advanced twisting and moves right along.

 The thing that makes Don great is his ability to add value, to everything, from all directions. You can see his growth as a performer and as an observer on this DVD. You also get to see a fair amount of his wardrobe. He's such a clothes horse. Everything is performance. He's outrageous, and in charge. The audience trusts him because he clearly knows what he is doing and where he is going, proven by the way he relates to and guides the audience, and by the figures he makes, the colors he chooses, and the care he takes drawing details.

 There are at least 21 figures and some of Don's thoughts on performance. These are things Don uses and he let's you know why. The figures are very valuable and impressive. The DVD is absolutely worth it for them. You should have the Volume 1 of MAD HATS & WILD WEARABLES already because it is just grand and Don refers back to it without showing how to make the previously explained figure, specifically the Monkey on the first volume.

 His explanation and demonstration of how he approaches a birthday party or an adult crowd shows how he does what he wants, not what the crowd expects. His approach leaves the performer in charge of the performance. While this approach requires a strong performer, it defines what is happening as a performance, not just a demonstration of balloon skill. It justifies a performer's compensation.

 As you can tell, I highly recommend this and all of Don's DVDs.

 Includes: Lady Bug Hat (2-260, 350, SmRnd), Butterfly Princess (4-260), Flower Princess (3-260), Wand (260, 160, SmSmileyRnd), Princess Crown 2 (2-260, SmHrt), Princess Crown 2.5 (4-260), Bunny Hat (4-260, SmSmileyRnd), Kitty Hat (4-260, SmHrt), Mermaid (3-350, 3-260), Turtle Hat (6-350, 5-260), Monkey In A Tree Hat (15-260), Hula Monkey (5-260), Eye Ball Hat (2-260, SmEyeballRnd, SmClRnd), EyeScream Hat (2-350, 10-260, 10 SmEyeballRnd, LgEyeballRnd), Thoughts on Artistic Expression (Don's pushy artist character), Ninja Turtle Costume (8-350, 260 + Variety of Weapons), Alligator Mask (4-350, 3-260), Dragon Mask (4-350, 5-260, 160), Zebra Mask (4-350, 5-260), Hippo Hat (646, 5-350, 2-260), Elephant Hat (3-646, 4-350, 3-260, 3-160), and Shark Hat (9-646, 5-350, 2-260)

Here's a pretty close list of the balloons he uses:

646Q - 9 - Light Blue, 3- Mocha Brown, 1- Pink

350Q - 3 - Light Blue, 7-White, 1-Black, 4-Mocha, 4-Pink, 5-StdRed, 14-Lime Green, 8-Blush, Various - By how the person is dressed

260Q - 7-Black, 6-Yellow, 2-Tropical Teal, 1-Gold, 3-Ivory Silk, 20-Lime Green, 5-Pink, 5-Rose, 3-Gold, 2-Violet, 6-White, 2-Spring Lilac, 3-Orange, 2-Wintergreen, 2-Tropical Teal, 3-Clear, 10-Goldenrod, 1-Blush, 2-Red, 2-Light Blue, 2- Mocha Brown, Various - By how the person is dressed

160Q - 3-Black, 1 - White, 1-Lime Green, Various - By how the person is dressed

SmRoundQ - 11-Eyeball, 1-Clear, 2-Smiley Face Yellow

LgRoundQ - 1-Eyeball Side Print

SmHeart - 1-Ivory Silk, 1-White

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LUNGS OF STEEL

#4763 - remastered '06

 Don's 2nd tape is fancier stuff. Things that take more time than he would be willing to do for a line. He uses 260's, 5" and 9" Rounds, Geo's 350's, and 160's. He's done some things I've never seen before. The Ant is quite amazing and the Bird and Baby Duck using rounds are very cute. Don's offering some good stuff. I highly recommend these tapes.

 Includes: Bird, Baby Duck,Opossum, Ballerina, Blow Fish, Juggler, Big Dog, Geo Ant, Rat, Bat, Bottlenose Dolphin, Shark, Road Runner.

Lungs of Steel Balloon Workout DVD has 2 bonus items, both quite cool, silly weapons.  The Eyeballzooka uses a Black 646, a 5 inch Clear and a 5 inch Round Eyeball Imprint, 2 Lime Green 350s, and a Goldenrod 260.  The Monkeytron 5000 uses a Black 646, 2 Gold 260s, a Yellow 350, a Goldenrod 260, a Clear 260, a Mocha Brown 260, a Blush 260, a Pink 260, and 2 - 5 inch Round White Eyeball Imprints.

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BLOW HARD
LATEX WITH A VENGEANCE

#4762 -

Pub. 2000 remastered '06, 77 minutes + 15 minutes bonus

 This DVD has been remastered from Don's original video tape. The remastered DVD has 3 extra figures. A Hibiscus bracelet, a Monkey Face bracelet, and a cute Panda Bear.

Love this tape! He is doing the kind of stuff I'd add to my menu board.

 Don's got taste, style and knows how to add value. On this DVD is a really cute Bumble Bee, an excellent Killer Whale, and a Bird with variations. They are all great. Better than that are his ball-in-balloon games. He's made the action toy into a game of skill. Don understands adding value. His ball-in-balloon games are rare and valuable. And to top it all off is his William Tell Hat Game.

 Good line and party stuff. Interesting presentation with character and lines. This tape assumes you have basic skills. It moves right along and Don is comfortable on screen. This is really useful stuff. Get Don's tapes.

 Includes: Bumble Bee (321BBody, 2-SmHrt, 260), Monkey in a Tree (4-260), Killer Whale (5-260), Lady Bug (260), Turtle (260), Bird (3-260, Variations -Duck , Peacock, Flamingo), Mouse (260), Butterfly (2-SmHrt, 260), 2 Ball-in-Balloon Games - Strength Meter (SmBall, 2-260, SmRnd) and Hoop Shooter (2-260, SmBall), Fishing Hat (5-260, SmRnd, 321BBody), Little Girl Hat (2-260, SmHrt) Variations, Braided Hats (3-260, SmHrt) Variations , William Tell Hat Game (321BBody, 5-260), Bonus - Hibiscus Bracelet (260, 160), Monkey Bracelet (2-260), Panda Bear (2-260, 160).

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LIVIN' LA VIDA LATEX

#4765-

 There is so much I like about this DVD it's hard to know where to start. The Cartoon figures he teaches are current. Kids ask for them. The level of difficulty is good for parties and restaurants, some can even be done for a line. His instruction on the "Deep Apple" or "S" twist is excellent and he shows how to make a small bubble on the side of a round balloon. The degree of detail makes the characters easily identified. Don uses an Expo 2 marker for some face and body detail. He mainly uses 260, small heart and small round balloons.

 The other part I especially like is his attitude and sense of humor. Don shows me a balance between valuing the balloon and valuing the audience. I highly recommend this tape.

 Includes: Not Pokemons(4 of them), Blue Dog, Scoob Dog, Power Girls, A Famous Frog, and Dale Carlson's 4 Puppet Characters On A Bicycle.

Remastered from the VHS tape. Bonus material included!

The 2 bonus items on Livin' La Vida Latex are most excellent parodies. One is Sponge Boy, which uses 2 Yellow 350s, 2 White 350s, 2 Brown 350s, 2 Black 350s, 4 Yellow 160s, a Yellow 260, a White 260, and 2 White Sm Rounds.  The other is a Cartoon Mouse, which uses 2 Blue 260s, a Red 260, 2 Yellow 260s, a White 260, and a Mickey Mouse Head.

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THE TIE-BLOW WORKOUT

#4764 -

Quantity:

 One thing about Don's stuff, it's going to be different and somehow special. It's one of the things that makes him stand out. He likes to mix sizes and shapes for "quick and easy " impressive figures. The Field Goal and Bear On Caffeine are great action toys. And there's some very nice fancy figures.

 Don uses 160s, 260s, 350s, hearts, rounds, bear and clown heads, airships, slim jims and super balls, oh, and coffee beans. He admits the sound is not great, but it's not that bad. A clever beginner could learn some great stuff but they'd have a hard time with the fancy stuff. It's a must have video for any twister who wants to stand out in the market.

 Includes: T-Rex and Caveman Bob(260), Baseball Glove(260, SmRnd), Chihuahua(160, 350, Heart), Ghost(2-SmRnd, 260), Cow Hat(3-260, 2-SmRnd, 2-Heart), Field Goal(5-260, SupBall), Bear On Caffeine(2-260, 646,SupBall), Happy Boy(Bear Head, 260), Baby Seal(2-ClownHead, Heart, SmRnd), My Favorite Monkey(2-350, 4-260), Geo Pirahana(Geo, 3-260, 160), Hippo(350, Heart, SmRnd), Elephant Hat(2-Slim Jim, 2-350, 2-SmRnd, 260), Giant Squid(6-Slim Jim, Airship, 2- Heart, 2-SupBall), and some neat other stuff.

Remastered from the VHS tape. Bonus material included!

New episode of "Balloon Lassie", Iguana and a very difficult dog.

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THINGS THAT GO POP IN THE NIGHT

4766 -

Quantity:

 This is the best Halloween theme DVD I have seen. In just under 2 1/2 hours, Don teaches 7 haunted figures (including an action toy spider, a cute little ghost and Bad Kitty - a reputation maker), 7 head options on the hitchhiker hat, and 5 monster masks. And you get a CD with clip art for everything and a Halloween version of his great "Big Book of Balloon Animals" routine, the "Big Book of Monsters." The routine has instructions and art work to make your own book. The images on the CD are JPG and Acrobat Reader opened the text files.

  There are a few figures, especially in the beginning, that use black balloons and they are difficult to see against Don's black shirt. Since this tape assumes you have basic skills, the black on black issue is not a big problem. You can see enough of what he is doing to figure it out. The ghost is also on the Tie-Blow Workout tape but Don added a haunted house here.

  I consider this an advanced DVD. I recommend it not only for Halloween but for all those times the little monster wants a mask that fits his mood. Great for that 7 year old boy's birthday.

 The Bonus Material Don added when he went from video to DVD is include a Mini Drac and a Dr. Bones mask. The Mini Drac is made of 6- 260s and a Lime Green SmRnd Smiley Vampire Print. The Dr. Bones assumes you know how to make a Top Hat. To the Top Hat Don adds a Skull Face and Wild Hair with 4 Ivory Silk and 6 Gray 260.

 Includes: Ooga Booga Spider (6-260,SmRnd), Raven (2-260,SmRnd), Little Ghost (260,2-SmRnd), Haunted House (4-260), Shrunken Head (2-260,SmAlien), Toad (260,160,3-SmRnd), Vampire Bat (4-260,3-160), Bad Kitty (12-260), Monster Hitchhiker Hat (Printed Foil Heads), Skeleton Hitchhiker Hat (260,2-160,SmRnd), Witch Mask (10-260,Blossom), Warewolf Mask (7-260,350,160,2-SmRnd), Frankie Mask (6-260,646,2-SmEyePrint), Mummy Mask (5-260,2-SmRnd), Witch Mask (12-260)

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